520 W also enuf. The reason i dont recommend buying higher wattage units at this point is you not sure whether to have 2 GPU or not.

Remember 1 thing, if lightning strike kill the PSU, you only lose RM200+. If buy higher wattage one, you lose even more. Lightning strike = no warranty due to natural disaster. Buy only what you need now. Upgrade later.

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&bi...32&tx=118&ty=83

yes. i also think like that at first, but i really like the idea of, like what goldfries said, higher power rating also means your usage stresses it less, even after i upgrade my pc later. with my current budget, i think there should be no prob to afford 600watt psu.

if lightning strike i cannot say anything lah but let hope everything will be fine. thx for your advice btw.

If me, definitely will buy a 600W+ PSU now. 500W is no doubt sufficient for anything, but if you want some headroom ..maybe even possible to CFX/SLI mid-range card without buying another PSU. If 500W, no way can CFX/SLI anything.

If lightning strike, your whole PC gone case liao. Just buy a surge protector for RM1xx. Cheap and safe for all your equipments.

I use a CAL-LAB surge protector. I got strike like 10 times over 2 years period. No problem.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Jul 31 2013, 08:25 PM

currently i use belkin surge protector. been using for like 2year, i dont know if it has been strike by lightning or not. working well.

right now, maybe i go for SeaSonic M12-II 620 620W 80Plus Bronze Semi Modular. good review from everybody with seasonic product. i hope i make the right choice.

Borrowing the thread for my problem.

I just exploded my PSU again yesterday night. The PSU is about 1 year 8 months old, currently I am looking for a new PSU and I have my eyes on the AeroCool Templarius Imperator 750W from a local shop and the Corsair HX750 and FSP Aurum Gold 750W from Newegg. Need comment on this 2 PSU and recommendation on other PSU.

My old PSU is Xigmatek NRP 700W. My system is running Athlon X4 955, HD7870, 4X4GB Kingston HyperX 1600, 2 HDD, 1 DVD and 2 normal fans + 2 high performance LED fan.

Suspecting the explosion is caused by high power draw from the system. Also please advise the AVR I can use to further protect my PC. I already have an AVR but not sure if it is the correct voltage I need to use.

That is classic junk science reasoning. Some supplies are under greatest stress when only outputting half the rated power. At half power, it must restrict more power causing greater stress, generating more heat, and operating at a less efficient operating point. To say more always required spec numbers unique to each supply. It demonstrates how to identify recommendations based in junk science reasoning. Claims made without numbers (subjectively) may be classic junk science.

Another even implied a failing power supply will somehow stop a surge. Total nonsense. First the same surge current is everywhere in a path from cloud, through a building, to distant earthborne charges. Much later, something(s) in that path fails. If a surge is incoming to a PSU, then a same current is outgoing to the motherboard. Then later, something in that path (ie PSU) fails. Another example of junk science reasoning challenged.

Does high power draw cause a PSU to explode? Of course not. Largest power draw is to short all PSU wires together. Intel specs even define how thick that shorting wire must be. Why? Because all power supplies must provide all power levels and not be stressed. Because a standard test for every supply is to short all outputs together and never have damage. Another example of subjective reasoning and wild speculation trying to explain a PSU failure by ignoring ATX standards and numbers.

Most failures are manufacturing defects (ie famous defective electrolytic caps that failed years later). So many use wild speculation to, instead, blame surges. Because advertising (and subjective reasoning) is somehow knowledge. To say more required identification of each damage part. One that exploded. And the many others that have no visual indication. Most failures are manufacturing defects. Most failures have no visual indication. Those recommended protectors do not claim that protection. But that means reading numbers and ignoring every subjective recommendation. Most failures (even those that occur many years later) are only manufacturing defects.

Is your system so hot that you can toast bread? Then it requires a 700 watt supply. Most all computers work just fine with 300 watts. However, we are selling power supplies to consumers who use wild speculation to know things. And who always ignore numbers. So we recommend a 700 watt supply to them so we waste no time on customer support lines. A 700 watt supply was more than twice what was needed. But only the fewer who actually first learn numbers would know that.

This post has been edited by westom: Aug 1 2013, 09:31 PM

No. Power draw doesn't cause it to go kaboom.

I'm using Xigmatek NRP-PC602 600W

I'm running i5 / i7 / FX with HD 7970. Overall more power consumption than yours, no issues.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=...tion&ndfaq_id=3

you can try it yourself.

from my personal experience (as a serial PSU killer of lowyat.net)

I've had 450w PSU delivering 400w 24/7 and I've had 600w delivering 300w 24/7.

guess which one lasts longer.

First classic junk science is with TDP involve. Efficiency has already came to a point of converting excess TDP into performance. So the rule of wattage loss has evolved. The theory is flawed as its still based on 10 years ago tech where TDP was a wastage. Old PSU tech efficiency was at the other end actually while today standards are different.

Old tech was onboard graphics with cpu and hence ATX specs were sufficient. In todays world even looking at the numbers on 5v rail with so many ppl charging and powering multiple devices... ATX spec is out of the door. Even pcie-sig spec cant keep up. Mobo manufacturers have start being creative with their power delivery and end of the day it all boils down to efficiency and consistency of ure PSUs.

Efficiency and better power delivery today can sustain most of our hardware with good mobo etc. But it all boils down to having a consistent power from PSU in low states and in current insane standards like AVX2 loads. If following intel AVX loads means trottling on cpu side. Motherboard manufacturers differ on that opinion with better cooling now massively available so screw intel and hence intel is already out of mobo manufacturing. System builders now are mainly taking from OEM manufactoers like Asrock, DFI and Foxconn.

Ppl who read hardware spec numbers vs ppl who load their system with a couple of DMM on their hands reading output. Whose rite.. i would think those with the numbers.

BTW for those who dont get what he meant by wires is .. shorting of all rails to trigger OVP. All hardwares nowadays has some form of TDP with OVp protection inbuilt with GPU, and CPu on the core with TJ max ceilings,
Rams with tREFs and going to the their board design with VRM OVP protection etc.

I will never advocate using the idea of ngam ngam psu on perfect load state and like a 300 watt comment on a norm load states. It all depends on ure config. PSU ultimately is a insurance of ure hardware. Most ppl have cheap hardware and hence cheap psu.

So if u want a system that can last longer and even to a point of upgrade to a new gen and still follow through. Get a higher wattage with higher efficiency psu's. The problem with Low end psu's is the always have insufficient 5v rails or share with 12v rails on max loads.

This post has been edited by cstkl1: Aug 2 2013, 12:58 AM

OVP is OverVoltage Protection. Shorting all outputs together does not create a higher voltage. Does not create an overvoltage. It creates near zero voltage. OVP does nothing on near zero voltage. OVP is obviously completely irrelevant when all outputs are shorted together - as defined even by Intel ATX standards.

Power supplies, long before PC existed, featured these many functions - standard. Little has changed in PSU functions in over 50 years. What has changed are designs that do the same things even better.

As was true even before PCs existed - any load from near zero to maximum or short circuit will not overstress any properly designed supply. In fact, normal is for a defective or undersized supply to still boot and run a computer normally. And then cause failures months or years later.

If your system is consuming 700 watts, then it can also toast bread. No PC is consuming anywhere near that power. Many myths claim otherwise. But informed consumers instead measure power.

Watts says little about a supply. Informed computer assemblers instead use current for each voltage to select a supply. Others who would not know how to do that - we tell them they need a 700 watt supply for their 300 watt maximum computer. It makes life easier for technical support. And creates many popular myths where recommendations exist without numbers.

A 520 watt supply should be more than sufficient for any upgrades. However nobody can say with certainty without accurate current numbers for each load. Or better answer this by using a multimeter that can see a defect or undersizing months before problems result. To confirm hardware is really what it is supposed to be.

Higher wattage does not reduce stress. That remains a popular urban myth. Once a supply meets a sufficient level, any larger sizing does nothing to increase reliability.

This post has been edited by westom: Aug 2 2013, 09:00 AM

If ure following nominal values of atx 2.13 .. Might as well say bye bye to my gpu.
The specs are loose. Even 5v SCP n UVP is not covered.

Its not about higher wattage reduces stress on components, higher wattage reduces stress on the psu itself on rail distribution.

Stress on components was not discussed. Higher wattage does not reduce stress on a supply. That stress remains a popular urban myth. Once a supply meets a sufficient level, any larger sizing does nothing to increase supply reliability.

This post has been edited by westom: Aug 2 2013, 09:17 AM

All the above tells me is that users are screwed anyway because all the factors contributing to a PSU to fail is totally out of the user control. The only way to be sure is to be an electrical engineer and measure everything.

Also the below is on the front page.

Which somehow contradicts the point of "more stress at half output".

PSU calculator calculated my power draw as 463W without any OC at 90% load and 30% cap aging.

That is 66% of a 700W PSU, which I think is reasonable especially when the machine is on at least 6 hrs daily and up to 16 hrs on weekend in a non air conditioned room.

If the argument is true than my OCZ 750W PSU should not last me 6 years while my 700W PSU onlylasy 1 year 8 months.

sorry, what you talking about?

in my case. the 450w delivering 400w 24/7 didn't last long. I've had a few that I run at 80% - 90% load. they deteriorated really fast, depending on the brand and quality.

what I mentioned was just to show how the stress affects the PSU. we've not gone into the details like the construct and components of the PSU.

case in point, my Gigabyte Odin GT lasted way longer than Vantec Ion2 of similar wattage doing similar high-load 24/7 routine.

The PSU calculator is made by people who have little electrical knowledge, and worse, do not have specific numbers for your unique hardware.

Any layman - even a teenager - can measure his own system. For example Kill-A-Watt is a classic and inexpensive tool to have numbers. Since only those who have numbers can answer with honesty.

Or learn from so many others who measured their systems. They also discovered the 700 watt supply feeding a computer that only consumed maybe 200:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php...91#post34917091

This stuff is quite easy. Simply ignore anything recommended without hard numbers. Also ignore calculators that do not use numbers unique to each hardware device. Many just ballpark the number, double that estimation, and demand a power supply easily double what you need. Their output numbers are only as good as the number you first provide.

Any layman or junior high school student can use a Kill-A-Watt or the many other equivalent devices. Then numbers based in reality demonstrate what you really needed. And then the fewest who actually know this stuff can post even better recommendations. Remember, those who best know your answers are silenced by hard numbers you did not provide.

Why are brand name systems so reliable? View their power supply numbers. Typically around 300 watts. There is zero relationship between reliability and "more power".

many components are operating within a certain amount of power draw, it's not difficult to estimate.

Kill-A-Watt is not something found here, nevertheless like I said - it's not difficult to estimate even without having to use that tool.

most systems barely consume 300w, even when playing games.

however PSU recommendation is always on a safe figure assuming everything is on full load. No reason to recommend PSU that's "JUST NICE" that limits the headroom.

btw those people DISCOVER because they don't know. PSU information / knowledge has been around for ages.