Need a new PSU 4 my CF 4870's but which one?

AbsenceJam · 6 Jul 2008 at 14:10

Cyber-Mav said:
the other case with the corsair 450 in it looks like some sort of coolermaster case, possibly an elite 330 from the looks of it.

That was the one, cheers. You should probably get out more though.

Born_2_Kill_83 · 6 Jul 2008 at 14:17

Some great info guys, thankx for all your help!!!!
Think I will go for the 750TX, hopefully it should be overkill, I'm sick of upgrade PSU's.

Noise isnt really an issue as I'm sure my 2 huge fans will drown it out (see pic of my case)

gareth170 · 6 Jul 2008 at 14:50

Loowi_ashley said:
Thats my case so hiding a few cables isnt a problem, will just have to spend 10/15mins doing it.!

i have this case but mine is the 36cm side fan version... hiding the cables isn't really important in this case because its so big the air can easyly move around..

Loowi_ashley said:
Certainly fits the bill but Ive always been told not to buy cheap PSUs, why would I spend £100/120 when I can have this one for £70?!

tbh i think this too. i know people say buy well known brands. i can understand that, but people must think that the well known brands as we know now wasn't well known when they first started they business...

i bought my psu for £60 which as the same specs as a £140+ psu, also its 100% stable. just because the price is cheap or not a well known brand doesn't mean it's crap...

nearly all psu's now come with Protections: Over Current, Over Power, Over Temp, Over Voltage, Under Voltage, Short Circuit...

Big.Wayne · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:26

gareth170 said:
hiding the cables isn't really important in this case because its so big the air can easyly move around..

"My Computer HELL!"

To anybody else reading this thread who is looking for a new PSU, my advice is if you want an easy life and prefere a neat build with great cooling spend a little extra for a Modular PSU.

gurusan · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:32

lmfao.

do you want to see REAL computer hell? This is temporary, going to build my own case this summer out of dark tinted plexi to fit everything all tidy-like

I should get an award for messiest puter.

gareth170 · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:33

Big.Wayne said:
To anybody else reading this thread who is looking for a new PSU, my advice is if you want an easy life and prefere a neat build with great cooling spend a little extra for a Modular PSU.

hmmmm these cables are the same as some £140+ psu's

example heres a Tagan BZ 900W which as the same cable as mine

Tom|Nbk · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:37

Here is mine from when I had my 2900 + Hiper

It's in a similar state now. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Big.Wayne · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:38

gurusan, I forgive you because you are a hardware engineer, while I am looking at the overall picture you are zoomed right in on a mechanical level dealing with vMods, transistors and the like (like Don Jokester also).

We would make a great team, you do the mods and soldering etc and I do the actual build!

marscay · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:46

Fire Wizard said:
Hello marscay, you must remember that it's not necessary the overall wattage of a power supply unit but how much that said unit can provide on the +12Volt rail. Now, I believe that the OCZ power supply unit that Loowi_ashley has can only deliver 425 watts off the +12Volt rail which is around the same amount a dual ATI 4870 system will actually need which would explain the problems that he is experiencing.

the 420w quoted for 4870 crossfire on the anandtech chart i posted is total system wattage not just for 12v, there is enough grunt on that psu for 4870 crossfire.....it has 72a on 12v for bleep sake

but he's obviously got a problem, i think the PSU has degraded or similar.

Happy · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:46

On the basis that a Corsair HX620 won't cut it, I introduce this the Corsair HX1000

Should be just enough

marscay · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:48

Big.Wayne said:
"My Computer HELL!"

To anybody else reading this thread who is looking for a new PSU, my advice is if you want an easy life and prefere a neat build with great cooling spend a little extra for a Modular PSU.

or get a great case like the mountain mods where you can hide stuff out of sight and still fit a few radiators inside

Tom|Nbk · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:50

Big.Wayne said:
"My Computer HELL!"

To anybody else reading this thread who is looking for a new PSU, my advice is if you want an easy life and prefere a neat build with great cooling spend a little extra for a Modular PSU.

This is subjective. I would only ever now get a Modular for a SFF build whereby there is a HIGH chance I wouldn't need all the cables due to a very small amount of kit needing power.

In any enthusiasts rig with a lot of kit you're going to need to feed a lot of power to a fair few things so even with a modular you may find yourself using all of the limited cables and not being any better off?

Defeats the object a bit...no?

I think modular is a bit of a gimmick really.

We got on fine before the days of modular and we can do so now with a bit of planning

marscay · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:51

Tom|Nbk said:
marscay the 4870s in Crossfire suck a **** load more power than the 4850s.

i know Tom i was just using it as an example, 4870X is another ~120w extra but i'm also running an obscene amount of fans and other stuff also on a single 33a rail 520w psu

Big.Wayne · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:52

gareth170 said:
hmmmm these cables are the same as some £140+ psu's

Hey Gareth, no disrespect but I didn't realise you were using a modular PSU, I mean that is such a mess! Haha anyway horses for courses and each to their own

marscay said:
or get a great case like the mountain mods where you can hide stuff out of sight and still fit a few radiators inside

Love to! Maybe one day when I am rich!

gurusan · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:54

marscay said:
or get a great case like the mountain mods where you can hide stuff out of sight and still fit a few radiators inside

im going to try to build my own based around a lian li mobo tray. Would liek a smaller MM case with 1 side puter, the other side WC bits, and all easily accessible.

Big.Wayne · 6 Jul 2008 at 15:57

Tom|Nbk said:
In any enthusiasts rig with a lot of kit you're going to need to feed a lot of power to a fair few things so even with a modular you may find yourself using all of the limited cables and not being any better off?

Three Cables Tom, maybe a few more Modular PCI-E 6+2-Pin Cables if you graphics card uses two (and you are Crossfired).

1x Hardwired ATX 24-Pin
1x Hardwired ATX 8-Pin
1x Modular SATA Cable
1x Modular Molex Cable
1x Modular PCI-E 6+2-Pin Cable
1x Modular PCI-E 6+2-Pin Cable
1x Modular PCI-E 6+2-Pin Cable
1x Modular PCI-E 6+2-Pin Cable

Tom|Nbk · 6 Jul 2008 at 16:00

Not nearly enough for me then. I can see someone needing to use most of those cables anyway. Yes whoopee you can detach two 6 pin cables which you dont need but they hardly take up any space anyway especially as they're not sleeved.

Big.Wayne · 6 Jul 2008 at 16:11

Enough Tom, you made your point, I made my point, job done, lets move on shall we?

Loowi_ashley: I suggest you test your current PSU with a PSU tester before you spend any money. I dare say your PSU has become faulty which is either bad luck or most likely it has boiled to death slowly.

The new style cases which fit the PSU at the bottom of the chassis is a big step forward and I dare say will greatly increase the units lifespan!

If you are stuck with an old Style case then I found that fitting a Scyth Kama Bay (pictured above) works wonders and draws cool air straight into where it is needed most, that being your Processor and Your PSU, however if you have a lump of unused cables sitting in the CD bays this wont work so well, the same if you have a big fat door, which you do!

I would treat yourself to a *Thermally Advantaged* Chassis along with your new PSU, if you intend to set up a powerful Crossfire system it kinda makes sense!

Good Luck!

marscay · 6 Jul 2008 at 16:14

Tom|Nbk said:
This is subjective. I would only ever now get a Modular for a SFF build whereby there is a HIGH chance I wouldn't need all the cables due to a very small amount of kit needing power.

In any enthusiasts rig with a lot of kit you're going to need to feed a lot of power to a fair few things so even with a modular you may find yourself using all of the limited cables and not being any better off?

Defeats the object a bit...no?

I think modular is a bit of a gimmick really.

We got on fine before the days of modular and we can do so now with a bit of planning

i agree, never been a fan of modular psu's.

they're a bit different these days in that they're decent units unlike in the past when they were complete crap but i still rather traditional and use some cable management when neeeded.

Fire Wizard · 6 Jul 2008 at 16:15

Loowi_ashley said:
Think I will go for the 750TX, hopefully it should be overkill, I'm sick of upgrade PSU's.

Hello Loowi_ashley, the Corsair TX 750W ATX2.2 SLI Compliant PSU will be more than enough for the system that you have mentioned.

marscay said:
the 420w quoted for 4870 crossfire on the anandtech chart i posted is total system wattage not just for 12v

Hello marscay, indeed it is. However, most of that power will be needed to be drawn from the +12Volt rail.

there is enough grunt on that psu for 4870 crossfire

Going by what Loowi_ashley has already said and the other system components that he's system consists of, I'm afraid it isn't.

it has 72a on 12v for bleep sake

I'm afraid it doesn’t. The +12Volt rail can only provide up to 425 watts of power which is around 36 amps. You do not simply add all of the +12Volt rails up to come to the conclusion of how many amps a power supply can provide because you cannot load up all 4 rails to their maximum simultaneously.