Recommended Upgrades for Gamer Desktop PC inclusions

Ohgun · 12-30-2022, 10:06 PM

I'm considering upgrading my desktop PC's Power Supply Unit from an 800W power supply to a 1200W power supply, and I'm concerned that hooking that rig to my RV could blow a fuse. Are there any battery and power upgrades I can make to ensure that the rest of the RV runs smoothly alongside that PC?

MLP · 12-30-2022, 10:16 PM

Just because it is a 1200 watt power supply does not mean it will draw the 1200 watts. It depends on the load you are putting on that supply.

Ohgun · 12-30-2022, 10:19 PM

I think that's something I can consider when it comes to modifying RVs. Thanks for mentioning that.

**16ACE27** · 12-30-2022, 10:36 PM

IF it drew 1200 watts it won't blow a fuse and probably won't trip a breaker unless you have another large load on the circuit.

Most "Gamer PCs" don't draw anywhere near the 500 watt PS in them, let alone 800 or 1200 watts. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Have you plugged that PC into a Kill-A-Watt to see what it really draws?

What RV are you plugging it into?

Ohgun · 12-30-2022, 10:51 PM

I don't really own a Kill-A-Watt so I honestly don't know how much power my current PC really draws. As for the RV I'm plugging it into, I'm thinking about plugging it into a Thor Outlaw Class A.

Zenith · 01-01-2023, 11:20 PM

What are your PC specs? Jeez that's 10A of power. Do you really need that much?

I built high performance computers (HPCs) for a bit and even our quad-GPU boxes didn't pull that many watts.

1200 watts is ballpark for an under-load infrastructure in a box server (think like Cisco UCS chassis with blades). That's pretty normal for a big SAN like a NetApp too... Home PCs just don't pull that much watts unless you're doing some weird stuff like chilled liquid cooling with a peltier or have a giant backup array with multiple GPUs.

If you're just running SSDs and a single GPU, I wouldn't bother with the upgrade.

For a point of reference, I'm typing this on a system with an i7, 64GB RAM, watercooling, a RAID10 of SSDs with a separate NVME drive, and the Quadro equivalent of a 3060... In an ITX tower with a 500w PSU.

Ohgun · 01-02-2023, 12:15 AM

I'm planning to render 3D Art using Nvidia Iray with my PC and install some Uninterruptable Power Supplies so I can turn off my computer and non-essential appliances safely during a blackout or when my batteries are out of power. But if you say don't need to upgrade. Then I'll consider not upgrading it as well.
My rig has an 800W power supply with an Nvidia GeForce 1660 SUPER and about 24 gigabytes of RAM with an Intel Core i5-9400F CPU. I have a 1 terabyte HDD and a 250 gigabyte SSD with a 2 terabyte external USB Drive and a 1 terabyte External USB Drive.

atreis · 01-02-2023, 12:41 PM

Unless you're running a SLI setup with a two very powerful GPUs in parallel or mining crypto, you're likely fine. You'll pull no where even close to 1200 watts. Even a top of the line GeForce RTX 4090 can only pull a maximum of 600 watts, and it wouldn't be doing that most of the time ( https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nv...ould-pull-600w ). The CPU might pull 100-150 watts at full power, and the rest of the system might add another 50-100 watts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ohgun

Nvidia GeForce 1660 SUPER

The 1660 series was one of the most power-efficient cards made. Flat out, a 1660 Super might pull 70 watts. They were really popular in OEM low-priced "gaming" desktops for that reason - they could use smaller PSUs and not worry a lot about cooling. (These systems are okay for casual gaming, but are generally pretty underpowered relative to full gamer systems, but should be fine for your use case.)

Beau388 · 01-02-2023, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ohgun

I'm considering upgrading my desktop PC's Power Supply Unit from an 800W power supply to a 1200W power supply, and I'm concerned that hooking that rig to my RV could blow a fuse. Are there any battery and power upgrades I can make to ensure that the rest of the RV runs smoothly alongside that PC?

Two answers (assuming you need 1200 watts plus a UHD 27" LCD display) If the RV has at least a 30 and shoreline you would have 2,900 watts usable power (80% of max wattage). Running one A/C, the modem and the lights with the computer should be fine.
If you are planning to use the house batteries as a UPS , you need a 1800 or 2000 watt inverter and at least 120 amp hour (usable) of batteries. That would give about 1 hour usable computer time.

It would best to buy a top of the line Omen laptop like 16Z-N0097 as it comes with battery that will power it for 6 hours or more.

Zenith · 01-03-2023, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ohgun

I'm planning to render 3D Art using Nvidia Iray with my PC and install some Uninterruptable Power Supplies so I can turn off my computer and non-essential appliances safely during a blackout or when my batteries are out of power. But if you say don't need to upgrade. Then I'll consider not upgrading it as well.
My rig has an 800W power supply with an Nvidia GeForce 1660 SUPER and about 24 gigabytes of RAM with an Intel Core i5-9400F CPU. I have a 1 terabyte HDD and a 250 gigabyte SSD with a 2 terabyte external USB Drive and a 1 terabyte External USB Drive.

Got it - that makes sense. If you're looking into a UPS, I highly recommend a unit made by APC. A mid-high end consumer one is perfect for your application - just make sure you plug it in to your PC using the included USB plug and install the software so it gracefully shuts down in case of a power outage.

The 1660 is a great card, but isn't a huge power consumer. Like atreis said, under full load, you'll still be well under 100w and while your drives will pull power, they will still be under 100w.

Your RV should be just fine with this load using your existing computer power supply with no upgrade needed if you have a 50A main and not much running. For a good example, your gaming setup as described should pull less amperage / wattage than a toaster!

Dan-sr@perra-us.net · 01-03-2023, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenith

Got it - that makes sense. If you're looking into a UPS, I highly recommend a unit made by APC. A mid-high end consumer one is perfect for your application - just make sure you plug it in to your PC using the included USB plug and install the software so it gracefully shuts down in case of a power outage.

The 1660 is a great card, but isn't a huge power consumer. Like atreis said, under full load, you'll still be well under 100w and while your drives will pull power, they will still be under 100w.

Your RV should be just fine with this load using your existing computer power supply with no upgrade needed if you have a 50A main and not much running. For a good example, your gaming setup as described should pull less amperage / wattage than a toaster!

A UPS for your PC is an absolute MUST HAVE. Not only because of the automatic shutdown in the event of a power event, but also to protect the PC electronics from voltage spikes brownouts, ETC. You should also have an EMS, either the kind that plugs into the power pedestal or a hardwired add on to your coach. An EMS is basically a high-end surge protector that verifies correct wiring of the power pedestal.

Ohgun · 01-29-2023, 07:07 PM

That's definitely something to consider, I may even consider using an EcoFlow Dual Power Kit Build that can both be charged using the motorhome's alternator and 50 amp Shore Power cables but each will have its own separate solar array. That's to ensure that having both ACs on doesn't blow a fuse attached to one of them. Still, I'll consider getting some UPSs just in case.

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