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Power supply for an overclocker

C

cowdog

Senior member
I know PSU questions are common, but there are an increasing number of options with limited objective reviews. I am going to buy a new case and power suppy, but I am uncertain what power supply. I have the classic conflicting priorities: great overclocker (today and 1-2 years from now), highly reliable, and as quiet as possible. Here's what is on my list:

OCZ Powerstream 520
Enermax Noistaker 470
Antec True 550

Any feedback or other models worth considering?

Thanks in advance.
 
Mmm, PSU overkill. Tasty, expensive, noisy stuff.

Get a Silverstone 480W - more than enough potential power for anything, actually MAKES its rated power, SATA plugs, and 120mm fan-cooled for stupidly quiet goodness.

- M4H
 
Vantec ION.. cheap, and quality.
400W again that actually makes what it's rated at. (not that the ones you list don't)
 
The OCZ Powerstream would be my pick.

I have the new Antec Neopower 480W one in my system and its been great, but I'd still say the OCZ. Its supposed to offer unparalleled power. You can also adjust the power to individual rails, so if your graphics card isn't getting enough power, just turn it up on the one its on.
 
Fortron FSP530W 530W PSU, adjustable pots, 120mm fan, sata connectors, sleeved cables, and fortron's reputation of excellence.


$75 @ newegg, how can you beat this?🙂
 
I have a Antec True Power 430....its the best Power Supply I have every owned in 10 yrs of building custom systems...I couldn't imagine life with a PC without it!!
 
Of the three you mentioned, go for the Enermax Noisetaker. It has dual +12V rails which is more advanced and will last you longer thru future upgrades. If my experience serves me right, it is probably the quietest of the three as well.

SilverStone's 460W (they don't have 480W) power is also dual +12V rails so that is another good choice.
 
I also want to get a new power supply and am thinking of those models too. My current 400w is not pulling enough power to run a 6800 GT fully stable even after I disconnected some other stuff, and I might as well get one that will last through a couple of upgrades.

What's the advantage of two 12V lines (the enermax) over a single one if the total current is about the same?
 
In a nutshell, a dual +12V rail system provides CPU/MB and drives separate power source so that an increase of drive activity will not affect the power going to the CPU or other sensitive cards on the motherboard. A good single rail power supply can manage the power delivery very well if it has a lot of reserve, but it is still not quite as good as completely separate rails. This advantage is also why we see dual, triple, or even quad +12V rails utilitzed in server-level power supplies.

Of course choosing a good power supply involves more than just looking at +12V rail, there are also other factors which I won't get into. But when everything is equal/similar, go for the one with dual +12V (preferably with 24pin standard) if you want to keep it for a while.
 
Read anand's PSU roundup, the THermaltake Purepower 480W performed quiet well. Its only $56 shipped at most places and comes with sleeved cables/FAN adjustment knob.
 
In a nutshell, a dual +12V rail system provides CPU/MB and drives separate power source so that an increase of drive activity will not affect the power going to the CPU or other sensitive cards on the motherboard. A good single rail power supply can manage the power delivery very well if it has a lot of reserve, but it is still not quite as good as completely separate rails. This advantage is also why we see dual, triple, or even quad +12V rails utilitzed in server-level power supplies.

Of course choosing a good power supply involves more than just looking at +12V rail, there are also other factors which I won't get into. But when everything is equal/similar, go for the one with dual +12V (preferably with 24pin standard) if you want to keep it for a while.
Click to expand...

So for example, it's better (for overclocks and stability) to have that GT on its own 15A 12V rail rather than having it share a 33A one with the processor and other stuff?

Can those 24-pin PSUs work with 20-pin ATX motherboards through some kind of converter? Antec has a 24-pin 550W that costs about the same as their normal ATX 550 and also has a much higher 12V current rating, but the newegg reviews say that it doesn't work at all with existing ATX boards, which would make it useless for me. I have heard that motherboards will switch to the 24-pin interface in the future but want to get a power supply that will work with both 20 and 24 pin boards, if such things even exist.

Read anand's PSU roundup, the THermaltake Purepower 480W performed quiet well. Its only $56 shipped at most places and comes with sleeved cables/FAN adjustment knob.
Click to expand...

I read that one but it's pretty old now; in one place it even seems to imply that the CPU does not use the 12V rail much.
 
Originally posted by: CP5670

So for example, it's better (for overclocks and stability) to have that GT on its own 15A 12V rail rather than having it share a 33A one with the processor and other stuff?

Can those 24-pin PSUs work with 20-pin ATX motherboards through some kind of converter? Antec has a 24-pin 550W that costs about the same as their normal ATX 550 and also has a much higher 12V current rating, but the newegg reviews say that it doesn't work at all with existing ATX boards, which would make it useless for me. I have heard that motherboards will switch to the 24-pin interface in the future but want to get a power supply that will work with both 20 and 24 pin boards, if such things even exist.
Click to expand...

Separate rails are better theoretically, but like I've said the quality of the power supply itself matters also. I did read a review recently that claims having one huge rail is better for overclocking so if anybody else wants to give an opinion here, please help us out.

I think Antec includes a 24 pin to 20 pin adapter so you can use it on current systems. Even if they don't, you should be able to find one easily online.
 
The 24 to 20 pin adapter comes with NeoPower 480 (also has dual +12V), but that's not what the original poster was interested in from our line of products. Unless I missed a change in the thread.


AntecCSR
 
For price/performance you can't really beat the fortron 530watter. I haven't tried any of the "newer" enermax P/S but none of the ones I've ever used have been great for heavy overclocking, my newest enermax is a 431watt whisper.
 
I like my Antec TruControl 550 very much (until I put a 6800 Ultra in there) now I have the +12V adjustment control as far as it can go to barely get 12v on it.
 
Update: I ended up ordering an OCZ Powerstream 520. Only took me 2 months to decide...

I found a rumor that AT will do a PSU roundup here soon?
 
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