Need Help Finding the Right PSU

[Koroviev]

However, the part about the card is pertinent. Will I be able to capitalize on the potential of an x750, or would I bet better off going with an x670? My current card is an x650 and it barely makes the cut in games that are a few years old. It's also not very stable. At the very least, I would like to have a more stable card, preferably one that also provides better performance.

Some more in-depth details about your GPU and also your PSU would really help the tech-wizards in this topic.

Am I, by the way, correct in that you've got an ATI Radeon HD 3650?

Yes. It works pretty okay when it wants to, but it almost always ends up either crashing the display driver or causing the whole PC to restart itself. It's kind of a nightmare, but I can't really complain as a friend of mine just gave it to me for nothing.

CPU:

Cores 2
Threads 2
Name AMD Athlon II X2 250
Code Name Regor
Package Socket AM3 (938)
Technology 45nm
Specification AMD Athlon(tm) II X2 250 Processor
Family F
Extended Family 10
Model 6
Extended Model 6
Stepping 2
Revision DA-C2
Instructions MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, AMD 64
Virtualization Supported, Disabled
Hyperthreading Not supported
Fan Speed 2288 RPM
Bus Speed 200.6 MHz
Rated Bus Speed 2006.3 MHz
Stock Core Speed 3000 MHz
Stock Bus Speed 200 MHz
Average Temperature 37 °C
L1 Data Cache Size 2 x 64 KBytes
L1 Instructions Cache Size 2 x 64 KBytes
L2 Unified Cache Size 2 x 1024 KBytes

I'd love to tell you more about the PSU, but I'm not confident enough to open up the desktop myself. The same friend who gave me the card was also kind enough to install it for me. I doubt that it's anything to write home about.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I'd love to tell you more about the PSU, but I'm not confident enough to open up the desktop myself. The same friend who gave me the card was also kind enough to install it for me. I doubt that it's anything to write home about.

Well, if you want some proper help you'll have to. You don't have to rummage around for PSU info anyway. If you just take off the side panel you should easily see your PSU, the big gray/black/whatever square-ish block. Usually there's a sticker on big sticker on that thing containing a datasheet.

If you really want the best advice we're going to need the info that's on that datasheet, so you should take a picture of it and upload that here. With that we can decide if you can keep your PSU for, say, a Radeon HD 5670 or otherwise. No need to take any parts out or anything. Besides, taking a peek inside your machine is the first step in learning how you can switch out parts yourself in the future.

I'll be going to bed now though, the coffee's wearing out.

 

[Koroviev]

I'd love to tell you more about the PSU, but I'm not confident enough to open up the desktop myself. The same friend who gave me the card was also kind enough to install it for me. I doubt that it's anything to write home about.

Well, if you want some proper help you'll have to. You don't have to rummage around for PSU info anyway. If you just take off the side panel you should easily see your PSU, the big gray/black/whatever square-ish block. Usually there's a sticker on big sticker on that thing containing a datasheet.

If you really want the best advice we're going to need the info that's on that datasheet, so you should take a picture of it and upload that here. With that we can decide if you can keep your PSU for, say, a Radeon HD 5670 or otherwise. No need to take any parts out or anything. Besides, taking a peek inside your machine is the first step in learning how you can switch out parts yourself in the future.

I'll be going to bed now though, the coffee's wearing out.

All right, thank you for the advice. I'll try to have a look at it soon. I'm much less confident with hardware than I am with software (I know a couple of programming languages).

 

[Koroviev]

I'd love to tell you more about the PSU, but I'm not confident enough to open up the desktop myself. The same friend who gave me the card was also kind enough to install it for me. I doubt that it's anything to write home about.

Well, if you want some proper help you'll have to. You don't have to rummage around for PSU info anyway. If you just take off the side panel you should easily see your PSU, the big gray/black/whatever square-ish block. Usually there's a sticker on big sticker on that thing containing a datasheet.

If you really want the best advice we're going to need the info that's on that datasheet, so you should take a picture of it and upload that here. With that we can decide if you can keep your PSU for, say, a Radeon HD 5670 or otherwise. No need to take any parts out or anything. Besides, taking a peek inside your machine is the first step in learning how you can switch out parts yourself in the future.

I'll be going to bed now though, the coffee's wearing out.

Edit: I was able to find a site that has the PSU info for my tower. It's very poor at a mere 180W.

 

[somonels]

For instance, I'm running a Radeon HD 5770 graphics card and I've got a 750W PSU. You don't want to be running your power supply at full bore all the time, it's bad for it.

/Lies and Slander./

What are you doing? I have attached my post below, please read and compare.

Bigger and more expensive is almost always better.

Besides, I have a 5850, and a multibaked 8800GTS when the ATI drivers piss me off again.

 

[Cowabungaa]

For instance, I'm running a Radeon HD 5770 graphics card and I've got a 750W PSU. You don't want to be running your power supply at full bore all the time, it's bad for it.

/Lies and Slander./

What are you doing? I have attached my post below, please read and compare.

Bigger and more expensive is almost always better.

Besides, I have a 5850, and a multibaked 8800GTS when the ATI drivers piss me off again.

It isn't lies and slander, it's the truth. It's nonsense that bigger and more expensive is always better, it's just an economically stupid decision, especially for the OP who has to spend every penny twice. He'd be throwing money away.

A PSU like yours, provided it's a high-quality PSU, is simply overkill for anything but a really high-end rig that does all kinds of overclocks, has multiple GPU's and fancy stuff attached. Even my 530W be Quiet! PSU can technically run two 6850's in Crossfire, though it'll really be on the edge and is not recommended.

Computer parts simply don't hog as much power as many people seem to think. My AMD Phenom X4 965 3.4Ghz for example takes 125W max. My videocard, an AMD 6870, needs around 140W when pushed to maximum load. My PC is considerably beefier than the OP's, yet doesn't even nearly need 750W.

Of course you should buy a PSU that has a little room to spare, but 750W is ridiculous for a light system like the OP's.

Edit: I was able to find a site that has the PSU info for my tower. It's very poor at a mere 180W.

Woah, that's really low. So low I can barely believe it. In that case you really have to shell out on a new PSU regardless of which GPU you get. Look for brands like Corsair, XFX, be Quiet!, Thermaltake or Cooler Master. A good, 400W 80%+ PSU from a brand like that would suit you just fine. Might even leave you room for a little overclocking, beefing your PC up for no extra charge. Something along the lines of the be quiet! Pure Power L7 430W.

 

[Koroviev]

For instance, I'm running a Radeon HD 5770 graphics card and I've got a 750W PSU. You don't want to be running your power supply at full bore all the time, it's bad for it.

/Lies and Slander./

What are you doing? I have attached my post below, please read and compare.

Bigger and more expensive is almost always better.

Besides, I have a 5850, and a multibaked 8800GTS when the ATI drivers piss me off again.

It isn't lies and slander, it's the truth. It's nonsense that bigger and more expensive is always better, it's just an economically stupid decision, especially for the OP who has to spend every penny twice. He'd be throwing money away.

A PSU like yours, provided it's a high-quality PSU, is simply overkill for anything but a really high-end rig that does all kinds of overclocks, has multiple GPU's and fancy stuff attached. Even my 530W be Quiet! PSU can technically run two 6850's in Crossfire, though it'll really be on the edge and is not recommended.

Computer parts simply don't hog as much power as many people seem to think. My AMD Phenom X4 965 3.4Ghz for example takes 125W max. My videocard, an AMD 6870, needs around 140W when pushed to maximum load. My PC is considerably beefier than the OP's, yet doesn't even nearly need 750W.

Of course you should buy a PSU that has a little room to spare, but 750W is ridiculous for a light system like the OP's.

Edit: I was able to find a site that has the PSU info for my tower. It's very poor at a mere 180W.

Woah, that's really low. So low I can barely believe it. In that case you really have to shell out on a new PSU regardless of which GPU you get. Look for brands like Corsair, XFX, be Quiet!, Thermaltake or Cooler Master. A good, 400W 80%+ PSU from a brand like that would suit you just fine. Might even leave you room for a little overclocking, beefing your PC up for no extra charge. Something along the lines of the be quiet! Pure Power L7 430W.

Yes, I knew it was going to be low, but that seems almost dangerously low. To be honest, now I would really like to pick up a new PSU, new video card or not. I've been told that the importance of amperage is on par with the significance of wattage. Could you explain that to me a little? Also, how do I know that the PSU is "compatible" (i.e. has the plug-ins) for the video card? I'm actually interested to understand this stuff.

Out of curiosity, how did you come to know all of this information? I'm not questioning you, but I would like to work on making myself more knowledgeable. I've asked my friend, but he can't seem to remember, other than a basic hardware class he took in high school.

"especially for the OP who has to spend every penny twice" ...I love that line, very truthful! I almost always have to sell/trade other things to get new things.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Yes, I knew it was going to be low, but that seems almost dangerously low. To be honest, now I would really like to pick up a new PSU, new video card or not. I've been told that the importance of amperage is on par with the significance of wattage. Could you explain that to me a little? Also, how do I know that the PSU is "compatible" (i.e. has the plug-ins) for the video card? I'm actually interested to understand this stuff.

True, amperage is very important as well, as far as I can remember it's basically for the same reason as wattage; a component needs a certain amperage level to work. As for compatibility, there's no need to worry about that if you get the HD 5670. It doesn't need a separate connector to get enough juice, it gets all it's power through the PCI-E slot it's in.

It's a really power efficient GPU, as is your CPU by the way. I reckon that you don't even need that 430W PSU I linked you in a previous post. I'm sure even the be quiet! Pure Power L7 350W would be plenty for your needs.

By the way, just to make sure, would you mind looking up your motherboard's model?

Out of curiosity, how did you come to know all of this information? I'm not questioning you, but I would like to work on making myself more knowledgeable. I've asked my friend, but he can't seem to remember, other than a basic hardware class he took in high school.

I assembled two computers and went through the same trouble as you when I wanted to upgrade the CPU on my old PC. Difference being I figured out I needed a new PSU after I got that CPU, so I basically got myself a crash course at buying a PSU. Thanks for that go to Tweakers.net, which is basically the place to go for tech advice if you speak Dutch. I learned a lot from the technies there.

 

[Koroviev]

Yes, I knew it was going to be low, but that seems almost dangerously low. To be honest, now I would really like to pick up a new PSU, new video card or not. I've been told that the importance of amperage is on par with the significance of wattage. Could you explain that to me a little? Also, how do I know that the PSU is "compatible" (i.e. has the plug-ins) for the video card? I'm actually interested to understand this stuff.

True, amperage is very important as well, as far as I can remember it's basically for the same reason as wattage; a component needs a certain amperage level to work. As for compatibility, there's no need to worry about that if you get the HD 5670. It doesn't need a separate connector to get enough juice, it gets all it's power through the PCI-E slot it's in.

It's a really power efficient GPU, as is your CPU by the way. I reckon that you don't even need that 430W PSU I linked you in a previous post. I'm sure even the be quiet! Pure Power L7 300W would be plenty for your needs.

By the way, just to make sure, would you mind looking up your motherboard's model?

Out of curiosity, how did you come to know all of this information? I'm not questioning you, but I would like to work on making myself more knowledgeable. I've asked my friend, but he can't seem to remember, other than a basic hardware class he took in high school.

I assembled two computers and went through the same trouble as you when I wanted to upgrade the CPU on my old PC. Difference being I figured out I needed a new PSU after I got that CPU, so I basically got myself a crash course at buying a PSU. Thanks for that go to Tweakers.net, which is basically the place to go for tech advice if you speak Dutch. I learned a lot from the technies there.

How does this GPU/PSU pairing look?

XFX Radeon HD 5670 Video Card - 1024MB DDR5, PCI-Express 2.1, CrossFireX, DVI, Dipslay Port, HDMI w/EyeFinity [http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5646069&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE&inbeta=Y]
Corsair Builder Series CX V2 430-Watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel and AMD Platforms - CMPSU-430CXV2 [http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-430-Watt-Certified-Compatible-Platforms/dp/B004W2T2TM]


Here's the Motherboard info:

Manufacturer LENOVO
Model Tilapia CRB (CPU 1)
Version IdeaCentre
Chipset Vendor AMD
Chipset Model 780G
Chipset Revision 00
Southbridge Vendor AMD
Southbridge Model SB700
Southbridge Revision 00
System Temperature 26 °C
BIOS
Brand LENOVO
Version D2KT21AUS
Date 03/12/2010
Voltage
CPU CORE 2.144 V
MEMORY CONTROLLER 2.144 V
+3.3V 2.160 V
+5V 5.107 V
+12V 4.736 V
CMOS BATTERY 3.120 V

 

[Cowabungaa]

How does this GPU/PSU pairing look?

XFX Radeon HD 5670 Video Card - 1024MB DDR5, PCI-Express 2.1, CrossFireX, DVI, Dipslay Port, HDMI w/EyeFinity [http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5646069&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE&inbeta=Y]
Corsair Builder Series CX V2 430-Watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel and AMD Platforms - CMPSU-430CXV2 [http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-430-Watt-Certified-Compatible-Platforms/dp/B004W2T2TM]


Here's the Motherboard info:
snip

Everything seems to be in order. That's a good PSU you picked, good brand, bit high on the power side for your system but with that you could try overclocking your system a bit, something I can't help you with by the way as I never dared to.

Regardless, that combination should service you just fine.

And I was just thinking; it's good that you learn to open your PC up. It needs regular cleaning afterall. Nothing fancy, you just need to get the dust out say, every month or so.

 

[Koroviev]

How does this GPU/PSU pairing look?

XFX Radeon HD 5670 Video Card - 1024MB DDR5, PCI-Express 2.1, CrossFireX, DVI, Dipslay Port, HDMI w/EyeFinity [http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5646069&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE&inbeta=Y]
Corsair Builder Series CX V2 430-Watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel and AMD Platforms - CMPSU-430CXV2 [http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-430-Watt-Certified-Compatible-Platforms/dp/B004W2T2TM]


Here's the Motherboard info:
snip

Everything seems to be in order. That's a good PSU you picked, good brind, bit high on the power side for your system but with that you could try overclocking your system a bit, something I can't help you with by the way.

Regardless, that combination should service you just fine.

And I was just thinking; it's good that you learn to open your PC up. It needs regular cleaning afterall. Nothing fancy, you just need to get the dust out say, every month or so.

Yeah, I'm going to try to do it myself under my friend's supervision. You have to be careful about electrostatic shock, right?

And if that's the case, then I think I'll go with that. It's within my budget and it will be a significant improvement upon my existing system.

Just want to say that I really appreciate all of the guidance! Could have made some very poor decisions on my own.