How to find the current power usage of the PC

Discussion in 'Power Supplies and UPS's' started by gamerboy285, Nov 3, 2009.

  1. gamerboy285

    gamerboy285 Geek Trainee

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    I am thinking to buy a new graphics card.. I have a 450 Watt SMPS I want to know what is the present power usage of my PC

    Processor - AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core5200+
    Motherboard - Asus M2A-VM Motherboard
    RAM - Transcend 2GB Ram 2x1 GB 566MHz
    HDD - Seagate 80 GB HDD, Hitachi 160 GB HDD
    Optical Drive - HP DVD Writer and Samsung DVD Combo

    I am thinking to buy ATI RADEON HD 3680 512 MB or 477 1024MB Graphics Card

    Is there any way to find out the current power usage of the system...
     
    gamerboy285, Nov 3, 2009
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  2. Anti-Trend

    Anti-Trend Nonconformist Geek

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    I figure that would draw about ~430 watts, plus whatever fans you have in your chassis. That'd be pushing it really closely to the maximum possible wattage of your PSU. If it's a generic PSU I'd doubt it can handle that for very long, if at all, and could end up frying your whole system. I recommend at least a 550 watt quality PSU, but 600 watts would be even better. A few good brands right now are Seasonic, PC Power & Cooling, and Corsair. For example, a Corsair CMPSU-550VX would be perfect for your needs.
     
    Anti-Trend, Nov 7, 2009
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  3. gamerboy285

    gamerboy285 Geek Trainee

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    First of all thanks. That must be an average you are talking about. I want to know that if there is any tool... or software available on the net where one can find the power usage.
    Secondly, my PSU is a 450 Watt UMAX PSU which came with the cabinet... Is it a generic PSU or a standard PSU.... will the graphics card need a new PSU..... If you are saying that my current power usage is around 430 watts, a graphics card demands 400 Watt... It means I will have to buy a PSU having 430+400 watts= 800Watts, That PSU will be very expensive... I want to buy a good graphics card in the range of $150, please suggest me a good one which I can buy without the need of upgrading my PSU... If I am wrong please correct me.
     
    gamerboy285, Nov 10, 2009
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  4. gamerboy285

    gamerboy285 Geek Trainee

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    gamerboy285, Nov 10, 2009
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  5. Anti-Trend

    Anti-Trend Nonconformist Geek

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    I was basing the ~430 watts on the new video card, not the existing one. I always recommend over-spec'ing the PSU by a hundred watts or so in the interest of long-term system stability. UMAX is extremely cheap and generic and should be replaced. That's the situation with most PSUs that ship with chassis, unfortunately. In terms of PSU calculators, try this:

    psu calculator - Google Search
     
    Anti-Trend, Nov 10, 2009
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