Aerixx Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Hello. I just built a new system (see specs) and I was considering the idea of upgrading my power supply to a Corsair unit, but I'm not sure if it's necessary. I am presently running a 550W XXXXXXX 550200. It seems fine for the moment but I do plan on overclocking my Q6600 and I was also thinking about upgrading to SLI with another 8800 GTS 512. The XXXXXXX unit has two 12V "fusion" rails that supposedly combine together when the load requires it. However, I have read a few posts saying that the 12V rail "fusion" tops out at 28 amps. I don't know if this is true, but if it is, is this insufficeint for my future setup? My case is a full-tower Chieftec with 5- 80mm fans and 1- 92mm fan, a single hard drive and a single optical drive. If this XXXXXXX unit is not up to the task, which Corsair unit would you recommend? Thanks for your time! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliteKiller Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 All Corsair psu's feature a single 12V rail even though the official specs say otherwise for the HX series. For your rig I'd recommend an HX620 or better. :D: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted February 4, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted February 4, 2008 I would agree with EliteKiller, the HX620 would be great for your system and provide plenty of power! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerixx Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 Thanks for your replies. I just saw a CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W psu on the web for $60!!! Would this 550W psu truly be underpowered for my system? It seems like a heck of a deal... and a definate upgrade over my present 550W with only 28A on the 12V rail. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomsen Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I think the 550VX is strong enough for your System. If you want a second GTS Card, maybe the HX620 would be the best choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliteKiller Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Thanks for your replies. I just saw a CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W psu on the web for $60!!! Would this 550W psu truly be underpowered for my system? It seems like a heck of a deal... and a definate upgrade over my present 550W with only 28A on the 12V rail. Thank you. It seems fine for the moment but I do plan on overclocking my Q6600 and I was also thinking about upgrading to SLI with another 8800 GTS 512. I thought the goal was to plan for o/c'ed Q6600 & SLI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerixx Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 I thought the goal was to plan for o/c'ed Q6600 & SLI? Ah... so you're saying that an OC'd Q6600 and 2- 8800 GTS's (G92) would be too much for the 550W then? (Along with 6 case fans an optical drive and a barracuda HD) My Tuniq tower came in yesterday so it won't be long til OC'ing is an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickSt Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 LOL, man, I'd go for 750 watts minimum for sure!:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomsen Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 750Watt? Never, even with two Ultras! These are G92s, maximum 500 Watt with the OCed Quad. So HX620 would be enough for sure! I had a Oced Dual Core with a Oced HD3870 Crossfire and 430Watt PSU was enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted February 7, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted February 7, 2008 VX550 would probably do the job just fine, however I'd go for the HX620 just for a little extra headroom, especially if you are planning on doing some serious overclocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerixx Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 Thanks to all who replied. Any further thoughts or comments are always welcome! Now I've just got to see what's the best I can presently afford. As you all can imagine, this latest build has sucked up a good quantity of extra $$$$. :sigh!: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickSt Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 People, it depends on the overclock. Remember that increasing the frequency of a processor increases its power consumption linearly, while increasing its voltage increases consumption exponentially! So if you do a minor overclock without rising the voltage much even 550W would do a good job. But if you increase voltage like, say, from 1.25 to 1.60 volts, then your CPU will draw about twice the power. In my case with such a voltage increase consumption rose from 65W to 150-160W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerixx Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 I did end up with a "GO" stepping Q6600. That's gotta help a little, right? And the 41 amps on the 12V rail of that PSU is more than adequate for SLI GTS's, true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickSt Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 OK man, it's up to you. I'm just stating my concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MU51CL Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Aerixx, you look like someone trying to justify going cheap on a PSU. I think you will regret. How much money for an SLI board, 2 x GTS, Q6600? Not chump change. I understand (too well!) that it gets to "enough!" and you gotta draw the line somewhere, but something like an HX620 is a few extra $$ that is the one thing in a PC that has a chance of being a bit of an investment. Seems to me your RAM is worth more than an HX620..... 5 year warranty - how many things in a PC are GOOD for 5 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickSt Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 5 year warranty - how many things in a PC are GOOD for 5 years? RAM? ODD's? The display? Aside, one of my HDD's is 10 years old and still like new. Now that's what I call quality! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MU51CL Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Well yes, they may be working just fine at 5 years + but would you consider them high performance in today's terms? I'd suggest a quality PSU will still provide what it needs to in 5 years. Stable, low ripple etc. With the push to higher efficiency in CPU etc it might still be powerful enough if you give a bit of thought to future proofing. 5 year old ram is slow in today's terms and likely simply outdated (in 5 years we are prob looking at DDR4 or whatever) and so on. Goodness knows where monitor tech will be by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerixx Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 Aerixx, you look like someone trying to justify going cheap on a PSU.QUOTE] That is partially true. I went roundy-round with Ram Guy with quite a few posts before he finally talked me into the 8500 Dominators over the 6400's, but at more than twice the price. I understand why they will be ideal, but that was a big diff to swallow. Before that I opted for a GTS (G92) over a GT after much research which upped the tally more. And originally, it was to be a dual-core system. So as you can see I am very bad at sticking to my mid-range PC budget plans. :biggrin: Now I come to find out that my present psu, made by a co. that sounds like push-pin, is actually pretty crappy. And that was about the only thing I didn't do a ton of research on! And it's less than 2 months old! ug. So, yes, I am looking for a "cheaper" power supply, but I don't think that a Corsair 550 unit really can be considered a cheap unit. (surely not build-wise) I mean at least I'm not looking at Joe-Schmo's discount PSU's... (no offense Joe) I just want one that's enough but not overkill since I dug my own grave by overspending abit on other things. Again, thanks for all your thoughts. I am most appreciative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MU51CL Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 I hear what you say Aerixx and it very easy for me to spend your money for you :biggrin: That said, I've been down that sort of road myself and it just strikes me that regardless of whether the project started out as "mid-range" it now is what it is and it would be a shame to cut the last corner as it were. I'm sure the VX550 is a very good PSU (I looked very seriously at it myself), but a bit of headroom would be the icing on the cake. Seems to me you've come this far and for a few $$ you'll have a no excuses REALLY nice machine. I'd love it.... Also, as I am in the higher-end audio business I know that a quality power supply amounts to plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerixx Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 Arrrrrrr...... You drive a hard bargain Mr. MU51CL. lol Well put. Cutting corners is not usually my way. I hate to admit it but I do love doing the research, and picking out the parts, and the build, and finally the end result. The reason I love it is this way I know every piece of hardware that went in it. And I like knowing that they are all of good quality. So, yes, I will save up abit, maybe find something else to auction off on ebay, I do want to finish this machine right. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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