How much power do you need? Calculate your requirements.

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August 10th, 2005, 09:09 PM

Dngrsone

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How much power do you need? Calculate your requirements.

Okay, after searching for the umpteenth time for this, I finally have the power to create a sticky and have it right handy to find.

How much power do you need? Well, let's calculate it out:

JSCUstom

eXtreme PSU Calculator

Okay, these only give you a minmum wattage requirement, however, the amperage on each of the rails is what's important, and one must keep in mind that for most power supplies, one can't max the current capacity of both the 5v and 12v rails.

My man MuTTAR says it best:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuTTAR

Ok now before you go charging off to go get the 500 watt power supply for 12 dollars on ebay there are a couple things to think about. You want to check to make sure that the PSU is made by a well know company (we will get in to that later). The PSU must be AMD, Intel & UL listed. What’s UL? Google it. Last, and very important, the PSU must supply at least 18A on the +12V rail.

I don't want you to be mislead by the calculator I provided above. While it does add up your total power consumption during peak use, it does not help you in picking out the correct power supply. I can not emphasize enough do not base you decision on wattage alone.

That said what else can you do to ensure you will live power trouble free? One of the easiest ways is to stick to the quality brands (which often means more money but less headache). So what are the quality brands? There are quite a few but to name a couple: PC Power and Cooling, Enermax, Sparkle, Antec (TruePower).

A couple of things to distinguish the big boys is temperature and efficiency which kinda go hand in hand. The more efficient it is then the less power it will lose as heat. Also, look for the little extras like adjustable rails, detachable rails, decibel level... etc.

The PSU is easy to skimp on, but if you are a serious overclocker, don't.

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Anubis agrees!

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Trader Rating: 0 · #2

August 11th, 2005, 04:38 PM

ZX7891

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My recommended wattage is 522w when I get my 7800GT in a week and a half..

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August 11th, 2005, 04:51 PM

Pyro Monkey

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wow, even with 6 fans my total comes to less then 300 watts. I can add water cooling without having to worry about updrading my PSU! And damn....my sempy 1.8@2.475 uses over 100 watts...wow...

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August 11th, 2005, 04:59 PM

Chillywilly

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Sticky this thread for future power calculating needs!!!!!

Call it something obvious like............Power consumption Calculator!!!!

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August 11th, 2005, 05:01 PM

Pyro Monkey

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nah its good the way it is

but for reference to everyone, the second link provides a way to calculate with a bigger supply of CPUs and even calculate for an overclock. just f.y.i.

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August 11th, 2005, 05:03 PM

Dngrsone

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillywilly

Sticky this thread for future power calculating needs!!!!!

Call it something obvious like............Power consumption Calculator!!!!

Just out of curiosity... is there a picture of you in the wikipedia entry for the word oblivious?

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August 11th, 2005, 05:07 PM

Chillywilly

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Just out of curiosity were you meant to type obvious in the sentence above or oblivious?

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August 11th, 2005, 05:09 PM

Dngrsone

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I thought it was obvious my intent was oblivious.

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August 11th, 2005, 05:09 PM

tejas

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LOL...good one!! Both the sticky and comment...
and I am good at 206 watts!!

edit: willy, obviously it was 'oblivious'!!

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August 11th, 2005, 05:12 PM

Chillywilly

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Ok now i am confused. I'm sure you typed oblivious in the first post as a typo, now i just think your covering it up with the snide/clever remark you just posted.

Damn i really thought i'd got one over on you then!!

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August 11th, 2005, 05:16 PM

Dngrsone

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillywilly

LOL... dude, oblivious because I stickied the damn post yesterday as soon as I created it... even mentioned that in the post. Also note the key words Power and Calculator are in the title already.

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August 11th, 2005, 05:20 PM

Chillywilly

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Yeah i was sorta thinkin' that as i read through these few posts over an over.
I even considered looking to see if this was made a sticky before i posted, but that was too easy.

I like to keep you guys on your toes.

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August 11th, 2005, 05:26 PM

Dngrsone

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillywilly

I did doublecheck to make sure the sticky stuck before responding...

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August 11th, 2005, 06:48 PM

Pyro Monkey

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Last edited by Dngrsone : August 11th, 2005 at 07:19 PM. Reason: Fixed your smilie ;)

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August 14th, 2005, 10:43 AM

Anubis

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nice!

the OCers one is much beter than this one iv been using:

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_su...r.php?cmd=INTEL

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