Recommended Power Supplies?

Major Johnson · 05-27-07, 05:31 PM

Ok, this is sort of a continuation of the CTD thread/poll I posted a few responses in, but my topic takes it into another area that I felt was off topic enough to warrant a new thread. Starting today I'm experiencing power shut offs while playing SH4. It started when just clicking on the load game option. It happened like 3-4 times. I had to unplug the power chord from the power supply, wait a few seconds and plug it back in, then I can turn it on and it boots up normally. I know it's graphic related in some way. Something about the game makes my video card, a GeForce 7800 GS 256 RAM (one of the few cards that has the UBI blessing of compatibility for the game!

) want more more voltage, it asks the power supply and power supply promptly shuts down. I was able to get into the options menu and switched from the High setting to Medium. I was able to load my saved game, but after 3-10 minutes the pc just shuts off again. And it can happen in any screen. This happened 5-6 times as I experimented with the graphic settings, shutting off my anti-virus etc. Believe me I've gone through all the usual troubleshooting steps. In as much as I think maybe the game engine might be able to be tweaked to be more compatible, I also think not all power supplies are alike and mine, a Xeon 600 Wt, might not be able to give what the game is currently asking of the video card. There is only one other game that causes this problem for me, and it's a game that was made for Win95! It just doesn't play nice with XP, so I have a 98 box with less of everything else (400 wt power supply) that the game runs fine on.
So I guess my question is what are the specs I should look for in a power supply that is best suited for hard core gaming. Thanks!

ReallyDedPoet · 05-27-07, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Johnson

So I guess my question is what are the specs I should look for in a power supply that is best suited for hard core gaming. Thanks!

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...46&postcount=3

Have a look at this post

RDP

Major Johnson · 05-27-07, 06:54 PM

Thanks, I checked out that post. I have a feeling that I may have gotten a somewhat faulty power supply. Supposedly my card should run fine on a 400 watt variety. Reading the reviews on my power supply, it's good, "if you get a good one". I'm thinking there might be faulty workmanship involved. But typically you get what you paid for, and it was half the price of other power supplies of the same wattage. I can't afford the cash for better power supply until next paycheck. This is gonna suck if I have to wait like 3 weeks to play SH4 again.

Hartmann · 05-27-07, 07:36 PM

I don´t have any problem of power supply but i have a 550 watts unit

it´s a very important component of the pc

Skipbo · 05-27-07, 08:01 PM

Major Johnson: I have a 7900GS which I would suspect is very similar to your video card. I bought the following 500W PS specifically to use with it and it does just fine. Wanted to ask if your PS provides a power cable to the video card itself (that is IF your 7800GS also HAS a PWB surface connector for a direct power connection) in addition to the power to the PC-Express bus? If not, could be a reason for voltage drops at higher currents on the bus. This Rosewill has a multitude of power outputs and is currently on sale for $48 and free shipping which is less than I paid for it. I run 2G RAM, a TV receiver card, and a sound card plus four drives counting the HD so have quite a bit of power requirement and the PS handles it all fine.....Skipbo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182044

Marko_Ramius · 05-27-07, 08:32 PM

The most important thing to consider when getting a PSU is not really the Wattage .. but the amount of Ampers on 12V.

I saw some cheap PSU 500W with only 12A on 12V --> This one is only able to give 120W on the 12V !!! Run away from this kind of PSU ..

While modern computer ask a lot on the 12V ( CPU, Graphic card, Hard disks..), this is the most important thing to look at.

jdkbph · 05-27-07, 08:41 PM

Beyond a minimum nominal wattage required to run the components in your system, PSU design and quality are more important than raw numbers.

There are a lot of "popular" front runners out there, such as enermax, antec, pc power & cooling, etc., that are decent enough, but be sure to check out the reviews for fortron and seasonic... consistently rated as two of the best.

After researching this rather extensivley I settled on Seasonic for my new rig. I bought the 650, with the idea that I may eventually SLI my 8800GTS. The Seasonic can easily handle this, where-as you might have to step up to an 850 or better with a lesser brand PSU... and even then you might have problems pulling enough amps on the 12v rails.

The Seasonic is probably the most efficient PSU out there as well. Aside from "green" considerations, that translates into less heat. The only negative is that neither the fortron nor the seasonic PSUs have modular (unplugable) cables.

JD

Edit: it seems Seasonic does offer a modular PSU now. Pricey however.... $200+ for a 700w unit.

05-27-07, 05:31 PM	#1
Major Johnson Frogman Join Date: May 2007 Location: Jeresey Shore USA Posts: 288 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	Recommended Power Supplies? Ok, this is sort of a continuation of the CTD thread/poll I posted a few responses in, but my topic takes it into another area that I felt was off topic enough to warrant a new thread. Starting today I'm experiencing power shut offs while playing SH4. It started when just clicking on the load game option. It happened like 3-4 times. I had to unplug the power chord from the power supply, wait a few seconds and plug it back in, then I can turn it on and it boots up normally. I know it's graphic related in some way. Something about the game makes my video card, a GeForce 7800 GS 256 RAM (one of the few cards that has the UBI blessing of compatibility for the game! ) want more more voltage, it asks the power supply and power supply promptly shuts down. I was able to get into the options menu and switched from the High setting to Medium. I was able to load my saved game, but after 3-10 minutes the pc just shuts off again. And it can happen in any screen. This happened 5-6 times as I experimented with the graphic settings, shutting off my anti-virus etc. Believe me I've gone through all the usual troubleshooting steps. In as much as I think maybe the game engine might be able to be tweaked to be more compatible, I also think not all power supplies are alike and mine, a Xeon 600 Wt, might not be able to give what the game is currently asking of the video card. There is only one other game that causes this problem for me, and it's a game that was made for Win95! It just doesn't play nice with XP, so I have a 98 box with less of everything else (400 wt power supply) that the game runs fine on. So I guess my question is what are the specs I should look for in a power supply that is best suited for hard core gaming. Thanks! __________________ MJ! ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 AMD FX8350 8 Core 4.0 Ghz CPU GeForce GTX 560 Ti PCIx Video Card 8 GB Corsair Vengence RAM Rosewill 850W Power Supply

05-27-07, 06:54 PM	#3
Major Johnson Frogman Join Date: May 2007 Location: Jeresey Shore USA Posts: 288 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	Thanks, I checked out that post. I have a feeling that I may have gotten a somewhat faulty power supply. Supposedly my card should run fine on a 400 watt variety. Reading the reviews on my power supply, it's good, "if you get a good one". I'm thinking there might be faulty workmanship involved. But typically you get what you paid for, and it was half the price of other power supplies of the same wattage. I can't afford the cash for better power supply until next paycheck. This is gonna suck if I have to wait like 3 weeks to play SH4 again. __________________ MJ! ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 AMD FX8350 8 Core 4.0 Ghz CPU GeForce GTX 560 Ti PCIx Video Card 8 GB Corsair Vengence RAM Rosewill 850W Power Supply

05-27-07, 07:36 PM	#4
Hartmann Sea Lord Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Grid CH 26, Spain ,Barcelona Posts: 1,857 Downloads: 204 Uploads: 0	I don´t have any problem of power supply but i have a 550 watts unit it´s a very important component of the pc __________________ But this ship can't sink!... She is made of iron, sir. I assure you, she can. and she will. It is a mathematical certainty. Strength and honor

05-27-07, 08:01 PM	#5
Skipbo Sailor man Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Southern Indiana Posts: 46 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Major Johnson: I have a 7900GS which I would suspect is very similar to your video card. I bought the following 500W PS specifically to use with it and it does just fine. Wanted to ask if your PS provides a power cable to the video card itself (that is IF your 7800GS also HAS a PWB surface connector for a direct power connection) in addition to the power to the PC-Express bus? If not, could be a reason for voltage drops at higher currents on the bus. This Rosewill has a multitude of power outputs and is currently on sale for $48 and free shipping which is less than I paid for it. I run 2G RAM, a TV receiver card, and a sound card plus four drives counting the HD so have quite a bit of power requirement and the PS handles it all fine.....Skipbo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182044

05-27-07, 08:32 PM	#6
Marko_Ramius Frogman Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Near Paris Posts: 303 Downloads: 113 Uploads: 0	The most important thing to consider when getting a PSU is not really the Wattage .. but the amount of Ampers on 12V. I saw some cheap PSU 500W with only 12A on 12V --> This one is only able to give 120W on the 12V !!! Run away from this kind of PSU .. While modern computer ask a lot on the 12V ( CPU, Graphic card, Hard disks..), this is the most important thing to look at.

05-27-07, 08:41 PM	#7
jdkbph Captain Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 508 Downloads: 104 Uploads: 0	Beyond a minimum nominal wattage required to run the components in your system, PSU design and quality are more important than raw numbers. There are a lot of "popular" front runners out there, such as enermax, antec, pc power & cooling, etc., that are decent enough, but be sure to check out the reviews for fortron and seasonic... consistently rated as two of the best. After researching this rather extensivley I settled on Seasonic for my new rig. I bought the 650, with the idea that I may eventually SLI my 8800GTS. The Seasonic can easily handle this, where-as you might have to step up to an 850 or better with a lesser brand PSU... and even then you might have problems pulling enough amps on the 12v rails. The Seasonic is probably the most efficient PSU out there as well. Aside from "green" considerations, that translates into less heat. The only negative is that neither the fortron nor the seasonic PSUs have modular (unplugable) cables. JD Edit: it seems Seasonic does offer a modular PSU now. Pricey however.... $200+ for a 700w unit.