Which high end psu?

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TrueRush

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 31, 2001
Messages
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sorry if i may sound redundant but i posted this in the sticky thread but not sure if its getting any exposure so i'm resorting to a new post.

this thread has been very informative and i'd like to thank the mod and his sidekick for the detailed information or i would have never knew what was going on about psu's.

just a little history about my situation. for several months and probably years i have been plagued with problems such as subpar oc'ing feats especially keeping it stable. i have always blamed my 2x512 ram or my p4 1.8b and now my p4 2.8c or the mobo.

now i have finally realize or believe anyway that all these inconveniences were actually caused by my subpar vantec 520w or for the most part. the sudden reboots and freezing....while gaming would be clearly explained.

anyway, recently about a couple of months back i was getting these weird artifacts plaguing the screen with my 9800pro and had to rma it since i couldnt figure it out. this too showed up with my 6800gt.

after closer inspecition i finally found out my psu was extremely dirty due to my lack of care after 2years or so. the lowest fan setting was not even spinning the fans! so i preceeded to set it on the highest fan setting and whala i felt tons of heat exiting the exhaust fan and i tried some games out and to my disbelief no more artifacts well just a lot less now. they just come and go every now and then. memtest and prime95 do give horizontal lines across the screen tho. i later removed the psu and cleaned it thoroughly but i think its either too late for this psu or it just isnt up to par for the hardware running. i have used an aiw 7500 and my system runs flawless no artifacts albiet slow with games.

after reading post after post i have made up my mind to get a quality psu. they are:

pcp&c - 470 silencer or 510
ocz - 520 modstream or powerstream
fortron - 530 or 500 blue storm

my concern here is having the best possible psu with some future proofness in mind. i dont have sli or any ata in use. i do intend to perhaps have some ata in the future but not a priority atm. also perhaps a sli setup also not piority. what would be the best option at the moment for me? bearing in mind i want to oc everything. i went to pcp&c site but got easily confused on what i acutally needed espeically with the ata cables and what not. also any good voltmeter recommendatoins? *noise is not a huge issue however i am wary of the pcp&c psu that everyone was complaining about the noise on it. i do however have 2x120 panaflos that do not have any speed regulating so if its not as loud as these i would be satisfied.

current setup but not all put inplace due to inconsistencies of vantec 520a:

intel p4 2.8c
abit ic7
cosair 2x512 xms 3500
bfg 6800gt
winxp sp2
vantec stealth 520a
vantec nexus fan controller
5hdds - 2x120hdd 2x250hdd 1x160hdd all wd 8mb 720 EIDE w/ pci promise ultra card
6fans - 4 80x 2 120x
pioneer 16x dvd
liteon 52x24x52 writer
sony 21" cpd
creative audigy 2
nec pci card
generic full atx tower
 
You might want to consider Enermax as well. I've done very well with their power supplies, and use them almost exclusively now.
 
i bought an enermax 350w when i was starting out this hobby for $60.00 at a convention but it was for my p3 866 and it was rock stable for the longest time until i gave the system to my sister and its still kicking.

with the new system requirements nowadays i'm not sure if getting an enermax for the price/performance ratio justifies the means. to be honest if i was getting an 600w enermax i would rather buy a pcp&c for $200.00.

when i made this system i bought my vantec for $130.00 at the time and i thought it was one of the best psu out there i should have gone with a antec tru 550 it would have obviously been the better choice. i'd want to avoid this past mistake and go with something that has been tried and true.

the pcp&c's are pretty expensive but i'm not sure if i'll even need that short of power but if it'll make my system rock stable w/o having to worry about inconsistancies with power going thru the lines then yeah i'll definately get it. where is the psu czar when you need him. :(
 
The OCZ PowerStream 520w will provide all the power you need for that setup and the PowerStream is one of the best PSU's on the market. Its quiet and provides alot of power all while looking very attractive with its mirror finish and green LED fan. It also carries a 5 year warranty and OCZ's customer service is excellent.
 
whats the difference between the modstream and powerstream other then the exterior features? i really dont care for asethetics like the glowing fans and such i just want/need it to be a good stable psu.
 
thanks burning the powerstream was actually my 2nd choice over the pcp&c. i ordered just today it should arrive on mon or tues.
 
just went to the shack to pick up a multimeter and got these results per aug1516 suggestion on using the voltmeter on psu.

from my vantec 520a:

12v = 11.71
5v = 4.93
3.3v = 2.07

all below actually stats should i be concerned?
 
TrueRush said:
whats the difference between the modstream and powerstream other then the exterior features? i really dont care for asethetics like the glowing fans and such i just want/need it to be a good stable psu.
Click to expand...

The PowerStream is a little stronger PSU while the Modstream is modular.

TrueRush said:
just went to the shack to pick up a multimeter and got these results per aug1516 suggestion on using the voltmeter on psu.

from my vantec 520a:

12v = 11.71
5v = 4.93
3.3v = 2.07

all below actually stats should i be concerned?
Click to expand...

Your 3.3v rail is way too low if you measured it correctly.
 
the bios had it at 2.97 i might be wrong i'll retry them later. as far as the 12v and 5v in bios it was pretty close to the meter readings i got which was all below the supposed volts.
 
TrueRush said:
where is the psu czar when you need him
Click to expand...
rearranging components in 4 rackmounts at the same time? :p
and boning up on Linux

my concern here is having the best possible psu with some future proofness in mind
Click to expand...

the PCP&C 510 would have been my recommendation considering the overclocking

however no power supply is a substitute for a UPS
while a high quality supply can deal with a broader range of source power
at the same time youd have a substantial change in transient load,
its just not a good idea to let it deal with serious brownouts or spikes

the Powerstreams are good supplies for the money,
but Im not as confident of veracity of the specs
(and OCZ hasnt been forthcoming with clarifications)


as for multimeters you get what you pay for
Fluke is highly regarded, but not exactly cheap

Fluke 175 - Accuracy ± (0.15%+2).............................$170
Fluke 177 - Accuracy ± (0.09%+2).............................$210
Fluke 179 - Accuracy ± (0.09%+2).............................$275
Max. Resolution 0.1 mV

Fluke 189 - Accuracy ± (0.025%+5)............................$360
Max. Resolution 1 µV

a cheap RadioShack DMM is likely to have an accuracy of ± 0.5% > ± 0.7%

as far as acceptable ranges
Basic Spec compliance of 5% is
+12V....11.4V to 12.6V
+5V......4.75V to 5.25V
+3.3V...3.135V to 3.465V
 
thanks for the reply i purchased a belkin universal series 1100va along with the psu. the shipping along with that from newegg was $40.00. :confused:

being the impatient person i am i went ahead and just got it since my system is pretty unstable right now. in retrospect i think i might have jumped the horse getting the powerstream. i'll call newegg and see if i can refuse the shipment of the psu and get a refund on monday. its probably arriving monday as well.

as far as the multimeter is concerned i purchased a extech true rms multimeter from radio shack but i doubt i'll be needed it. gonna return that as well and get a cheapo one.
 
which PC Power & Cooling would you suggest? there's like for variations of the 510 and i'[m not sure if i'll need the sli or the express version at this time.

so its either the atx or atx w/pfc. i read that pfc increases the power factor and makes the power supply more efficient so is that pick a no brainer?
 
the Powerstream is a damn nice supply,
and would very likely do what you need it to do


that multimeter sound like a reasonably good one (RMS) as well
but its your money and decision, I dont see any "issues" going either way
Good Luck ;)
 
all the 510 Turbo Cools are PFC
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/highperformance/turbocools/510/index.htm

I have an EPS12V varient the "AG", which means it comes with a 24 pin main power connector, 8 pin Aux +12V mobo connector and an AGP Pro power connector (just like a PCI-E 6 pin, but with different a different rail\wire combination, in need I could convert it in say a half hour with a soldering iron and some wire)

if you are ever going to run a dually mobo with this supply youd get an EPS12V version
and simply connect the 8 pin +12V aux connector to the 4 pin on your current mobo directly (they keyed like double 4 pins) with a spot of hotglue (since the clips wont line up) or get a converter, or order it with a custom harness that has one of each connector
(one of my Ablecoms is done like that)

if your ever going to run a PCI-E card with a 6 pin Video aux connector, get the express
same for the SLi, basically these are dedicated strands with that 6 pin vid aux connector
its best if there are no other devices on those strands, on the one hand the express is a singlke strand, on the other a dual

on the other hand if you handy with a soldering iron, you can add strands and connectors as you need

the Deluxe, Express and SLi are black w\ braided cables (and have holes for you to adjust the pots externally) and you pay a bit more for that over a standard supply , there are also addditional options available but again they cost

the one thing you must do in my opinion is get a supply with a 24 pin connector
stock only the Express and SLi have the 24 pin (and any EPS12V)
so if you get the standard or the Deluxe, you need to specify that its to have a 24 pin main power connector (wouldnt think that would cast any additional but Im not sure)
 
TrueRush said:
which PC Power & Cooling would you suggest? there's like for variations of the 510 and i'[m not sure if i'll need the sli or the express version at this time.

so its either the atx or atx w/pfc. i read that pfc increases the power factor and makes the power supply more efficient so is that pick a no brainer?
Click to expand...

I dont really think that Active PFC is a needed feature for PSU's in the United States. The PowerStreams sold outside of the US are required to have Active PFC because of regulations and the fact that the power isn't as good in places like Europe or something.

But anyways, when MaximumPC reviewed both of these power supplies they measured the power draw on both machines and the PowerStream required less power then the PCP&C 510w which makes it more efficient if thats what your wondering about.

A PowerStream will more then handle the rig you have now and new upgrades to come. Its nearly as strong as the PC Power and Cooling PSU in almost every way and in some ways its a little better so ither PSU is going to be the absolute top of the line compaired to what everyone else is using in their machine :).
 
burningrave101 said:
I dont really think that Active PFC is a needed feature for PSU's in the United States. The PowerStreams sold outside of the US are required to have Active PFC because of regulations and the fact that the power isn't as good in places like Europe or something.

But anyways, when MaximumPC reviewed both of these power supplies they measured the power draw on both machines and the PowerStream required less power then the PCP&C 510w which makes it more efficient if thats what your wondering about.

A PowerStream will more then handle the rig you have now and new upgrades to come. Its nearly as strong as the PC Power and Cooling PSU in almost every way and in some ways its a little better so ither PSU is going to be the absolute top of the line compaired to what everyone else is using in their machine :).
Click to expand...

how much of a difference were the two with the power being used?

czar: do you mean 24 Pin to 20 Pin motherboard power adapter? i would image they come like that unless they dont? so the other pcp&c psu's come with the 20 pin on the psu themselves if i'm reading you correctly?
 
i dont know about the antec neo's performance but the watt spec wont fill my needs. as far as the antec true power 550 well i'm thinking it could possibly work on my system however its not a gauranteed it would be rock stable when i end up oc'ing. i already spent $130.00 on my last powersupply and spending another $60 or so doesnt hurt for best stability and i'd rather not take a short cut this time since i'm more aware of a lot of the companies practices with their voltage ratings which are shady at best.

*czar i know what yo mean now. get the 24 pin molex connect with the psu instead of the 20 and get a 24 pin to 20 pin connector. at least i think thats what you meant.
 
sorry, Ive been rebuilding computer this week and havent been online as much
(swapping around components, little utility mods, migrating some to Linux)

yes that is what I meant, get the 24 and use a coverter if you need to ;)
I would actually make that recommmendation for anyone buying a supply if they hope to use it in the next generations (or this gen) of mobos ;)

and the Neopower does get recommended quite abit
the Powerstreams\Modstreams have managed to edge it out in load regulation
@ spcr, and the Powerstream has an advantage in amps, but the Neopower is a true ATX12V v2.0 with dual rails, whereas the Powerstreams and Turbo Cools are v1.3 hybrids with a si9ngle rail
(actually in a well regulated supply not much of an issue, and the single rail is more flexible, as the total +12V capacity is thus available)
 
i'm considering the 510 sli setup. btw, czar would you consider this Power wattage calculator from 3DCool.com as and alternative from your "how to buy a psu" sticky? i found that calculator a bit confusing at times. even tho this one is simpler and not to precise as that one it still gives a good example of what you would need and pretty straight forward imo.
 
TrueRush said:
i'm considering the 510 sli setup. btw, czar would you consider this Power wattage calculator from 3DCool.com as and alternative from your "how to buy a psu" sticky? i found that calculator a bit confusing at times. even tho this one is simpler and not to precise as that one it still gives a good example of what you would need and pretty straight forward imo.
Click to expand...

no its relatively useless
for instance I just put together a system and it spit out 431 some odd watts
but it doesnt say on what rails
same setup at Takaman tells me it needs 423 Watts but more importanty

+3.3V @ 2.7A
+5V @ 21.7A
combined wattage of 117.5 or better
and
+12V @ 24.6A
with a Total wattage of 423 Watts

if the capacity aint where it needs to be you have got problems even if the total wattage is accurate
then you still need to factor in what to derate the supply for temperature
24.6A is damn heavy on the +12V meaning a supply with that many amps after you deduct about a third of them, course thats dependent on the make and model, your actual operating temperature, what employs those amps when (as in drives and fans vs CPU\GPU)

basically its a placebo calculator, makes you feel good, overates stuff a bit
but when it comes down to it, its entirely possible to configure a system and then go out and buy a PSU that wont actually power it

as such its actually contributing to the problem
 
ic well i wont lie i'm not knowledgable with those voltage readings at all its mroe or less pretty confusing to me. :p

i'm ordering from 3dcool.com for the 510 sli psu and the cool thing is they're in nyc and i'm in cali and pcp&c is in cali as well. pcp&c is shipping direct from their warehouse so its not a far shipment to los angeles. $10+ for shipping and no tax! hell yea. only downside is they wont be shipping until the 11th of this month but i can wait as long as what the rep from 3dcool told me holds true.
 
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