TR Forums

Motherboard:
ASUS M4A87TD/USB3

Processor/GPU:
AMD AMD Phenom II X4 970 @ 3.5GHz

Memory/RAM:
Kingston HyperX 4G (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Video Card:
Zotac GTX470

Hard Drive:
1TB Seagate 7200RPM SATA

Peripherals:
LITEON 24x Internal DVD/CD Writer
Coolmax Hyper 212 Plus Fan

Case:
Apevia X-Cruiser2

For the CPU Fan, I'm probably going to use the fan that came with the CPU because my Apevia X-Crusier2 Side won't fit with the Coolmax Hyper 212 Plus Fan.

Currently for the Power Supply I have the Coolmax V600 (600W) that is still in the box. Should I return it and get a better PSU? If so how many Watts should I get?

Lysinc wrote:

Video Card:
Zotac GTX470

The card has dual 6-pin plugs. The power supply has a single PCIe connector. While you can certainly use the molex converter, why would you have purchased that combination?

On the power front, it is *probably* OK. But the Coolmax V series are cheap power supplies. I would not use one myself. Corsair, Enermax, Seasonic, Antec. Go ahead and send it back and spend a little more on a better power supply. HardOCP did a review on power supplies for the GTX 470 an 480. The linked page is for the 470's.

Well, personally I think you would be ok with the PSU you have. You'll need to make use of a 2 Molex to PCI-E power adaptor (theres usually one in the box for most graphics cards), but it will probably be ok if you dont daisy chain any other Molex powered devices to the same connector. Also try to avoid using 2 Molex connectors that are on the same cable - You'll avoid overloading by taking a single connector from seperate cables. Hope that makes sense (You'll see what I mean if you look at the PSU - You wont normally have one Molex connector all on it's own, they are usually in 2's or 3's).

If it does struggle under load, you'll know about it, and then consider changing it. If the PSU is struggling, it can make a noise under load (kinda like a whining / squealing sound. The system may also be unstable, and shut down without warning too. It may also fail POST at boot-up). Also check in the BIOS, and look at the voltages on each output - You'll want things to be nice and steady. A good PSU will hold all values static, with to variation.

If it's not up or it, or you dont trust it, a 500W rated PSU from a premium range (Corsair HX/TX, BeQuiet! or Seasonic) will be right up there.

I'm going to go to the store to return it and try to get a 650W because I don't want to risk all the hardwares getting fried.

There's another question but I don't think I should make another thread for this so I'm going to ask it here. I have the Coolmax Hyper 212 Plus Fan. However, the fan is too large and so the side door for the case won't fit because the side door's fan is in the way. Should I use the CPU fan that came along with the CPU or should I leave the side door open with it being next to the case to have the side door's fan blowing at it?

Lysinc wrote:

I'm going to go to the store to return it and try to get a 650W because I don't want to risk all the hardwares getting fried.

The opposite will happen! Nothing will get overloaded componant wise except the PSU itself. If it can't power everything, then it gives hardware too little power, and they wont boot - It wont break them though. If the PSU expired in a cloud of smoke, it would (in most cases) just break itself beyond repair.

If you have not taken it back, you dont just want more wattage - A 500W PSU will be fine. You will want one thats of a good quality instead. PSU's from any of these will be a solid choice: Corsair (Their TX or HX Series), Antec, OCZ, Seasonic or Zalman.

For your other question - If you leave the side pannel in place, cooling may be better as you will create a vaccume inside the case. Leaving the pannel at the side wont cause any issues either, but your PC will fill up with dust! If you plan on overclocking that CPU, then using the aftermarket cooler is a must. If you are not into overclocking, then I would personally just use the stock cooler. It will be just as quiet as your aftermarket one

A good-quality (which I'd define as Seasonic or Seasonic-made Corsair) 500W would run that system with no trouble. A low quality PSU might need a higher Wattage.

650w is the minimum I would use in that build
the coolmax is very low quality, get rid of it and get a corsair TX or HX series
I personally would go with a 750w

EDIT:
for some really strange reason corsair PSUs are selling for full price
better wait a week or two for a sale or go with another top brand

These people are being pretty generous with the power supplies. My entire comp on max load doesn't take above 480W, and that's a extremely artificial load, and a load that should consume far more power than yours. How many Amps are on your 12V+ Rails? That will help us identify the true quality of your PSU, also how many rails it has.

The computer in my sig is, as it notes, running on a 400W Corsair. With Furmark and four threads of Prime95 running, it doesn't reach 300W from the wall.

yes, but your graphic card is not an easy bake oven like the 470
he could get away with 400 or 500 watt psu but a bigger one is only a few dollars more
why risk it, thats like people who drive around without seatbelts

potatochobit wrote:

yes, but your graphic card is not an easy bake oven like the 470
he could get away with 400 or 500 watt psu but a bigger one is only a few dollars more
why risk it, thats like people who drive around without seatbelts

His computer will use ballpark about 100W more than mine. I wouldn't run a 400W computer on a 400W power supply, but if a 500W PSU can't handle it, then something is wrong.

Nevertheless, the point I'm trying to make is that quality is more important than quantity for power supplies. Go overboard if you can afford to, certainly, but a low-quality 600W is not better in any way than a high-quality lower-Wattage unit, for the same price.

If you look at the latest article about graphics cards on the power consumption page (http://techreport.com/articles.x/20043/3) you'll see that the system with GF 470 consumes just 355W from wall. The test system is more powerful than what OP has. So 500W PSU is more than enough (only 2 GF 480 in SLI go up to 550W).
On the other hand it might be a good idea to invest in a high-quality PSU, but I in this case I would only concentrate on quality (Seasoniq PSUs or derivatives) and not on wattage.

Take the measured wall power and multiply by the efficiency of the power supply in the test system to get the actual (continuous average) power used by the components inside the case.
example: 335 W at the wall outlet x 82% efficiency = 275 watts inside the case.

Assume that the majority of the power is used on the +12 V rails. Divide the power used by 12 V to get the DC current required.
example: 275 watts ÷ 12 V = 23 amperes on the +12 V rails.

Multiply the actual 12 V DC current used in the test system by a safety factor to determine what minimum rated +12 V capacity you want your PSU to have.
example: 23 A x 125% = 29 A minimum capacity desired on the +12 V rails of the new power supply.

You can multiply this by 12 V to get the required power rating (in watts) on the +12 V rails that sometimes appear on the labels instead of amperes. Note that this number is always lower than the total power rating of the power supply, which includes the other rails that are not taxed much by modern PCs.

In this case, an Antec Earthwatts EA500D, rated at 444 watts on the +12 V rails = 37 amperes, would be more than large enough for the system with a single GeForce GTX470 running the load that Damage tested it at.