Problems with PSU Calculation

[TadghsMuffins]

Hi guys,

So a few years back I built my first gaming rig, it was small but economical and I'm using some of the original parts to this day. The only real problem I encountered was when my extremely budget 600w PSU melted. It had lost power a few times and 13 year old me couldn't figure out what was going on. I had figured that I wouldn't need more than like 575w but I had a dodgy cheap 600w PSU and a GPU with the words "Super Overclocked" in it's title. When it happened I got the shock of my life, it billowed black smoke and I had to live without a dedicated graphics card for a few months..

Now I've finally got some money and I wanna beef up what I have
I'm gonna buy a XFX AMD Radeon R9 280 ( http://www.dabs.ie/products/xfx-amd-radeon-r9-280-3gb-pci-e-3-0-hdmi-dd-black-edition-9BSX.html?q=Radeon%20R9%20280X&src=16 )

and an AMD FX-6350 ( http://www.dabs.ie/products/amd-fx-6350-am3--4-2ghz-14mb-125w-vishera-unlocked-six-core-processor-8NKH.html?q=AMD%20FX&src=16 )

However ever since that one incident I haven't trusted myself trying to figure out how much power I need out of a PSU so I use power supply calculators. I've used three calculators, all of which have given me hugely different results.

The Newegg calculator demands a painful 925w

The Asus calculator asks for a heavy 850w

And the eXtreme PSU Calculator gives a much more reasonable 706w

I have a Corsair 770w PSU. I don't have the money for a new one. Will I be okay with the new PSU and CPU? The eXtreme PSU Calculator initially suggested even less than 706w but I turned up TDP and Capacitor aging because why not?

I'd be really grateful for any insight on the matter, I'm pretty lost. I have a pretty mid range Asus motherboard, I use all 6 USB ports and would be using 3 monitors on the GPU, I'm buying an audio card and an SSD at some point (which would work in tandem with a 1.5tb HDD) I have about 5 120mm fans. Two sticks of 4gb standard DDr3 RAM, and a DVD-RW drive.

Thanks a lot!
Tadgh.

 

[InvalidError]

Your system likely will not even break 350W peak. The big problem with PSUs unless you have some extreme system configuration is usually QUALITY rather than quantity. A high-quality PSU rated for true 400+W continuous power would be able to handle your system. Most low-end generic PSUs like the piece of junk that smoked your previous GPU usually have completely unrealistic sticker ratings for the components they use.

As for whether your current Corsair unit would get the job done, most likely. But you would need to look up tests of your specific model to get a better idea of how well it should perform.

 

[TadghsMuffins]

Your system likely will not even break 350W peak. The big problem with PSUs unless you have some extreme system configuration is usually QUALITY rather than quantity. A high-quality PSU rated for true 400+W continuous power would be able to handle your system. Most low-end generic PSUs like the piece of junk that smoked your previous GPU usually have completely unrealistic sticker ratings for the components they use.

As for whether your current Corsair unit would get the job done, most likely. But you would need to look up tests of your specific model to get a better idea of how well it should perform.

Wonderful advice, thank you you cleared it all up Unfortunately I took out my PSU to try and get the model, and it was not a Corsair at all, I bought it 2 years ago so my memory was faulted, it's a G7 Power Extreme 780w. Frankly it looks a little dodgy, it has very little in regards of things to identify quality with, and there are sparsely any reviews online, would you recommend buying a new PSU? If so could you suggest anything with some headway for future upgrades? I'm on a pretty tight budget but I'd much rather be safe than sorry after my previous experiences with small brand PSUs..

 

[InvalidError]

Frankly it looks a little dodgy, it has very little in regards of things to identify quality with, and there are sparsely any reviews online

I tried finding some but did not get any solid hits... but most of the user forum results related to it appear to point in the not-so-good direction.

As far as budget recommendations go, almost anything from Seasonic should be good - they are the OEM behind many of the most popular re-branded units and rarely retail for less than $50. The 550W XFX Core Edition PSU is often available for ~$50 and is one of the many re-branded Seasonic designs out there. Not the best voltage regulation out there (it is a group-regulated design) but the build quality is solid and outputs are (very) clean.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

G7 Power Extreme 780w < Very poor power supplies.

Seasonic made and more than enough power.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $59.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

[TadghsMuffins]

As far as budget recommendations go, almost anything from Seasonic should be good - they are the OEM behind many of the most popular re-branded units and rarely retail for less than $50. The 550W XFX Core Edition PSU is often available for ~$50 and is one of the many re-branded Seasonic designs out there. Not the best voltage regulation out there (it is a group-regulated design) but the build quality is solid and outputs are (very) clean.

So I take it I should buy a new one before making the upgrades? Thanks a bunch InvalidError you're a hero As a final question, if I was to spent up to say 75-80$ what would you recommend?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Already posted above.

 

[InvalidError]

So I take it I should buy a new one before making the upgrades?

Better safe than sorry.

As far as recommendations go, you can go check the EggXpert list for inspiration. Tiers 1 and 2 are for enthusiasts, Tier 3 is suitable for average everyday use, Tier 4 is not recommended for anything much beyond office PC or other light-duty systems and Tier 5 is essentially a blacklist. Most of the units on the list are relatively old models though since it has not been updated much over the past few years.
http://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/p/45344/323062.aspx