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Number crunching :
Killed a 525W PSU, throwing a 850W at SETI@home
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Author | Message |
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Ryan Helfter Send message Joined: 7 Jun 00 Posts: 75 Credit: 4,488,605 RAC: 0 |
I know the answer is not I, but I do wonder how many PSUs an average SETI user has gone through? |
Ryan Helfter Send message Joined: 7 Jun 00 Posts: 75 Credit: 4,488,605 RAC: 0 |
I am at 5 for my SETI career. |
Fred J. Verster Send message Joined: 21 Apr 04 Posts: 3252 Credit: 31,903,643 RAC: 0 |
I know the answer is not I, but I do wonder how many PSUs an average SETI user has gone through? (But why do want to throw 850 at SETI, don't know Watt or what, but a CO2 LASER will certainly do the job?!) Just choose the right PSU for the rig, having 25% overhead is OK. CPU =~ 85 -120W, GTX480 = 220W, Mobo, HDD, fans, 35 -75W = 120+220+75= 415Watt. PSU = 650Watt, doesn't even get warm, 28C. |
Mike Send message Joined: 17 Feb 01 Posts: 34253 Credit: 79,922,639 RAC: 80 |
I haven´t killed one by now. After 9 years just upgraded but the old one is still running in another computer. With each crime and every kindness we birth our future. |
Wiggo Send message Joined: 24 Jan 00 Posts: 34744 Credit: 261,360,520 RAC: 489 |
I havn't killed any either but as hardware here is upgraded so is the PSU and the old stuff just get handed down through the family then out the door. Cheers. |
arkayn Send message Joined: 14 May 99 Posts: 4438 Credit: 55,006,323 RAC: 0 |
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Ryan Helfter Send message Joined: 7 Jun 00 Posts: 75 Credit: 4,488,605 RAC: 0 |
I have a quad core + GTX570 SOC, 2 SATA drives, 1 CDROM, 2 fans and crunching 24/7 . Besides, it was onsale at Best Buy for $149 for a Thermaltake 850. Can't beat that :) |
archae86 Send message Joined: 31 Aug 99 Posts: 909 Credit: 1,582,816 RAC: 0 |
I've replaced three supplies in somewhat over ten years of running SETI/Einstein. One was a hard failure that actually blew a puff of smoke out the power supply vent, then made a bit of a flash when the offending component finished the death dance, which I could see as the flash reflected off the smoke. One was a hard failure, but nothing so spectacular, though I think I recall some bulging capacitors. One was disliked enough by my system that it declined to boot, though a simple voltage check suggested it was largely alive. I'll call that a parametric drift, and not entirely sure whether to blame the supply or the motherboard for them not liking each other. I don't know how much the extra load of running SETI/Einstein contributed to the failures. Over that period I probably averaged having four systems running--so my failure rate seems to be roughly one for every 140,000 hours of operation, and I only started spending extra for supplies I hoped to be good in about the last five years. I don't, by the way, define "good" as "having an output rating far over double the input power consumption of my rig" despite that being popular advice here. |
HAL9000 Send message Joined: 11 Sep 99 Posts: 6534 Credit: 196,805,888 RAC: 57 |
Oddly enough I just smoked one on Saturday. I had not realized the 3.5" to 2.5" PATA adapters I was using had exposed solder joints where the power connector was located. "I'll just set this drive down here on the case where it will be safe & turn it on." Everything was fine at first. Then I heard the drive spinning down and up a few times. Then lots of smoke from everywhere. It still smells of burnt melted plastic & exploded silicone in here. SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[ |
kittyman Send message Joined: 9 Jul 00 Posts: 51468 Credit: 1,018,363,574 RAC: 1,004 |
I went through about 6 550w Coolermaster supplies... They were all about the same vintage, and one by one, gave up the magic smoke in one fashion or another. They seemed to have a finite lifespan. Knock on wood, I have not lost any since changing over to premium PC Power and Cooling Silencers....(at least some of the current versions are contract manufactured for them by Seasonics). "Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster |
Cheng Fan Soon Send message Joined: 3 Oct 05 Posts: 76 Credit: 4,581,394 RAC: 15 |
I am thinking the other way, that is to use a smaller power supply(but high efficiency one) to reduce the power consumption A desktop with a pentium I5 (less than 100W), motherboard+onboard graphics card+harddisk will not consume more than 150W, take out the DVD drive. So a 250W will be enough. I also running setiathome on a laptop, this laptop's power supply is only 180Watt. |
HAL9000 Send message Joined: 11 Sep 99 Posts: 6534 Credit: 196,805,888 RAC: 57 |
I am thinking the other way, that is to use a smaller power supply(but high efficiency one) to reduce the power consumption Most computer power supplies have their peek efficiency around 50%. So you may want closer to a 200w for maximum efficiency. One of my systems that used a mobile processor and chipset only pulls 40-50w. So the 350w PSU in that case is running only being loaded about 15%. This is below the 20% load rating for 80Plus. So my efficiency could be awful. Honestly I am surprised the PSU has lived all these years with that low of a load. Switching PSUs don't care to be underloaded just as much as they don't like being overloaded. SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[ |
Uli Send message Joined: 6 Feb 00 Posts: 10923 Credit: 5,996,015 RAC: 1 |
I smoked two so far. Yep the last one smelled a little bit, but didn't kill anything else. Pluto will always be a planet to me. Seti Ambassador Not to late to order an Anni Shirt |
Paul D Harris Send message Joined: 1 Dec 99 Posts: 1122 Credit: 33,600,005 RAC: 0 |
I have wasted 2 psu the first was a 650 and it bit the dust when I put in my 2nd 460 vc. The second last month a 750 cooler master that I have got a rma on it but waiting for postage money to send it back 5 year warrenty |
W5DMG - Dave Send message Joined: 19 May 99 Posts: 155 Credit: 33,162,251 RAC: 0 |
Besides, it was onsale at Best Buy for $149 for a Thermaltake 850. Can't beat that :) Just maybe, NewEgg has their Rosewill 1000watt, 80 plus cert, with 3 year warr. On sale normally $149.99, and now $59.99. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182188&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL110111&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL110111-_-EMC-110111-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17182188-L01D |
razamatraz Send message Joined: 23 Oct 07 Posts: 142 Credit: 27,815,748 RAC: 0 |
I've only killed one, and it was an Enermax Revo 850. Not sure I actually killed it should have been only around 600 Watts, but it did die. |
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