Is a 550W 80+ Gold PSU Enough?

[Rain08]

I'm currently planning to get a Seasonic G-550 550W 80+ Gold Modular PSU. Together with that, I'm planning to throw a Palit GTX 950 StormX Dual. If you're asking why, in my place, this is a way better deal than a GTX 750 Ti or a GTX 960. Another reason is that once the Pascal GPU's comes out, I'll upgrade and gift the 950 to someone.

The bottom line is, is that PSU enough for a i5-4690K (with OC that IDK what yet, prolly around 4.2~4.4) and a Pascal GPU?

 

[unrealRage]

It'll handle GTX 950 for sure with +12V rail 45 Amps (I think 950 requires less than 25 Amps) but for Pascal I don't know how much Amps will it require/it's power consumption; but this for sure is a good power supply,I think it'll handle it.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yep mate you could use this too it will give you some idea of what you need eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

But I think unrealRage is rigth and I do like Seasonic stuff too.

 

[Rain08]

Yep mate you could use this too it will give you some idea of what you need eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

But I think unrealRage is rigth and I do like Seasonic stuff too.

Using that website you gave me, it told that I will need around 370 watts for 4690K and a GTX 950.

I actually thought of having EVGA PSU's before but the store then removed it for some reason. My original plan is actually to have Seasonic M12II-620 EVO 620W 80+ Bronze Modula PSU, but then they had the G-550 which I then thought of buying.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Not sure why you would downgrade to a 550w from a 600w you currently have :/
Most people interested in upgrades would up the wattage
I believe 750w would be a minimum evga 750 G2 would be nice upgrade.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Hum well my favourite brand is the Corsairs they are made by the same people that make Seasonic - it varies from model to model of course but to me they present a benchmark for quality.
Now depending on the budget of course the AX and HX models of Corsair around 750W which would give you soem leeway for any further upgrades.

 

[unrealRage]

Hi,
Not sure why you would downgrade to a 550w from a 600w you currently have :/
Most people interested in upgrades would up the wattage

Maybe because his power supply isn't delivering much Amps to +12V rail (600 Watts may not be it's real power) and and who knows how it works under load.

 

[ThrashZone]

Yep I wasn't really looking or comparing the existing brand but he did mention the evga and so posted that the 750 G2 is a nice upgrade
Too bad they must be out of stock that is about the only reason I can see of not being offered anymore ?
For the money I'd pick evga's over Corsairs any day except I would go either G2 or P2 series to any Corsairs equivalent

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Maybe because his power supply isn't delivering much Amps to +12V rail

Well I have always had a theory/hypothesis/whatever that volts ok doesn't necessarily mean the amps (current) is ok.

For a crude analogy take a car and the battery may well read correct voltage but not have enough charge to produce the current needed to turn the engine. Therefore a PSU may well read ok at the volts but not have enough in current output. But that is just a theory I have and I stand to be corrected.

To be honest it doesn't matter what components one discusses on the forum there will never be a consensus of opinion that agree to any particular brand being the best and PSU's are a prime example of that. Everyone has their own particular likes and I think one can advise but never stipulate that any brand is better than another to members who are asking.

 

[unrealRage]

Well I have always had a theory/hypothesis/whatever that volts ok doesn't necessarily mean the amps (current) is ok.

If voltage is fine,current should be fine also,If voltage is not fine higher,or lower than nominal than current is not fine also,power supply will take as much current it needs to power it's system.It is because if we lower voltage,more current will be drawn so we would have nominal power/drawn power (P=U·I).But on power supplies max current is written for each rail (for ex. +12V 10 Amps >10 Amps is max that +12V rail can support ,of course it can exceeds that value but it will eventually break.Isolation,conductors are made to fit that nominal current (that means if current exceeds it's nominal value just by a little isolation may heat up and melt and two cables may connect >short circuit >basically when two points of different potential touch.

In short ,equipment is based on it's nominal value and should not exceed them.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

If voltage is fine,current should be fine also,

Yep I did say it was an idea of my own and not in fact reality. The car battery example was what caused me to think this, because it does happen and to me on many occasions in the past.

But having said that it would be very unusual for the current not to be there a good reference for PSU's is this

Power Supply 101: A Reference Of Specifications - Power Supplies see section 2 for interesting stuff.

 

[ThrashZone]

To be honest it doesn't matter what components one discusses on the forum there will never be a consensus of opinion that agree to any particular brand .

Sure there is
I believe it's none of them Corsair or evga/... make their own psu's

 

[unrealRage]

Yep I did say it was an idea of my own and not in fact reality. The car battery example was what caused me to think this, because it does happen and to me on many occasions in the past.

But having said that it would be very unusual for the current not to be there a good reference for PSU's is this

Power Supply 101: A Reference Of Specifications - Power Supplies see section 2 for interesting stuff.

Well about that car battery example;car battery is the source of power,electrical grid is source of power for psu.It constantly delivers steady voltage (if it's not overloaded) and current, car battery on other hand may not.

And that's interesting text about power supplies.
But I can be wrong,I am still at school ,studying this

 

[Mellon Head]

With a switching power supply, which is what computer PSUs are, it is possible for a faulty supply rail to read its rated voltage yet not have enough current. However, under load, that voltage will drop to near zero as the current demand goes up. More likely, however, is that the rail will simply cut out and provide no voltage or current at all.

The same concept applies to car batteries. It only takes a few milliamps of current to fool a meter, but that sure won't turn a car over.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

With a switching power supply, which is what computer PSUs are, it is possible for a faulty supply rail to read its rated voltage yet not have enough current. However, under load, that voltage will drop to near zero as the current demand goes up. More likely, however, is that the rail will simply cut out and provide no voltage or current at all.

Thanks Mellon Head which is what I was trying to put across only you put it a bit more simpler than I.

 

[Rain08]

To solve the issue of me getting a 550W even though I have a 600W, it's because I don't want to spend money on things just to have them blown up because of a shoddy PSU. Here's the picture of it, IDK how do I interpret them numberz.

Edit:

Yep I wasn't really looking or comparing the existing brand but he did mention the evga and so posted that the 750 G2 is a nice upgrade
Too bad they must be out of stock that is about the only reason I can see of not being offered anymore ?

I think that it's unlikely for the particular store to run out of PSU's. I mean, they still have LGA 1155 MoBo's and CPUs for sale. They even get parts from other countries quick. When the 980 Ti was released, it arrive 3 days later here. Maybe the store thinks that EVGA PSU's are not that popular. I see a lot of people there getting Seasonic or Corsair stuff.

 

[Mellon Head]

Well, doing the math gets us to 615 Watts, so I guess it's a 600W supply. Whether it actually gets anywhere near 600 Watts is anyone's guess. I suspect it won't.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Very few hits for Arsenal power supplies on Google.

One hit I did find for it says:

Arsenal Power Supply 600w with Back switch Free Power Cord,. ₱ 490.00 Caloocan City, Metro Manila +639091257730.

490 Philippine pesos is about 11 US dollars.

Make of that what you will.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

I agree with ignatzatzonic mate the PSU looks pretty ordinary and I know you shouldn't go by looks but.....
the numbers on it you have them on the sticker that tells you the volts and the output current.

If you are familiar with the Ohms law then it is only a matter of some simple maths to work out the watts current and volts in a given circuit if you know two of the three values ie watts volts amps in a device.

 

[Mellon Head]

Ohm's Law:

Power (in Watts) = Voltage x Current

To figure out the power output of that supply, multiply the voltage times the current for each rail and add them all together.

It comes to about 615 Watts, but if that supply can push anywhere close to that I'll eat my underwear.