I need help to choose a Power Supply!

Started by ndR moviemaker Tournament #2
11/12/2008 23:00
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ndR moviemaker Tournament #211/12/2008 23:00(edited 11/12/2008 23:01)

Hi there,

I bought a new graphic card and I do need a new Power Supply...
I know how to choose it but the only thing I don't know is
"how many Watts do I need considering my config?"


Motherboard ASUS P5P800
Pentium 4 3,2Ghz
1280Mo DDR SDRAM
Radeon x1650 PRO 512Mb AGP (the old times :p)


Is 400 Watts enough for example?
I don't want to spend 100euros btw :P

Thanks for your answers,
ndR.

Speedwheel11/12/2008 23:20(edited 11/12/2008 23:22)

400W is more than enough if they are delivered from a brand psu like -> Sirtec HPC-430-P12S (is like 40 euros i think)

prof. chosen11/12/2008 23:21(edited 12/12/2008 00:10)

Be Quiet! Straight Power 500 Watt should be the best for you.

on power supplys its all about the quality for the money.

and be quiet definetly produces very good power supplys for low pirces.

that one costs about 60€.

you can read on a lot of hardware-forums/tests that this power supply is good.

also, 500 watts should be more then enough and u can always be sure its not too low.

hope i could help you, see ya.

Speedwheel11/12/2008 23:24(edited 11/12/2008 23:29)

yh but for hes configuration he dosent need 500 W only if he has plans for some seriously upgrades in the future like SLY or Crossfire

ndR moviemaker Tournament #211/12/2008 23:33

My motherboard has only one AGP 8x port lol, so I can directly forget SLI or Crossfire :D
I'm not planning to upgrade my computer more than that.
Thanks for all of your answers =)

Speedwheel11/12/2008 23:38(edited 11/12/2008 23:51)

if u want 2 spend less money go 4 this1 -> Sirtec HPC-370-P12S

i know some guys that have it on better pc's and dont have any problems and is pretty silent, good efficiency

liquidi11/12/2008 23:39(edited 11/12/2008 23:45)

I have heard many bad experiences from be-quiet psus (reliability issues). And there is no such thing as quality psu for low money. Consider that psu is one of the longest lasting components in your rig with your case. Buy a good psu now and you don't need to replace it for a long time.

Some of the best quality psus are Seasonic, Enermax and Corsair (tho some of their models are just rebranded Seasonics). I didn't calculate the exact power draw for your system but 400W is definitely enough for your system. For example Enermax Pro82+ 385W ATX is something i'd recommend, costs about 60e in Finland.

Power supplies usually have the best efficiency at about half load. So that 385W will work most best at roughly 192W, which i think is about what your system will actually draw from the psu (not from the wall).

prof. chosen12/12/2008 00:02

the 500 watt one i recommed him has the best power/price-proportion.

there were charts somewhere.

also, he doesnt need to buy another one if he wants to upgrade his graphic card for example.

but there are also BeQuiet! Silent Power ones with lower watts.

prof. chosen12/12/2008 00:06

Originally posted by liquidi
I have heard many bad experiences from be-quiet psus (reliability issues). And there is no such thing as quality psu for low money. Consider that psu is one of the longest lasting components in your rig with your case. Buy a good psu now and you don't need to replace it for a long time.

Some of the best quality psus are Seasonic, Enermax and Corsair (tho some of their models are just rebranded Seasonics). I didn't calculate the exact power draw for your system but 400W is definitely enough for your system. For example Enermax Pro82+ 385W ATX is something i'd recommend, costs about 60e in Finland.

Power supplies usually have the best efficiency at about half load. So that 385W will work most best at roughly 192W, which i think is about what your system will actually draw from the psu (not from the wall).

can u underline the these that BeQuiet!'s are bad with some serious facts?

i take my facts from a lot of german hardware forums. there are people who really know shit.

i'm using a bequit-one since almost 3 years, no probs with that. i've heard from a lot of users the same.

яєsρєcт12/12/2008 00:13(edited 12/12/2008 00:13)

Watts aren't important so much since it's above 350 for ur pc. Producer is most important. Here you have a list of good and bad producers:

Good ones:

1. Corsair
2. Tagan
3. Modecom
4. Enermax
5. BeQuiet
6. Huntkey
7. Aerocool
8. CHIEFTEC
9. Pentagram
10. OCZ
11. Zalman
12. Amacrox
13. Cooler Master
14. Topower
15. Hiper
16. Fortron
17. Delta


Bad ones:

1. Tracer
2. Codegen
3. Colorsit
4. Ropla
5. Take.Me
6. Mustang
7. Mercury
8. ProComp
9. Q-Tec
10. Impet
11. Tronje
12. I-BOX
13. Logic
14. Megabajt
15. Powerman
16. Trust

Bad power suplies from good producers:

1.Modecom Feel
2.Chieftec ATH-360

Sry for bad English, I hope that I helped.

prof. chosen12/12/2008 00:18(edited 12/12/2008 00:19)

if u go from that list, there's:


Corsair CX400W 400 Watt - 40€

TAGAN TG500-U33II SuperRock, 500 Watt - 63€


BE Quiet! Pure Power 300 Watt / BQT L6 - 30€


BE Quiet! Pure Power 350 Watt / BQT L6 - 35€

BE Quiet! Straight Power 350 Watt / BQT E6 - 42€


BE Quiet! Straight Power 400 Watt / BQT E6 - 48€


just a few examples, didnt find more from the other brands in my favourite hardware shop.

as u can see, BeQuiet offers the cheapest stuff compared to the Watts. i recomm u the first Straight Power!-one, because its a good series.


but i guess u cant do much wrong if u buy one with average watts and a good brand. you could check which ones are listened @ ur favourite hardware store and then decide from the list or just google a bit for reviews/tests.

Mews.12/12/2008 00:22(edited 12/12/2008 00:23)

there are no "BAD ONES" or "Good ones" It only depends on the volts on the rails and the EFFICIENCY .
If the EFFICIENCY is above 70% It means a 500w rates PSU could only use 350W REAL POWER.

There are definelty bad companies out there i dont want to give examples that have a 500w PSU but it has like 50% EFFICIENCY so it can only use 250W REAL POWER

OH and btw your system uses about 200-250W REAL POWER you will never need a really good psu for that system.

But i would stay with quality one tho.
For example this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006
Remember EFFICIENCY is what matters if you want a really stable system if not get a cheap ass one and see how long it lasts.

Edit: Your budget is way high you could easily spend 50 euros on a GOOD psu that will support your system for a looooon time.

akM12/12/2008 00:23

I dno shit about this :<

I will continue helping u about amsterdam ndr;p

Mews.12/12/2008 00:28(edited 12/12/2008 00:33)

Oh and also my psu is a crappy 500w its efficiency is about 50-60%

My specs:
2GB DDR2 RAM
320GB HAMACHI HD 7200 RPM
Core 2 Duo E8400 OVERLCOCKED at 3.5ghz
ASUS P5Q PRO MOTHERBOARD
ATI Radeon hd2600xt 512mb GDDR3 VIDEO CARD.

Im giving you an example. My pc uses 300% RAW power and my PSU is 500W notice the efficiency is what matters.
Always get a brand name PSU with a 70%+EFFICIENCY And it will last you long.

My psu failed on me a few times because its no brand name and its efficiency is about 50-60% .
I have my psu for about 8 months. I dont think it will last very long.

EDIT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 -- check this one out too and read the reviews if you want to take your time. you could go sli / crossfire with this PSU if ur card is back from 2005 :)
But if you want to SLI / crossfire with a card from 2007+ you will need a good quality psu about 600W with about 70% EFFICIENCY.

EDIT2: The psus that chosen. listed are pretty good too i would go for those if you want to same some money and want a long lasting PSU.

яєsρєcт12/12/2008 00:33(edited 12/12/2008 00:33)

If there's no bad and good ones, show me for example one, good psu from producers which I called "bad ones"

Mews.12/12/2008 00:39

Mercury has good few psu's but other then that you listed alot of really bad PSU companies that ive never even heard of.
My psu is RAIDMAX 500W WHICH costed about 20 dollars and my pc still runs good.
And i have a very good pc for cs
I can run crysis on medium/high.

loopah12/12/2008 02:08

ndR, i have the best answear for you...

Ask someone who works in a PC store ^^

liquidi12/12/2008 02:12

Some misconceptions. If the efficiency of psu is n then the psu will take P/n watts from the wall e.g 400w with 80% efficiency will take 500W from the wall. So if a psu is rated as having P wattage then it will surely supply P wattage.

Why high efficiency is important then? The wasted electricity transforms into heat which needs to be compensated with louder cooling. Also the psu will not probably last as long and your electricity bill will be higher (and you waste nature).

And it's really silly to consider watts/e ratio, do you buy music sound equipment based on decibel/e (well some do)? It's important in what rails the wattage is distributed, you want high 12V output.

ndR moviemaker Tournament #212/12/2008 12:56

Thanks for all of your answers, I'm gonna buy it tomorrow in a store, I just wanted advices because sellers always try to sell the most expansive products...
I just wanted some knowledge before going to the shop =)

Thanks again to all of you, you helped me alot :)

I didn't receive my Radeon x1650 PRO btw, I'm still using my 6600 GT :P
I got an old computer but it still works well :)

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