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PaulTa
12-22-2006, 08:39
Rosewill RP500-2 ATX 2.01 500W Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817182016

I've got a mid range PCI E card, a disk and burner, and a gig of RAM. Would this PS work well as an addition to my tower?

I would have posted this in the tech forum here, but you guys have "be back in five minutes" signs manned by crickets in there. I need some input relatively soon, since I am considering purchasing in a few hours.

Thanks in advance guys.

sapi
12-22-2006, 09:19
Yes, a 500W psu would be plenty for that system.

However, i'm not sure that i've ever heard of the brand - what's the warranty/returns policy like? You really don't want your PSU to blow up :P

PaulTa
12-22-2006, 09:29
three year warranty from the manufacturer... newegg has the RMA 30 day thing.

BigTex
12-22-2006, 09:32
500w's great. Make sure it has a sufficient cooling system though. I've seen a couple of those bugger's with only one fan. Also check the warranty carefully. There can be some bad catches on them.

PaulTa
12-22-2006, 09:49
It's only one fan, but 120cm. All of the reviews on newegg say it's a great PS, five out of five, etc.

What I'm really concerned about is the fact that it is only 18A on the 12v connector.

Barry Fitzgerald
12-22-2006, 13:37
Don't be concerned over the 18amps...

Of course it would help to know what cpu you are using?

It is only with very high end graphics cards that put a pull on the PSU....a dual SLI for example would warrant 500watts +

For the most part moderate graphics even with a dual core and 2HDD's and extra bits wont even stretch a 350W PSU...remember that not all PSU's are equal..some of the cheaper high watt ones deliver less stable power than more expensive lower watt ones.

Even my current setup runs under 270watts at max load...I would have to SLI it to even think about changing the PSU..

TheSeated
12-22-2006, 14:38
500 is the new standard. Silly thread tho. You dont need any help.

Carl
12-22-2006, 14:57
Go find some independent reivews on it. Their where a load of 500watt "gold" PSU's going round a couple of years back that where terrible and would garuntee that they destroyed your system.

CaptainSolo
12-22-2006, 15:48
I remember when SLI made it's return a year or so ago Nvidia recommended a 500 Watt power supply but they were only covering themselves really.Covering themselves against the cheaper PSU's they knew many would buy.They knew 500W per se was not really required.

A decent brand PSU with individual rails for 3.3,5,12V is preferable to a single rail PSU with a higher Wattage.
You also pay a good bit more for surge protection so it's up to you whether you need it.

On a mid spec rig with one Gpu and one disk drive that PSU will be more than enough,and 18A on the 12v will easily be enough also.

A good branded one is preferable however as they are usually quiter and have a longer life but it's all down to cost at the end of the day.I'm not sure of prices in the USA so i cant comment really.

madchoochter
12-22-2006, 16:15
Be very careful with a PSU purchase. I fried my system with a dodgy one. £50 psu, £800 system all gone! :dizzy2: Needless to say I was not a happy bunny. :wall:

Barry Fitzgerald
12-22-2006, 16:30
500 is the new standard. Silly thread tho. You dont need any help.


Sorry to have to say this but as a system builder very few need 500 watts power...very very few...as mentioned only the SLI top end systems..new standards means not a whole lot.

On most pc's the peak power consumption is nowhere near this at all...

If you don't need it...a waste of cash

Veresov
12-22-2006, 17:55
Sorry to have to say this but as a system builder very few need 500 watts power...very very few...as mentioned only the SLI top end systems..new standards means not a whole lot.

On most pc's the peak power consumption is nowhere near this at all...

If you don't need it...a waste of cash

If you have a 6800 Nvidia card, a 500w power supply is a must.

CaptainSolo
12-22-2006, 18:06
Be very careful with a PSU purchase. I fried my system with a dodgy one. £50 psu, £800 system all gone! :dizzy2: Needless to say I was not a happy bunny. :wall:

Yup,it's suprising how many good rigs i have seen with very cheap power supplies,it's probably the most skimped on component from my experience.


Sorry to have to say this but as a system builder very few need 500 watts power...very very few...as mentioned only the SLI top end systems..new standards means not a whole lot.

On most pc's the peak power consumption is nowhere near this at all...

If you don't need it...a waste of cash

Totally agree Barry.My last rig had 2 raptor drives in with 2 7800 GTX cards in sli and that purred along quite happily on a good quality branded 460watt PSU.I'll bet there was plenty left over too.

zandor
12-22-2006, 19:03
500W is a "bit" of overkill for what sounds like a pretty normal desktop. $50 is about right for a normal machine if you get a decent brand though. It's far more important to get a quality PSU than one with a high wattage rating most of the time.

If you actually need 500+ watts, you're probably talking about some sort of expensive monster machine (dual cpus, 8800, sli, etc.), in which case you should be looking for the best PSU around to protect your $3000+ beast.

I don't really have any experience with Rosewill. The brands I see most often recommended seem to be Seasonic, Enermax, Antec, Fortron (FSP Group), and PC Power & Cooling (expensive... these are mostly for dual proc/SLI boxes & servers).

For non-monster applications I tend to like Enermax Noistakers. They're solid units, and I like the adjustable fan. Most PSUs move a lot more air than they need to to keep themselves cool since they're designed under the assumption the PSU fan will be doing much of the work of cooling the system. I've always got several other fans in the case, so there's no need for the PSU to move a lot of air and make a lot of noise. They are a bit more pricey though, $80 or so.

For budget builds I'd normally just install a $40-50 Fortron. I've only had a problem with one once, and that was an "ID-ten-T" problem. They like to put a switch on the back of the PSU, which can be confusing for some people.

My personal workstation runs off a PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 550W. I'm a programmer though, and it's a full blown workstation machine. Dual Opterons, 4 SCSI HDs, etc. Plus I tossed in a 7900GTX so it doubles as my gaming machine. Of course, if I didn't program on it for a living I really doubt I'd have those dual procs. I'm pretty impressed with the thing. Despite handling a much bigger load than my other machine and running at a higher % of its maximum capacity it kept the machine up through power problems that crashed my other box & made my lights and monitors flicker. I've since invested in a UPS for each system. At $200 I wouldn't recommend it unless you're building a "monster" machine though.

Barry Fitzgerald
12-22-2006, 22:36
If anyone is interested there is an online calculator to give you an idea of what you may need.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

Also bear in mind for newer CPU's due to the reduction in the Nm fabrications...power consumptions are lower than before...a high point being the Pentium D dual cores...the new Core 2 is very low..and also the SKt AM2 Athlon 64's are also low.

PaulTa
12-23-2006, 01:06
Wattage isn't my main concern, but mostly the amps on the 12V line. I'm planning on getting a 7600 GT that comes overclocked out of the box from BFG, and I want to make sure that I don't really screw myself by not getting enough ampage to the graphics card.

I currently have an X800 GTO plugged into the standard ship dell power supply, and the damn amp rating on the 12V line wasn't hardly enough (I haven't started reading up on the poor forgotten and neglected power supply 'till lately). Of course, I had a fan malfunction and a few black screens that I attribute to not enough power.

If anything, I'd love a 400 watt power supply that chugs at least 20 amps to the 12V line. Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time finding one on my limited budget.

What I'd like to know is if there is a huge difference between 18 amps and 20 amps... particularly a hardware frying difference. If that's the case, I might end up having to plug out more money on the power supply and waiting to get the card.

Barry Fitzgerald
12-23-2006, 01:36
18amps is not a problem for that set up..not at all. I tend to use Antec PSU's myself..the odd thermaltake one also...

That Graphics card isnt juicy..not at all..even overclocked...at standard it will pull maybe 30 watts..more overclocked...

Really no concerns over the amps at all...

As for make..that is up to you..I would spend more myself..Antec do an extensive range..at all prices...I have had no problems from them at all...

Probably worth spending a bit more...IMO..

But don't worry about the amps issue...it really isnt one.....

PaulTa
12-23-2006, 01:45
Thanks barry.

I've been reading up on this power supply that I'm thinking about getting, and aside from the 18 amps vs 20 amps it's supposed to be a great supply. It's cool, silent, durable, reliable, etc. Almost all of the customer reviews on newegg give it five out of five, and say that they're impressed with the little beast since it only costs fifty bucks.

If the amp difference isn't going to kill me, I think I'll go with the one above. Thanks again barry.

Geezer57
12-25-2006, 00:05
It's only one fan, but 120cm. All of the reviews on newegg say it's a great PS, five out of five, etc.

What I'm really concerned about is the fact that it is only 18A on the 12v connector.
What you're overlooking is that this PS has two 12v rails, one 18A and the other 16A. 34A @ 12v should be overkill for your rig. Rosewill is an inexpensive brand, but their quality seems pretty good. I've used several of their products, all were fine. Recommended.

PaulTa
12-26-2006, 00:43
I actually did quite a bit more research on power supplies, and have come up with this:

I have a Dell 4700 model, and Dell is guilty of using proprietary parts (which means that if you want to upgrade, you have to do it through Dell or the parts either wont fit or will fry your system).

I've read that the 4700 doesn't use many proprietary parts, and that you can stick an ATX power supply into one without destroying your system, even though the motherboard is BTX.

Considering the case dimensions, I needed a PSU that has an 80mm fan on the back, since I don't have any room above or below for an extra fan (the case is solid metal on the top, and I don't want to cut a hole in my case).

I've decided to upgrade my graphics purchase. Instead of going with the 7600 GT OC from BFG Tech, I'm going to go with the eVGA 7900 GS KO (currently being sold for 175 dollars on newegg). This card requires as much ampage on the 12V line as the BFG, but doesn't use the standard nVidia cooling system (standard heatsink and fan). The eVGA fan and heatsink is bigger, runs smoother, and runs quiter, while keeping the system cooler than the BFG fans.

The manufacturer of the PSU I'll be purchasing later tonight is an ePOWER ZU-550W ATX12V Version 2.0, which has SATA connectors that my mobo requires, a total of 40 amps on the 12V line (2 12V @ 20A), 550 watt total, and front and back 80mm fans for not only cooling the power supply, but helping to keep the case cool as well. Thankfully, this PSU only sells for about fifty bucks on newegg, and all of the reviews say that the power supply and brand is excellent for not being a big name brand.


So ladies and gentlemen, I will be moving from a standard ship Dell 305 watt PSU and an X800 GTO to a 550 watt power supply with twice the amps on the 12V rails and a 7900 GS KO from eVGA. The quality of my graphics intensive gaming should jump about 200%, not to mention I will have adequate clean power running to the whole machine instead of hoping that I sqeak by on a 305 watt.


The next time I have disposable income, I'll be investing in 2x 1 gig DDR2 RAM sticks from kingston, retailing for 217 dollars on newegg. The next next purchase will be a hard-drive with 200 gig space on it (preferably RAPTOR).




I know that I came here asking questions, but after four days of constant research I feel competent enough to help others out if they need any tech advice for comp hardware. Thanks for the help offered guys, it did help.

Phatose
12-29-2006, 04:10
Anybody know offhand who actually makes that Rebranded PSU he's talking about?