Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

Geek Culture / Correct Power Supply?

Author
Message
Monk
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 25th Sep 2008
Location: Standing in the snow =D
Posted: 14th Nov 2009 16:50
Link
I have what I reckon is a fairly decent spec pc, and I enjoy playing my pc games on it. Well I would if I could play them on full graphics without the pc crashing.

If I try and play FarCry 2 or any other game I own on anything higher than Low or Medium graphics, I find it crashes after a few minutes, or half an hour if lucky.

I've performed memory checks, re-formatted, tried disconnecting and reconnecting stuff like harddrives and RAM, and I've had no success. This makes me think that I haven't got a powerful enough PSU.
I checked my current one, and it is 400W but what would be a better power for my computer based on its specs below.

Thanks

Specs:
XP SP 2
2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Quad
4Gb RAM (XP only picks up 3.25)
2 NVidia GeForce 9600GS in SLI
1TB HDD

Monk

My blog thing =)
Back to top
Profile PM
Lukas W
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Sep 2003
Location: Sweden
Posted: 14th Nov 2009 17:41 Edited at: 14th Nov 2009 17:42
Link
As you failed to give a complete system information setup, I was unable to calculate this correctly. But by the looks of it here is what you'll need: 428 W.

Check out this website and fill out the information yourself: http://web.aanet.com.au/~SnooP/psucalc.php to get a more accurate result. (You obviously know more about your system than I do)

Edit:
I was assuming you had a Q6600 cpu with the G0 stepping? I also assumed you had 4 sticks of 800mhz DDR2 1gig ram. Unfortunately the 9600GS did not exist in that calculator so I added two 9600GT's.

A mod accidentally your signature
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Monk
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 25th Sep 2008
Location: Standing in the snow =D
Posted: 14th Nov 2009 18:13
Link
Thanks Lukas, I'll check that link.

428W isn't that much more than 400W though =S Which sort of implies my current one should be working...

Monk

My blog thing =)
Back to top
Profile PM
Quik
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 3rd Jul 2008
Location: Equestria!
Posted: 14th Nov 2009 18:15
Link
still, 28W can make a difference


[Q]uik, Quiker than most
Back to top
Profile PM
NeX the Fairly Fast Ferret
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Apr 2005
Location: The Fifth Plane of Oblivion
Posted: 15th Nov 2009 00:15 Edited at: 15th Nov 2009 00:16
Link
And don't expect anything to ever meet design limits. They're theoretical limits and most systems won't ever reach 10W short of what they could.

Athlon64 2.7gHz->OC 3.9gHz, 31C, MSi 9500GT->OC 1gHz core/2gHz memory, 48C, 4Gb DDR2 667, 500Gb Seagate + 80Gb Maxtor + 40Gb Maxtor = 620Gb, XP Home
Air cooled, total cost £160
Back to top
Profile PM Website
Uncle Sam
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 23rd Jul 2005
Location: West Coast, USA
Posted: 15th Nov 2009 01:37
Link
Did anyone notice that he's got two Geforce 9600s?

Back to top
Profile PM Email
Lukas W
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Sep 2003
Location: Sweden
Posted: 15th Nov 2009 01:58
Link
That we did. It would still approximate around the 450w range I believe. Maybe, depending on whatever he has in his setup it might reach up to 500w.

A mod accidentally your signature
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Conjured Entertainment
AGK Developer
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 12th Sep 2005
Location: Nirvana
Posted: 15th Nov 2009 02:09 Edited at: 15th Nov 2009 02:35
Link
Quote: "Did anyone notice that he's got two Geforce 9600s?"

Yeah 400 watts won't cut it.
My 8800 said not to use less than a 600watt for everything, and that a 400w was not enough.
I got one that is rated at 500-700 operating range.
It has a "cable management system" so you only have to plug in the cables you need for your set up, rather than have a box filled with unsed cables.

I complained for years about power supply companies wasting cables and forcing us to clutter our boxes.
I argued then .."If you can plug it in one end, then why not the other?"
Finally, I found a power supply that is made right.

I got it off the shelf at BestBuy, so they are easy to find.
Rocketfish also sells a 550w and a 900w like this one, so I opted for the one in the middle.
If you are running the SLI configuration then you may want the bigger one just in case.
It's like granny said.."it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it"

Back to top
Profile PM Website
Monk
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 25th Sep 2008
Location: Standing in the snow =D
Posted: 15th Nov 2009 11:29
Link
If only grannies ran the world

I'm currently looking at this one. It's fairly cheap and it looks like it should do the job.

CE, I'm not entirely fussed about Cable Management Systems, if there are loose cables, then there are loose cables, once I've connected it properly then I don't think I'll be messing around with it anyway.

Thanks guys!

Monk

My blog thing =)
Back to top
Profile PM
Phaelax
DBPro Master
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 16th Apr 2003
Location: Metropia
Posted: 16th Nov 2009 06:28
Link
Made by SeaSonic? I highly recommend that PSU then. I have a SeaSonic S12 power supply (450w), it's super quiet, stays fairly cool, and never faulted on my after 2 years of constant use.

Here's a review I found on it:
http://www.totalpcgaming.com/hardware/silver-power-sp-ss650-green-power-psu/

Review basically says its an awesome PSU for gaming and will handle high-end GFX cards.

Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2025-05-25 20:19:15
Your offset time is: 2025-05-25 20:19:15