New Rig - What psu?

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 10:05

Hi all,

in the next month i shall have the kit below but im miffed on what PSU to get for it! ive been told to get a Pc power and cooling psu, but that will mean modifying the case and adding more fans ( which isn’t a prob) and the PSU is about £290 inc p&p , and is also 9.1 inches long hence why id have to modify it. And I think its overkill as I wont be upgrading anytime soon.

I want to stick with 1 PSU,

I’ve been looking at the Enermax 620W, but it has quit a lot of bad reviews and I don’t know how good modular PSU’s are.

Sseasonic 600w Not sure about but almost everyone has one so it must be good.!

I want the PSU to handle the system below and to take some upgrades in the future and some overclocking without any problem what so ever. Or do I wait a few weeks until the new Tagan 900W and 1.1kw

The spec is going to be.

Coolermaster CM Stacker T01 (Inc cross flow fan)

DFI Lanparty UT RDX200 CF-DR

Dual Core Athlon 64 4800+

OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC4000 Dual Channel Platinum Series

ATI Radeon X1900 ***Crossfire Edition*** 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)

Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)

my old IDE

Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 120GB 1200JB ATA-100 8MB Cache

And Creative DVD Rom
Plextor PX- 708A – DVD RW

And maybe in the future get a nice
Western Digital Raptor 150GB WD1500ADFD 10,000RPM SATA 16MB Cache
Maybe 2x

Please post your thoughts here!

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 11:13

I’ve just been looking at the NEO HE Range also as it has three 18a rails (max 500w across them) I don’t know if its more suitable for my system other than the S12. Thought I could have 3 separate lines one for the cpu and the other for the graphics cards. But I think that the S12 will be quieter under full load at gaming etc, and better airflow (if that matters?)

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 11:53

Intresting read about the Tagan's

Quote from Dan

Any brand name PSU with a reasonable rating will run any sensible PC today, and that's not likely to change. These Tagans, however, don't just suit certain niche users down to the ground. They also give everybody else insurance against problems that they might, perhaps, later have. Buy one, set it to combined-rail mode, and relax in the knowledge that adding stuff in the future won't create weird and wonderful problems.

Highly recommended.

Hmm tempting and the U15 Tagan is modular

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 12:04

So many psu's to choose from

guess it's down to what one is best for the computer. what 1 psu would everyone reccomend Atm for me its the Seasonic / Enermax 620w (mod) or the new Tagan U15

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 15:26

Seems like a nice psu that Silverstone, though I’ve never heard of them. Think ill have to wait until the end of the month and see where the psu manufactures are going.

Atm
Pc power and cooling (Expensive and 9.1 inches long BUT are the dogs breakfast and is a must)
Enermax Liberty (good all rounder and passed the tests at Extreme tech)
Seasonic (same as the Enermax passed all tests at extreme tech)
Antec Neo (don’t really like Antec)

Silverstone Zues – never heard of the company but seem very stable
Tagan – nice features could be a winner but again I’ve never used any of there psu’s

Added

The site is an American so no doubt they will be moody at want the best most people who have done a review has either has a bad psu with it blowing up, there are quite a few on the site that have had this. So hence the bad review.

a quote from a poster on the site.

Quote: In my opinion these burnouts and/or explosions are happening at a rate that could just be parlayed to chance or coincidence. According to this NewEgg sample alone I see an almost 10% failure rate. Just to compare, I spent about the last hour researching the site in the +$70 ramge and couldn't find any other unit that had this kind of problem. I really have no idea what could have caused this to happen, but I am very curious as all the parts seems to be well made. I build PCs for a living so I do know what I'm doing and couldn't imagine it was user error. Also, system load was VERY low. No apps were running and I was just adjusting the monitor settings when it happened. Final thought, my experience happened exactly as by the guy who wrote in that was playing FFXI. In my opinion that would suggest a manufacturing defect of some sort, so CAVEAT EMPTOR!!! Also, I'm pretty sure I followed the guidelines this time and this gets published, people need to know.

Friends have recommended the Enermax to me as they have the old 450w psu and its lasted over 3 years now.

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 15:49

No problem, i've still no conclusion on what psu to get as new things come into the post and also psu devs are bringing out new psu's mostly this month heh. Wait and see unless ill have to rush , atm will be the Enermax Liberty

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 16:36

Enermax Liberty / Tangan / Silverstone - After reading the review at Dans and seeing the results i think that the silverstone will be the best of the lot though its not modular :/ the dual rails have defo caught my attention.

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 19:36

As the Cm Stacker T01 is quite a large case anyone know if the cables are long enough there? Looking at it i know that the Pc power and cooling psu's are the dogs breakfast but i dont really want to spend £290 odd on a psu but you get what you pay for. The seasonic is quite the main runner at the moment and is on my A list.

Mp4 · 23 Apr 2006 at 22:02

Hmm i might email Seasonic on that matter and see if they have fixed it also DFI. I have no problem getting the PCP & C but it is expensive (it will last 4-5 upgrades) but its 9.1 inches long and i would have to fit it at the bottom of the coolermaster T01, Which is fine i guess but had my heart set on 1 psu and mounted at the top where its meant to be. I shall have to read more into psu's i think there is loads of information from everyone who’s posted. Appreciated: P keep them coming though quite interesting finding out the aspects of different psu’s and whatnot: D

Mp4 · 24 Apr 2006 at 16:21

So basically, get a PC power & cooling psu no question's asked ?, i think it can fit i the bottom of the case but i wouldn’t be sure about airflow, and really £290 on a psu (yes its long-term) but too expensive at the moment as i want to get up and running asap. And i wont be fully upgrading for at least 2-3 years (i hope) ill maybe add a few raptors etc to it and maybe a new DVD rom , but thats about it. Might wait and see what reviews the Tagan's get i dont think its large as the pc power and cooling psu's either and its about £100 cheaper there 900W is about £185inc p&p. Other than that Seasonic S12 and the enermax 620 is looking great

and there are quite decent reviews on the old Tagan U15's.

Mp4 · 25 Apr 2006 at 17:53

TG900-U95 (TURBOJET)

Record-breaking: Over 900 Watt for Quad GFX engines and multi-core server systems

The TurboJet Series offers solutions for high-end gaming, video design, and server applications

• Compatible with Intel EPS12V Ver.2.9 and downwards

• Universal motherboard support due to 20+4 pin main power as well as 4-pin & 8-pin +12V power connectors for 20, 20+4, 24+4, and 24+8 configurations

• Four 6-pin PCI Express connectors with REMI technology reduce EMI and support multible graphic cards

• Combo-S2M (SATA to IDE) connectors empowering all types of hard drives

• Universal AC input range for all countries: 110~240VAC

• 36 months warranty

From the Tagan site , they did have a datasheet but taken it offline :/

Mp4 · 25 Apr 2006 at 19:30

Managed to find this on there FAQ's section But not 100% if this technology is enhanced with there new PSU's

7. Why the TSCT-Curve (Tagan Silence Control Technology) not showing the dependency of the Temperature – but of the Load percentage ??
Answer : Temperature is an indirect result of the energy loss in form of heat (so-called heat-dissipation – electrical to thermal loss). The total energy loss of power supply depends strongly on its efficiency and the actual loads on its DC-outputs. By controlling the air-flow / air-convection the heat energy loss should be as soon as possible conveyed out from inside the power supply, to guarantee the heat-balance and the optimum of mean temperature inside the power supply. In detail each value of the temperature depends also on what kind of components and its location. Power components, like power-diode, MOSFET, HV-transistor etc. producing the most local energy loss (so-called “hot-spots”), which - through the built-in heat-sinks of appropriate dimension and large surfaces - should be conducted and over its surface conveyed out by the air-convection. It has therefore a sense that TSCT-curve showing the dependency on the load than on the temperature , because the energy loss is proportional to the loads. Note : Tagan power supplies have a high efficiency of ca. 75% and a PF-value up to 0.99 on high-loads. The special designed heat-sinks of the Tagan power supplies enable not only the best thermal management but also a lowest possible fan noise development. Indeed Tagan does not need fan on light-loads (i.e. zero dB operation); nevertheless for the sake of security at least one fan should run and on higher loads (due to higher heat-dissipations) then both 2 fans are working.

Mp4 · 26 Apr 2006 at 22:37

I know an american site that sells them , but postage and packing is about £14+ if you pm me i shall send a link 2u, it has every psu you need

even though ive not come up with a verdict on what psu im getting , ive had confirmation that the Tagan's are gradualy coming to UK , some where sent yesturday but another company had them on pre order etc. I shall be getting a spec sheet from them soon also. ill keep you posted

Mp4 · 27 Apr 2006 at 16:41

They seem solid, though the new Tagan psu's have Quad pcie - i will only use 2 of them, still worth getting? though i shall never want 4 pcie cards well i hope not anyways. Anyone have good remarks to say about Tagan psu's? Just reading the ATI website about Crossfire whats been tested with it for the x1900's there are not many psu's that have been tested and there seems to be more tested for the x1800's rather than the x1900's. So i take it the psu's that have been tested for the x1800's are cirtified for the x1900's? It just seems odd that they have only tested Enermax , seasonic , etc just for the x1900's.

Mp4 · 27 Apr 2006 at 19:15

The FX700-GLN Epsilon was one of the first psu's i looked at, all i saw was 700W and that it was Nvidia and Ati certified.

Heres some tech info about it.

The FX700-GLN is the higher end Epsilon model on the list; a 700 Watt beast of a power supply supplying an astonishing 50A on the 4 separate 15A 12V rails alone. Coupled with a super high 85% efficiency and a low noise rating from FSP, we were very interested to see if this 700W PSU would show any noticeable performance benefits.

BUT Silverstone have gone and added 10A more to there Zues series.

SilverStone is again setting the benchmark for consumer-level power supplies. The new Zeus is now up to 750W at 50°C while maintaining a size that is easy to integrate into most systems. With an incredible 60A combined (over 700W) for the +12V rail alone, the ST75ZF is capable of powering any top of the line systems available today and beyond. Coupled with higher than 80% efficiency and top quality cooling fan, the ST75ZF is also quieter and more user friendly than its predecessor while providing more power.

Quad +12V rail for superior performance
Dual PCI-E 6pin connectors (SLI & CrossFire ready)
Industrial class components
Support for ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS12V
Active PFC
Efficiency greater than 80% (max. 86%)

Mp4 · 27 Apr 2006 at 20:14

turbotoaster said:
DONT get the tagan 580w, its not got enough power for your system, i know, ive got one, ive got to save up for a 1k psu at the moment to power my system

there is a wattage calculator knocking about at the moment, it says i need at least 700w, thats with no area off play so for me its 850w or 1k

your system would be ok with a tagan, until ya overclock anything and then it would die, im running 2 PSU at the moment to get me by, but its not ideal

I wont be getting anything lower than 600w, The new Tagan's are 900w + And i shall be overclocking my graphics cards , and memory. I have the rig above and then i have to add 6+ fans to that. There are loads of choices, still no closer to buying a psu. Unless i buy all of them and solve my dilemma that way

Silverstone / Tagan / FSP

Mp4 · 27 Apr 2006 at 21:36

Yeah i 580W Type-R its a nice looking psu, but there is just something i don't like about them. Its llike Marmite tbh, probably do a vote or something at the beginning of May and see where that ends up ....

Mp4 · 28 Apr 2006 at 09:23

Can anyone tell me which cables are shorter than the others?

Nevermind :E

* 16" cable for main 20+4 pin ATX connector.
* 26" cable with two 6-pin PCIe video / SLI connectors
* 18" auxiliary 12V connector
* 19" auxiliary 4x12V connector (for dual CPU boards)
* 33 " cable with three 4-pin IDE drive connectors and one floppy drive power connector
* 27" cable with two 4-pin IDE drive connectors and one floppy drive power connector
* 2 x 24" cables with two SATA drive connectors each
* 21" cable with 3-pin PSU fan speed monitor connector for motherboard

First thing that says is hello overload with cables

And there is another post about regarding the seasonic psu's with heavy loaded systems that it fails. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17560859&page=13

Mp4 · 28 Apr 2006 at 18:16

Just got confirmation that the new Silverstone psu ST75ZF is out next week.
Imo it sounds better than the FSP but cant decide really, atm i think its the best on the market.

SilverStone is again setting the benchmark for consumer-level power supplies. The new Zeus is now up to 750W at 50°C while maintaining a size that is easy to integrate into most systems. With an incredible 60A combined (over 700W) for the +12V rail alone, the ST75ZF is capable of powering any top of the line systems available today and beyond. Coupled with higher than 80% efficiency and top quality cooling fan, the ST75ZF is also quieter and more user friendly than its predecessor while providing more power.

Quad +12V rail for superior performance
Dual PCI-E 6pin connectors (SLI & CrossFire ready)
Industrial class components
Support for ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS12V
Active PFC
Efficiency greater than 80% (max. 86%)

Mp4 · 28 Apr 2006 at 21:26

Indeed i think i shall be getting this

going to wait a week or 2 and see what reviews make of it.