Calling all Power Gurus

[Blazer7]

I?m currently waiting for my new APC SmartUPS 1500VA/980W to arrive and my next move will be to upgrade my PSU.

In addition to the rig in my sig I use the following peripherals : Canon Pixma iP5300, HP ScanJet 8200c, Speakers, etc. When under load my power consumption so far was at around 85% of the capacity of my old UPS (APC SmartUPS 1000VA/670W).

In the coming months I will be looking to upgrade my motherboard, graphics boards and cpu. Because of the amount of cables in my case I will definitely favor modular designs.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Current list of candidates :

Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W
Tagan TG1300-U88 BZ 1300W
Silverstone Zeus ZM1200M 1200W
Silverstone DA1200 1200W

 

[MarcVenice]

Erm, I think you've got it all wrong. Those peripherals, the printers and speakers etc, aren't hooked up to your PSU, so you don't have to take them into consideration when buying a PSU.

So, having that said, seeing you have 2 cards in SLI, even if you get TWO gtx 280's in SLI, you still don't need a 1100w PSU, a 800-900w PSU should be fine, and will save you a lot of money. It would be better if you just mention the parts you plan on getting, and then pick a PSU, but I don't see you needing anything near 1100w...

 

[HOOfan 1]

Unless you are experiencing problems with your Enermax Galaxy....then there is no need to replace it.

 

[MarcVenice]

Oh yeah, of course, the 850w PSU you currently have should easily suffice.

 

[Rubycon]

Toughpower 1200W no question. It's one of the best power supplies out there.
I'd get rid of the Enermax but I am biased against them due to Liberty fireworks displays.

 

[HOOfan 1]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Toughpower 1200W no question. It's one of the best power supplies out there.
I'd get rid of the Enermax but I am biased against them due to Liberty fireworks displays.

Silverstone Zeus ZM1200

 

[Blazer7]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Erm, I think you've got it all wrong. Those peripherals, the printers and speakers etc, aren't hooked up to your PSU, so you don't have to take them into consideration when buying a PSU.

So, having that said, seeing you have 2 cards in SLI, even if you get TWO gtx 280's in SLI, you still don't need a 1100w PSU, a 800-900w PSU should be fine, and will save you a lot of money. It would be better if you just mention the parts you plan on getting, and then pick a PSU, but I don't see you needing anything near 1100w...

Hello Marc,

No I don?t have it all wrong. All my peripherals are connected to my UPS. The Scanner is connected directly to an IEC 320 C13 socket while all the rest are plugged into 2 modified power strips that also connect to IEC 320 C13 sockets. The speakers and some other stuff can be turned off when a power failure occurs (both power strips have switches to turn them off) but I certainly need the scanner the printer and my reading lamp on the UPS all the time.

As for the upgrade, I?m looking at an X58/Nehalem or P45/3.0-3.2GHz Yorkfield setup. The video card upgrade will depend on the mobo of course and will most likely happen a few months after the mobo/cpu upgrade. I?m looking to upgrade my mobo/cpu at around X-Mass.

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Toughpower 1200W no question. It's one of the best power supplies out there.
I'd get rid of the Enermax but I am biased against them due to Liberty fireworks displays.

Silverstone Zeus ZM1200

That looks like a nice one. Added to my candidate list.
Thanx

Originally posted by: Rubycon
I'd get rid of the Enermax but I am biased against them due to Liberty fireworks displays.

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
Unless you are experiencing problems with your Enermax Galaxy....then there is no need to replace it.

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Oh yeah, of course, the 850w PSU you currently have should easily suffice.

I?ve never had any problems with Enermax PSUs and this one has served me well but it has been stressed for so long and when under load it gets worm and emits quite some heat. Besides, I do not think that it will be able to cope with my setup as this will come to be in the coming months, at least not in the long term. Its efficiency is somewhere around 84% but since this is not a brand-new PSU that must have come down. That said I prefer to spend the cash and be, or feel if you like, safe. A new, bigger, more efficient and cooler running PSU can certainly do that.

 

[PurdueRy]

This thread confuses me....

OP, he didn't say you had it all wrong because you weren't hooking it up to the UPS he said you had it all wrong because you are NOT going to hook these up to the PSU of your computer. How do you justify the need for a 1300W power supply for your computer?

Also since when is Enermax NOT a name brand?

 

[Blazer7]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
This thread confuses me....

OP, he didn't say you had it all wrong because you weren't hooking it up to the UPS he said you had it all wrong because you are NOT going to hook these up to the PSU of your computer. How do you justify the need for a 1300W power supply for your computer?

Also since when is Enermax NOT a name brand?

Ooops, you?re right, Marc too. My bad. This whole UPS/PSU upgrade is just one and the same issue for me and I seem to have been carried away. Sorry Marc, everyone. Damn acronyms.

As for the Enermax, nobody said that it is not a brand name and the 1300W is not a must. I?m looking for something in the 1100-1300W range and the reasons for that are as I?ve mentioned in my previous post.

I like something with more headroom, better efficiency and less heat emissions. This along with the fact that I do not believe that my 850W can cut it in the long term, not with my future upgrade anyway. I believe that moving to a 1100-1300W won?t be such a bad choice and since I will be selling the 850 it won?t cost me that much. Besides as I?ve already mentioned I prefer to spend the cash and be/feel safe.

Does anyone believe that my aging 850W will cut it for another 2-3 years after my upgrade? I would really value the opinion of you guys on this.

 

[MarcVenice]

Look, if you want something with the best efficiency and thus least heat emmition ( those are directly related ) then you buy a antec signature 850w. Done deal, or buy a enermax modu82+ 625w.

Honestly, all that power will be more then plenty for your supposed setup, unless you're going to SLI/Crossfire multiple videocards.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Blazer7

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
This thread confuses me....

OP, he didn't say you had it all wrong because you weren't hooking it up to the UPS he said you had it all wrong because you are NOT going to hook these up to the PSU of your computer. How do you justify the need for a 1300W power supply for your computer?

Also since when is Enermax NOT a name brand?

Ooops, you?re right, Marc too. My bad. This whole UPS/PSU upgrade is just one and the same issue for me and I seem to have been carried away. Sorry Marc, everyone. Damn acronyms.

As for the Enermax, nobody said that it is not a brand name and the 1300W is not a must. I?m looking for something in the 1100-1300W range and the reasons for that are as I?ve mentioned in my previous post.

I like something with more headroom, better efficiency and less heat emissions. This along with the fact that I do not believe that my 850W can cut it in the long term, not with my future upgrade anyway. I believe that moving to a 1100-1300W won?t be such a bad choice and since I will be selling the 850 it won?t cost me that much. Besides as I?ve already mentioned I prefer to spend the cash and be/feel safe.

Does anyone believe that my aging 850W will cut it for another 2-3 years after my upgrade? I would really value the opinion of you guys on this.

What graphics card setup are you going to? You never told us what your future plans were besides the CPU and mobo.

A larger PSU is not always more efficient. There is an optimum load to put on any PSU. Given that most Computers don't even pull 500W under load, and I don't anticipate this changing in near future, I don't see any reason to go above a 850W.

 

[scruffypup]

Unless you are going to be doing extreme overclocking with the new processor, overclocking nvidia 280 in sli, running a 4 disk raptor array with 8+ Delta case fans, have some misc components like fan controllers, sound card, tv tuner all hooked up,.... you will be fine with the PSU you have for quite a while. (And if you are running all that,... heck get 4 power supplies,.. you obviously have the money!!!). Jump up in PSU wattage once it would actually be needed in 2-3 years,.. if even then.

Just me throwing my 2 cents in,.

 

[Blazer7]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
See, you do have it all wrong. Having hooked up all those peripherals into your UPS or not doesn't matter at all. They won't be drawing power from the PSU, so getting a gigantic PSU is the biggest waste of money EVER.

If you are looking at a i7 or a yorkfield clocked at 3-3.2ghz, and a highend videocard, a 600w PSU will suffice, and if you wanna be on the save side, a corsair 750tx can be had for $100. But then again, your enermax is still up to the task, how old is it exactly?

I can not stress this enough mate, but a decent 1200w PSU will cost $250 or more, and all you really need is a $80-100 PSU. Do yourself a favor, and get some more opinions on this, and you'll see that I'm right...

Hello Marc,

Yes I guess that I was carried away because of my UPS upgrade.

My PSU is about 2.5 years old and I can get ~110-140 if I sell it so a new 1100/1300W PSU will set me back about half of that 250.

During the last 5 days all I?m doing is getting opinions. However, most people I?ve asked were in favor of a new and bigger PSU. Part of why I've initiated this thread instead of just going out there to get a new PSU is that I would like to get some more opinions on this. And it's working...


@ PurdueRy,

As I?ve already mentioned I?m looking to either an X58/Nehalem or P45/Yorkfield setup. If I end up with the X58 I?ll remain in the SLI camp, If not then I?ll go for CF. It?s more likely that I?ll go for the X58.

Regarding Enermax, in my previous post I only mentioned that my PSU is not brand-new, a.k.a. used, and that because of its age its efficiency must have deteriorated from that 84%. I?ve never said anything about Enermax not being a brand name. In fact if there was a Galaxy at the 1100-1300W range I would have included it in my candidate list.

I agree that a larger PSU is not always more efficient but I expect a brand-new and bigger PSU to be a bit more sufficient than mine. I also expect my rig to pull more than the 500W you mentioned. However, efficiency is not the only criteria, heat, longevity and cable management are also part of the equation.

I really appreciate your opinion on this and I count it along with Marc?s. In fact I?ve already started thinking of keeping my 850 for the time being and re-evaluate the whole situation after I upgrade my mobo and cpu.

Anyways, I?m still interested in what other people have to say about decent 1100-1300W units just in case.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Blazer7
@ PurdueRy,

As I?ve already mentioned I?m looking to either an X58/Nehalem or P45/Yorkfield setup. If I end up with the X58 I?ll remain in the SLI camp, If not then I?ll go for CF. It?s more likely that I?ll go for the X58.

I know you said that as I acknowledged in my previous post. However, in comparison to video cards, CPU's and motherboards take generally very little power. Since you did not specify how high end you are going there is no way for me to judge how much power you need to supply. However, given that you are looking at SLI and not quad SLI, I see no reason to go beyond the 850W power supply. A SLI rig won't pull more than 500-ish Watts under load. The supply you have now is more than adequet.

If you don't believe me about my power figures lookie here:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=22

Keep in mind this will be from the wall and therefore even the highest end configurations are using much less than 500W from the PSU.

 

[Blazer7]

Originally posted by: scruffypup
Unless you are going to be doing extreme overclocking with the new processor, overclocking nvidia 280 in sli, running a 4 disk raptor array with 8+ Delta case fans, have some misc components like fan controllers, sound card, tv tuner all hooked up,.... you will be fine with the PSU you have for quite a while. (And if you are running all that,... heck get 4 power supplies,.. you obviously have the money!!!). Jump up in PSU wattage once it would actually be needed in 2-3 years,.. if even then.

Just me throwing my 2 cents in,.

No I?m not thinking of going extreme overclocking on my cpu. My case has 7 fans (all controlled with the help of thermistors to minimize noise) and I already have 8 disks in 4 raid 0 arrays (6 raptors). I?m not planning on adding more fans or disks. I do have some misc components and 1 PCI card (WiFi) and the only thing I will be adding is a PCI/PCI-E 2 or 4 port RAID controller. There?s also a small change with my optical drives as I will be replacing my PX-716SA bucket with something that actually works but that?s it. I do not believe that any of this will change things significantly.

I only expect the cpu and VGA upgrade to make a difference, nothing else, and No, I don't like to throw money away. If the 850 can handle the load I?ll be more than happy to keep it.

Originally posted by: PurdueRy

Originally posted by: Blazer7
@ PurdueRy,

As I?ve already mentioned I?m looking to either an X58/Nehalem or P45/Yorkfield setup. If I end up with the X58 I?ll remain in the SLI camp, If not then I?ll go for CF. It?s more likely that I?ll go for the X58.

I know you said that as I acknowledged in my previous post. However, in comparison to video cards, CPU's and motherboards take generally very little power. Since you did not specify how high end you are going there is no way for me to judge how much power you need to supply. However, given that you are looking at SLI and not quad SLI, I see no reason to go beyond the 850W power supply. A SLI rig won't pull more than 500-ish Watts under load. The supply you have now is more than adequet.

If you don't believe me about my power figures lookie here:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=22

Quad or triple SLI are completely out of the question. In the remote chance that I will go with CF instead, I won?t be going for anything more than dual 4870x2 cards and that?s remote as I don?t believe that I need that much firepower (or the heat). I believe that it?s safe to say that dual GTX280 will probably be the limit for me right now. There?s always the chance that by the time I?ll be ready to upgrade my VGAs something new will be out there. In that case I do not expect to get anything that will need more than 120% of the power 2 GTX280s need right now.

I?ve already counted your opinion along with Marc?s and now scruffypup?s so there?s no issue of whether I believe you or not. Thanks for the link also.

Keep in mind this will be from the wall and therefore even the highest end configurations are using much less than 500W from the PSU.

My UPS you mean. And there I?ll have to add all my other stuff. Still I won?t have any problem there.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: Blazer7

Keep in mind this will be from the wall and therefore even the highest end configurations are using much less than 500W from the PSU.

My UPS you mean. And there I?ll have to add all my other stuff. Still I won?t have any problem there.

No.....I mean your PSU. Those charts I gave you are from the wall. Factor in power supply efficiency and the actual load on the PSU is much less than 500W at load.

 

[Blazer7]

Hello PurdueRy,

I know what you meant and you are right but what I wanted to say was that the numbers at the wall also matter to me. I?m not getting power from the network but from a UPS and that means that the amount of power that I can draw is somewhat limited. As I?ve mentioned before the UPS/PSU upgrade is one issue for me so in addition to the PSU?s load I?ve also have to calculate the load on the UPS too. That would be my rig, the peripherals I?ve listed in my previous posts plus my monitor that draws another 100W. I know that this does not have anything to do with the PSU but it still matters a lot to me.

Anyway, it appears that opening this thread was the smart thing to do and I thank you all for your feedback. Based on the info I got here I?m now sure that my 850W is still up to the task so I?m keeping it and that means money saved.

Thanks to everyone for your help.