Power Suppy Question

hello, im looking to buy a Power supply for my HP PC i have because i need a 450W+ to be able to use my video card( it blew out last time because insufficient power) and im wondering if a bigger one would be able to fit in my stock HP case? or if id need to get a bigger one, also if i would be ok with a 500-600 W supply or what would be better overall? 700+? any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance

 

well, lots depend on the brand/quality of the PSU as well. A 600W Q-tech can handle a... credit card, rather than a video card while a 450W Tagan will probably do the job.
Anyway you need to let us know the rest of your system in order to figure out how much you need.

 

It's not all about watts only.... amps are important also. As Sailor mentioned above, a 400w power supply with 35a is better than a 550w power supply with only 14a.... as for physical size.... many of the newer HP's will accept a standard size ATX power supply, most will. But there are some models where it'll be a VERY tight fit, and other model where a std PSU is just too freekin big. Do some research for your particular model, or post the model number here and we'll research it for you. For the record, standard ATX power supplies have these dimensions: (WxLxH): 150 x 140 x 86 or 85mm

 

A quick google search of "power supply guide" finds some good stuff
Read up ..
Link one.
Link two.

 

sorry took so long to reply, my HP model is

HP Pavilion a1640n

Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
2048 MB Memory
250GB HDD
Super Multi DVD Burner with lightscribe
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Professional Series(i added that)

the video card i have that i want to put it again is a
EVGA e-Geforce 7900 GS KO 256 MB PCI-E

 

is that info enough or do you guys need something else?

 

bump

 

It's close, but for a calculated answer, you'll need more information. You don't want a guess for an answer. For a calculated figure, most of us will use a utility like one of those on the websites listed below, so you might just go direct and save yourself the wait. Try these:

• <http://www.adecy.com/psu/>
• <http://www.journeysystems.com/?powercalc>
• <http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp>

You might also find these sites interesting:

• <http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/362>
• <http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/410>

 

okay i did checks on those sites to the closest thing that fits my pc specs ( i was confused with some parts ) and it went to 315-330W supply reccommended. but like i said im a noob at all the pc items info/names but im still debating if itd be better to go with a 500-600W for the long run ? and if itd also be bette to get a better case (with fans on the side to cool the video card etc , since mine doesnt have that, just one in the back)

 

Well done, TrainHeartnet. You've learned more than you would have if you'd just accepted somebody else's answer.

Some of those calculators explicitly allow a margin for expansion. And some don't. Also, if you're unsure of some of the entries you provided for the calculator, an additional margin for error won't hurt. And some will say that there's no such thing as excess capacity -- and if excess capacity didn't cost anything, I'd agree with that statement.

Excess capacity won't hurt your system. Excess capacity has the advantage that your power supply doesn't have to work as hard to meet the system's needs, and will have better ability to supply current to changing loads without impact on voltage levels supplied to the system. The quality (or lack of it) of a PSU's design and construction also shows up here, so buying the cheapest PSU for a given capacity rating generally doesn't pay. What you want is a PSU that delivers rock-steady voltages to its various output rails even when it's faced with noise and/or fluctuations in the utility power or a sudden increase in demand, like a 52x CD-ROM drive spinning up to its maximum speed.

In that connection, dlb's post is good, but not quite complete. 35A available on the +12V rail implies a capacity of 420VA on that rail alone, which is great if the PSU will continue to deliver that capacity while providing its rated current maxima on all other voltage rails at the same time. The cheaper power supplies won't do that. And the 550W PSU he cited might in fact be more fairly rated -- if it will continue to supply its rated 14A on whichever rail he referred to even when all other rails are also supplying their maximum rated current.

The label will tell you how much current each rail can provide. Multiply the voltage by the current for each rail (ignoring minus signs) and add the products. If the total significantly exceeds the rated power of the PSU in watts, it means that the PSU cannot supply maximum current to all rails at the same time. You're dealing with a PSU that has been unfairly rated. Look for a better unit.

As you already know, you need to be sure that your system takes an ATX PSU of standard dimensions, or if it doesn't, you'll need to know exactly what dimensions the PSU needs to have to fit in your case. Pay attention to the connectors too -- while they are standardized to a certain extent in the ATX form factor, you do need to know what your system needs. You do not have to use connectors provided that aren't needed by your system, but if your system needs SATA and/or P4 connectors and the PSU you buy doesn't have them, you'll end up looking for adaptors or another PSU.

 

alright, thanks for the help Rob, im set on buying a 600W + power supply now , but i dont really know any sites where i can get a good one , so im thinking on going to Frys Electronics (retailer near me) and get one there, but my other question still stands, do you think itd be best to also go with another PC Case? one that has fans on the sides and all that stuff? dont want my pc overheating again like last time and risking the card burning out again

 

I'm mildly confused. You initially said that your video card blew out because of insufficient power. You've changed your mind, or discovered in the meanwhile that it was a temperature issue?

A case that pays good attention to cooling issues never hurts, but it can be cheaper to decide which problem you really had. After all, that 600w PSU is going to set you back more than a good case, and that may do all the fixing you need if your original diagnosis was accurate. It's been my experience that HP does pay reasonable attention to airflow within their cases. Cheap cases often don't, but that can be fixed if you're into case modding.

But for a quick and dirty check on temperature issues, all you need is an indoor-outdoor thermometer. Install the "outdoor" sensor (the one on the cable) in the outflow from your case exhaust fan (not the PSU's outflow), and leave the "indoor" sensor near the case intake. If the outflow temperature exceeds the intake temperature by more than 5C, I'd be thinking there isn't enough air moving through the case to cool the components effectively. Either that, or the airflow is inefficient. Either way, you lose, and a fix may be appropriate.

Of course, you could install software that monitors whatever temperature sensors exist in your system. However, some feel that those sensors are not always accurate.

 

yea, what i meant was people told me it blew out because i had insufficient power (which i agree on since it was underpowered and i had it on max specs in game) , but what i meant by the pc case was, would it also be safer to get a case with fans on the side to avoid having a temperature problem later on (if theres a risk of having one) since the hp case i have has a series of mini holes on one side but i doubt it would be enough to keep the card ventilated

 

Without information on how well your current setup works, any answer would be little better than guesswork. Some observations for your consideration:

• HP pays reasonable attention to airflow within its cases. If you are not careful with your selection of a replacement case, you could end up worse off.
• A side intake isn't essential. Check out Antec's top-end cases, the Performance 1 series. The one I have has no side vent, but does a far better job of keeping the components cool than my previous case -- which did have a side vent right over the CPU. Not only that: the air temperature rise within the case is usually less than 2C. My old case showed an air temp rise of more than 5C, side intake notwithstanding. The secret is attention to airflow within the case. A side vent is not a guarantee of good airflow.
• Yes, you can guarantee safety of your components by spending more money. That always works if you spend enough on the right things.

It's your money -- you get to decide what you need to spend it on.

 

thanks again for the info, here are the current temps of my pc (using speedfan , note i dont have the video card right now, im using the integrated ones)

CPU 0 42C
CPU 1 42C
HD0 36C
Temp1 27C


i been checking out psu's on amazon, and found this one, what do you think rob?

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-StealthXStream-Power-Supply-rails/dp/B000QF1EK4/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=industrial&qid=1199914040&sr=8-20

also those cases are nice but i was wondering if this one would be good as well

http://www.xoxide.com/nzxt-nemesis-elite-case-black.html

 

Those temps are good. They're low enough that I wouldn't waste time and money messing with the case trying to reduce them. If you're lucky (or skilful), you might get your CPU temp down into the high 30s, but I wouldn't spend money trying. There's only so much you can do with ambient-air cooling.

However, if those are idle temps, you might want to find out how much they go up with the system running flat out for a while. If the CPU temps stay in the 40s under full load -- well, enjoy that case you've chosen, but don't expect much reduction in temps.

I note both use 120mm fans, which will keep the system noise down. A 120mm fan can move twice as much air as an 80mm fan at the the same noise level. I can offer no opinion re the PSU otherwise -- I've no idea what sort of quality that manufacturer offers. Perhaps someone else will comment.

But I'm not sure about that particular PSU with that particular case. The latter has a separate section for the PSU (which can be good), but the PSU you've chosen has a bottom fan so that it can be mounted at the top rear of the case, right above the CPU, so that it can draw air away from the CPU. In the case you've chosen, it looks like the PSU's air intake will be blocked by the partition between the PSU section and the main section of the case. You might want to check that out. If there is insufficient intake to the PSU, you'll burn it up from lack of cooling. Note that the PSU shown in the case has a front intake, not a bottom intake.

Another question about the case: I've dealt with too many that had inadequate intake capacity at the front of the case. If that's an issue, extra fans don't do much, because the air can't get into the case. And while there may be adequate grill work in the case front, it's not clear to me that the air has an unobstructed path from there to the mobo/CPU/video card. If the case is relying entirely on the side intake to cool those components, what air is moving past your hard drives(s) to cool them? You might want to check that out.

 

thanks for all the help , i just bought a psu my friend suggested and everything is great now ty again