psu efficiency question

[overclocking101]

if a psu is getting 55% efficiency, and the psu was bought used on ebay 3-4 years ago, is that good?? like will the unit be ok to run a P4 2GB ddr2 a 8800gts 640mb (maybe 2 in sli) and 2 sata drives for like a year????

 

[CDdude55]

What's the wattage on the PSU and what brand is this exactly?, should run fine with that kind of hardware.

Not 100% sure about the efficiency question though, i would think that it would just mean that you aren't going to be saving much money with that PSU as you would with one that has a higher efficiency. But im sure someone else can explain the whole thing better.

 

[newtekie1]

Efficiency doesn't matter in weither a PSU can power a rig or not. The wattages and amps of the different rails are what matter.

 

[mlee49]

if a psu is getting 55% efficiency, and the psu was bought used on ebay 3-4 years ago, is that good?? like will the unit be ok to run a P4 2GB ddr2 a 8800gts 640mb (maybe 2 in sli) and 2 sata drives for like a year????

6 C cell batteries in series could run a P4 w/8800GTS... lol

Kidding, you'll need to give more details than that homey. Wattage helps, amperage per line/rail helps, also does it even have 2 PCIE lines? Doubt it.

 

[overclocking101]

its this one to be exact RAIDMAX VOLCANO RX-630A 630W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V S...

raidmax volcanoe 630w 2 12v rails at 16a and 18a 5v 45a 3v 30a. it was a great psu in its day
this is a review on it back in the day: http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Power-Supply-Units/Raidmax-Volcano-630-Watt-Power-Supply/3/

it still performs almost as good as that review shows

 

[newtekie1]

I don't think that PSU would have a problem powering that system.

 

[CDdude55]

I don't think that PSU would have a problem powering that system.

I agree.

I mean it's not like that hardware is going to be putting much of a strain on it anyways, so there shouldn't be a problem with that PSU running with those parts.

 

[Mussels]

if a psu is getting 55% efficiency, and the psu was bought used on ebay 3-4 years ago, is that good?? like will the unit be ok to run a P4 2GB ddr2 a 8800gts 640mb (maybe 2 in sli) and 2 sata drives for like a year????

55% efficiency just means its going to draw more power at the wall than it should, to run the system.

if the PC needs 200W, its going to draw close to 300W at the wall.

 

[overclocking101]

ahhh ok. thanks guys!

 

[AsRock]

If the PSU is 55% has efficiency would mean 45% of your electric would be wasted which to me is a load of waste lol.. So you be using nearly double the electric that you need to use and in that case you be better of buying a better PSU it will save you money in the end.

And depending on the load you put on it will factor in the efficiency % too as 50% usage is normally the best efficiency.