Can my PSU support it?

[Kidfork]

Alright so my current system is a

Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 2.7GHz
Geforce 9500 GT
1 Sata
1 DVD
2 Sticks of DDR2 667MHz


I would like to Upgrade to a AMD Phenom X4 9850, with a 450W PSU, (Motherboards are practicably identical).

I already check the extreme PSU calculator but it said only about 275W which makes me a little bit skeptical. So what wold you say?

 

[whs]

Under load, the Phenom uses 311 watts - 185 watts at idle. Add that to the 9500GT, and you may be over the limit.
But why do you want to "downgrade" from a 2.7GHz CPU to a 2.5GHz CPU. Don't expect too much from the 4 cores because most programs will not be using them. I am very disappointed with my quad processor. My slightly faster duo core is better.

PS: The wattage was measured by a German computer mag

 

[ignatzatsonic]

For what it is worth:

AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition review

which says:

So in combo with a fully build system with the Radeon HD 3870 active, we idle at 170 Watt, that's quite a lot actually.

Once we stress the 4 CPU cores we peak at 246 Watt, when we start to play a game we peak at 269 Watt.

Once we overclock the processor towards 3 GHz we see an idle power consumption of 215 Watt, 321 Watt when we stress the 4 CPU cores, and measured while playing some games we peak towards 334 Watt.

So your PSU looks OK to me.

 

[whs]

For what it is worth:

AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition review

which says:

So in combo with a fully build system with the Radeon HD 3870 active, we idle at 170 Watt, that's quite a lot actually.

Once we stress the 4 CPU cores we peak at 246 Watt, when we start to play a game we peak at 269 Watt.

Once we overclock the processor towards 3 GHz we see an idle power consumption of 215 Watt, 321 Watt when we stress the 4 CPU cores, and measured while playing some games we peak towards 334 Watt.

So your PSU looks OK to me.

What about the 9500GT that needs a minimum of 400 watts setup itself.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

What about the 9500GT that needs a minimum of 400 watts itself.

I certainly have no personal knowledge, but Nvidia says 50 watts--unless I am completely confused--always possible:

GeForce 9500 GT: a graphics card perfect for the ultimate 3D user experience and playing the latest PC games.

Thermal and Power Specs:
Maximum GPU Temperature (in C) 105 C
Maximum Graphics Card Power (W) 50 W
Minimum Recommended System Power (W) 350 W

 

[Wishmaster]

I was always under the impression the recommended wattage a GPU gives is taking into account the rest of the system. (Recommended System Power for a typical mainstream setup that is)

Not actually what the card needs itself.

 

[whs]

I was always under the impression the recommended wattage a GPU gives is taking into account the rest of the system. (Recommended System Power for a typical mainstream setup that is)

Not actually what the card needs itself.

That is correct. But the key here is " typical mainstream setup ". The CPU that we are talking about is a particularily intensive power user. So I think we are outside a "typical" setup. Maybe I am just too prudent in power matters, but better be safe than sorry.

 

[Kidfork]

Under load, the Phenom uses 311 watts - 185 watts at idle. Add that to the 9500GT, and you may be over the limit.
But why do you want to "downgrade" from a 2.7GHz CPU to a 2.5GHz CPU. Don't expect too much from the 4 cores because most programs will not be using them. I am very disappointed with my quad processor. My slightly faster duo core is better.

PS: The wattage was measured by a German computer mag

Well to start I can actually get the quad core for the same price. Belive it or not,

In a benchmarking test my 2.7Ghz Pentium scored 1800

While the Phenom scored a 2966. Its close to double of the Pentium.

Also if I were upgrading what would be a recommended PSU Wattage?

 

[Wishmaster]

I was always under the impression the recommended wattage a GPU gives is taking into account the rest of the system. (Recommended System Power for a typical mainstream setup that is)

Not actually what the card needs itself.

That is correct. But the key here is " typical mainstream setup ". The CPU that we are talking about is a particularily intensive power user. So I think we are outside a "typical" setup. Maybe I am just too prudent in power matters, but better be safe than sorry.

I misunderstood the original question then.

I agree with you. But the wattage I think it depends greatly on the type of PSU as well.
A good 450-550W would be plenty I would think.


Kidfork,
I personally prefer Corsair PSUs. But there are a few other good quality ones.
I believe something like a 450W Corasir would be enough, but I would go with a 500-550W simply because youll have more headroom for future upgrades.

Main thing is get a good PSU (whichever brand you choose), and look more at the 12V rail amperage and effeciency.

 

[bobkn]

Under load, the Phenom uses 311 watts - 185 watts at idle. Add that to the 9500GT, and you may be over the limit.
But why do you want to "downgrade" from a 2.7GHz CPU to a 2.5GHz CPU. Don't expect too much from the 4 cores because most programs will not be using them. I am very disappointed with my quad processor. My slightly faster duo core is better.

PS: The wattage was measured by a German computer mag

That must be a total system power. The 9850 is rated at 125W TDP.

AMD Phenom™ Model Number and Feature Comparisons

The 9500GT doesn't use any auxiliary power connectors, so it must use less than 75W (rated max. of the PCI-E slot). The 50W max listed by another poster sounds right.

PSUs vary a great deal. A good 400W one can supply more current at +12V than a cheap 600W one. What make is your PSU? How many amps at +12V? (See the sticker.)

 

[Nikkeli]

Bullshit, tdp tells nothing most of the times, if that 400w psu is not some cheap plastic bucket full of shit then it's gonna take that load just fine.

I'm still using 520w with my gtx 480 and you can look up what's the suggested amount of watts psu should have and it's probably way over 520 and then theres my overclocked q9550 and other stuff.

I'd just say thread closed and problem solved but that'd be ignorant

 

[Kidfork]

Under load, the Phenom uses 311 watts - 185 watts at idle. Add that to the 9500GT, and you may be over the limit.
But why do you want to "downgrade" from a 2.7GHz CPU to a 2.5GHz CPU. Don't expect too much from the 4 cores because most programs will not be using them. I am very disappointed with my quad processor. My slightly faster duo core is better.

PS: The wattage was measured by a German computer mag

That must be a total system power. The 9850 is rated at 125W TDP.

AMD Phenom™ Model Number and Feature Comparisons

The 9500GT doesn't use any auxiliary power connectors, so it must use less than 75W (rated max. of the PCI-E slot). The 50W max listed by another poster sounds right.

PSUs vary a great deal. A good 400W one can supply more current at +12V than a cheap 600W one. What make is your PSU? How many amps at +12V? (See the sticker.)

My 12V rail gives of 24AMPS. Its a Ultra LSP450W PSU

 

[Adrian]

Under load, the Phenom uses 311 watts - 185 watts at idle. Add that to the 9500GT, and you may be over the limit.
But why do you want to "downgrade" from a 2.7GHz CPU to a 2.5GHz CPU. Don't expect too much from the 4 cores because most programs will not be using them. I am very disappointed with my quad processor. My slightly faster duo core is better.

PS: The wattage was measured by a German computer mag

That must be a total system power. The 9850 is rated at 125W TDP.

AMD Phenom™ Model Number and Feature Comparisons

The 9500GT doesn't use any auxiliary power connectors, so it must use less than 75W (rated max. of the PCI-E slot). The 50W max listed by another poster sounds right.

PSUs vary a great deal. A good 400W one can supply more current at +12V than a cheap 600W one. What make is your PSU? How many amps at +12V? (See the sticker.)

My 12V rail gives of 24AMPS. Its a Ultra LSP450W PSU

As WHS has stated processor speed is more desirable than how many cores you want. As a builder I always suggest to the client whats your system going to be used for? Quad/Dual are beneficial if you are performing advanced applications eg: massive db/spreadsheets, video etc. Also I always advise clients during the initial phase to always purchase a higher wattage psu to start with because during upgrading its better to have more power, if you are looking at it from a gamer point of view then processor speed is where you want to look.

 

[bobkn]

[/QUOTE]

My 12V rail gives of 24AMPS. Its a Ultra LSP450W PSU[/QUOTE]

That's not bad. An expensive 450W PSU has 36A at +12V.

(Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE ST45SF 450W SFX12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply)

A cheap one, 17A:

Newegg.com - DYNAPOWER USA EP-45X.0562B 450W ATX12V, Version 2.2 Power Supply

If you stay with a 9500GT, you ought to have lots of margin:

EVGA | Products 9 Series Family&sw=

(Single 9500GT: 350W, with 18A at 12V).

eVGA claims that you'd be OK with a GTX460:

EVGA | Products 400 Series Family&sw=

That's a much hotter card, in every sense of the word.