Would 460W be enough for NF4 Ultra-D (no SLI)?

[Angry_Games]

it is in the CRITICAL STICKY in the NF4 section:

 

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showpost.p...73&postcount=13

[sabrewolf732]

No, and the reason why is because both of those PSU's you just mentioned could not provide a stable environment for the DFI NF4 motherboards.

 

I've just had to learn this as I have a 480W Antec Truepower with a 20-pin connector. The motherboard just draw too much voltage for anything other than 480W's.

 

I assume you mean amperage? Idk, pretty sure I have seen dfi's running on 300 watt quality psu's with overclocking

 

Now, the +12 rails still matter too, you can have a strong (rated) PSU with weak rails and it's gonna take a dump when you hook it up.

 

PSU under the 'recommended' rating that DFI has specified will disappoint you when you overclock which face it, most people that buy DFI boards do. They attribute greatly to why people with weak PSU's under the recommended spec cannot overclock or find that when they do, it poops out...

 

Understand?

 

well, I see the first replier has a 500 watt ultra (Not really the best psu if you know what I mean ) and he says a 460 watt vantec won't work? that doesn't make sense considering that vantec makes VERY high quality psu's in contrast to his 500 watt ultra. Get what I'm saying? It is more the quality of the power that matters over the quantity. This 480 watt thing doesn't make sense to me, you can look up the power consumption of pretty much every component, and a 2hd, 1 optical drive system with motherboard, a venice, and a 7800gt won't consume more than 300 watts.

[sabrewolf732]

AS I TOLD YOU BEFORE

 

YOU DO NOT TELL USERS HERE THAT YOU CAN GET BY WITH A POWER SUPPLY THAT DOES NOT MEET MINIMUM SPECS.

 

PERIOD.

 

IF I CATCH ANYONE DOING IT IN THE FUTURE, IT WILL BE AN INSTANT BAN.

 

END OF STORY.

 

IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

 

Power delivery will be sufficient. Further more, to ensure sufficient power could be provided; we highly recommend using a minimum 480 Watt power supply unit.

 

Is 480 recommended or is it min spec?? I feel confused :drool:

[Shinobi]

I really wouldn't try skimping on a PSU, its the heart of your system. If you can't afford it, wait until you can. You'll be glad you did...

 

Look around and you can find some good quality PSU's at very reasonable prices that would more than meet the spec for NF4. Try reading DavidHammocks thread here, which has a few links with some good deals.

[demonR6]

Just thought I would add this to the thread.. PSU calculator.. pretty accurate.

 

PSU Calc

 

I have a Vantec 520 Stealth as well by the way with modified rails.

[pookguy88]

hmm, that calculator says i need 310W max...

but somehow, I don't think I'll trust that calculator.

[Arboleda]

Using that calculator for my Venice 3000+ (OC'd to 2700) system I entered all the information about the system (including my SCSI controller, Delta fans, water pump, 15K SCSI drive, etc) and it recommended 396W.

 

Yet I've used a Kill-O-Watt to measure actual A/C current that the PUS is drawing and I couldn't get it to pass about 250W (gaming, priming, etc) and keep in mind that the 20% or so of that is wasted by the PSU so the system is really only drawing 200W. Now obviously there's validity to the whole headroom concept so maybe their 396W recommendation isn't so far off.

 

However, I think the danger of a calculator like that is ignoring the whole amps available per rail, stability of the current, etc. I guarantee a $20 400W would cause major stability problems is my system.

[Alex Dinamo]

Just thought I would add this to the thread.. PSU calculator.. pretty accurate.

 

PSU Calc

 

I have a Vantec 520 Stealth as well by the way with modified rails.

 

BTW... could someone explain me what those "rails" are? Because I might get that Steatlh 520 too and I won't know how to modifiy the rails if its needed.

 

Thank you very much.

 

Alex

[demonR6]

Forum link check in there for PSU volt mods. It should give you a better explanation than i can ever offer.

[davidhammock200]

This issue has been discussed to death & is fully recapped in the PSU Guide thread.

 

Basically if you want the best performance, with the least hassles, stick to the "A" list. :nod:

 

PSU Guide with "A" list: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10854

 

Dave

[SnooP]

However, I think the danger of a calculator like that is ignoring the whole amps available per rail, stability of the current, etc. I guarantee a $20 400W would cause major stability problems is my system.

 

Exactly. around 75-80% of AMD64 system is powered off the 12V rails, which is usually the limiting factor. so if we take our 400W 'yumcha' with its '20A' 12V rail, then divide by 2 to take care of the 'bs' factor (not being scientific here of course). thats only 10A. 12*10 = 120W (so total system power can't exceed 150W), good luck getting your system running on that

 

so in short NEVER BUY GENERIC! pay a bit more for a recommended PSU on the sticky, or even better an A-list if you got that cash.

[sabrewolf732]

Exactly. around 75-80% of AMD64 system is powered off the 12V rails, which is usually the limiting factor. so if we take our 400W 'yumcha' with its '20A' 12V rail, then divide by 2 to take care of the 'bs' factor (not being scientific here of course). thats only 10A. 12*10 = 120W (so total system power can't exceed 150W), good luck getting your system running on that

 

so in short NEVER BUY GENERIC! pay a bit more for a recommended PSU on the sticky, or even better an A-list if you got that cash.

 

idk but my old enermax 300 even had 22a on the 12v rail, and enermax is a pretty quality company. What's more important is the 12v and quality than overall wattage :nod: