wondering just how good my PSU is...

[RogueSeven]

i currently have this PSU:

Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12-430 430W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, DEMCO, NEMCO, SEMCO, FIMCO, CB, FCC, CCC - Power Supplies

now, i currently run a core 2 quad q6600 (2.4ghz), 2 hard drives, a dvd drive an nvidia 8600 gts 256mb, a creative extreme audio sound card, 2 gigs of ddr3 ram (not exactly sure on how fast it is...) and finally, all of it running on an intel x38 motherboard...2 80mm fans and the stock fan on my processor

i was thinking about switching out my processor for:

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

switching my graphics card for:

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-N869-AR GeForce 9600 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

and then getting 3x of:

Newegg.com - Patriot 1GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

replacing the componets that are the same type that i have currently

will my power supply still be able to power this or would you recommend going to a good quality 500-500w psu (i read that most people here recommend a 500w psu) if so, any recommendations on an exact psu? also, would the stock fan with the core 2 duo i have linked there be sufficient enough without any over clocking or should i look into a good cpu fan?

thanks for help

 

[NightSurge]

Are you sure your motherboard supports DDR3 memory? It just seems like overkill for your system, so I thought I'd check to make sure that is indeed what you have.

The stock fan will be fine if you are not overclocking, and as far as a power supply, I would look at the PC Power and Cooling 610W, the Corsair 550VX, or the Antec BP550 Plus. Out of all those, I think the Antec would be the best buy. It's modular, has 3x +12v rails at 22A, 22A, 25A and is only $90 which is a good price for all that.

Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, TUV, CB, FCC, CCC, C-TICK - Power Supplies

 

[Sora]

At the price that it is the Antec is a good buy however for 90 bucks the Corsiar 550VX is a much better buy. Also i believe that if you are powering a quad with an 8600gts right no you should have no problem with an E8400 and a 9600GT which is one of the lowest new wattage cards.

 

[NightSurge]

You'd have him pay $30 more just for the Corsair 550VX? When comparing the two side by side, the Antec matches or beats it straight up. The Corsair's only strength is the single 12v rail with 41A, but the Antec's combined 12v rails will be closer to 60A. And since the Antec is $30 cheaper, I would go with it.

 

[Sora]

You'd have him pay $30 more just for the Corsair 550VX? When comparing the two side by side, the Antec matches or beats it straight up. The Corsair's only strength is the single 12v rail with 41A, but the Antec's combined 12v rails will be closer to 60A. And since the Antec is $30 cheaper, I would go with it.

You are another that does not know how rails on a PSU works. You cannot just simply add the rails up at all becuase each rail looses amperage due to lack of efficiency. The actual amperage on that antec is only 32A on the 12v rails.

The way you figure it out is look at the side picture on newegg where it shows the amperage. Look at the bottom where it says

"12V1 + 12V2 + 12V3, max load = 384w

384/12=32

There is REALLY only 32A coming off the 12v rails of that antec. Not only does the Corsair have a 4 year more warranty and ROCK SOLID rail(s) it has 9 more amperage.

Yes it is worth the 30 bucks more however that Antec still is a good price considering 32A is around what most dual-core single GPU systems need these days.

Trust me i know what is the best for your money you shouldn't doubt me

 

[NightSurge]

Actually I do know how rails work. I did know that you wouldn't get the full amperage with multiple rails, however I did not know the math for factoring it like that. I did not think it would drop that much. It is good to know how to factor that for future reference, though, so thank you Sora!

 

[Ste]

I bet his current seasonic power supply will be more than enough for these upgrades.

 

[NightSurge]

Just to make sure I have this right, I am going to use that SeaSonic as an example. It lists it as 12v1-14A, 12v2-15A = max output of 348W. So in this situation it would still end up being 29A total because 348/12=29A as well as 14+15=29. I realize that won't be the case for all power supplies, but is this correct so far?

I've learned my one thing for the day, hurrah!

 

[Ste]

Yea its very simple, total wattage for that rail diveded by that rail Voltage will give you true amps reguardless of what each rail lists.

 

[Sora]

I bet his current seasonic power supply will be more than enough for these upgrades.

The seasonic is rated at 29A but most good PSU's will actually safely run past the rated becuase of their top quality.