How to know if my Power Supply is sufficient for my p.c or not???

[tango_cash]

hi ppl
i have a ColorsIT 400w power supply.

here is the table which is on the side of the psu.
Please take a look at the image.

*img61.imageshack.us/img61/5566/powersupplyxk3.th.jpg

it would be great if someone cud explain the above table.

and here is a list of components in my pc-

Processor-Intel P4 2.8 Gz with H.T(with a fan on top of it)

Motherboard-915GAV Intel original mobo

1.75 Gb of DDR1 ram(256Mb*3+1Gb*1) in 4 slots.

2 Hard Disks-
Segate 250 Gb SATA
Segate 320 Gb SATA

1 Sony DVD writer
1 LG CD writer

a LAN Card.

there are 2 fans in my cabinet one is at the back and one is on the side panel.


Now i am planning to buy a graphic card, a 8600gt or higher and 1Gb of ram.(will exchange it with one of the 256Mb stick)

so i am worried that my psu is not sufficient to run all these things.in fact i am already short of 2 power connectors.my LG cd writer and the fan on my cabinet's side panel are not connected because there is no free power connector.

i have read on net that it is very dangerous for the other components if u have a underpowered psu.

what do u ppl think??is it suficient??if i buy a new one will i be able to connect the cd writer and side panel?
and is there a way to check whether my psu is sufficient or not i mean any software or anything???

 

[Sooraj_digit]

Processor: 80-90 Watts(App.)
Motherboard: 30 Watts
RAM: 10 Watts each = 40 Watts
Hard drives: 25 Watts each = 50 Watts
Optical drives: 20+30 Watts = 50 Watts
LAN card: Dunno??
Fans: Hardly 10-20 Watts(Estimation)
Graphics card: Varies on your choice starting from 45 Watts(GeForce 7600 GT) up to 131 Watts(Geforce 8800 GTX)
Total: Min. 305 Watts – Max. 411 Watts
Checkout this page: www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

I guess u should upgrade look for brand like Corsair, CoolerMaster, VIP.

 

[Zangetsu]

for an online check....

*educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html

 

[tango_cash]

thanks for the reply frnds.

Processor: 80-90 Watts(App.)
Motherboard: 30 Watts
RAM: 10 Watts each = 40 Watts
Hard drives: 25 Watts each = 50 Watts
Optical drives: 20+30 Watts = 50 Watts
LAN card: Dunno??
Fans: Hardly 10-20 Watts(Estimation)
Graphics card: Varies on your choice starting from 45 Watts(GeForce 7600 GT) up to 131 Watts(Geforce 8800 GTX)
Total: Min. 305 Watts – Max. 411 Watts
Checkout this page: www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

I guess u should upgrade look for brand like Corsair, CoolerMaster, VIP.

i went to the above site.apart from my config mentioned above i added a 8600gt in the list coz i am planning to buy one. it calculated Recommended PSU Wattage: 320w.
so i already have a 400w smps.then??
but i guess in reality it may be less.can i check what power it is actually delivering??

for an online check....

*educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html

it has calculated my recommended PSU Wattage=497w.
that is way more than what the other site calculated i.e only 320w.

i am confused. which one to beleive.
one more thing i was searching the net and came across this article but i didn't understand it completely.have a look *www.techjamaica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52054

so what is with the +12v rail??? my +12v rail has only 10A. please look at the picture above.
and does the 8600gt or similar cards need extra power cable for them.

 

[shantanu]

go to ASUS.com and at support page click on power supply usage then check and with a 8600GT sure go for atleast a 500W true power

 

[nish_higher]

Shortage of power connectors means no proper supply to the card.u should upgrade to a generic 500w psu.colors is fine.
Or if u can spend 1900-Cooler master 460W is the best for any non sli rig.

 

[Pathik]

You should get a new PSU with adequate amperage on the +12V rail. Abt the GPU, get a 9600GSO

 

[topgear]

Get any of these psu's

CoolerMaster Extreme Power 500W Rs. 2650
CoolerMaster Extreme Power 600W Rs. 3150

 

[spikygv]

^^ +1 to the above suggestion . . 8600GT + p4 doesnt work on generic psu ( shut downs during gaming ) . .

if u're short on budget get CM 460W psu .. the generic psu wont be enough for you.

wattage and amperage on 12 volt rail are important in psu ( ofcourse efficiancy , noise come next ) . .

ur color sit psu has 10A on 12 volt rail .. most of the system components draw from the 12 volt rail . make sure u have atleast 22A on the 12 volt rail for ur rig.. CM 600W will be the best choice considering future upgrades too. .

 

[nish_higher]

^
most future motherboards will bear 8pin cpu power connectors so cm 600 watt is doomed anyway.coz it will cause freeze ups and bsods.
And all mid-high and high end boards already have that and their manuals clearly recommend 8pin cpu power.

 

[spikygv]

^^ thanks for the info. corsair vx450 ? i should check on that. .

 

[realdan]

efficiency of power of the power supply is important...better brands and higher range will have better efficiency...
better not to go for generic one...
now deciding to buy for you will also depend on whether you expect to upgrade in the near future.
if you expect to upgrade in the near future say in 6 month or 1 year time..then you could buy a power supply which will be sufficient for those future components.
now it also depend on your budget, how much are you willing to spend on the power supply now?
you wanted to buy for your current system only and don't want to think about the future upgrades then you could look at the lower range of a branded power supply.
usually power supply is one of the most overlooked components of a PC, people didn't realized the other components require juice from this very component to run..i have system failed esp. motherboard, ram, and graphics card in that order failed as a result of overloading the power supply despite being from antec.
so it is better to have some breathing space and not to get exactly according to requirements despite the fact that not all computer components draw power continuously.
for current system only one can look at coolermaster as mentioned by @topgear
or to be a little more future proof as mentioned above, one can look at corsair HX620 which will be overkill for the current system.

 

[tango_cash]

thanks for the reply people.
i did some search on the 8600gt and found the power requirement as-A minimum recommended 350W system power supply (with 12V current rating of 20A) and a 8800gt needs 30A on the 12v rail so my current psu with it's 10A on th 12v rail is a lot underpowered.

i dont want to spend a lot on the psu now coz i will upgrade my system next year.right now i just need a psu which can run all my above mentioned peripherals and a 8600gt card and another 1Gb ram properly.

my budget is Rs1000. pls suggest me.

 

[shantanu]

oh man ! too low at least 1.8k for a Zeb 500Watt Platinum

 

[realdan]

1000 wouldnt get you anything decent

 

[spikygv]

i'm not recommending zeb 500 W. .even though i've never used it. but i've heard of issues with that psu.

try getting a 500W psu from VIP or power safe for now. it'll cost around 1.5k .1k is too low for a decent psu.

 

[shantanu]

there is no issues with Zeb i have used it for 2 years without a prob. and it rocks at 1.8k

 

[hellgate]

for 1k u wont get a decent enuf psu.wat u'll get will be the local ones.u can try the Zebronics 400W with 22A on the 12v rail (the normal Zebby 400W has 17A).if u dont get that try other brands.just see that it has 20A or above on the +12V rail.i'm suggesting this only cuz of ur low budget else nothing can beat a good psu like CM,Corsaair etc.

also i've run a oc'd 8600GT with a E4300 (oc'd to 3.4GHz) on P5B Dlx with a Zebby 400w psu and i didnt face any probs.

 

[tango_cash]

so these seem to be my options-

1900-Cooler master 460W

CoolerMaster Extreme Power 500W Rs. 2650
CoolerMaster Extreme Power 600W Rs. 3150

1.8k for a Zeb 500Watt Platinum

500W psu from VIP or power safe for now. it'll cost around 1.5k

seems like u cannot anything good in rs1000 these days.
i bought my intex cabinet and colorsit psu for rs1500.

corsair vx450

a corsair psu!!! i thought it made only RAM.anyways any idea of price??

 

[hellgate]

the corsair psu is way out of ur budget.