Need green PSU for new PC..

Xringer · 04-07-12, 01:13 PM

My old Dell 4600 PC has been having a few problem lately.
It's an older XP system and is suffering from a zillion Windows updates. (It's slow).
I think it might be getting heat sensitive also. Crashes under heavy loads.

I picked up a new PC the other day and found it needs a better PSU.
Lenovo H420 Desktop PC | Staples®

The stock 280w PSU won't support a graphics card update. (Radeon HD 6850).
I think I'll need a peak power of 400 to 500w.

I've heard there are new 'green' ATX12V PSUs on the market.
Anyone here have any experience with them?

MN Renovator · 04-07-12, 01:55 PM

Read the Wikipedia article on 80 Plus. I found that I can get an 80 Plus certified power supply for very little extra money versus a standard power supply at the same performance level. Price them out and find your compromise for performance and price for the wattage of power supply you need. What's nice about 80 Plus is that you can have it only 20% loaded and it is still certified to give you 80% or better efficiency. It also gives you a good idea of what the real wattage that it can support will be since they had to measure efficiency at 100% load. I've seen power supplies I got 5 years ago that fall flat at half of their rated load on the 12v bus but with a method of rating efficiency that takes different load levels I'm a bit more confident in the quality of the actual power supply too.

I've been able to find plenty at my local parts store and online and found 80 Plus Bronze units just about $10 more than a comparable high end unit that wasn't. The cost is plenty worth it to me considering it shouldn't take long to save $10 of power.

80 PLUS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Xringer · 04-07-12, 03:07 PM

Thanks for the info. I've been looking at an 80 Plus PSU on newegg.

Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
It's got a zillion good reviews, and it might even fit into my new lenovo case.

I don't know if I'll need that much power for the graphics board, but later
on I might want to install another disk and maybe some tiny PCI boards.
(I've never seen the shorty type PCI-1x sockets, I hope that's what they are).

The fans in this thing don't make any noise, after it boots. I guess they
run at real low RPMs. It's a great PC for watching NetFlixs!

RobertSmalls · 04-07-12, 07:03 PM

The forum over at Silent PC Review is a great source for information on quiet and low power consumption PCs. I'm not the only SPCR'er who thinks that PSUs have gotten too darned big lately. I'm running a 120W PSU, the PicoPSU. I recently upgraded to a Sapphire Radeon HD 7750, which supposedly requires a 400W PSU. *rolleyes*

What the 7750 actually needs is 3.5A of +12V. Graphics card manufacturers have no way to know how much of your PSU's power is availabe on the +12V rail, nor how much power your CPU will draw, so most of them play it safe and recommend very overpowered PSUs.

That's a problem because a PSU's efficiency curve is not flat. 80+ certification guarantees 80% efficiency above 20% of load, but below that, <70% efficiency is typical. My recommendation would be to try it out with your current PSU (with Kill-A-Watt in place) and see what you get. If the PC locks up while running FurMark, then you'll know for sure.

Xringer · 04-07-12, 07:38 PM

That's about the weakest PSU that I've ever seen..

I'm not sure that I want to take the chance with a 280W supply.
Plus, it seems like a higher rated PSU might run cooler that something
that's running at 92% of it's rating..?.

How about this one? It's extra green...

Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

strider3700 · 04-09-12, 10:26 PM

I'm running an antec greenworks. I think it was the 380W. It's quiet and it's stable. 100% of the packaging went straight into the recycling bin, which was nice compared to the majority of the garbage created when I built this machine.

the PC is very close to 100watts when running only moving up or down 5 or so watts depending on use. This is the same power usage that my very old athlon 3500+ had so I'm very happy with it. I picked everything in the system due to power usage though so it wasn't a big shock.

Xringer · 04-09-12, 11:32 PM

I decided to stop building PCs when I got the Dell 4600 for my wife.
I ended up using it, since my DIY AMD PC stayed with my ham gear down in the (cold) basement.
I just brought up the AGP graphic card, so I could play COD on the Dell..

I'm going to put off the graphics & PSU for now, and decide what kind of display to get.
I'm thinking of a nice LED backed LCD that runs low power. A Viewsonic VX2453MH maybe..

NeilBlanchard · 04-12-12, 02:47 PM

Here's the SPCR recommended PSU page:

Recommended Power Supplies | silentpcreview.com

roflwaffle · 04-13-12, 10:57 AM

They tend to go on sale for about $20 AR, so just keep an eye out and you can pick one up for not too much.

Xringer · 04-13-12, 11:13 AM

The new monitor came yesterday.
Amazon.com: ASUS VS248H-P 24-Inch Monitor - Black: Computers & Accessories
The LED backlight is bright! and it runs really cool.

04-07-12, 01:13 PM	#1
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Need green PSU for new PC.. My old Dell 4600 PC has been having a few problem lately. It's an older XP system and is suffering from a zillion Windows updates. (It's slow). I think it might be getting heat sensitive also. Crashes under heavy loads. I picked up a new PC the other day and found it needs a better PSU. Lenovo H420 Desktop PC \| Staples® The stock 280w PSU won't support a graphics card update. (Radeon HD 6850). I think I'll need a peak power of 400 to 500w. I've heard there are new 'green' ATX12V PSUs on the market. Anyone here have any experience with them? __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

04-07-12, 03:07 PM	#3
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Thanks for the info. I've been looking at an 80 Plus PSU on newegg. Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply It's got a zillion good reviews, and it might even fit into my new lenovo case. I don't know if I'll need that much power for the graphics board, but later on I might want to install another disk and maybe some tiny PCI boards. (I've never seen the shorty type PCI-1x sockets, I hope that's what they are). The fans in this thing don't make any noise, after it boots. I guess they run at real low RPMs. It's a great PC for watching NetFlixs! __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

04-07-12, 07:38 PM	#5
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	But it's 280W That's about the weakest PSU that I've ever seen.. I'm not sure that I want to take the chance with a 280W supply. Plus, it seems like a higher rated PSU might run cooler that something that's running at 92% of it's rating..?. How about this one? It's extra green... Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

04-09-12, 11:32 PM	#7
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I decided to stop building PCs when I got the Dell 4600 for my wife. I ended up using it, since my DIY AMD PC stayed with my ham gear down in the (cold) basement. I just brought up the AGP graphic card, so I could play COD on the Dell.. I'm going to put off the graphics & PSU for now, and decide what kind of display to get. I'm thinking of a nice LED backed LCD that runs low power. A Viewsonic VX2453MH maybe.. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

04-13-12, 11:13 AM	#10
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	The new monitor came yesterday. Amazon.com: ASUS VS248H-P 24-Inch Monitor - Black: Computers & Accessories The LED backlight is bright! and it runs really cool. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

04-07-12, 01:55 PM	#2
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 940 Thanks: 41 Thanked 117 Times in 91 Posts	Read the Wikipedia article on 80 Plus. I found that I can get an 80 Plus certified power supply for very little extra money versus a standard power supply at the same performance level. Price them out and find your compromise for performance and price for the wattage of power supply you need. What's nice about 80 Plus is that you can have it only 20% loaded and it is still certified to give you 80% or better efficiency. It also gives you a good idea of what the real wattage that it can support will be since they had to measure efficiency at 100% load. I've seen power supplies I got 5 years ago that fall flat at half of their rated load on the 12v bus but with a method of rating efficiency that takes different load levels I'm a bit more confident in the quality of the actual power supply too. I've been able to find plenty at my local parts store and online and found 80 Plus Bronze units just about $10 more than a comparable high end unit that wasn't. The cost is plenty worth it to me considering it shouldn't take long to save $10 of power. 80 PLUS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

04-07-12, 07:03 PM	#4
RobertSmalls Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 344 Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 15 Posts	The forum over at Silent PC Review is a great source for information on quiet and low power consumption PCs. I'm not the only SPCR'er who thinks that PSUs have gotten too darned big lately. I'm running a 120W PSU, the PicoPSU. I recently upgraded to a Sapphire Radeon HD 7750, which supposedly requires a 400W PSU. rolleyes What the 7750 actually needs is 3.5A of +12V. Graphics card manufacturers have no way to know how much of your PSU's power is availabe on the +12V rail, nor how much power your CPU will draw, so most of them play it safe and recommend very overpowered PSUs. That's a problem because a PSU's efficiency curve is not flat. 80+ certification guarantees 80% efficiency above 20% of load, but below that, <70% efficiency is typical. My recommendation would be to try it out with your current PSU (with Kill-A-Watt in place) and see what you get. If the PC locks up while running FurMark, then you'll know for sure.

04-09-12, 10:26 PM	#6
strider3700 Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver Island BC Posts: 745 Thanks: 23 Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts	I'm running an antec greenworks. I think it was the 380W. It's quiet and it's stable. 100% of the packaging went straight into the recycling bin, which was nice compared to the majority of the garbage created when I built this machine. the PC is very close to 100watts when running only moving up or down 5 or so watts depending on use. This is the same power usage that my very old athlon 3500+ had so I'm very happy with it. I picked everything in the system due to power usage though so it wasn't a big shock.

04-12-12, 02:47 PM	#8
NeilBlanchard Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Maynard, MA Eaarth Posts: 383 Thanks: 78 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	Here's the SPCR recommended PSU page: Recommended Power Supplies \| silentpcreview.com

04-13-12, 10:57 AM	#9
roflwaffle Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 116 Thanks: 29 Thanked 12 Times in 11 Posts	They tend to go on sale for about $20 AR, so just keep an eye out and you can pick one up for not too much.