[SOLVED] Cheap PSU?

[alexvdm]

Hi, im looking into changing my psu and i have found one that looks alright, it is really cheap, but im paying it with my own money and im only 14, ( https://www.xigmatek.com/product_detail.php?item=316 ), it is the 500w version, and altough it is certificated white, it should be OK for my system, it's not like it's too demanding

CPU: I3 10100f
MOTHER: Prime B460M-A R2.0
GPU : HD 6790 (old card from amd)
PSU (currently): noga 800 w (its not 800w obviously)

I also have a question, how much watts are enough?

Thanks

 

[geofelt]

Why do you think you need to change your psu?
What is it's make/model?
The power needed is largely a function of the graphics card.
Here is a handy chart:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

There is no such thing as a cheap psu.
An inexpensive psu of poor quality can end up becoming an expensive purchase.

A cheap PSU will be made of substandard components. It may not have all safety and overload protections.
The danger is if it fails under load, it can destroy anything it is connected to.
It will deliver advertised power only at room temperatures, not at higher temperatures found when installed in a case.
The wattage will be delivered on the 3 and 5v rails, not on the 12v rails where modern parts
like the CPU and Graphics cards need it. What power is delivered may fluctuate and cause instability;
issues that are hard to diagnose.
The fan will need to spin up higher to cool it, making it noisy.
A cheap PSU can become very expensive.

Do not buy one.

You can consult a psu quality tier list for starters.
Here is one:


My simple advice is to look at the warranty. Quality units will usually have a 7 to 10 year warranty.

 

[Math Geek]

as noted above, if you look at the label of the 500w unit you are considering, it says it has 300w on the 12v rail. making it effectively a 300w psu for all intents and purposes. that's all you need to know to avoid buying it.

throw in everything said above and this is an easy thing to pass on.

the psu is basically the engine of the system. it makes everything go. trying to go cheap n the engine will make the nice shiny car worthless at best if it dies and a flaming inferno if it takes the rest of the car with it.

they are plenty of budget options worth considering before this one. a budget and a store of 2 you prefer to buy from can help us offer some suggestions worth considering. but NOTHING for $20 is ever going to be a good idea.

edit: other thing i noticed on that unit is it shows it has 3 x 6+2 pcie connectors. that should be 450w of possible power from a unit that says it provides 300w total on the 12v rail. another BIG red flag!!

 

[DSzymborski]

Replacing one junk PSU with another isn't a solution. I wouldn't use this GPU, which does require significant power, with either of these PSUs, unless you don't mind if it fries some of your components.

 

[alexvdm]

as noted above, if you look at the label of the 500w unit you are considering, it says it has 300w on the 12v rail. making it effectively a 300w psu for all intents and purposes. that's all you need to know to avoid buying it.

throw in everything said above and this is an easy thing to pass on.

the psu is basically the engine of the system. it makes everything go. trying to go cheap n the engine will make the nice shiny car worthless at best if it dies and a flaming inferno if it takes the rest of the car with it.

they are plenty of budget options worth considering before this one. a budget and a store of 2 you prefer to buy from can help us offer some suggestions worth considering. but NOTHING for $20 is ever going to be a good idea.

edit: other thing i noticed on that unit is it shows it has 3 x 6+2 pcie connectors. that should be 450w of possible power from a unit that says it provides 300w total on the 12v rail. another BIG red flag!!

Well didn't knew about it only being 300w, altough it only has 2x 6+2, Thanks for your response!

 

[Math Geek]

yah looking at the pics again, it does look like 2 pcie. but that's still 300w possible power which is all of it. what does the cpu, mobo and the rest use from that 300w of 12v?? that's assuming it can even provide the 300w it claims, i doubt it can even pull that off.

we can easily offer some suggestions if you can give a budget and where you'd like to buy from. we know the brands and models and what is a decent choice even at low budgets...

 

[alexvdm]

yah looking at the pics again, it does look like 2 pcie. but that's still 300w possible power which is all of it. what does the cpu, mobo and the rest use from that 300w of 12v?? that's assuming it can even provide the 300w it claims, i doubt it can even pull that off.

we can easily offer some suggestions if you can give a budget and where you'd like to buy from. we know the brands and models and what is a decent choice even at low budgets...

sadly i cant get over 30$, any ideas?

 

[geofelt]

sadly i cant get over 30$, any ideas?

Again, why are you looking to change out your psu?
Is the current one not doing the job?

 

[Lafong]

sadly i cant get over 30$, any ideas?

My idea would be to do nothing if you can't afford more than 30 dollars.

Right now, you apparently have a working PSU.

If you change to a random 30 dollar PSU, you may be worse off rather than better off.

You have NO way of knowing and you have not given us the slightest reason why you want to change.

It might possibly help if you simply gave us a list of ALL available PSUs that you could actually buy within your budget at your location.....but that might just be more useless speculation.

 

[alexvdm]

Again, why are you looking to change out your psu?
Is the current one not doing the job?

well, currently i want to upgrade, (graphic card), and to do that i need to sell the one i have rn, (hd 6790) but it gets hot, like crazy hot, 100+, i have tried everything, repasting, side panel off, 2 outake fans and one intake, good ventilation, fan is working, and it keeps overheating, so i have been asking around, and it might be a possibility that the psu is giving the gpu more power than it needs, so thats the reason of the overheating, and the reason why i want to change it, opinions?

Also im not replacing it (for now), the new psu (yes i bought it), arrives tomorrow, i will test if temps get better, if they do, i keep it. If not, i know it isn't the problem, i return it, and i keep using the old one

 

[Lafong]

and it might be a possibility that the psu is giving the gpu more power than it needs,

Hmmmm...................what's the documentation on that, other than "might"?

 

[alexvdm]

Hmmmm...................what's the documentation on that, other than "might"?

if you mean what's the reason why i believe my current power supply is overheating my gpu, i asked here on another post, and 2 people answered that it could be a cause

 

[Math Geek]

quick look turned up this psu on sale

https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-legion-hx-sf-550p14xe-550w/p/1HU-024C-00029

$45 for a high quality unit. if you need a psu, this would be a great choice at this price. notice the label on this one. 550w unit that provides almost all of it on the 12v rail. that's what it should look like

but do explore this topic more with the folks here as i am not sure the psu is the source of the problem, but i guess anything is possible.

 

[alexvdm]

quick look turned up this psu on sale

https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-legion-hx-sf-550p14xe-550w/p/1HU-024C-00029

$45 for a high quality unit. if you need a psu, this would be a great choice at this price. notice the label on this one. 550w unit that provides almost all of it on the 12v rail. that's what it should look like

but do explore this topic more with the folks here as i am not sure the psu is the source of the problem, but i guess anything is possible.

i will definetly take more care when looking for a psu, i will test the new one i bought, and probably send it back, gpu consumes 120 watts, so it should at least turn on, But thanks for everything, didn't knew the psu was so important, and just one last thing, how do you calculate how much actual power a psu has?

 

[Math Geek]

the label shows what it is rated to output for each rail. normally a quality unit will put out close to 100% of the power just on the 12v rail since that is where most of it is used in a modern pc. then the 3 and 5v rails combine for a bit more.

not really calculating but just reading the label. but really a review by a professional is the only thing that makes any of it certain. companies can and do lie (gasp i know) most every company makes some high quality psu's and then also some low quality or even junk ones. so it's hard to even say "anything by brand x is great"

that's where us total geeks come into play. we read the reviews and keep up with the mundane so we are able to quickly skim listings for the choice options. it really just boils down to "we've read a lot and just know what got the good reviews and what should be avoided."

along the way you start to learn a lot of the vocab and can get even more from reading the reviews such as parts used in the build and what all the "inrush current" "ripple" and other such things actually mean for a psu.

 

[alexvdm]

the label shows what it is rated to output for each rail. normally a quality unit will put out close to 100% of the power just on the 12v rail since that is where most of it is used in a modern pc. then the 3 and 5v rails combine for a bit more.

not really calculating but just reading the label. but really a review by a professional is the only thing that makes any of it certain. companies can and do lie (gasp i know) most every company makes some high quality psu's and then also some low quality or even junk ones. so it's hard to even say "anything by brand x is great"

that's where us total geeks come into play. we read the reviews and keep up with the mundane so we are able to quickly skim listings for the choice options. it really just boils down to "we've read a lot and just know what got the good reviews and what should be avoided."

along the way you start to learn a lot of the vocab and can get even more from reading the reviews such as parts used in the build and what all the "inrush current" "ripple" and other such things actually mean for a psu.

well,i have definetly learned a lot, thanks for spending time on me, it really helped

 

[Lafong]

how do you calculate how much actual power a psu has?

"Has" is likely no more than a claim or allegation from a label.

The claim may have little relationship to how much power it can RELIABLY supply inside your case at your operating temperatures.

The manufacturer realizes most potential buyers are fascinated and hypnotized by numbers and that they think a higher number is "better".....with little or no independent research.

And they think that wattage is the only specification they need to think about.

That's why you see the word "enough" used constantly on power supply threads.

So you get what you'd expect.....human nature being what it is.

 

[Math Geek]

no problem. we all learned by asking

keep asking and we'll keep trying to help you learn