Having trouble finding power info

[Gig-O-Ram]

I'm trying to find out how much current each of my major components draws from my PSU, so I can figure out my total power and how close it gets to the advertised continuous rating of 560W.

So far, I've been to AMD's site, Nvidia's and eVGA's sites, and I can't find any info on actual power usage. AMD's site had some info in the white papers about thermal wattage, but I don't think that's what I need. I was reading that I can just go to a manufacturer's site, and get what I want, but I can't find anything.

[gvblake22]

Well the Thermal Design Power (TDP) of AMD Athlon 64 X2 AM2 chips are usually either 89W or 65W (depending on the model). According to this review, the TDP of the regular Core 2 Duo chips (not Core 2 Extreme versions) is 65W. Not sure right off hand about the video cards though.

But overall, I can very confidently say that the system in your signature (overclocked Athlon64 3600 and 7800GT) will not pull anywhere near 560W. Check out some of the many reviews around the 'net that post power consumption measurements of their test system and you will find that even the beefiest systems out there today don't even hit 500W...

Even with a Core 2 Extreme X6800, 2GB DDR2-800 (CAS4), and an overclocked 8800GTX can't really even break the 350W mark!

<<Source>>

So just because PSU manufacturers are practically shoving 600W, 700W, 800W, and even 1000W units down our throats, computer hardware power consumption isn't escalating that much. So don't worry, a quality 560W power supply with all the latest connectors, certifications, and standards should have absolutely no problem running even the beefiest gaming rigs available today! (You just have to make sure there is enough 12V power to go around)

[stinger608]

Man, Blake, you hit that nail right dead on the head man!!!!!

Most of these Power supply manufactures want us to believe that we have the systems that consume some un-godly amount of wattage, when in reality, we really don't!!!

A system that would consume 400 to 500 watts of power would be a monster!!!!

Granted, you want the best power supply for the least amount of money, and sticking with name brands is a good thing, but don't be afraid of getting a good 430 watt supply!!! Something along the lines of an Antec or a Thermaltake, or maybe a Hyper would do you just fine man

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

Well the Thermal Design Power (TDP) of AMD Athlon 64 X2 AM2 chips are usually either 89W or 65W (depending on the model).

But overall, I can very confidently say that the system in your signature (overclocked Athlon64 3600 and 7800GT) will not pull anywhere near 560W. Check out some of the many reviews around the 'net that post power consumption measurements of their test system and you will find that even the beefiest systems out there today don't even hit 500W...

So just because PSU manufacturers are practically shoving 600W, 700W, 800W, and even 1000W units down our throats, computer hardware power consumption isn't escalating that much. So don't worry, a quality 560W power supply with all the latest connectors, certifications, and standards should have absolutely no problem running even the beefiest gaming rigs available today! (You just have to make sure there is enough 12V power to go around)

I checked AMD again and this page, when given all the specs for my CPU, says wattage is 89V.

I think you meant 3700, but who's counting? Anyway, Extreme PSU Calculator 2.5 gives my CPU wattage as 76W (less the 38W given for a mobo), which I figure gives 6.3A if I do 76W/12V=6.3A; My video card gets 57W, so then 57W/12V=4.75A; My RAM (PC3200 DDR SDRAM x2) gets 14W, so then 14W/12V=1.16A. I think I did the math right, but I don't know if these numbers for amps are anywhere near correct.

And I've just been reading about some 1.2Kw PSUs...I don't know who would need that much power, unless you're running a lot of killer hardware or a powerful server or something.

[Lead Head]

Originally Posted by Gig-O-Ram

I checked AMD again and this page, when given all the specs for my CPU, says wattage is 89V.

I think you meant 3700, but who's counting? Anyway, Extreme PSU Calculator 2.5 gives my CPU wattage as 76W (less the 38W given for a mobo), which I figure gives 6.3A if I do 76W/12V=6.3A; My video card gets 57W, so then 57W/12V=4.75A; My RAM (PC3200 DDR SDRAM x2) gets 14W, so then 14W/12V=1.16A. I think I did the math right, but I don't know if these numbers for amps are anywhere near correct.

And I've just been reading about some 1.2Kw PSUs...I don't know who would need that much power, unless you're running a lot of killer hardware or a powerful server or something.

I'm not entire entirely sure the RAM would be powered by the 12v rail though. Seems like allot of power wasted converting it down from 12v to 1.8-2.5 for only a 14 watt load. BTW, if your wondering, my computer under max load, draws around 210 Watts from the wall, and going by PSU efficiency thats about a 153 Watt DC load on the PSU. So I think there is no need to worry about your compuer and the PSU

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by Lead Head

I'm not entire entirely sure the RAM would be powered by the 12v rail though. Seems like allot of power wasted converting it down from 12v to 1.8-2.5 for only a 14 watt load. BTW, if your wondering, my computer under max load, draws around 210 Watts from the wall, and going by PSU efficiency thats about a 153 Watt DC load on the PSU. So I think there is no need to worry about your compuer and the PSU

You're right, it may be on one of the lesser rails, but I don't know. It would seem like a lot of wasted power, as you pointed out.

My PSU (neither on the unit itself, or on the box) lists its efficiency, but I found it rated at 77-80% in some reviews. But since I don't know what the total power draw from the wall outlet is, I can't figure the load on the PSU.

Also, I wasn't so much worried about my system as I was trying to learn how to find out what specific current ratings for different components are, so I can better research what PSU to get for any future builds. Who knows? From things I've read lately, I may be able to save $$ and keep the PSU I have and run a multi-core system, with maybe SLI as well, if overall power draw is not as much as PSU makers would have us believe.

[Hitman]

Hey Gig, I was wondering, could you make another PSU related post today? I just don't think 3 is enough.

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by Hitman

Hey Gig, I was wondering, could you make another PSU related post today? I just don't think 3 is enough.

Did I make 3? Wow... Sorry, I wasn't counting them. I try to hold off on making another one for a couple days. :aetsch:

[Hitman]

Originally Posted by Gig-O-Ram

Did I make 3? Wow... Sorry, I wasn't counting them. I try to hold off on making another one for a couple days. :aetsch:

You made 2, then the PSU Calc thread, makes 3.

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by Hitman

You made 2, then the PSU Calc thread, makes 3.

Well, ok, but I didn't make the one for PSU Calc - only replied. But I can see where it would look like I'm on a PSU trip or something.