Suzz04

Hiyas all,

I don't post much but I'm looking for some advice from ones that are more advanced in knowledge than I am for computers. The times have gotten away from me and catching up is proving quite mind blowing.

What I need is a good quality power supply. I want to make sure I have a adequate unit for the system I have. I'm going to be quite detailed in the parts so as to make sure I miss nothing in order to get the proper unit.

This is a pci-e setup I'm trying to get running.

Processor is a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Black Edition Dual-Core 6400+ (3.2 GHz 2000 MHz Hypertransport 2 MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 90ohm)

Motherboard is a Gigabyte S-Series GA-M57SLI-S4. Not sure exactly what to specify here for characteristics other than it's Supports the AM2 socket, AMD 64 Athlon and Athlon X2, and NVIDIA NForce 570 SLI.

Memory is Corsair XMS 2 Matched Memory 2GB DDR2 Twin2X.

Video Card is Sapphire HD 2600 Pro 512MB DDR2 memory.

If there's anything I missed in information that's needed, please let me know. I have all the boxes to each sitting right beside me in order to provide any information.

Many many thanks in advance,
Suzz04

Edit: I forgot to add, this will have a SATA HD, 1 DVD RW, 1 DVD with a added HD later on

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Quantum Cat Theory:
Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened,
it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

Arc101

Hi

I have just brought a Corsair HX520. Very good and quiet power supply. I did have a cheap power supply in before, but that went bang and took my motherboard out. I have just learnt the hard way not to get a cheap and basic psu.

Lasereth

Enermax Liberty 500w $115 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194003

Sparkle 400w $45 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103013

PC Power and Cooling 470w $75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703011

Corsair 450w $80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139003

Take a look at those. I would buy any of those for my PC. All high quality PSUs with good reputations.

Suzz04

Hmm.... wouldn't I need at least a 550w or better power supply unit?

I ask this cause I on't want to be under powered to cause problems or damages with the items bought.

__________________
Quantum Cat Theory:
Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened,
it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

Redjake

Any of the PSUs Lasereth mentioned will work fine. It's not so much about wattage as it is about the volts on each rail and the overall quality of the PSU. This sounds stupid, but a good indicator of a good PSU is how much it physically weighs. The more it weighs, the more internal heatsinks and components it has to get the job done.

I remember I blew a 500W Powmax PSU with a normal PC setup, yet see my Enermax below (which I am still using today!):

My Enermax 410 watt PSU ran my PCI-E mobo, Athlon 64 3800+, 6800GT 256 MB, DVD-RW, 2 GB Corsair XMS PC3200, 4 x 80 MM LED fans, and SIX hard drives (yes, SIX!!) without a problem for 2 years. I still use it today in my main PC even though it was put through all of that stress.

Wattage means nothing in the realm of PSUs!

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Off the record, on the q.t., and very hush-hush.

Suzz04

I think it's so silly that they're putting a big deal on the wattage if it doesn't mean a thing.

So, basically, a 550w would be perfectly fine for this setup for a gaming rig?

I know I'm sounded extremely stupid, but I don't want to screw up and bomb $450 of equipment. But, I really want to get this setup going, so that the fiancee and I can go back to gaming.

I really would feel extreme guilt if we lose all this that we bought for his Xmas present cash that he got from family.

__________________
Quantum Cat Theory:
Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened,
it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

Dragonlich

Your system isn't going to draw 550W, ever. If you buy a good (!) 450W+ PSU, you'll be fine. Don't be fooled by the numbers; a cheap 1000W PSU is more likely to kill your computer than an expensive 500W PSU.

FYI, I have a computer with an older AMD Athlon64 (3700+, single-core), a nvidia 6600GT videocard and three harddisks. I have a 450W Coolermaster PSU with a little power meter thingy. It says I'm using around 100W of power, idle and while gaming. (Note: I don't know how accurate that meter is!) The air coming from my PSU is barely warm, which is a good sign too.

I remember reading that you should get a PSU with a maximum output that is roughly twice the maximum amount needed by your PC. So, if your components need 200W, your PSU should deliver 400W. That'd be the most efficient setup. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

Lasereth

Yeah you won't need any more than 450w, and you could probably go down to 350ish and be safe as long as the PSU is high quality. Any of the ones I recommended will do fine. The quality is what matters in PSUs more than anything. Amps, efficiency, etc. moreso than wattage.

Suzz04

I want to thank everyone that has given a reply. I should be recieving the new PSU tomorrow. I'm seriously hoping this will be the fix and be back to gaming again.

The one that we picked was the Antec NeoPower 550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, TUV, CE, FCC, CCC, CB, C-tick. I don't know what the heck most of the last part after Power Supply 100 means, but hehe I think the first half was good enough with the specs part.

The direct link is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103941

At the time I ordered it, it had a 40$ mail in rebate. I don't know that we'll ever see it, but time will tell. I'm hoping that this one is a good quality and will serve the purpose.

I'll let you know as to if this all works out. Thanks alot guys and gals

__________________
Quantum Cat Theory:
Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened,
it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

Suzz04

*sigh* Ok, I put in the new power supply and am having the same exact response all over again.

To start off, I thought I had it narrowed down to the power supply being unable to handle the components.

It will boot up, go thru the memory and post tests. Once it gets so far into verifying, it will shut off. Or, I can access the BIOS screen and so far into will shut off again.

A minute might seem a bit long but it could be about that long. I'm getting severely frustrated that this system boots up like a normal one, but shuts off without notice.

Now I'm worried that I'm down to knowing nothing to as to what's causing the problem.

__________________
Quantum Cat Theory:
Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened,
it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

spindles

my first guess is a bad memory stick. It could definitely cause your computer to act weird. I'd suggest taking out all the memory bar one stick and try that and keep adding until you get a failure. If you only have one stick of memory, can you borrow some from elsewhere to try out...

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who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

Lasereth

Crap man you should have said something sooner! That sounds more like a memory problem to me. If not memory then maybe motherboard. Have anything to swap it out with?

Suzz04

After trying one last attempt at things, after I spent a couple of hours checking and rechecking connections, I decided to pull the battery.. .and tada... damned thing turned on... stayed on....

The memory is a matched set.... so I don't think pulling to one and swapping to see which is bad is a idea to go with.

But I can say this... I'm fed up with computers. Stupid things.

__________________
Quantum Cat Theory:
Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened,
it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

Lasereth

Could be the motherboard slots though. Pulling a stick out is checking more than 1 problem!

Suzz04

So far everytime I've turned it on, it's worked perfectly. I've been doing the updates for Windows XP as well as updates for the hardware. No hiccups, no shutting down.

I feel maybe that when I was doing the connections for the PSU to the board and other items, that I might have missed one on the board that I didn't realize.

I've never dealt with a pci-e board and video card before. But I have a feeling it was that one 12v connector on the board that I might have missed.

I think next time I'll just buy a prebuilt one from god knows where and save myself the headache! LoL

__________________
Quantum Cat Theory:
Upon hearing the sound of a can being opened,
it becomes possible for a cat to travel faster than the speed of light.

Dragonlich

Although it's a bit late, I found two websites that allow you to calculate the PSU you'd need for your system:
1) <a href = "http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp">Outervision psu calculator</a> (seems more up-to-date)
2) <a href = "http://web.aanet.com.au/SnooP/psucalcnew.php">Another psu calculator</a> (more details about the 12V rails).

I entered my (potential) future computer into the calculators, and got a recommended PSU of 340/350 Watts. The computer has a dual-core Intel chip, 4Gb of DDR2 and a Nvidia 8800GT videocard.