OCZ 420w PSU powerful enough for 939 SLI board?

[TorxT3D]

I need to decide on whether or not i should buy the 420w or 520w OCZ psu.

Im buying a new psu to accommodate my current system and still be able to push enough for the next upgrade which will be a 939 board/nforce4 SLI/4 HDDs

will this 420w be enough for now and later?

I need a good reliable psu that can handle 24/7 power cycles for around $100
Im not willing to spend anymore than $100

 

[Zinn2b]

REPLY know way u need at least 500 watts of power Spend the money on a PC power & cooling PSU

 

[Stangs55]

Originally posted by: TorxT3D
I need to decide on whether or not i should buy the 420w or 520w OCZ psu.

Im buying a new psu to accommodate my current system and still be able to push enough for the next upgrade which will be a 939 board/nforce4 SLI/4 HDDs

will this 420w be enough for now and later?

I need a good reliable psu that can handle 24/7 power cycles for around $100
Im not willing to spend anymore than $100

420W will not be enough, imho. A single 6800 Ultra "requires" a 480W psu. Either get a PCP&P, or don't drop below 550W.

Take a look at the Enermax Noisetaker V2 ATX - it comes w/PCIe cables and a 600W flavor.

 

[beatle]

The OCZ 420 will be plenty. Take a look at these power consumption figures. Note that these are power consumption figures for the ENTIRE system with one card.

 

[jpeyton]

OCZ underrates their PSUs. 420W will probably be enough, but the 470W is just a little more money and it might be a better compromise.

 

[imported_whatever]

another option would be the Fortron 530, which is at about the same level as the OCZ 470. It is also fairly cheap, and has adjustable potentiometers if you feel like opening it up.

 

[RussianSensation]

Why do ppl continue to judge power supplies based on "rated" power?

OCZ 420 has 30 Amps on 12 V rail and it has proven to be much better than anything that enermax or antec bring to the table in almost every review there is out there.

Dual SLI needs 329 Watts total system power

OCZ 420 has 500 Watts peak.

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Why do ppl continue to judge power supplies based on "rated" power?

OCZ 420 has 30 Amps on 12 V rail and it has proven to be much better than anything that enermax or antec bring to the table in almost every review there is out there.

Dual SLI needs 329 Watts total system power

OCZ 420 has 500 Watts peak.

No joke. The OCZ 420 should be plenty. I plan on building a socket 939/ Athlon 64 3500+ / 6800GT / 1gb PC3200 system using a 400w Antec SmartPower, and I don't anticipate any trouble.

If you get a quality PSU, you can push them. Remember, Nvidia says a "robust" 350w PSU is enough to handle a 6800 Ultra. I wouldn't change it, but that's what they say. Frankly, I wouldn't run any 6800 series or X800 series graphics card with less than 380W from a REPUTABLE manufacturer...in other words, PCP&C, Antec, Vantec, Enermax, or OCZ. A 380 from one of those guys is like a 450 from generics, and probably provides much cleaner, more stable power, which is every bit as important and how many watts you're getting.

 

[MrCodeDude]

Originally posted by: Zinn2b
REPLY know way u need at least 500 watts of power Spend the money on a PC power & cooling PSU

English much?

For your current rig, 420W will be fine.

Hell, I powered an A64 3200+, nForce3 150, ATi 9600, 2 HDs, 2 Optical Drives and 6 fans off a Fortron Source 300W PSU

 

[Insomniak]

This is an excellent guide to power supplies which I think should be required reading for pretty much everybody looking to buy one:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=9733

 

[Insomniak]

Also, here's a good comparison of the REAL power output of various PSUs...note that quality builds far outshoot their ratings.

http://www6.tomshardware.com/h...m_output_overload_test

See that Antec 380W near the top that is actually pumping 470+ watts? That's the difference. A Generic "500W" may actually only push 200-300W due to heat buildup or just plain bad construction, whereas well known, quality PSUs rated at 350W may actually have a cushion of 50 or more watts over what they're rated.

 

[stevty2889]

That PSU will be fine with that system. I am running my 2.8 prescott @3.5, with a 6800GT @ ultra speeds, and a pair of raptors, on a 350w enermax, which has a good 12v rail(28a).

 

[figfiddle]

Anandtech
"A superb example of a power supply geared to overclockers is the new OCZ Power Stream 520. It was designed from the ground up for overclockers, and features individual rails that are even tweakable for higher output or exact values. There are even LEDs on the rear of the black chrome case that tell you if the PS is operating in spec, under spec, or over spec. These same LEDs can even be used to tweak individual rails for optimum power. 520W sounds like a lot of power and it is, but truthfully, this power supply would probably be rated at 700 watts by a manufacturer who was trying to impress with specs. The 520W rating is conservative and this PS can easily handle almost anything an overclocker wants to throw at it. While the OCZ Power Stream are new to the market, they have quickly become favorites of the extreme overclocking community."


I think I have settled on the OCZ Powerstream 520W psu. Seams to be a beast of a power
supply that can handle just about anything.

 

[figfiddle]

In fact I purchased a Modstream 520W psu and I am going to sell it on eBay. With a little more research I would have purchased the Powestream 520W.