Everything I read online and people on TWW I'd need a serious power supply to handle my setup and I see people routinely recommending 600 & 700W power supplies.

Processor: Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Stepping) @ 3 GHz (333 FSB * 9 mult), stock fan
Video Card: 512MB nVidia 9800 GTX series OC'ed to 725 MHz.
Memory: 4GB (2x2GB) OCZ "SLI" DDR2-800 @ 800MHz (5-4-4-15 exactly as rated)
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q series (intel P45 chipset) with latest bios

PSU: OCZ GameXStream 700W


So after putting the thing together I decided to measure its power consumption. I can not seem to get it to continuously consume more than 185W* let alone approach 600+ watts. I get spikes around 230 watts, but I was under the impression that the video card alone would consume up to 300W.

So... where do these recommendations for huge power supplies come from?

*running Crysis and 2 instances of single-cpu Folding@Home, just running Crysis is about 165W

PS: Nifty little toy, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882715001&Tpk=kill-a-watt

8/29/2008 6:42:31 PM

motherfucker....don't tell me i just wasted my money on a PSU

8/29/2008 6:54:19 PM

12V rail amperage is far more important than wattage, and no you didn't waste your money.

[Edited on August 29, 2008 at 8:02 PM. Reason : .]

8/29/2008 8:00:36 PM

Please explain further.

8/29/2008 9:20:11 PM

I have that same PSU.

8/29/2008 11:38:38 PM

I've been saying for the longest time that you don't need that kind of power supply.

I've posted numerous times about my E8400/9800GX2 consuming only 280W on 100% load (both cpu & gpu) running on only a 500W Enermax

Efficiency & amperage (among other things) means more nowadays than wattage

I have a Zalman ZM-MFC2 Multi-fan controller and power monitor and I love it.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006910&prodlist=froogle

Quote :

"So... where do these recommendations for huge power supplies come from?"

most of the time it's people thinking they need it for SLI or multi-gpu rigs, also some of the newer power supplies with all the fancy features like higher amps, 4 rails, modular cables, etc etc are typically on the higher end psu's... and they don't make a lot of higher-end psu's that are <500W these days.

while we're on the topic, let's talk about what's important

a) efficiency >80% (look for 80plus)
b) amperage on your rails, most of the time you'll still need about 20A per rail for modern gpu's
c) hold-up time, the higher the better, don't buy anything that has a hold-up time of 10ms or less
d) active PFC, this essential equates to a power factor of .99 (this is a big must for reliable clean power)
e) overload protection
f) warranty
g) make sure you have the right number of 6-pin/8-pin cables for your graphics card setup.
h) lastly, choose based on wattage after analyzing the rest of the setup

[Edited on August 30, 2008 at 12:05 AM. Reason : .]

8/29/2008 11:55:09 PM

How does the power monitor work on the MFC? Do all the power connections go through that unit?

I think I have a good PSU, I just think it's overkill.

8/30/2008 12:25:27 AM

there's an external power brick that goes between the PSU & the wall. then a small USB cable that goes internal via a PCI-slot that goes to the 5.25" display

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article758-page1.html

8/30/2008 12:29:04 AM

I'm running a 4400x2, 7900gs, audigy platinum, qam tuner, and 6x hard drives on a 420w OCZ that I've had for years with far less efficient parts running at higher wattages over the course of its life.

8/30/2008 6:02:11 PM