Is Corsair hx620w enough for my system?

extazy · Post by **extazy** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:34 am

Hi, all spcr experts here

I just got a new 4870 in my rig and have a question regarding power consumption.

My rig is

1) cpu q6600 oc to 3.6ghz at 1.55v (stock 2.4ghz)
2) mobo asus p5q deluxe
3) vga visiontek 4870 oc to 790 1100 (stock 750mhz 900mhz)
4) 4 sticks of crucial ballistix 1gb ddr2 oc to 1000mhz at 2.3v (stock 800mhz at 2.0v)
5) 5 sata hdd 7200rpm
6) 3 fans scythe 120*25
7) 1 dvd writer

sound blaster x-fi elite pro

I'm afraid that corsair hx620w can't handle my system well due to medium quad core overclock and a monster watt eating 4870. I've tried to calculate power consumption my rig from thermaltake and extreme power supply calculator site which their recommended result were scared me.

thermaltake site says that my rig consume 840watt

extreme.outervision says that my rig consume 1026watt!!!

I already have hx620w So, is it worth getting a 1000watt psu instead? which one would you recommend?

I'm leaning toward Corsair hx1000w which is around 200bucks or zalman ZM1000-HP (haven't checked the price yet)

Thanks guys

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 8:02 am

This forum (and website) is dedicated to silent (or at least quiet) PC's, which is usually accomplished by limiting the power needed in systems. I am not sure why you think people here are experts in high-powered PC's. There are many experts here on low power PC's with as few components as possible and with the least amount of CPU power to get the job done. The less power that is needed, the less heat, is generated and the quieter one can make the PC by having fewer (or slower) fans.

Just out of curiosity, this doesn't look like a file server, so why do you need 5 hard drives?

ryboto · Post by **ryboto** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:07 am

Is your system working? Even if your processor is now pulling 150W, that's only 300W combined between the video card any CPU. That's all 12v, so that's only half the rated 12v supply for your system. Are you using it like that now? And it's working? You're fine.

Monkeh16 · Post by **Monkeh16** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:40 am

I'm not sure what you fed those PSU calculators, but you got the wrong numbers out of them. A 620W should be enough for that machine, although it's a little closer than I'd like.

If you have stability problems under load, a 750W will cover it.

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:56 am

extazy wrote:extreme.outervision says that my rig consume 1026watt!!!

1st - They don't say your rig consumes x Watts. They give you the recommended wattage for the PSU, two very different things!

2nd - I'm pretty sure there's some user error there... I just tried it myself with your config and they recommended a 540W PSU.

3rd - PSU calculators always exaggerate. Drop by xbitlabs to get an accurate idea of the real power consumption of your components (VGA and CPU) and storagereview for the HDDs.

lodestar · Post by **lodestar** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:20 am

Based on web reviews, your system under load should be consuming around 450 watts. This is due to the fact that the 4870 is one of the most power hungry graphics cards on the market.

To see what the impact of this loading is on your PSU see this graph on the manufacturer's web site
http://www.corsair.com/_images/charts/hx620w_noise.jpg

As you can see, the HX620W fan is already ramping up significantly at that loading. Now as that loading will typically only occur when gaming, and there will probably be significant noise from the graphics card fan and the game itself, the only issue is whether the PSU noise impacts on your gaming. If it does then it might be worth looking at a bigger PSU, which will be quieter under your system loading - in the case of the HX1000W from Corsair as demonstrated by this graph
http://www.corsair.com/_images/charts/hx1000w_noise.jpg

There is also the issue of efficiency. Corsair also have an efficiency graph for your PSU, see
http://www.corsair.com/_images/charts/h ... ciency.jpg

If this graph is correct, then the HX620W efficiency will be on the downcurve at your system loading but still above 80%. The HX1000W will be more efficient, at least according to Corsair's graph at
http://www.corsair.com/_images/charts/h ... ciency.jpg
but it is less of a factor compared to the reduction in noise.

The conclusions I would draw from the above are that if your system consumes under less than 250 watts under load then the HX620W is quieter than the HX1000W, and is the best choice. If you go much above that, and particularly once you have one of the modern power hungry graphics cards then the HX1000W will be quieter, and to a lesser degree more efficient.

The other factor is cost. Here in the UK we pay more for hardware anyway, and there is also VAT, which is a sales tax of 17.5%. Typically the HX1000W costs around Â£165, which by any standards is a premium price. If you can hear the HX620W while gaming it might be cheaper to just turn up the sound a few notches rather than replace it.

extazy · Post by **extazy** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:20 am

Thanks a lot everyone. I did a mistake measured watt consumption from that site by choosing a quad socket which means 4 physical cpu!!!

So, I've tested it again with single socket and they recommend 529watt psu.

So, it seems that I still can use this psu and still have head room around 100w+

I don't care about psu fan noise coz 4870 fan is noisier than psu fan anyways.

I'm just worried that will 100watt+ headroom cover my rig under full load? I don't wanna fry them.

Ps. I use 5 hdd for massive vdo editing and torrent

Thanks again everyone.

FartingBob · Post by **FartingBob** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:53 am

If all the components TDP's come to 100w less than the PSU is capable of, you are very safe.
Most components (especially CPU's) will only ever come close to their TDP under specialised stress situations in the lab. In real life, the most your system will pull under heavy gaming would be about 400-450w. So yes, the 620w corsair (which is a very good PSU) is more than enough.

MoJo · Post by **MoJo** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 2:23 pm

That PSU will easily handle what you want. I have the 520W version and it copes with an overclocked quad core, 6GB RAM (4 modules), 2 HDDs and a 4870 no problem. It's overkill, in fact.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 4:18 pm

extazy wrote:Thanks a lot everyone. I did a mistake measured watt consumption from that site by choosing a quad socket which means 4 physical cpu!!!

So, I've tested it again with single socket and they recommend 529watt psu.

So, it seems that I still can use this psu and still have head room around 100w+

I don't care about psu fan noise coz 4870 fan is noisier than psu fan anyways.

I'm just worried that will 100watt+ headroom cover my rig under full load? I don't wanna fry them. :lol:

Ps. I use 5 hdd for massive vdo editing and torrent

Thanks again everyone.

Since you are not intereseted in noise, shouldn't this thread be considered as Off-Topic?

PartEleven · Post by **PartEleven** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 6:31 pm

More like, what is he doing on this forum. There's a plenty of other forums with more knowledgeable people to serve his needs.

Redzo · Post by **Redzo** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 1:27 am

On topic: Yes it will run that hardware just fine. HX620 is a great PSU.

Of Topic: There are a lot of ppl that want to have POWERFUL PCs but still try to limit noise as much as possible. I know that many around here like to edit .txt files with their PCs and that is just fine but don't bitch on ppl that have other needs.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:55 am

Redzo wrote:On topic: Yes it will run that hardware just fine. HX620 is a great PSU.

Of Topic: There are a lot of ppl that want to have POWERFUL PCs but still try to limit noise as much as possible. I know that many around here like to edit .txt files with their PCs and that is just fine but don't bitch on ppl that have other needs.

Considering that the OP posted the following, I think you are mistaken in this particular thread:

I don't care about psu fan noise coz 4870 fan is noisier than psu fan anyways.

Faster_Madman · Post by **Faster_Madman** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 3:35 am

In non demanding tasks, like 2D apps and such, the 4870 is pretty quiet, especially if you play around a bit with user profiles in CCC.

What i'm trying to say, in so many words, is that it is possible to have a quiet PC and still be able to play new games with high settings if you are willing to compromise the quietness while playing those games.

I guess that is what the OP meant by saying that they were indifferent to the PSU noise since the 4870 is louder anyway whilst playing games.

I could be wrong though, but one thing doesn't necessarily rule the other out in this case.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 9:50 am

Faster_Madman wrote:In non demanding tasks, like 2D apps and such, the 4870 is pretty quiet, especially if you play around a bit with user profiles in CCC.

What i'm trying to say, in so many words, is that it is possible to have a quiet PC and still be able to play new games with high settings if you are willing to compromise the quietness while playing those games.

I guess that is what the OP meant by saying that they were indifferent to the PSU noise since the 4870 is louder anyway whilst playing games.

I could be wrong though, but one thing doesn't necessarily rule the other out in this case.

Your interpretation is that the OP deosn't care about noise when playing games, but does care about noise at other times. However, his posts (I assume "male" because there is not a female on the planet who gives a damn about power supplies) don't seem to support that view. Also, he said "I use 5 hdd for massive vdo editing and torrent."

Is Corsair hx620w enough for my system?

Is Corsair hx620w enough for my system?

Re: Is Corsair hx620w enough for my system?