Again I die...

[Gavrushka]

... - But now I'm a little concerned. - The PC I'm getting has a 500watt PSU, and that's just what the dead one had. - The graphics card is a 1050GTI, so doesn't use much, and the I7 8700 uses only 65 watts, but I'm not as tech-savvy as once I was, so was wondering if there is some other power draw when playing games that's overstressing it.

The only way to know is to add everything up, using manufacturer's specs. Some sites let you do that easily using a drop-down/other stock picker menu in order to pick out an adequate PSU or they'll make recommendations for PSU.

IMO, just mine, 500 watts seems a bit low for a modern system. But, I have always been a "more power" sort of guy when it comes down to PSUs.

Here's a generic tool you can use: https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator (Just grabbed one off a quick search, there are plenty of others)

Here's a manufacturer's tool if, for instance, you'd want to use CoolerMaster - http://www.coolermaster.com/power-supply-calculator/

What a brilliant site. Thank you! - Well, I entered all the details, including scope for a couple of additional external drives, and it came in at a recommended supply of just under 400 watts. Even so, I've contacted the supplier about whether it's possible to upgrade without damaging the warranty. - Thing is, it appears a lot of the new components use less power than their predecessors, and I'd always looked at a 750watt supply as the baseline.


@AdmiralTigerClaw: Yes, point taken, and I've lost enough PSUs to appreciate it's foolhardy to run them anywhere near capacity. - I will upgrade. Thanks.

@OwnlyMe: -Ah, I'm not so tech-savvy, and appreciate I may have gone for a less than ideal CPU, but I imagine it'll be good enough for a year or two, and I'll try to put a little more thought into my next purchase.

[Raztax]

Thanks, everyone, for their input. - I think I've decided to go for a brand new PC, and will just slot my existing graphics card into it: This one seemed decent. I'm paying a little more than I'd wanted, but it has received good reviews

The HDD is basically useless for gaming, especially for open world games.

I game from both HDD and SSD and while an SSD is clearly much faster, to say that HDDs are useless for gaming is just not true.

[Morkonan]

Thanks, everyone, for their input. - I think I've decided to go for a brand new PC, and will just slot my existing graphics card into it: This one seemed decent. I'm paying a little more than I'd wanted, but it has received good reviews

The HDD is basically useless for gaming, especially for open world games.

I game from both HDD and SSD and while an SSD is clearly much faster, to say that HDDs are useless for gaming is just not true.

^--- This. I've been gaming for decades, from IDE on, and normal HDDs, even if they're not even 7200 rpm, are just fine. IIRC, doesn't the XBox use a 5400 rpm HDD? And it's "basically useless, especially for open world games?"

/sigh

[jlehtone]

+1

Elite's Frontier was on single FD floppy, "open world" and playable (although bit buggy).
Have we been spoiled, if anything but a ramdisk on DDR4-4000 is "too slow"?

Ultra wide 8k is "basically useless" for Good Old Games that were optimized for 640x480 VGA.

[Gavrushka]

I've never used a SSD device, but I've sure played games from a floppy disc... And even played Orb of Zot on a Sharp MZ80K from a tape cassette. - I'm not even sure what the argument over a HDD being useless actually was other than the 5 -30 seconds wait time before playing for 2 or 3 hours. I'm old and patient. I can use that 30 seconds to find a more comfortable position on my chair so my piles don't itch so bad.

[birdtable]

Use that 30 seconds to read the notebook/notes of what you intended to do from the last play session but had totally forgotten.

[Gavrushka]

Use that 30 seconds to read the notebook/notes of what you intended to do from the last play session but had totally forgotten.

I would, if I could remember where I left the damned book...

And the new PC is AWESOME by the way. - I rang Monday to ask for it to be customised, and they made the alterations (including upgraded PSU,) still delivering the next day. - I can recommend Palicomp to anyone in the UK looking to buy a new PC.

[Morkonan]

That rapid-turnaround with your request says a lot about their responsiveness to their customers! Good company!

I have piles of old notebooks filled with X3TC notes... Primarily, I wrote down every darn coordinate for every Build Station mission because of that annoying bug. And, I loved doing those missions, since they had a huge pay-off and energized the economy where they were placed. Best Missions Ever!

[Gavrushka]

Ha, definitely pantsing X4, and still bumbling through trying to work out how to effectively use the map overlay (from which everything in-game can be controlled.)

One thing I can't work out is how to change the speed of the case fans on my new computer... LOL... I've a remote control which does alter them both (I see the strobing effect through the case lights change) but there is no indication of whether it's going faster or slower. -There's no bios control setting for it, and I've even checked the power draw from PC monitoring software, but there are no clues there. :/

[pjknibbs]

In a computer with multiple case fans there's usually a separate fan controller driving them, which is nothing to do with the BIOS, so you wouldn't see any difference there. As for the power draw, a typical computer fan draws a couple of watts at most, so the difference when you rev them up is going to be minimal. Basically, you'd have to use an external stroboscope to see how fast the fans are actually going, or else rely on the sound they make.

Is there a reason you're concerned about this? Is there any sign the system is overheating or thermally throttling itself?

[Gavrushka]

It seems the only control is the remote one that came with the PC (which also makes the case lights flash and change colour... ) It's frustrating knowing I can change the fan speed, but with no idea whether I'd set it to idle or turbo +1, and it's an historic concern inherited from the death of my last two PCs that's making me a little twitchy.

As regards temperatures, I simply don't understand whether they're high, low or as should be expected. - My processor (I7 8700) has hit 64 Celsius under load, and my graphics card (GTX 1050 Ti) a degree higher than that.

I'd seen the non-contact tachometers on Amazon, and had wondered if they'd work on a PC fan. I think you're saying they would, yes?

[pjknibbs]

As regards temperatures, I simply don't understand whether they're high, low or as should be expected. - My processor (I7 8700) has hit 64 Celsius under load, and my graphics card (GTX 1050 Ti) a degree higher than that.

I'd seen the non-contact tachometers on Amazon, and had wondered if they'd work on a PC fan. I think you're saying they would, yes?

Can't see any reason why they shouldn't, but 65 degrees is really nothing to be worried about. If they were hitting 85 under load then I'd be concerned.

[jlehtone]

The chassis seems* to be a "CiT Prism" (and "CiT" is practically ungoogleable UK manufacturer).
The chassis has? a "hub" that receives power from PSU, control signals from the remote, and supplies power to the case fans.
The fans obviously receive power for both engine and leds. It is not clear how proprietary connectors they have.

* By Amazon picture. Product code does not match anything on the Palicomp site.


At some point the motherboards started to host 3-pin (speed by voltage) and/or 4-pin (speed by PWM) fan connectors and "standard" fans appeared for them. On those setups, particularly the PWM, the motherboard controls the speed of fan, may have custom response curve, and can show speed to OS programmatically.

There are separate fan controllers, like https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Comm ... B00V80IQTS
that let you see and set the speed "on the box", assuming you can connect your fans to them. In ideal case the speed of fans reacts to temperature, i.e. attempts to keep the machine "cool" without running full throttle when you are surfing here.

Fancy stuff and actual speed aside, I'd just set a compromise fan speed that does not let the machine overcook at full stress nor sound disturbing at low load. Set and forget.

Can you hear the difference between slow and fast revs?
Can you see a temperature difference between slow and fast revs?
Can you feel a difference in the breeze?

[Morkonan]

...As regards temperatures, I simply don't understand whether they're high, low or as should be expected. - My processor (I7 8700) has hit 64 Celsius under load, and my graphics card (GTX 1050 Ti) a degree higher than that....

I'd seen the non-contact tachometers on Amazon, and had wondered if they'd work on a PC fan. I think you're saying they would, yes?

You should be able to find recommended operating temperature ratings for any vulnerable component in documentation or on the manufacturer's website. 64 deg C is fine "under load." Depending upon what you're using to monitor temps, you might be able to set warnings/temp-based performance, etc.. HWMonitor and Speedfan are popular choices for monitoring choices. You should, however, be getting speed info from your fans. "Chained" fans, that may be found in new cases where multiple fans are connected to the same lead/harness will only have one fan reporting, though. (Might be in custom cases?)

HWMonitor: https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
Speedfan: http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
CPUID (can also gather interesting info): https://www.cpuid.com/

I've used all of the above and they're nice apps to have around. You may also want to check your motherboard's manufacturer's website or included driver/disk for reporting software and/or BIOS settings if necessary.

[pjknibbs]

You should, however, be getting speed info from your fans. "Chained" fans, that may be found in new cases where multiple fans are connected to the same lead/harness will only have one fan reporting, though. (Might be in custom cases?)

Not necessarily. They don't connect all the fans to a single motherboard header and chain them together, because that wouldn't work--the motherboard isn't designed to supply multiple fans from that single source. Instead, they have a fan controller unit which is powered from a standard Molex plug, with a separate remote control to vary the fan speed. Because the fan controller is powered from the PSU directly there's nothing in the BIOS or the motherboard that can read the fan speed.