I am going to help a friend rebuild his pc for fallout 4.He has an alien ware with a 600w psu. If i do a 6600k build would i be safe to use the old psu or should I get a new one.
what are the rest of the system specs?
It will have a 6600k, ASRock Z170 Pro4, 16gb ddr4 ram, 1 ssd, 1 large hdd, and i haven't decided on the gpu. anything from 960 or 380 to 970 or 390 nonx
also 2 optical drives.
How old is the PSU?
I estimate 2008-10. The processor was a e8400, ddr2 ram, and gtx 295. If that gives you a date.
600W should basicly be okay, but what brand and model is it?
Maybe the psu has been changed in the past.
I need to look at the list of parts from the receipt because there was not obvious branding on the psu. If it is some no name brand should I replace it?
Oh, I've re-read your post regarding your GPU plans. Yeah ... I'd buy a new one. I had the impression you would be using the iGPU.
I plugged your numbers into the PSU calculator of Enermax ... and they tell me 577 Watt minimum. These are worst case numbers with a 390. I'd really get a new power supply.
But I'd keep the old PSU. It will be useful for an office system or an HTPC.
well im tempting to say that i would recommend to replace it.
However it still can be a decent unit even without branding on it.
But if there is no branding on it, i assume it could be as old as the setup is.
And in that case, i would personaly recommend to replace it.
It could even be the case that the psu also lacks on certain connectors like dual 8 pin pci-e or 8 + 6 pci-e power connectors for the todays graphics cards.
Ofc there are molex to pci-e adaptors availeble, but i´m personaly not a fan of using adaptors like that.
If the psu lacks on those certain connections, then i would assume that the psu will not be ready for a powerhungry GPU from nowdays.
I would say double check the psu.
But if there is any money for a psu upgrade, then dont hassle but just do it!
Thanks I will look at probably the 970 with a corsair cx600m. Unless you think the 390 would be better.(need to do 1080p for about 7 more years)
i would go with the 390 then.
slightly more "future proof" wenn it comes to vram.
But i hate to use the word future proof, because it basicly isnt realy a thing,
wenn it comes to the tech world.
If its that old and you plan to reuse it get at least a cheap PSU tester to check if voltages stay within the norms after those years.Second thing is capacitor aging,some say its a myth but still I would factor that in.You woulnt like your new system to explode.Also +12 volt rail total wattage, it would be nice to know that before you get overclockable cpu and gpu.And final question , if it has enough connectors (pci-e 6 and 8 pin, 8 pin cpu etc.) so you wont have to use adaptors etc.Get a new one, there is no need to go for 1500w psu but having extra watts there helps a bit, Psu running at 100% is not the best idea also leaves some room for upgrades. Try to save money on different parts but get a solid psu.
Ill do the 390 unless a sale on something else in the range comes up when the build starts.
But i hate to use the word future proof, because it basicly isnt realy a thing,
Yea but you can make it future resistant. Picked z170 and ddr4 so those parts can be reused on a future build if necessary.
Ill probably get a 650 or 600 watt psu. The gpu is actually going to draw less power 390 vs a gtx 295 dual gpu.(really old)
What would you suggest for a psu. I was looking at the cx600m with is 45 with rebate now but I seen where people say there not that good.
That is what i read too, might have been a bad batch, things like that happen.I run multi gpu setups for ages so have experience with entry level psus :( There is a lot of good PSU threads here .