core i3 and it's power supply

kaisterkai

kaisterkai

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Hey

I just want to ask.. A core i3... along with 3 harddrive and 1 DVD rom... 8600GT... Will 400w power supply be enough?

Thanks
 
It seems low. The CPU takes power of course, but the other devices do too.
 
I've got a Xeon E3110 (TDP: 65W), 8800GT, 2x2 GB + 2x1GB RAM, 2x1TB HDD + 1x500GB HDD, Gigabyte X38 motherboard, DVD+-RW drive, 5 fans and a 500W is more than enough. In fact, I was running it on a 350W generic PSU a while back (for about a year actually) and I never had a problem.

The point to this long-winded post is your Core i3 (TDP:73 W) along with 8600gt (TDP: <8800GT) should be fine with a 400W PSU. My suggestion though, try not to get one of those generic ones. Make sure the voltage ripple is low and it can provide enough current on the 12V rails.
 
LazerFazer said:
I've got a Xeon E3110 (TDP: 65W), 8800GT, 2x2 GB + 2x1GB RAM, 2x1TB HDD + 1x500GB HDD, Gigabyte X38 motherboard, DVD+-RW drive, 5 fans and a 500W is more than enough. In fact, I was running it on a 350W generic PSU a while back (for about a year actually) and I never had a problem.

The point to this long-winded post is your Core i3 (TDP:73 W) along with 8600gt (TDP: <8800GT) should be fine with a 400W PSU. My suggestion though, try not to get one of those generic ones. Make sure the voltage ripple is low and it can provide enough current on the 12V rails.
Click to expand...

Wow.. so much and there was nothing wrong?? Like on the computer that I have now... 2 HDD (120, 160) 1GB ram, 3x6cm fans,1x12cm fan. 6600 GPU, P4 3.0 CPU and 1x DVD... 300W... When I switch on... It makes ONE HELL of a noise... I always thought because there wasn't enough power in the PSu to provide it... It's not a 500w.. it's a 400w....

Erm.. sounds rather complicated, do you mind explaining a little simplier?

Thanks anyway...
 
Those components will draw a grand total of around 225W. So 400W is more than enough. Really dont know what Tanya is on about 400W being too low
 
Awesome!.. Thanks lot hey!

If anyone knows the answer to this.. is a core i3 better than a quad core?
 
Archer said:
Those components will draw a grand total of around 225W. So 400W is more than enough. Really dont know what Tanya is on about 400W being too low
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A bigger power supply is generally more efficient and will produce less heat. Hence the fans won't need to blow so much and you have a quieter PC.
 
Get this for ±R550:

Corsair CX400W , Eps12V , ATX 12V V2.2 - 400w ( 12v : 360w ) , 80PLUS certified for energy saving , 24pin ( 4pin detachable ) , with active-PFC , 6pin PCI-E power , 1x 120mm thermal controled fan - 3 years warranty - no power cord
 
Tanya35 said:
A bigger power supply is generally more efficient and will produce less heat. Hence the fans won't need to blow so much and you have a quieter PC.
Click to expand...

I fully agree.

Unless it is a very good PSU that will give you true 400W power, but why skimp on your power supply when you have a good rig. I just dont understand why people want to skimp on the most important part of their pcs.
 
Tanya35 said:
A bigger power supply is generally more efficient and will produce less heat. Hence the fans won't need to blow so much and you have a quieter PC.
Click to expand...

I see.. but it's not a need.. so it's fine... I don't really mind if the computer is nosy... It's not like I'm going to sleep with it on... Play a little music and the sound is gone.. :)

Thanks
 
kingrob said:
I fully agree.

Unless it is a very good PSU that will give you true 400W power, but why skimp on your power supply when you have a good rig. I just dont understand why people want to skimp on the most important part of their pcs.
Click to expand...

But, even if I increase the amount... 400w to 550w.. will my electricity bill shoot up? I heard that it does...
 
PostmanPot said:
Get this for ±R550:

Corsair CX400W , Eps12V , ATX 12V V2.2 - 400w ( 12v : 360w ) , 80PLUS certified for energy saving , 24pin ( 4pin detachable ) , with active-PFC , 6pin PCI-E power , 1x 120mm thermal controled fan - 3 years warranty - no power cord
Click to expand...

What is a "6 pin PCI-E power"? Something for your GPU I'm guessing...

Sounds nice.. but whats the different between getting something like this... and something that I have... (I think it's a proline.. or something like that...)
They are both 400w... Or is it safer to use a brand name?

Thanks
 
kaisterkai said:
What is a "6 pin PCI-E power"? Something for your GPU I'm guessing...

Sounds nice.. but whats the different between getting something like this... and something that I have... (I think it's a proline.. or something like that...)
They are both 400w... Or is it safer to use a brand name?

Thanks
Click to expand...

6-pin PCI-E power connector is for your graphics card, yes.

Difference is that the Corsair is more efficient. For a 400watt PSU to be able to constantly output 400watts @ 12v it must be highly efficient. Your Proline probably outputs 250 - 300watts continuously, where the Corsair is [more than] 80% efficiency and is able to constantly output 360watts, making it highly efficient. Much safer, better warranty, longer lasting, etc.
 
PostmanPot said:
6-pin PCI-E power connector is for your graphics card, yes.

Difference is that the Corsair is more efficient. For a 400watt PSU to be able to constantly output 400watts @ 12v it must be highly efficient. Your Proline probably outputs 250 - 300watts continuously, where the Corsair is [more than] 80% efficiency and is able to constantly output 360watts, making it highly efficient. Much safer, better warranty, longer lasting, etc.
Click to expand...

A 400W PSU will never be able to output 400W just on the 12V rails. The rated output is for the maximum output on all the rails (+12,-12,3.3,+5,-5) put together. Most of that will be on the +12 and +3.3 lines though. Also, the efficiency rating has nothing to do with the amount of power it can output. If it's rated at 400W, it means MAXIMUM 400W, and probably not for all that long. A safe bet is to take ~75% of the rated power output, and use that to decide if it's powerful enough. An efficiency of 80% would mean that, at it's most efficient point, your PSU outputs 80% of the power it takes in from the wall socket. Another thing to remember is a PSU is most efficient at 70-80% of it's rated output, so getting a 90% efficient 1000W PSU and only using it to power 300W worth of equipment is most likely worse than getting an 80% efficient 500W PSU.

As for the power on different rails, most branded PSUs will have a sticker saying the maximum current it can deliver for each rail. Multiply that number by the voltage of the rail, and you'll get the maximum power. IIRC, GPU and CPU use the +12V lines, HDDs, optical drives, and fans use +3.3V, motherboard uses the whole range.
 
Last edited:
people heavily overrate required PSU's

i have an i7 920, 6gb ram, 6 HDD's, 6 fans, and a 4890.

and a 550 watt runs it perfectly. Yet every computer "wizard" said it needs 650 atleast.

i rate 400 will be more then enough for what you gonna be using.
 
So many incorrect statements being made, sigh...

kaisterkai said:
But, even if I increase the amount... 400w to 550w.. will my electricity bill shoot up? I heard that it does...
Click to expand...

No it does not. Your components still draw (for example) 300W. Whether you have a 400W or 1000W PSU your computer only needs 300W. So electricity usage does not go up (assuming equal efficiency on both PSUs).

PostmanPot said:
Difference is that the Corsair is more efficient. For a 400watt PSU to be able to constantly output 400watts @ 12v it must be highly efficient. Your Proline probably outputs 250 - 300watts continuously, where the Corsair is [more than] 80% efficiency and is able to constantly output 360watts, making it highly efficient. Much safer, better warranty, longer lasting, etc.
Click to expand...

If a PSU is rated for 400W, it can output 400W all day long. But since its only 80% efficient, it will draw 500W (400/0.8) from the wall socket. The proline PSU is probably 75% efficient, while the corsair will be about 82% efficient. So at 400W the corsair will draw 45W less from the wall socket.

LazerFazer said:
Another thing to remember is a PSU is most efficient at 70-80% of it's rated output, so getting a 90% efficient 1000W PSU and only using it to power 300W worth of equipment is most likely worse than getting an 80% efficient 500W PSU.
Click to expand...

Nope, if a PSU is 80PLUS certified then it needs to be at least 80% efficient at 20%, 50% and 100% of its full capacity. So running your PSU at 30%, or at 80% of full capacity makes very little difference to efficiency.

Emp!r3 said:
i rate 400 will be more then enough for what you gonna be using.
Click to expand...

Agreed. In fact I pointed out earlier that your system will likely only draw 225W.
 
^^ Correct. One other thing, the power rating for a Corsair PSU is a continuous rating whereas many of the other brands(Gigabyte, Coolermaster etc.) give the peak power rating but have a lower continuous rating.
 
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