Is this power supply reliable ?

[firebyyrd]

This is my set up that I am currently using.

AMD 4000+
5 Case fans (90mm). Two fan controllers.
DVDRW/CDRW drive. 16x, 52x.
AUDIGY 2 ZS Platinum sound card.
5.25 internal (audigy) drive.
ABIT AN8 Ultra.
EVGA 7800GT CO 470/1100 .... I'm possibly upgrading to a X1800XT which IS power hungry.
1x 250GB SATAII 16MB hard drive.
2X512mb PQI Turbo 2-3-2-5.

1- 19" triniton CRT monitor.
1- 19" BENQ LCD monitor.
Klipsch 2.1 ProMedia THX speakers.

That's the set up... and right now I'm running on a thermaltake 430 watt power supply. I always have freaking lock ups when I play NFS: Most Wanted.. so I'm really angry.. I believe getting a new power supply will hopefully narrow down the problems and possibly solve it.

I basically just want to know if the 600 watt (coolermaster extreme power) will power this set up, I heard something about how this is just a rebadged 500 watt.. but anyhow 500 watt or 600 watt, I'm assuming it should do the job for that set up. It's dual rail with +12V - 18amps on each rail. +5 I believe has 30A.


Do you think this is a reliable power supply? Also what exactly does dual rails do? If it has 12v - 18amps, what different does it have from my old 430 watt. Could someone give me opinions and answer my questions, thanks!

 

[pkme2]

Coolermaster 600W PSU

SunDial Micro

The Nerds

Hi-Tech Reviews

See tech Specs for requested info.

 

[pkme2]

Newegg Customer review: Only for low power systems

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817171008

Pros: Rails are stable. Works fine for low power draw systems....

Cons: System wont even boot with a decent graphics card installed. Does not have enough power. How ridiculous is this? Shame on them....

Reviewed By: N/A, 4/25/2006 12:47:03 PM

Relatively new PSU. Only feedback available so far. The sudden discount rebate leaves a lot to question about this PSU. I advise to really wait till more info is available about this item.
Buy now!???, its your choice.

 

[firebyyrd]

Yeah.. that's why I asked about it. I was questioning whether it is worth the buy... but the discount is quite curious indeed.

 

[RallyMaster]

I would go with a Fortron 450W. It will handle the power your system draws.

 

[Operandi]

Newegg reviews are next to worthless; for power supplies they are beyond worthless.

You don't need a 500-600+ PSU and there are obvious better choices then CoolerMaster. A good 350-400 watt PSU from Seasonic or Forton-Source will serve you well.

Dual rails is pretty much what it sounds like, instead of one 12v rail there is two. The idea here is to limit the current flowing from a single output stage and split the load into two. Basically its a safety and reliability issue, from the end users perspective it's transparent for the most part.

 

[firebyyrd]

I see, but they are costly, the power supply I'm looking at only costs 30 dollars. Anybody used it before can give advice upon it?

 

[PhoenixOrion]

you have that rig and you're looking for a $30 PSU?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Seriously, forget upgrading to an X1800XT. That 7800GT is fine. If you want to upgrade, go to a 7900GT. And spending all this money and you're telling me you can't get a decent PSU?

Forget the 4000+. It's a rip. Get the 3700+ and you're set.

 

[jonnyGURU]

How many different forums did you post this question on?

I've counted four already.....

 

[alpha88]

That power supply is 'fine'.

If you're going to buy a real one, get a SeaSonic. However, I don't think your powersupply is what is causing your lockups.

 

[firebyyrd]

Well, I bought the rig already, I'm just upgrading the power supply...

The power supply is a decent one I guess. It just carries a rebate of 50 dollars.

The regular price of the power supply itself is a 100 dollar one.


If it isn't what do you think would cause the lockups? Is it because my graphics card is faulty? I do not overclock it.

 

[gchanjam]

Look into the $51 FSP 450W or the even better $40 XClio 450BL.

 

[GeNome]

Originally posted by: gchanjam
Look into the $51 FSP 450W or the even better $40 XClio 450BL.

QFT. Don't get the Extreme Power - yes, it may still be 500W, but it's not built very well. Go to jonny's page and read some of his articles. Here's a link to an article on Xbit on PSU's. Read up, beknowlege yourself, then buy.

 

[m1ldslide1]

If it isn't what do you think would cause the lockups? Is it because my graphics card is faulty? I do not overclock it.

For some reason when I hear about crashes and lockups I think PSU and then memory. Before you plunk out the cash for a PSU I'd recommend at least testing your memory. Have you tried prime95 or memtest86? You could try loosening the timings on your memory to maybe 3-3-3-8 and see if that solves the problem too. I don't mean to hate on PQI simply because they're not "popular" but 2-3-2-5 is pretty tight and not all memory works at rated timings with all mobos. Just a thought.

And also, for what it's worth, I haven't had any problems with my coolermaster 450W PSU and it's running the OC'd rig in my sig plus 3 case fans, SB Live 7.1, optical drive and 3 USB devices. If I had it to do over I probably wouldn't buy the same PSU, but not for any good reason - just because of all the negatives I've read on these forums and I'd rather err on the side of caution when it comes to PSU.

 

[fire400]

antec truepower 2.0 500w SLI ready PSU

 

[EffeX]

Seasonic S12 600w FTW