Power supply
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 by Richard Mohler | Discussion: Personal Computing
Will too big of a power supply hurt other things or do they only pull what they need? I want a bigger power supply but the guys at dell says it can only handle 425 watts. At the same time someone else there said it's ok to go bigger & that it won't hurt anything.. Who right? I'm getting kind of tired of them anyway, since everytime I call I get a different answer..Anyway let me know, thanks..
Kitkun
Reply #2 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:11 PM
Reply #2 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:11 PM
Shouldn't be any problem with getting a larger one.
Richard Mohler
Reply #3 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:17 PM
Reply #3 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:17 PM
Thanks you two. I was kind of thinking they were idiots especially after reading a few articles on the subject..
yrag
Reply #4 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:26 PM
Reply #4 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:26 PM
You can go as high as you want. It only uses what the system needs. Watch the size of the unit...some 700+ units are oversize (elongated) and can potentially interfere with your drives in some small OEM cases.
hydrocarbn
Reply #5 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:54 PM
Reply #5 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:54 PM
watts don't matter watts don't matter watts don't matter
any stupid PSU manufacturer can put a ton of amps on the 5V rail or divide it up into a ton of 12V rails that are insane to balance
do not use watts as any yardstick when selecting a psu end of story
any stupid PSU manufacturer can put a ton of amps on the 5V rail or divide it up into a ton of 12V rails that are insane to balance
do not use watts as any yardstick when selecting a psu end of story
Zettai Baka
Reply #6 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:17 PM
He speaks the truth.
Unless you are running dual video cards, multiple CPUs, a bunch of hard drives, etc, just about any modern PSU will work for you. What's more important is if there is enough current running through certain rails to handle your hardware. Wattage means nothing if the rails you need don't have enough current.
And also, keep in mind EFFICIENCY. Typical wattage recommendations from a hardware manufacturer take into consideration the fact that many supplies have average or below-average efficiency. So they recommend higher wattage PSUs to compensate.
I'm not sure what the Dell guy was saying by "it can only handle 425 watts". The wattage rating of a PSU is the manufacturer-rated maximum power (i.e. current and voltage) it can produce. Not the amount of power it constantly provides. If an 800W power supply constantly provided 800 watts of power to a computer at any given time, the computer could get fried.
Reply #6 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:17 PM
do not use watts as any yardstick when selecting a psu end of story
He speaks the truth.
Unless you are running dual video cards, multiple CPUs, a bunch of hard drives, etc, just about any modern PSU will work for you. What's more important is if there is enough current running through certain rails to handle your hardware. Wattage means nothing if the rails you need don't have enough current.
And also, keep in mind EFFICIENCY. Typical wattage recommendations from a hardware manufacturer take into consideration the fact that many supplies have average or below-average efficiency. So they recommend higher wattage PSUs to compensate.
I'm not sure what the Dell guy was saying by "it can only handle 425 watts". The wattage rating of a PSU is the manufacturer-rated maximum power (i.e. current and voltage) it can produce. Not the amount of power it constantly provides. If an 800W power supply constantly provided 800 watts of power to a computer at any given time, the computer could get fried.
Richard Mohler
Reply #7 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:32 PM
Reply #7 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:32 PM
It's a Corsair 750 watt power supply. It's an XPS 420 system (Quad core, 8600gt graphic card, which I'm going to send back cause I don't play any games so I'm going to try Quadro card, 64 bit Vista 8 gb's memory) it came with 375w psu and upgraded to 425w cause that's what they said is the most it can handle. But I was talking to sales/customer service guy who assured me a bigger one would still work(without damaging anything) and that he knew what he was talking about (modifier and some kind of expert) so I tend to think he knows alot more than they do. At least I hope he does. Anyway thanks everyone..
hydrocarbn
Reply #8 Thursday, August 14, 2008 12:42 AM
Reply #8 Thursday, August 14, 2008 12:42 AM
fyi a Quadro is just a regular Geforce with different drivers, unless you do CAD it won't do much anything different for you
good choice on the corsair, though. though, you can do fine with their 450W, while it has a low "wattage" it's a single rail PSU with high amperage and can power even a 4850 system easily
also yeah, you can do whatever PSU you want as long as it physically fits inside the case. it just (/ is rated to) spits out power at a series of certain standardized voltages.
good choice on the corsair, though. though, you can do fine with their 450W, while it has a low "wattage" it's a single rail PSU with high amperage and can power even a 4850 system easily
also yeah, you can do whatever PSU you want as long as it physically fits inside the case. it just (/ is rated to) spits out power at a series of certain standardized voltages.
Sarissi
Reply #9 Thursday, August 14, 2008 3:36 AM
Reply #9 Thursday, August 14, 2008 3:36 AM
Quadro's are Workstation cards, and for CAD, 3D CG production industry apps, and things like that. They are optimized more for OpenGL than DirectX.
garion333
Reply #11 Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:46 AM
Reply #11 Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:46 AM
Pay attention to the size. A new psu might not fit in your Dell's case.
Dr Guy
Reply #12 Thursday, August 14, 2008 11:46 AM
I think that is what the Dell guy was referring to. The rest have answered the Watt issue.
Reply #12 Thursday, August 14, 2008 11:46 AM
Pay attention to the size. A new psu might not fit in your Dell's case.
I think that is what the Dell guy was referring to. The rest have answered the Watt issue.
dystopic
Reply #13 Thursday, August 14, 2008 12:18 PM
Reply #13 Thursday, August 14, 2008 12:18 PM
Dell is terrible. i had an XPS 200, and the PSU died. they insisted it'd be impossible for me to replace it on my own, so i built a new computer instead of putting up with their crap. a few months later i realized that the PSU size was a 2U server rackmount component. far from proprietary.
as to the OP, there aren't that many oversized ATX power supplies. i'd suggest looking for an "80+ certified" power supply. PC Power & Cooling offers several under the "silencer" brand name. Corsair also makes good PSUs. most decent-quality non-80% efficient PSUs are still very capable of being energy efficient, but usually only when they hover around 50% load. the 80+ certified ones tend to have a much wider range under which they remain energy efficient.
as to the OP, there aren't that many oversized ATX power supplies. i'd suggest looking for an "80+ certified" power supply. PC Power & Cooling offers several under the "silencer" brand name. Corsair also makes good PSUs. most decent-quality non-80% efficient PSUs are still very capable of being energy efficient, but usually only when they hover around 50% load. the 80+ certified ones tend to have a much wider range under which they remain energy efficient.
Sarissi
Reply #14 Friday, August 15, 2008 5:07 AM
Reply #14 Friday, August 15, 2008 5:07 AM
Dual physical processor boards generally use an EPS power supply. These are larger than the standard ATX PSU form factor. Mostly longer. The key thing is that they have the 24 pin, 4 pin, AND 8 pin power connectors. Large and expensive.
dystopic
Reply #15 Friday, August 15, 2008 1:32 PM
Reply #15 Friday, August 15, 2008 1:32 PM
i dunno, i have a Thermaltake Toughpower 700W that has a 20+4 pin main connector an a 4+4 pin CPU power connector, standard ATX form factor (as far as i can tell, anyway) and both 8-pin (1) and 6-pin (2) PCIe connectors.
and my gigabyte motherboard is an LGA 775 CPU socket but only requires the 4-pin ATX CPU power connector.
go figure
and my gigabyte motherboard is an LGA 775 CPU socket but only requires the 4-pin ATX CPU power connector.
go figure
Richard Mohler
Reply #16 Friday, August 15, 2008 5:03 PM
Reply #16 Friday, August 15, 2008 5:03 PM
dystopic--I 've had good luck with their computers but the technical support is another story..Thanks everyone..Switched to the corsair 550w instead I think it's a better fit..
Zyxpsilon
Reply #17 Monday, August 18, 2008 12:54 PM
Reply #17 Monday, August 18, 2008 12:54 PM
PSU = support for demands.
The more 'items' you need to slap into the case, the more effective and powerful the array must get.
Most people do not realize - the rail gaps aren't always used or that the entire wattage grid wouldn't make any difference UNLESS elements in the system must connect to the extra strength.
Nowadays, a 450+ unit is mid-range since modern Mobos can handle much more components (given the slots are empty).
I've seen a professional photograph guy with a crazy tower which has *8* DVD/CD rewriters stacked for fast copy processing; cooling fans and top-notch PSU with room to spare.
The more 'items' you need to slap into the case, the more effective and powerful the array must get.
Most people do not realize - the rail gaps aren't always used or that the entire wattage grid wouldn't make any difference UNLESS elements in the system must connect to the extra strength.
Nowadays, a 450+ unit is mid-range since modern Mobos can handle much more components (given the slots are empty).
I've seen a professional photograph guy with a crazy tower which has *8* DVD/CD rewriters stacked for fast copy processing; cooling fans and top-notch PSU with room to spare.
dystopic
Reply #18 Monday, August 18, 2008 1:55 PM
Reply #18 Monday, August 18, 2008 1:55 PM
i've seen a 24 HDD file server array with two TV cards, at least 3 DVDRWs and a Blu-Ray disc player as well. it was f*ing massive, built in a mountain mods case IIRC.
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Reply #1 Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:07 PM