600W psu sufficient for an ATI 7850?

[absorber]

Yet another thread...

Hi all
I'm considering within the next month or two buying a new graphics card- probably a 7850, or something in the $200-$250 range. These cards sap a fair bit of power (the 7850 saps apparently 130w on full). My current psu is 600w, which seems fine to me, but it's also thermaltake litepower- i've heard mixed things about this brand to say the least. On a forum I read that this psu is in fact 500w with a maximum of 600w, which confused me a little. I also think later this year or next year I'll upgrade my processor, maybe replace motherboard as well and get sandy bridge or even ivy bridge, and if I was to do this I suppose I might need to upgrade my psu anyhow. The power supply is also two and a half years old now. These are my current specs:
AMD phenom II 710 x3 2.6ghz
GA MA785GT UD3H
HIS 5770
4gb RAM
500gb HDD

 

[mocchan]

It should work fine, but I wouldn't trust it with my life when there's a power outage or something like that. I would probably get a new PSU just to make sure nothing can go wrong

 

[Chaz21]

Yet another thread...

Hi all
I'm considering within the next month or two buying a new graphics card- probably a 7850, or something in the $200-$250 range. These cards sap a fair bit of power (the 7850 saps apparently 130w on full). My current psu is 600w, which seems fine to me, but it's also thermaltake litepower- i've heard mixed things about this brand to say the least. On a forum I read that this psu is in fact 500w with a maximum of 600w, which confused me a little. I also think later this year or next year I'll upgrade my processor, maybe replace motherboard as well and get sandy bridge or even ivy bridge, and if I was to do this I suppose I might need to upgrade my psu anyhow. The power supply is also two and a half years old now. These are my current specs:
AMD phenom II 710 x3 2.6ghz
GA MA785GT UD3H
HIS 5770
4gb RAM
500gb HDD

A PSU upgrade, if done properly, is never a "wasted" purchase. You showed an interest in upgrading your other components (in the future) so if the "first" part of that upgrade is your PSU you won't be making a mistake. That new PSU will work no matter what platform you decide on - just make sure it's a good one.
Play around with this and see what you come up with:
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
Hope this helps.

 

[absorber]

How times have changed! APparently my current processor uses roughly the same amount as an i5 2500k.

Does anyone know about reliability on thermaltake specifically? As my psu ages, should I consider replacing it?

 

[mocchan]

This thread might be of help to you on making your final decision http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/293093-28-thermaltake-good-maker

and as I understand, PSU's will degrade over time, lowering their overall rated power output, but it's not like you'll need to replace your power supply for every new build. You can certainly reuse it for years and years to come (As long as it's a quality brand, of course!).

 

[Chaz21]

How times have changed! APparently my current processor uses roughly the same amount as an i5 2500k.

Does anyone know about reliability on thermaltake specifically? As my psu ages, should I consider replacing it?

Over time all PSU's lose some of their original capacity (eg. a 750 watt will really be on par with a 600 watt). The better built units degrade less or slower over a longer period. This is why we all preach to get a good name brand PSU for your build (Antec, Seasonic, Corsair etc.). I'm not suggesting that you run right out and by a new one - but if you start saving a couple of bucks for the inevitable that wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

[ko888]

For a system using a single Radeon HD 7850 graphics card AMD specifies a minimum of a 500 Watt or greater power supply. The power supply should also have a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 24 Amps or greater and have at least one 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector.

For a system using two Radeon HD 7850 graphics cards in 2-way CrossFireX mode AMD specifies a minimum of an 600 Watt or greater power supply. The power supply should also have a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 32 Amps or greater and have at least two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Total Continuous Amperage Available on the +12V Rail(s) is the most important factor.

There are at least three Thermaltake Litepower Series 600W models and you didn't specify which one you have.

The now discontinued Thermaltake Litepower Series 600W (W0356), with its combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 42 Amps and with one 6-pin and one (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, is more than sufficient to power your system configuration with a single Radeon HD 7850.

The Thermaltake Litepower Series 600W (LT-600 / LT-600P), with its combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 40 Amps and with two (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, is more than sufficient to power your system configuration with a single Radeon HD 7850.

 

[absorber]

Thanks again guys. ko888, I can't work out which one mine is, at least not without taking out the psu itself. It only has a 2 year warranty, which I've already exceeded- I suppose that isn't a good sign. It has a code on it: LP600AL2NH.

What worries me is that this 600w psu might be less (certain other TT products have been mislabeled, it appears) and that because my psu is getting older it might actually be insufficient- 500w initially, then further disadvantage due to age. It's tempting to get a better psu as I look into this more.

 

[Chaz21]

Thanks again guys. ko888, I can't work out which one mine is, at least not without taking out the psu itself. It only has a 2 year warranty, which I've already exceeded- I suppose that isn't a good sign. It has a code on it: LP600AL2NH.

What worries me is that this 600w psu might be less (certain other TT products have been mislabeled, it appears) and that because my psu is getting older it might actually be insufficient- 500w initially, then further disadvantage due to age. It's tempting to get a better psu as I look into this more.

As I stated - it wouldn't be a wasted purchase.

 

[ko888]

Thanks again guys. ko888, I can't work out which one mine is, at least not without taking out the psu itself. It only has a 2 year warranty, which I've already exceeded- I suppose that isn't a good sign. It has a code on it: LP600AL2NH.

What worries me is that this 600w psu might be less (certain other TT products have been mislabeled, it appears) and that because my psu is getting older it might actually be insufficient- 500w initially, then further disadvantage due to age. It's tempting to get a better psu as I look into this more.

Misleading marketing is what Thermaltake likes to do with their lowend series, otherwise no one would buy the ...

If you have the Litepower 600W (W0355) then that power supply is really a 500 Watt power supply with a peak power of 600 Watts.

It has a combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 36.7 Amps and with one 6-pin and one (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, it is theoretically sufficient to power your system configuration with a single Radeon HD 7850. It's not a power supply that can be trusted though.

 

[Hydroc10]

A good 430w 80 plus bronze is enough. Peace!