Hi, I was wondering if i have enough PSU power to run my computer setup. A winpower 600w PSU is what im using. Pc Spec:- CPU:- Intel Dual Core 3.2GHZ RAM:- 1GB DDR2 533MHZ OPTICALS:- 2 x dvd-rw HARD DISKS:- 2 x 10000rpm scsi and 1 x 5400rpm ide COOLING:- 5 x 8cm 12v Fans PCI CARDS:- SCSI and Tv card Both usb headers are being used also. I have all this setup at the moment. Have i given the PSU too much to handle or will it cope ok. Any comments are appreciated.
The fact that it works means you haven't given it too much to handle. However, I've not heard of Winpower unless they're "Power Win" from the old days, but I thought they became inWin. In any case, the wattage isn't so much relevant (anything 350W and above usually does for most people even when component requirements say otherwise - this because there are a lot of really bad power supplies out there) but more who makes it. Not having heard of WinPower, I'd recommend using a more familiar brand, certainly before you next upgrade.
you dont state your graphics card which will also suck some juice from your psu but i would think you will be ok. check this link to get a guide for what you need; http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
Hi, Thanks to both. I tried out that calculator and im close to 600w but it depends on the graphics card picking, my graphics is onboard 224mb so does that take additional wattage? and what should i choose from the list as onboard card are not in there.
It all depends on what you want to do with your computer. The onboard video chip is not really a good thing. A good dedicated video card would be much better.
winpower is a cheap very light psu that normally comes with a case you HAVE to have anti-surge protection with those cos they are just so crap however they do the job but you need to think of it as a 400 watt not 600 watt it could never sustain 600
I got the psu from ebay, was the cheapest 600w they had at £15 At the moment Its coping ok, but im worried about the molex connectors. I have 4 of them (2 wires having 2 molex connectors) and a few extensions. Is there a certain amount of hardware that you can connect to a molex until theres not enough of current to spread around? Thanks
That depends on how much the Power supply is capable of. I think 400W is very optimistic for a £15 PSU, they're usually around 250. I know for a fact that a 600W £25 PSU I bought couldn't withstand 300W.
thanks for reply how do you find out how much watts a psu is capable of? What ive done now is got another psu brand name power-up its a 350w and have put it into the case aswell as the 600w psu. As i have a large case it has alot of space for it. Ive mounted a switch on the front of the case for the 2nd psu by connecting both the green wire and black wire from the atx plug, so i can turn it on easily. By doing this how much watts do you think i have altogether now? Thanks
You can't, just don't buy rubbish cheap ones. There are other problems you face by using cheap power supplies too, they usually involve your PC going up in smoke and having to be totally replaced, and I'm not joking. It's happened to me and it happens often. Bin both those Power supplies and buy something decent.
Ok As money is short ill see how things go with the 2 im using now, then look into purchasing a good brand. Thx for advice/help
OK, but just be advised, I took a "see how things go" attitude, and rather than spending £60 on a decent power supply, the resulting carnage caused not only the £60 for a better power supply, but the loss of a £70 hard drive and it's 200GB of Data, a £40 stick of memory, and a floppy disk drive. It also slightly damaged my chipset so it wasn't very stable. I got away lightly with a £200 repair bill and 200GB of lost data. You might not be so lucky.
At the moment ive got both psu's sharing various jobs. The 600w takes care of the motherboard and 2 dvd drives. while the 350w is running the fans and hard drives so i reckon its a fair setup to have and shouldnt stress them too much.
And, as you state previously, it can take the computer with it. You have given sound advice, and if the OP doesn't want to take that advice, so be it. You can lead a horse....
