BF2S Forums Can an 8500 GT run on 250W?

pirate7474 wrote:

That's what I'm thinking...it's over 2 and a half years old and stuff.  I have a really old multi meter but it still works...so where would I put each probe in the power supply to test the 12v, 5v, and 3.3v?

Yellow = 12v
Red = 5v
Black = ground (negative)



Orange = 3.3v


This coloring scheme should be the same on all of the plugs in the PSU. IE: Yellow is always 12v, Black is always ground...etc.

That PSU isn't gonna last you long, it's probably made out of super-high quality chinese components. Cough cough.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817371013 is a trusted brand, and one of the best budget PSUs available.

nukchebi0 wrote:

If you had a good sense of foresight, you would get a decent midrange PSU now, something in the $70-90 range. Use it temporarily in the sucky computer, and when you convince your parents to let you build one, you already have the PSU.

Try something like this, which I use and love (it is very efficient and absolutely silent; Seasonic PSUs are the best). Other might not like them as much, so they'll probably tell you get another brand. Listen to their suggestions as well.

If you need to go cheap, I would go for this, perhaps, over the Antec.

SeaSonic is not the best, and that one you linked isn't even a single rail. Single rail = better than multi rail.

Get a Corsair, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling or Antec. Quite a few other brands that are good too but I don't feel like thinking.

Pick something with a single rail, as they give you more power.

The total power of a PSU has to be counted on all rails, not just 12V. There's usually quite a lot of power on the 5V rail, too. Multiple rails is a very good solution, as it allows for more distributed power. Single-rail PSUs have the advantage of being able to better support very unbalanced systems; multi-rails could have problems if you have something like 2x20A for PCI-E and 1x15A for ATX12V when running a dual Pentium D system with an 8500GT. That PSU would, however, perform very good running dual 4870X2s and an E8500. For most systems, either will work just wonderfully.

nukchebi0 wrote:

Usually, its the number of total watts allotted to the 12v rail that determines the total power, not the number of rails. If a PSU has 240W allotted, it with have 20A on the 12v line, regardless of whether or not there are multiple ones.

The problem with multi rails is that you cannot share power. For example, say you have a PSU with 4 rails, with 20A on each. You have 80A, but you can only use them on each channel. Example, say motherboard/CPU uses rail 1, peripherals may use 2, and video 3/4 (note that I just made that configuration up for example purposes). Now obviously the CPU/motherboard is not going to use 20A, so all of that power is wasted. It's also unlikely that peripherals will use 20A, so that power is also wasted.

In single rail, ALL of the power can ALWAYS be used.

EDIT: And if you don't believe me that single rail > multi rail, do some research. All the top brands use single rail, including PC Power & Cooling which IMO is the best manufacturer.

Last edited by CrazeD (2009-01-15 01:08:47)

CrazeD wrote:

nukchebi0 wrote:

Usually, its the number of total watts allotted to the 12v rail that determines the total power, not the number of rails. If a PSU has 240W allotted, it with have 20A on the 12v line, regardless of whether or not there are multiple ones.

The problem with multi rails is that you cannot share power. For example, say you have a PSU with 4 rails, with 20A on each. You have 80A, but you can only use them on each channel. Example, say motherboard/CPU uses rail 1, peripherals may use 2, and video 3/4 (note that I just made that configuration up for example purposes). Now obviously the CPU/motherboard is not going to use 20A, so all of that power is wasted. It's also unlikely that peripherals will use 20A, so that power is also wasted.

In single rail, ALL of the power can ALWAYS be used.

EDIT: And if you don't believe me that single rail > multi rail, do some research. All the top brands use single rail, including PC Power & Cooling which IMO is the best manufacturer.

That's with more than two rails, which actually is a part of the ATX2.0 specifications. With two rails, there's one rail for the CPU/system, and one for graphics card, making it quite hard to not use most of the power. See my above post, different designs are good for different things. If your system is somewhat balanced, multi-rail will usually work better with systems like this, as it's easier and cheaper to get more stable voltages.

DeathUnlimited wrote:

If you want a cheap, solid PSU, nothing can beat OCZ Stealth 500W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817341012


$25 after rebates.

use the EMCABBEAB promo code, it's $20 after MIR.  just got an email from Newegg.

you'll be happy, I have the 600W and it's

CrazeD wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

CrazeD wrote:

The problem with multi rails is that you cannot share power. For example, say you have a PSU with 4 rails, with 20A on each. You have 80A, but you can only use them on each channel. Example, say motherboard/CPU uses rail 1, peripherals may use 2, and video 3/4 (note that I just made that configuration up for example purposes). Now obviously the CPU/motherboard is not going to use 20A, so all of that power is wasted. It's also unlikely that peripherals will use 20A, so that power is also wasted.

In single rail, ALL of the power can ALWAYS be used.

EDIT: And if you don't believe me that single rail > multi rail, do some research. All the top brands use single rail, including PC Power & Cooling which IMO is the best manufacturer.

That's with more than two rails, which actually is a part of the ATX2.0 specifications. With two rails, there's one rail for the CPU/system, and one for graphics card, making it quite hard to not use most of the power. See my above post, different designs are good for different things. If your system is somewhat balanced, multi-rail will usually work better with systems like this, as it's easier and cheaper to get more stable voltages.

No, that's with any multi rail PSU. For his system that he has now, it doesn't make a bit of difference what he buys. However, we were talking about buying a good PSU that will last.

Something like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817139004

Or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817703005

Either of those will power a pretty sweet rig, and will last a long time.

For the record, I have the Silencer 610 and it is a badass PSU.

You don't have to spend $80 on a good PSU. There are good cheap ones, too. Those will be such utter overkills, especially in a situation like this where money is of utmost matter. Besides, if he spends $20 on a PSU now, it's so little that he can very well spend a bit more money when he actually needs more power.

Freezer7Pro wrote:

CrazeD wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

That's with more than two rails, which actually is a part of the ATX2.0 specifications. With two rails, there's one rail for the CPU/system, and one for graphics card, making it quite hard to not use most of the power. See my above post, different designs are good for different things. If your system is somewhat balanced, multi-rail will usually work better with systems like this, as it's easier and cheaper to get more stable voltages.

No, that's with any multi rail PSU. For his system that he has now, it doesn't make a bit of difference what he buys. However, we were talking about buying a good PSU that will last.

Something like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817139004

Or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817703005

Either of those will power a pretty sweet rig, and will last a long time.

For the record, I have the Silencer 610 and it is a badass PSU.

You don't have to spend $80 on a good PSU. There are good cheap ones, too. Those will be such utter overkills, especially in a situation like this where money is of utmost matter. Besides, if he spends $20 on a PSU now, it's so little that he can very well spend a bit more money when he actually needs more power.

If I was running a $600+ system, I wouldn't trust anything less than a top notch brand of PSU. It's a very vital component, one shouldn't skimp on it.

Also, pirate7474: The extra 4 pins isn't required, you can run with only 20pins.

Freezer7Pro wrote:

CrazeD wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

You don't have to spend $80 on a good PSU. There are good cheap ones, too. Those will be such utter overkills, especially in a situation like this where money is of utmost matter. Besides, if he spends $20 on a PSU now, it's so little that he can very well spend a bit more money when he actually needs more power.

If I was running a $600+ system, I wouldn't trust anything less than a top notch brand of PSU. It's a very vital component, one shouldn't skimp on it.

Also, pirate7474: The extra 4 pins isn't required, you can run with only 20pins.

Good brands don't have to be expensive. Antec is a highly regarded manufacturer.

Indeed, if you'll notice I put Antec down in my list above.

I don't consider $80 to be expensive for such a critical component.

pirate7474 wrote:

I'm going to be recommending the Antec 430W to them.  80% efficiency and its the last day for that deal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6817371006

Anyway...now I just need to test the limits of these integrated graphics.  It played combat arms all low alright.  I could make out people and kill them.  But the map loading times were still too high.  I can play warcraft 3...I guess I'll just play oregon trail after I finish Fallout.

I was joking about Oregon Trail, but go right ahead.