Are Core i5 machines with weak cores suitable for your needs?
Are Core i5 machines with weak cores suitable for your needs?
I am the lead tech for a local tech-focused non-profit. We just got a donation of eight pre-built Core i5 business PCs, which we’re refurbishing and using for community initiatives. Surprisingly, the first unit I inspected had a 240W power supply. I’ve never seen a Core i5 PC with such low wattage. I’d normally expect at least 500W! Of course, these are integrated graphics/APUs and don’t have powerful GeForce cards, but still...
Is 240W sufficient for a Core i5? One machine had a 255W PSU, but I was shocked to find another with just 180W. We’re also planning to add WiFi adapters to all the PCs, which I know aren’t power-hungry, but these seem underpowered.
All the units are Core i5 (quad-core), originally designed for Windows 7, now upgraded to Windows 10. Each has a 500GB SATA drive and a DVD burner—some even have dual-layer drives.
Here are a few examples for reference (all PCs are essentially one of these three models):
Lenovo ThinkCentre M92P
HP Compaq Pro 6305
Dell Optiplex 3040 (this model has the low 180W PSU)
Any additional insights would be greatly appreciated!
It would assist if you specified the exact i5 quad-core processors you mean, as they vary significantly in power usage. For instance, the i5 7600k typically has a TDP of 91W.
OEM PC manufacturers reduce expenses by selecting PSUs that barely satisfy the power requirements of systems. As long as there are no GPUs or other high-power components, they are acceptable for use. This includes avoiding overclocking, using standard CPUs, skipping older models, and excluding RGB features or AIOs.
Almost every prebuilt model using i5 processors, particularly older ones, will require PSUs of this capacity when the GPU isn't present. Throughout most of Intel's timeline, their i5 chips have been under 100W, often by a large amount, making a 500W power supply unnecessary for an office setup.
It appears several i5 models with APUs are in the mix. It might be a bit too much for typical business setups, though. We’ll also need to add WiFi adapters, which aren’t especially power-hungry.
Not really, but for security you can purchase affordable 600-650 watt power supplies on amazon or newegg for 70-80 USD.
The HP model is an OEM unit and therefore not upgradable. The Lenovo version can be upgraded using a superior external power supply. The HP model employs SFF (I believe) and can be upgraded with any standard SFF power supply.
A few of them, both from Optiplex, clearly have proprietary (elongated) PSUs. The others are just standard micro-ATX ones. (I also spotted one that was a LITEON PSU.)
From the comments here, I think 300W PSUs should be enough. Either way, I plan to start by checking CPU temperatures on all of them, and make sure all fans are working correctly, just to be safe.
DVD burners work well. The PC is probably around 100W when under load. There are some edge cases, but the main power users are CPUs and GPUs. Even with a CPU under 100W and no GPU, most devices can manage that demand. This comes from someone who really values their power supply; if I even think about a PSU issue, I’ll replace it on a critical machine and only reuse it after testing it with a load tester and oscilloscope.