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Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with AMD processors => Topic started by: cookiebun on January 09, 2011, 12:28:47 am

Title: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 09, 2011, 12:28:47 am
Hi I am upgrading my daughters system and have been looking at this Power Supply has anybody any info on it and will it run her new system, she might be getting an AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, Deneb Core, S AM3, 3.4GHz   

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-coolermaster-rs750-acaae3-uk-gx-80-plus-85-eff-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-120mm-fan

 NZXT Lexa S
Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P (rev 1.0) mobo
AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+, 3000mhz
4gb ddr2 6400 800mhz ram
XFX HD 4870 X2, PCI-E 2.0, 3600MHz GDDR5, GPU
Seagate Baracuda 500gb,16mb cache
Stock cooler
DVD Writer
19” LCD Monitor
Creative Stereo Speakers
Windows Vista Home Premium    
 


Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Christoph on January 09, 2011, 02:13:45 am
that one is just perfect
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: absic on January 09, 2011, 10:53:54 am
Hi Cookiebun

you might want to check out this review at JohnnyGuru: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=188 (thanks to Soar for original link)

If it was my money and based on the specs for your daughter's PC I would probably go for this PSU: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-corsair-cmpsu-650txuk-tx-86-eff-sli-crossfire-37db-eps-12v-120mm-quiet-fan-single-rail even though it is only 650 Watts.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 09, 2011, 01:47:51 pm
If you're willing to wait till Tuesday I'll be checking a 4870x2 with the PSU absic linked. Now, I can't guarantee I'll be able to give any worthwhile info as the card I bought may be damaged ( it was sold as unchecked ).

650W is a little on the low side for this card but it'll work. It'd be best to not overclock to the extreme with it, though. By that I mean 1.5v+ on the CPU and high clocks on RAM and GPU, too.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: absic on January 09, 2011, 01:57:10 pm
I'm actually using a 625Watt Corsair modular PSU with a Sapphire 4850X2 and I have O/C'd my 1090T CPU to 4GHz + without a problem.

My full system specs are:
Chassis: NZXT Tempest Evo
PSU: Corsair 625 Watt Modular
Mobo: GA-890FXA-UD5 (F6 BIOS)
CPU: AMD Phenom II x6 1090T BE 125W
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 Air cooler
RAM: Corsair Dominator 2 x CMD4GX3M2B1600C8 (8 Gig) running at 1333MHz
GPU: Sapphire Radeon ATI 4850x2 (1 Gig)
Monitors: 1 x LG L1715S & 2 x LG L194WT
Sound Card: M-Audio Delta 1010
HDD's: 1 x Hitachi Deskstar 1TB, 2 X WD 640 Gig Caviar Black SATA3, 1 x Seagate 1TB
DVD/CD: Liteon
Mouse: Microsoft Intellimouse Optical USB
Keyboard: Microsoft Digital Media Pro
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit (Retail)

Main Use of system: Audio Recording & Mixing and Graphics Design & Editing
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 09, 2011, 02:39:31 pm
Yeah, but from what I remember you didn't have to go all that far with voltages ;). Isn't your PSU the HX620? Couldn't find one rated at 625W. Lastly, the 4850x2 is a little less power hungry :P. Though, I suppose with all these HDDs you may reach similar total consumption.

Put it another way, this PSU will be enough no matter what with this card but with heavy overclocks on everything it may end up drawing close to 500W under benchmark load. With gaming, ~400W.

On the other hand, this got me thinking. How exactly reviewers measure power consumption? Is it draw on the socket or PSU output? If it's on the socket then PSU strain would be noticeably lower, actually.

Now I'm confused - absic this is all your fault! ;)

edit:

Ok, I think they measure at the socket, so a 650W PSU is almost twice the power required here. In other words, all you have to worry about is your electricity bill. Even with heavy overclocks the PSU should have at least 200W left over.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 09, 2011, 02:46:08 pm
Hi thanks for all the help, I am using a Corsair 750 PSU in my new system and i used it to run the system my daughter is getting so I know Corsair 750 is able to run it and would be my first  choice but the 750 is a bit out of thier reach price wise but if the 650 is able to run her system with no problems I think I will am edging towards the Corsair.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: absic on January 09, 2011, 04:35:09 pm
The 650 Watt Corsair should handle your daughter's system without a problem. That's why I went for that one.

Isn't your PSU the HX620?
Yep, my bad should double check the specs it is the HX620: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=21

You might also like to check out this thread: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,4028.0.html and follow the link that Jolphil posted there. It makes interesting reading.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 09, 2011, 10:46:54 pm
Hi your confused, yes they will be using it for games and I also think that they might plug it into thier 37"sony bravia HD tv would that put more of a strain on the 650 I know the 750 will cope as I have done it with ours and yes the graphics are sweet but I was told by the wife tvs are for tv programs.
 
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 09, 2011, 11:22:33 pm
I don't really see how a screen can put any strain on a PC's PSU. I mean, all screens that I've seen had their own power cable. In other words, a PC monitor or TV isn't powered by your PSU.

That's a good thing, too cosidering how much power a 37" TV can consume.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 09, 2011, 11:39:52 pm
no the graphics card should have to work harder because of the higher resolution
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Wonderwrench on January 10, 2011, 12:23:59 am
Not that the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator is the final word but entering the system spec's you supplied I get a recommended PSU size of 616 watts
556 watts minimum. I had to do some guessing as detailed info on the build is lacking in some areas so I figured, CPU at stock speed, 4 DDR2 modules, 2 120mm fans, 1 led 120mm fan and 1 140 mm fan, as the NZXT Lexa S comes stock. 90% CPU TDP, 90% system load, 30% capacitor aging. So I agree with absic. A quality 620-650 watt PSU such as the HX620 would be perfect. I then figured adding two more hard drives and a Blu-ray burner and a HX620 will still handle it. http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

Bill
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 10, 2011, 12:51:18 am
no the graphics card should have to work harder because of the higher resolution

I'm not too sure about this but even if it's like that you're still fine.

The way I understand it, GPU load at lower resolutions may drop because of the CPU not being able to keep up with the GPU. Thus throttling the GPU down ( keep in mind that this depends on the number of frames generated rather than resolution ). At 37" the GPU should run 100% load as the situation will be reversed ( GPU limiting performance ). All in all, the TX650W will still handle that with ease.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 10, 2011, 10:44:12 am
so really what you are all saying is go for the Corsair 650w ?
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: absic on January 10, 2011, 10:53:37 am
Well, I can't say what the others are recommending but that is the one I would go for.  ;)
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 10, 2011, 01:21:55 pm
Yeah. There may be alternatives, maybe even something better but this PSU has been thoroughly tested, is rock solid and has good 5-year warranty. Which basically means that you'll be covered for the entire duration you'll use this PSU as it'd be prudent to replace it after 5 years anyway.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 10, 2011, 11:22:29 pm
Thank all for the good advice we will go for the 650w Corsair and if it doesn't work i will tell her to blame all of you.   
                                                                                regards.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 11, 2011, 12:09:46 am
Nah, it'd be Corsair's fault then as it'd be a dead PSU so you'd have to RMA it straight away ;)
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 11, 2011, 06:56:21 pm
bytheway_r did you test the 4870x2 with the Corsair 650w PSU
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 11, 2011, 09:28:58 pm
I would... if the other party didn't send it to a different address. Imagine my surprise when the courier called my cell at 10AM and I learned that my package is over 350km from me.

Hopefully I'll get my hands on it tomorrow :P.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: autotech on January 11, 2011, 10:06:58 pm
The 650 coarsair will handle it fine i have 3 computers in total and i have a 750 drawing crossfired 4870 and the 650 is doing the quad core 3.4 with a 4870 and 8 gigs of ram in a haf 922 case. Running it for a year and a half with no troubles at all thru the upgrades i have done to it.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 12, 2011, 06:51:05 pm
Can't really add anything productive as the card I got isn't working which isn't all that surprising. Anyway, as everyone said, 650W will be more than enough to run your system.

Regarding my 4870x2 - the card's behaving like normal as far as I can tell but it restarts system once and then it boots without display. When starting up:

1. Fan starts and works with different speeds during steps 1-4.
2. Overheat diode lights up for a moment.
3. Power diodes ( 8 and 6 pin ) light up for a moment.
4. Overheat diode blinks 2-3 times.
5. System restarts after ~2-3 seconds.
6. Repeat 1-4.
7. System boots ( post beep ) and seems to work without display.
8. After steps 1-4 fan keeps working at some low RPM speed ( silent ).

When I cleared CMOS POST failure window appeared on the screen asking to choose one of previous bios configs. There were 2 or 3 green, vertical stripes on the screen ( from top to bottom ). Other than this I couldn't get the card to display anything.

When I disconnected the power cables fan worked at high RPM and both power diodes lit up and stayed ( which is normal behaviour as far as I know ).

I don't know if it's possible to run it with another card as main? I tried sticking in both this and my 4870 512MB and it didn't work, no display.

Any ideas?
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Dark Mantis on January 12, 2011, 07:50:20 pm
Quote
I don't know if it's possible to run it with another card as main? I tried sticking in both this and my 4870 512MB and it didn't work, no display.

I don't think that the 650W PSU would be enough to power both those GPUs at once so that doesn't really help a lot. :-\


Have you checked to make sure that the power cables to the GPU are the correct way round. There was a member the other day who had the connector wired up incorrectly as far as we could tell.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 12, 2011, 08:09:22 pm
It'd be if it had to. I have some parts meant for a 2nd PC around and there's that 500W OCZ PSU in there. I suppose I'd need the crossfire bridge for it, though?

Quote
Have you checked to make sure that the power cables to the GPU are the correct way round. There was a member the other day who had the connector wired up incorrectly as far as we could tell.

I don't really see how it'd matter with these power cables? I mean, on this PSU there are 2 PCI-E power cables, both 6+2 pin.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Dark Mantis on January 12, 2011, 08:13:08 pm
We are still looking into the cable problem but the colours didn't match what they should have as far as we could tell.

Do your graphics cards only use one connector each?
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 12, 2011, 08:18:49 pm
4870 512MB uses 2x 6 pin and 4870x2 uses 8 pin and 6 pin. That's why I wouldn't even try with a single PSU as I don't have enough connectors :P.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Dark Mantis on January 12, 2011, 08:23:56 pm
It would be quite possible to set one up as slave to the main one used for powering the system and just run the extra GPU off it for trial purposes.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 12, 2011, 08:40:30 pm
Yeah but that'll take a while ;D. Just ordered a crossfire bridge as I don't have one. Should get it next week.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Dark Mantis on January 12, 2011, 08:44:38 pm
It should be possible to run them both as two standalone cards on the one system with a monitor connected to each.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 12, 2011, 09:08:35 pm
Don't have a 2nd monitor :P. I think I'll wait for that crossfire bridge. It's not like I'm in a hurry atm.

You know, it's crazy what kind of info there is on the net. People seem to have the weirdest problems with their hardware and the solutions are even more bizzare :o.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Dark Mantis on January 12, 2011, 09:31:06 pm
Yes as you say there are some crazy situations out there and some even crazier fixes. :o
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 12, 2011, 09:50:31 pm
I checked it with different RAM, CPU and MB to rule out some stuff. With 2x6 pin connected it started beeping and showed that it requires more power on the screen. I think it's toast, though as it had grey artifacts all over the screen. Technically, not all RAM chips are covered properly by thermal pads but I'm not sure it'd matter this much ( especially during bios )? By that I mean that 2-3 weren't covered fully with one being only about halfway covered.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Dark Mantis on January 12, 2011, 10:03:43 pm
I take it from your reply that you have removed the casing. This will invalidate the warranty. These chips can heat up quite quickly but I don't think any damage would have been done yet.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: bytheway_r on January 12, 2011, 10:25:26 pm
Yeah and I wasn't the first person to do so. As I said, I bought this card knowing that it could be faulty. There's also no warranty to talk about. Oh well, I'll most likely sell it once I play with it a little more. I have to say it was fun taking it apart ;D.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: autotech on January 13, 2011, 01:42:56 am
LOL i know been there and done that. Trashed more systems than i care to admit and then fought them to find the workaround but Vista game me the most trouble glad i went to 7 ultimate.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 16, 2011, 11:55:15 am
Hi power supply up and running haven't tried it with a game yet but it boots up and looks as if everything is running ok.
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: Dark Mantis on January 16, 2011, 01:51:45 pm
A good power supply makes all the difference in the world. 8)
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: absic on January 16, 2011, 04:12:00 pm
See, I told you it would work!
Title: Re: Power supply
Post by: cookiebun on January 16, 2011, 11:17:18 pm
I never doubted you honest.   regards