Author Topic: How much power do I need? (Read 490 times)

Wilbus · « **on:** June 28, 2007, 11:37:35 AM »

Well, once again thinking about building a new system, some other things came in between the last time I thought about it so here we go again. This is also a big reason I haven't flown AH lately.

The biggest question is how much power do I need? I am thinking about a 350 W power supply but I'm uncertain wether it will be enough.

Here are the things I've decided to go for (well more or less, a possible change here and there but this is the price range I am looking at)

INTEL CORE 2 DUO E4300 1.8GHZ 2MB 800MHZ

SAMSUNG SPINPOINT 320GB SATA/300 7200RPM 16MB
LITEON DVD±RW 16X DL INTERN IDE
FLASHMINNESLÄSARE 30-IN-1 INTERN 3.5# USB2

MIDITOWER Box No Power Supply

Power Unit 350W ATX12V V2.0 PCI-E PASSIV PFC 120MM FAN

ASUS P5L-VM 1394 I945G SOCKET 775 FW M-ATX Main Board

DIMM DDR2 PC2-5400 667MHZ, Memory, 4x 1GB for a total of 4GB. (I work alot with high resolution pictures and my main concern for this computer is memory).

The Graphic card I haven't quite decided on yet but I am thinking about a GeForce 6600GT 128MB - PCIe. Or should I go for a 7600GS 256mb instead?

I am very uncertain, price for a Vid card should be around 120 USD or so (max).

So will 350 W do it?

Eagler · « **Reply #1 on:** June 28, 2007, 11:51:56 AM »

no

power issues are a pain to troubleshoot, why go borderline when for a few bucks more you can be sure your ps is not an issue
I would suggest nothing less than 600watts with as many amps as possible in its 12 volt dc rails.
As for a video card - I'd get at least the 7600 but think that will struggle with AH once Combat Tour is released

humble · « **Reply #2 on:** June 28, 2007, 12:27:38 PM »

"Power" is the most misunderstood aspect of building a box. Essentially I agree with Eagler, you want as much as you can afford...however you want "clean" power and you want if focused on the 12V rail. Basically look for a system with a minimum of 38@'s split on 2 12V rails. Ideally one with an "80% efficiency rating".

I used an Ultra case last build and have been very impressed with it. I linked my box and one with PS as well. I liked the box I bought more so I recycled current one. There are a number of real good 430W supplies that would work well for what you have listed. But you cant ever go overboard on PS...just under (sometimes 6 feet for your box)

I second the thought on a better VC if you have the budget for it...How bout this one? or this

My box

With PS

Krusty · « **Reply #3 on:** June 28, 2007, 01:11:29 PM »

350W max is no good. Sure it'll "work" but when you start drawing toward the "max" end of things it puts more strain on the PSU.

Go for a 450+. Something in the 500 range would be nice. Get a damn good unit. PSU can account for MANY problems including lockups, bad hardware (if it's not getting volts properly, this happened to me once), and not the least of which is spiking input controls, if the USB power fluctuates (hence the suggestion to get a self-powered USB hub which fixes many CH spiking problems).

A good power supply is better than the CPU and vid card combined.

Doesn't have to be 1 Gigawatt, but you don't want to bare-bones it, because then you can't use it later when you upgrade. Consider 450W the bare minimum these days (it's not, but let's pretend).

Hoarach · « **Reply #4 on:** June 28, 2007, 01:28:51 PM »

Wil I have a system not far off from yours. Ive got a AMD 64 3200+, 7600GS 512MB, 2 HD (1 SATA, 1 molex), a SB Audigy 2, as well as a CH HOTAS connected to the PC. Its all powered easily and quietly with a Ultra X-Finity 500W PSU. Its cooled down my PC and the PC is quiet compared to the stock 250W it came with. You can get 7600GS fairly cheap now as well. I have a 7600GS 512MB AGP from PNY which I got at compusa for $150 which was a few months ago. I just did a quick look and you can get a 7600GS 512MB PCI-E at newegg for under $125 or tigerdirect for under $100. Tigerdirect even has a PNY 8500 for $130 and newegg has a 8600 for $120. I myself am very pleased as well with the 7600 GS. With only 512MB system RAM and 512MB vid RAM I am able to run high res textures, graphic details all the way up, and get 70+ frames pretty easy.

My PSU

Wilbus · « **Reply #5 on:** June 28, 2007, 03:30:06 PM »

Thanks guys! It's all very helpfull, I haven't stayed up to date for quite a while now.

Well ok, so I will get a 450 or 500 PS atleast, will ask the store if they can recomend one in that range.

Humble, about Vid cards, you recomended 7900 GS instead of 7600 gs, how much better are they? Also, can I get just any 7900? I used to have lots of time and interest in investigating and comparing but I don't feel up to it right now, I just want to get the stuff, build it and then get back to taking photographs

I found this for example "XFX GeForce 7900GS 450MHz GPU 256MB DDR3 HDTV-out DUAL DVI RETAIL PCI Express". It costs around $200 or so (everything is about 25% more expensive in Sweden than in the US so it should be around $150 in the US)

Or this "AXLe 3D Graphics xTreme GeForce 7950GT 256MB DDR3 TV" for about the same price. Haven't found much info about either.

Thanks again.

Wilbus · « **Reply #6 on:** June 28, 2007, 03:38:56 PM »

Btw, would a Core 2 Duo E6320 be worth an extra 80 dollars over the 4300? It's got twice as much L2 cache which is what I am looking at.

Like I said before, main concern is image editing, lare RAW files, heavy duty programs.

I have a limited budget because this baby is on my list aswell.

So what I amtrying to decide. E4300 and the better vid card (7900) or e6320 and a 7600 vid card or would a GeForce 8600GT 256MB be an alternative?

Thanks

Bruv119 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 28, 2007, 03:39:45 PM »

Wilbuz look at the 8600 cards for cheap decent up todate stuff.

Scotty says it best "we need more power capn"

I put in a liberty 620W for my 8800 640mb GTS

My old PC's PSU died (i suspects my G/F'S dog weed in it) never had any issues with it when it was at my house but that was an antec 500w PSU running an ATI 9800XT and that died!

Have to get a new PSU and board this weekend.

Bruv <--- hates spending his weekend sorting out PC problems!!! get enough at work.

~S~

Wilbus · « **Reply #8 on:** June 28, 2007, 03:49:33 PM »

Ok so... which are "generally" better? 8600 or 7900?????

Ok I am convinced about the power, I trust Scotty!

Hoarach · « **Reply #9 on:** June 28, 2007, 04:00:58 PM »

The 8600 would be better. Just going need luck finding drivers.

Krusty · « **Reply #10 on:** June 28, 2007, 04:16:45 PM »

I like to suggest to folks that they avoid the 8000 series. By the time it's 100% reliable the 9000 series will be out (and I don't even think it's in planning stages yet!)

Disclaimer: This is 100% opinion

The 7000 series is far better than the 6000 series. The 7900GS is a far cry better than the 7600GS, but the 7600GT is just as good as the 7800GS cards, and the 7900 is (I think) the equivelant of heavily factory-OC'ed 7800s. The 7950 is better still, and if you can get the whats-it-called 7950 "x2" (2 cards in one, whatever it's called) it's even better still.

The ATI x1950 is close overall but probably better than the 7800 cards.

The 8000s are different.... The revolutionary "DX10" aspect of the card stems from the stream processors. The high-end GTXs hace 128 of these, the GTS' have 96 of these, but apparently nothing below 320MB VRAM size has any of them. Basically it's a single chip and that alone is nice but it's without everything that makes an 8800... well... an 8800!

So don't get any 8000 series unless it's an 8800GTS with 320MB or higher. This means it's getting MUCH more expensive. IMO you should go Ge 7950 to Ge 8800 GTS 320MB and skip everything in between. You're buying stripped down cards if you do, that probably are worse off than the 7000 series.

humble · « **Reply #11 on:** June 28, 2007, 06:30:53 PM »

No question that the 7900 is better then the 7600, and 7950 a bit better then the 7900. Overall the "guts" are pretty similiar across the board on the 7900Gt's within the same "class". The problem with the 8000 series is they are DirX 10 cards. I'd get skuzzies thoughts before I pulled the trigger on one. the 1950 (ATI) is also a good option. I'd definately spring for the E6320.

Fulmar · « **Reply #12 on:** June 28, 2007, 07:24:19 PM »

If you have a massive monitor and play games at 1600x1200 will full AA and AF you'll need a top of the line card, 8800GTX. But if you enjoy 1024x768 or 1280x1024. a good 7600GS or 7900 will suite you fine. I would avoid the 8600 and the 8400's. Yes they have DX10 support but games like Crysis will eat these cards alive. My opinion is that it would be a better decision to get a top of the line older 7900 series card over a low end 8000 series card like a 8600 or whatever.

The 8800GTS 320mb are very good cards. The 640mb version will only serve you if you are playing at really high resolutions and have lots of textures to load - think Oblivion. So save the money if you want to drop near $300.

Otherwise if you're just an AH addict, the 7900 or 7950's will do you justice, or even a 7600GS. If you want to play more of the top of the line games coming out in the next few months - you'll need more RAM, a better CPU, and more $$$ video card.

Think of it this way. Whatever fits into your budget. http://Tomshardware.com can help you pick out a video card based on your budget. Every month they release and article titled "Best Video Card for the money" and break it down to price points like $100 range and the $250 range etc and it will compare benchmarks between ATI and Nvidia cards and give you a recommendation.

About your PSU, go with 450W or so. Don't buy cheap units. Spend a good $70 on a PSU. Remember if you buy a $25 unit, its supplying power to $xxx or $xxxx in other components. I've seen too many systems wrecked due to off brand cheapo PSU's.