Q9550 & GTX280 on 500WATT?

[JRMBelgium]

Diamond9000 Desktop System
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
- Asus P5Q3 Deluxe Mainboard
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- GTX280 1G
- 500G HDD
- DVDRW
- Antec SonataIII Case ( 500WATT PSU included )
- Keyboard/Mouse/Speaker

This computer is for sale here:
http://www.pcvonline.com/ProductsList.aspx?CategoryID=24703

Correct me if I am rong, but isn't this very risky what they are doing here? Ok, the PSU is 80% efficient but is it really that good? It's a very intresting offer, but what if you add another HD or something?

 

[Pinchy]

Na it seems OK. A GTX280 with e8400@3.6ghz uses 300W of power at peak, according to w1zzards reviews.

I havent actually looked up the specs of the PSU included, but if its got 80% efficiency and enough amps on the right rails, it should be good. (Which antec PSU's normally have)

 

[JRMBelgium]

enough amps on the right rails, it should be good.

Power supply:

Official requirements:

 

[Pinchy]

Cant see that first image (at work...must have loaded it with photobucket or imageshack or something)

But yeah...companies tend to over-rate what their cards need. There will be different opinions on this matter, but to me they make their requirements higher. I remember running the x800xt pe (requiring a 350-450W PSU or something) on a 200W .

 

[JRMBelgium]

Cant see that first image (at work...must have loaded it with photobucket or imageshack or something)

What about now?

 

[Kursah]

Well my corsair HX520 has 3x 18A 12v rails and has run quad cores oc'd, dual cores oc'd and a GTX260 oc'd just fine...but a GTX280 may be pushing too far...I dunno. Probably won't find out as a GTX260 is more than enuf for graphics atm. Plus my HX520 doesn't have 6+2 pin PCI-e cables...I'd be questioning that PSU...hard saying how stable it'd be. I suppose in a NO OC situation it may be ok.

 

[Pinchy]

What about now?

Thanks for that, working fine

IMO it should be fine. But as Kursah said, you may get some instability issues with overclocking a lot.

Having 2x17A gives a MAX power of 34A....multiplied by 12 and your getting around 400W. As in wiz's review, the system uses like 300W of power at peak (with a dual, not a quad).

So I guess it just comes down to how stable the PSU is. If those earthwatts are still made by seasonic (I dont even know anymore ) it should be fine (unoverclocked)...otherwise it might be a bit risky. (Again, this is an opinion based thing)

 

[GAR]

I would go with a better PSU Antec EA-650, has an 8pin pci-e connection.

 

[PaulieG]

Yeah, it would run just fine if the system is not pushed too much. No way would I run that psu with those components if you were overclocking cpu/gpu.

 

[Tatty_Two]

I guess it would work all at stock (just) but tell me, what sensible person would invest in a pricey mobo, very pricey Gfx card as well as a pricey CPU then throw in a 500W mid ranged PSU?, damn, play any FPS and if the guy farts the PSU will fail it would be that close to the edge.....think about overclocking the CPU and/or the 280.....well forget it!

 

[ChromeDome]

unless its older stock that could be a Delta made Earthwatts psu like mine. as opposed to Seasonic. if so it has 22amps on the 12v rails. as opposed to 17amps on the Seasonic

just fyi

 

[Woody112]

PSU says 500w with 80% efficiency, means that is the rated output with a 1.0 power factor. So with a 1.0 power factor a 500w psu with 80% efficieny is putting out 400w nominal. Now when you add in fans, hdds, drive bays etc... these all have one thing in common, they all have motors. Motors operate at a .8 power factor so now you take that 400 and once again multiply by .8 and walla 500w now becomes 300w. This is why GFX card companies rate their cards so high. I'm by no means saying it will only be putting out 300w since your motors are only part of a computer but it will give you a good base line when weighing in all your components and trying to figure out what size psu you should by.
Most gaming systems draw around 300w so armed with this information you can make an educated buy on a PSU and match it to your system your building and not throw that extra money away on wattage you'll never use. If you plan on upgrading components like a second video card, extra hdd, etc... then factor that in when you buy a PSU.
Companies like the one posted above weigh all this in and build the computer, this is how they keep the prices down. I would not even attempt over clocking on that thing or adding extra hardware. Would become unstable fast under full load.
Hope this helps.

 

[SK-1]

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
How accurate are these things?

 

[ChromeDome]

^ i've used that as a general guide for awhile. obviously in the "lite / free" version amperage on the rails isn't taken into account, etc. but as a general guide its not failed me. i ran my 8800GS on a 300w PS because it said i could, basically. and i could

well ok i fell short by 35 or 50w. but it worked until i upgraded

wouldn't have tried it now however since i've added more stuff to my pc