I am thinking of a psu upgrade, a few questions pop up to mind:
1) My budget and brand option is very limited, as always...so I will either have to buy CM Xtreme power plus 450W or Corsair VX450> which is better (I heard CM is having problems)?
2)And here comes the silly question: will it make any difference to ny pc's performance gaming or otherwise (ps. I will install two more case fans, one as exhaust)?
Question #2- A PSU wil not make a difference in anything unless the computer is unstable due to improper voltages-
Why upgrade PSU?
Fans- you want to install them for flow- if the front fan blows INto the case then the rear fan needs to blow OUT----air FLOW-
The only reasons for installing a new power supply unit, are if it is defective, or you need more power, ( for a new graphic card for instance). Otherwise there is no point in doing it at all. It does not make any difference at all to machine performance.
Regards....Mike Connor
I have a 120mm fan in front and a 90mm side to suck in air & I want install a 80mm to suck out air (reverse installation?),and one at the bottom to suck out air.
The fact is as you can see I have two HDDs installed nearing 1TB plus these fans and GPU, HyperTX3 heatsink...won't two more 80mms unstabilise a cheap psu like mine (Foxin 450w...you can check their site)?
The power usage from fans is quite low- what will destabilize a PSU in good working order is a graphics card-They can use a lot of power--but you are only adding a couple fans- Install your fans and see how it goes-
450w is not a small PSU- didnt see much info with a google- but its working so should be no problem
Look at stats on hdd power usage- they use very little power- GPU would have to be a monster--
Install- have fun!
If you install more equipment then you may need more power. You need to add up the maximum power requirements of the equipment you want to install, and the equipment you now have, and add at least 10% margin. If you are still within the power delivery capabilities of the power supply, ( again, at least 10% under is better), then you should have no problems.
If you are over the limit of power your present power supply can deliver, then you will need a new one.
Regards....Mike Connor
Here's a power supply calculator - eXtreme Power Supply Calculator
Info on power supplies …
- Recommended Power Supplies | silentpcreview.com
- Everything You Need to Know About Power Supplies | Hardware Secrets
- How to Buy a Power Supply - wikiHow
Good luck
Had to go double check- went to newegg/120mm case fans- went to manufacturers page to get power specs- (again random picked site) Scythe "SLIP STREAM" 120mm Case Fan
The big bad 120mm fan that moves 110 cfm of air uses .53 amps
Volts (12) x Amps (.53) = watts (6.36)
a serious fan uses only 6 watts of your 450 available- a standard 80 mm should be 1/2 of that- so add ten more or so then check your voltages-(maybe 20- see if you can make it hover)
A note on PSU calculators- (the one linked above is a good one due to its ability to factor in specific components)
Anyway- they just add the standard amount of amps for additional units like if you have 6 hdd and 6 dvd drives the power numbers can get HUGE- but it would take intension to actually use all this equipment at the same time-
Just something to keep in mind when using them--- I have 2 dvd drives but only use one of them- the other just holds the 'game of the week disk' so I don't have to keep messing with it...
Same thing with HDD's I have yet to use all four at the same time-
I already have a power splitter going from DVD drive to the side Thermaltake 90mm, I am a little reluctant to divert power also from any one of my HDDs( either OS HDD or otherwise), is it wise to isntall another splitter/y cable to divert to another two 80mm fans or go for a new PSU?
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