Upgrading PSU

So while on my pc today, I noticed my fan got really noisy. Got me thinking about the fact that my PSU is already 7-8yrs old (from previous build). So i started looking at new psu's, and remembered EVGA having grand reviews on theirs. So I looked at the 850W G2 and the 1000W G2, differnce of about $20.

My current 750W seems to hold up quite well for my build in terms of power, so I feel as I don't really need much more, and also the PSU's note as being conitinuous power. Does that mean ALWAYS gonna output 1000W even if I use say...600 of it? I don't need to waste money on a higher electric bill that I don't have to.

[dflynn]

here is a good article on PSU requirements. Most PC's builds rarely require as much power as you think.

http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2211- ... ?showall=1

Perhaps it could be the fan's lubrication? How does PSU relate to the fan noise? I guess you could refer to the power cut off...

i always look at power supplies like cars when it comes to size. if you take a car and run it at full throttle all the time its not going to last very long, if you take that same car and run it at 50% throttle chances are its going to last a whole lot longer. same thing with power supplies, if your drawing from it at 100% of its capacity its not going to last very long. (also, a system is only going to pull the power it needs. if you have a 500 watt power supply, its not putting out 500 watts all the time. it just gives your system access up to 500 watts.)

first thing when looking for a power supply is you need to size it. use a power supply calculator to come up with what your theoretical power requirements will be at full load. from there i would double the amount required for longevity with a limit being at 1200 watts since the average breaker will be limited at around 15 amps. next go with a brand you trust. i myself highly recommend corsair, they come with 10 year warranty and are some of the highest rated on market. and another thing to long for is to see how many 12v rails the power supply has. they will list this in the amperage rated section in the specifications as 12v1 12v2 etc.. i recommend going only with power supplies with a single 12v rail so all your components have access to the entire pool of power. having multiple rails is more of a cheater and cheaper way of producing a high wattage power supply. with a multi rail power supply you have to balance your 12v parts across the multiple rails. if you have too many items on one rail you risk overloading that rail and your power supply will act more like a much smaller one. realistically go with a power supply with a single rail and save your self the headache. corsair power supplies are all single rail. for as much as i talk up corsair, you would think i work for them.... time to get sponsored!

for my build i went with a 1200 watt power supply, my reasoning was for future proofing on any extra parts i may add ass well as longevity. i think the most i have pulled from it was about 620 watts and that was with everything listed below minus the fury x and add 2 HD4970's. its been 4 years so far with out a issue, and alot of that time it ran 24/7.

hope this information is helpful!

My PSU has been running close to 24/7 for almost 7yrs. It is a 750W, powered a Phenom 9950, 4GB ram, HD4870, fans and a few hdds. My guess is it never used anything more than 400watts maybe. So currently my computer on full load (at specs below) takes about 80% load I would guess.

Went through a PSU Calc site and totaled my max load wattage to be 609W, on a 750W, that's 81% at full load.

I have the EVGA 850w G2. REALLY GOOD psu. Johnny Guru highly recommended this psu. comes with a 10 yr warranty. Japanese capacitors , modular , the works. Been running it for a year now and has been rock solid. not sure if the JG web site is still up, worth checking out ....