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  • Upgrading power supply for gaming PC

    So, Lil' Zel wants a new desktop gaming pc - fair game, his old laptop one has lasted at least 6, if not 7 years.

    We've found a good PC at a fair price (MSI MAG Infinite 10SI), but Lil' Zel pointed out that the power supply is only 300 watts, and he'd like to upgrade it to a 450 or 500 W one. Would that be advisable? I can provide more specs if needed.

    Many thanks in advance - I hope someone can respond quickly as the PC is on sale with a USD 500.00 discount right now and the sale ends on Monday

    EDIT: Oh, and if someone knows more about this model of PC (pros/cons) it would also be much appreciated. We weren't able to find any reviews online.
    A theory states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, it will be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

    Another theory states that this has already happened.

  • #2
    It shouldn't hurt to put a larger power supply in. The real question is if it is necessary. Presumably the manufacturer used a power supply that is large enough for whatever use they feel is "typical", and then some extra headroom for usage that is more than "typical".

    I don't remember if power supplies are modular or are hard to replace without a whole lot of work (e.g., soldering) but I would think that you could reasonably start with the 300W one and later upgrade it if it seems to be insufficient. There should be power-monitoring tools that you can use to see if you're starting to be limited by the PS, but I don't know enough about Windows to really say for sure.

    If the upgraded PS is an option in the system build, then that says to me that the builder knows that for heavy-duty use (e.g., video editing, gaming) the lower-powered supply may not be enough. In that case, springing for the extra is probably a good idea.
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    • #3
      Thanks for the reply! After posting in here, spurred my Mr Zel who wanted to know more about why wattage on PC power supplies is important, I also googled a bit around and got very lucky in finding a Power Supply Calculator site where you type in the specs and the calculator recommends what sort of supply you need.

      It recommended a Corsair 450 W one, so we're going with that (and it's only 50 bucks extra!) Lil' Zel agreed begrudgely (as he was hoping for a 500+ watt unit), but that's that.
      A theory states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, it will be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

      Another theory states that this has already happened.

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      • #4
        I have been using Cosairs for years. I like them.

        Unless you are planning to heavily mod the system, the power supply provided is probably sufficient. What's going in that will eat up all the power?
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        • #5
          Quoth csquared View Post
          I have been using Cosairs for years. I like them.

          Unless you are planning to heavily mod the system, the power supply provided is probably sufficient. What's going in that will eat up all the power?
          Not much that I know of, Lil' Zel uses his current pc mainly for playing CS:GO and Roblox. He's just gotten into his head that a 450+ W power supply is better than 300W due to the risk of power spikes (I've told him that power spikes in Denmark rarely occur), but then again, after I calculated the wattage, the 300W supply would cause the pc to lag a little bit.

          My guess is that he discussed on Discord with his friends on what gear they've got, and he'd like to have the same stuff as them, albeit within a reasonable budget. Originally he wanted to build his own PC from scratch (at the age of 14), but we have convinced him to buy a finished build from a store that can be upgraded gradually so if something's wrong at the beginning we can return it to the store. Since the PC we saw today is with a large discount it matches the budget Lil' Zel had set for his own build.
          Last edited by NorthernZel; 08-15-2020, 10:15 PM.
          A theory states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, it will be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

          Another theory states that this has already happened.

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          • #6
            I recommend you get a semi-modular power supply rather than the base model. Basically, it means that cables for the motherboard are permanently attached, but everything else uses a connector to attach to the power supply. It means you can leave off cables you aren't using, so they aren't all bundled up inside the case, blocking air flow. (Fully modular is also available, but is more expensive and isn't necessary.)

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            • #7
              Quoth TheSHAD0W View Post
              I recommend you get a semi-modular power supply rather than the base model. Basically, it means that cables for the motherboard are permanently attached, but everything else uses a connector to attach to the power supply. It means you can leave off cables you aren't using, so they aren't all bundled up inside the case, blocking air flow. (Fully modular is also available, but is more expensive and isn't necessary.)
              Thank you very much for your input. Do you know of a semi-modular power supply avaiable in the EU you would recommend? As said earlier, we're looking at the Corsair VS 450 unit right now.
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              Another theory states that this has already happened.

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              • #8
                Quoth NorthernZel View Post
                Do you know of a semi-modular power supply avaiable in the EU you would recommend?
                Looks like the Corsair CX450M is semi-modular. It's also more efficient and will save on electricity. Don't know about availability though.

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                • #9
                  Quoth TheSHAD0W View Post
                  Looks like the Corsair CX450M is semi-modular. It's also more efficient and will save on electricity. Don't know about availability though.
                  It's avaiable in EU, although a bit more expensive. I'll ask Lil' Zel to check whether it's compatible.
                  A theory states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, it will be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

                  Another theory states that this has already happened.

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                  • #10
                    Quoth NorthernZel View Post
                    My guess is
                    I figured as much. Just like when my boss goes to those tech conferences...

                    Bigger power supplies are designed to power more stuff. Usually, spinning hard drives. And, as TheShadow pointed out, will have more cables to attach to that stuff,

                    $50 is a pretty good price. Probably worth it to avoid the argument.
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                    • #11
                      Quoth csquared View Post
                      I figured as much. Just like when my boss goes to those tech conferences...

                      Bigger power supplies are designed to power more stuff. Usually, spinning hard drives. And, as TheShadow pointed out, will have more cables to attach to that stuff,

                      $50 is a pretty good price. Probably worth it to avoid the argument.
                      Thanks for supporting our boomer (a-hem, GenX) doubts! As what we got out of Lil' Zel's ramblings, it was mostly the power supply + harddisk sizes that were an issue. Now the power supply is out of the way, and we did point out that he already has a 1 TB external harddrive he can just plug in, I hope we get at least one year without him whining about computer related issues
                      A theory states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, it will be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

                      Another theory states that this has already happened.

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                      • #12
                        To the best of my understanding, you generally wanna leave at least 20% overhead. E.g. if the site (which hopefully accounted for this) says that your system will use 400W at peak load/everything maxed out at once, get a 500~550W PSU.
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                        • #13
                          It's always good to have a little buffer over max needed, however going too high is bad too. While you wont destroy any parts if you used 1000W unit when all you need is a 450W, the efficiency goes down and can end up using more electricity to do the same job as a lower wattage unit. Power supplies are a bit odd that way.

                          Now, I was looking at that computer, and what I see that worries me is the video card. The 300W it says it comes with is under powered. If it comes with the GTX 1650/1660 you need 450W, but if it comes with the GTX2060 you need 550W.

                          Everything else on it looks good. I've used MSI parts for years and they have always been good to me.
                          Last edited by Arcus; 08-16-2020, 06:15 AM.

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                          • #14
                            Quoth Arcus View Post
                            It's always good to have a little buffer over max needed, however going too high is bad too. While you wont destroy any parts if you used 1000W unit when all you need is a 450W, the efficiency goes down and can end up using more electricity to do the same job as a lower wattage unit. Power supplies are a bit odd that way.

                            Now, I was looking at that computer, and what I see that worries me is the video card. The 300W it says it comes with is under powered. If it comes with the GTX 1650/1660 you need 450W, but if it comes with the GTX2060 you need 550W.

                            Everything else on it looks good. I've used MSI parts for years and they have always been good to me.
                            Thanks for the heads-up! It's a 1660 card so all good there.
                            A theory states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, it will be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

                            Another theory states that this has already happened.

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                            • #15
                              Sorry for necro'ing the thread, but just wanted to tell that Lil' Zel went away from the wattage and wanted some extra RAM instead. So I've just asked Santa to order some 8 GB to be laid under the tree...
                              A theory states that if anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for, it will be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

                              Another theory states that this has already happened.

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