cpu max wattage how is it determnined?

[songster53]

What determines how many watts a new cpu can have? I have an eMachines ET1331G but I seem to recall the power supply being upgraded. It shows a dc output of 240 watts max. Anybody?Thnks

 

[bigjay420]

I fail to understand what you are asking but in terms of wattage cpus graphics cards and other stuff have a set max wattage.so say you at idle it drawing (Example)mabey 20 watts at 1-10% usage the more you do the more that wattage increases up to you max wattage.hope you understand.as I feel it was hard to explain.

 

[songster53]

I fail to understand what you are asking but in terms of wattage cpus graphics cards and other stuff have a set max wattage.so say you at idle it drawing (Example)mabey 20 watts at 1-10% usage the more you do the more that wattage increases up to you max wattage.hope you understand.as I feel it was hard to explain.

I'm getting conflicting info from different sources. Some are telling me that I can only replace my cpu with one that is 65 watts or less in this particular desktop and I'm wondering why that is. Most of the cpu's available seem to be listed as 95 watts or 125 watts. Does it actually matter?

 

[bigjay420]

everything takes wattage. the older the power supply it loses power.also you power supply is 240 watts max your probably maxxing it out wattage wise already.i suggest if you go for a new cpu you get new powersupply an antec 450 will do fine if your not a hardcore gamer or anything.

 

[hunter315]

The reason motherboards limit the wattage of the CPU they can run is that they have to feed power to the CPU. Around the CPU socket you will find a bunch of capacitors and coils, occasionally these coils look like little cubes because they are enclosed, this circuitry steps the CPU power down from 12V to whatever the CPU needs, usually 1-1.8V. If you need to feed a CPU 120W at 1.2V that is 100A of current, that is a lot of current to deal with so it requires bigger traces on the board and bigger VRMs to step the voltage down than if you only needed to feed 60W(50A) to the CPU. A trace with 100A running through it will dissipate 4x as much power/heat as that same trace with only 50A running through it, thus to keep your board cheap you restrict the power of the CPU it can run and you can use smaller VRMs and save a lot traces feeding power to the CPU.

 

[songster53]

everything takes wattage. the older the power supply it loses power.also you power supply is 240 watts max your probably maxxing it out wattage wise already.i suggest if you go for a new cpu you get new powersupply an antec 450 will do fine if your not a hardcore gamer or anything.

Finally a logical answer! Thanks! I'm not a gamer but I am using audio recording software which is why I need a faster CPU. And you're right. 240 watts max is exactly what my PS has now.I also just put in a new soundblaster card with a totally unnecessary light on it that shines 247. I should probably take that out and figure out how to turn off the light. Cheers!