i5-750 and HD4350. Will picoPSU 160 XT cut it?

stefan534 · Post by **stefan534** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:12 am

This will be an audio workstation pc, not for gaming.
Possibility to watch movies on it.
May be CPU intensive at times...but probably not GPU

Full specs are expected to be:

i5-750
HD4350
One SSHD and green 500gig Sata
One slim optical drive
An external audio interface from USB (it's an external sound card basically)

probably inside a modded Silverstone SUGO case, if I can...

I've got a lot of conflicting info/reviews about power requirements for the i5-750. They seem lower than most cpus, but still quite high in reviews, perhaps because most of the reviews involve gaming rigs.

Be interested in any opinions, cheers

ilovejedd · Post by **ilovejedd** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:41 am

Very low idle power, but I think CPU at load might be close to pushing the Pico to its limits. My i7-860+GT240+Momentus 5400.6 500GB build using an Antec EA380-D idles at 56~58W but went up to 180W during OCCT:Linpack. That figures to 144W DC at 80% efficiency. Then again, Linpack is unusually CPU intensive. I consistently get higher wattage with Linpack than with Prime95.

ntavlas · Post by **ntavlas** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 10:48 am

An i7 750 + hd4350 should draw a little less power than lovejedd`s rig. My guesstimate would be about 130 watts dc. This is still close to the 160xt`s max rating but on the other hand, doesn`t the pico psu just pass through the 12v line? In this case the max rating just reflects the limitation of the barrel type connector connecting the power brick to the pico psu.

stefan534 · Post by **stefan534** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 2:56 pm

Thanks for the input. Sounds like I'll be pushing the threshold. I may undervolt and underclock as much as I can..

stefan534 · Post by **stefan534** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 2:58 pm

Seems to fit in with other systems: these are a variety of results with higher end video cards. Mind you, I think these tests are just cpu intensive, so hopefully its the graphics cards that consume a bit, even when idle.

http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image ... ei7_78.jpg
http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image ... ei7_79.jpg

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/inte ... /19912.png
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/inte ... /19913.png

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Sat Jul 10, 2010 3:52 pm

Well, to start with, you might want to look at SPCR's review of the i5 750.

In short, with 2x2GB of DDR3 memory (1333 MHz, 9-9-9-24-1T timings), a GeForce 9400GT graphics card, WD VelociRaptor hard drive and an OEM Seasonic power supply and Turbo Boost disabled, full CPU load is 130W (110W when undervolted).

Sounds like you would be pushing the limit of a picoPSU. Undervolting would probably be necessary to be on the safe side.

stefan534 · Post by **stefan534** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:47 am

Thanks mate, I might undervolt to be on the safe side.