Power Supply, this is critical, need help!!!

[imported_ThEThInG]

I know how important the PS can be in overclocking, so I want to get the best for my money, but I can't seem to find much on them. I was looking at 3, Fortron Blue Strom 500watt, OCZ PowerStream 420(supposedly the company top something actually manufactures them and they are cheapo), PC Power & Cooling Silent 470 ATX(it says 20-24pin, but only rated for ATX 1.3). Which one is best, unless anyone knows where I can get the PCP&P 425 atx ps for $120, i'd deffinately get that then. thx.

My system specs are A64 3200 939(winchester), Asus A8V Deluxe Rev. 2.00, 1024mb OCZ DDR533(2x512), 2 opticals, Seagate SATA 120 GB, 2 cold cathodes and floppy in a pair tree, oh and 4 case fans to keep the air flowing in a Lian-li PC-65 case. I had it at 2.5Ghz, but my PS is fluxuating waaay to much for my comfort, vcore is supposed to be at 5.25, but its between 4.88 and 5.2 when under load, and it changes constantly, also 12v rail sags to 11.1v!!! My antec True 380 just isn't up to the task, i've also heard that Antec's seem to be raped by A64's.

 

[ts3433]

PCP&C's Silencer line is made by Seasonic, and their Turbo Cool line, as well as OCZ and Zippy/Emacs power supplies, are made by Fortron/FSP Group. Look for power supplies from either of those two manufacturers.

Did you just say you had VCore at 5.25V?! Don't push it over 1.6V.

 

[zakee00]

LOL 5.25v? your chip would be fried man. i suggest the OCZ power stream, its supposed to be very good. dont know where u heard it was "cheapo"...

 

[imported_ThEThInG]

I didn't say it was cheap, i just said some SAID it was made by a cheap company, but I doubt that OCZ would do that and I have read that the OCZ PS series is CLOSE to the PC Power& Cooling in performance, since Fortron and Seasonic actually manufactur all of those i suppose that any one of them would be good, do you suggest the PowerStream with one 12v@30amp or the BlueStorm with two 12v@15amp each? I've heard that one massive 12v rail is best for overclocking(in the real world) while sprlit 12v rails are best for large number of devices. Thx for the info. I had to set it to 5.25 because it would sag down to 4.88 under load, so it was really running at 4.88v, currently I'm useing my older comp(XP2000, 768mb ram(PC2100), 9800 pro, Fortron 350 watt ps). Even Fortron's 350 watt is really stable on this system, 5v is a little low at 4.8, but well within tollerances. The power supply i'm getting goes in my system mentioned above.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Fortron and seasonic do not manf all of those. See the thread about who manf who.

Also for pure performance the PCP&C would be best followed closely by the OCZ. The fortron blue storm isn't even in the same league. I would put the fortron in mid range league, where as OCZ and PCP&C are the best you can get (PCP&C leading a little).

-Kevin

 

[BonzaiDuck]

The main thing PCP&C has going for it as opposed to the OCZ is Active PFC, which really doesn't matter much. If you want a good, reliable PSU for less money that is underrated for its sustained power, the OCZ is the way to go. If you don't mind spending extra, the PCP&C is unassailable. Both products have a five-year warranty.

I'd stay away from "modular" cabling except the type of "modularity" that the PowerStream offers. That is to be distinguished from the "ModStream", which offers cabling options similar to the ULTRA X-Connect. But the PCP&C CEO who wrote "letter to the editor" in this month's Maximum PC magazine is right on: adding an extra unsoldered connection point increases resistance, adds a failure-point, and therefore adds "cons" weighing against the modularity "pros".

I don't know about PCP&C, but OCZ's PowerStreams are most likely produced especially for OCZ by Topower. That destroys the argument that OCZ has "been in the PSU bidnis for only a short time."

There are many "decent" PSU's out there for less than $100, but at best they have 3-year-warranty, and more generally are warrantied for one year. Further, those are not the PSU's you would favor for OC-ing. The Antec NeoPower is good, but it has those modular cables to be avoided. In fact, the Antec falls down in a Tech Report review on performance compared to the PowerStream, even as it was "lifted up on editor's shoulders" by Maximum PC -- struggling to please their PCP&C advertiser while appearing to be "objective."

You may want to go back to last spring's Maximum PC (April? May? June? -- not sure). There is a power-supply selection guideline that offers typical wattage consumption specs for various components. Add up your component wattages, and get a PSU that promises to meet them. You will not, of course, be drawing the sum-of-all-wattages continuously from all your components, but it's a fairly decent guideline. If you want to keep open the possibility for adding hard-disks, fans, more powerful video cards and so on, you should pad the estimate and select a bigger PSU than you currently need by the component-wattage estimate.

By the way -- Maximum PC is not my "bible", and I read it with a (very) critical eye, but you can usually identify reliable information within any source. Their PSU selection guide makes a lot of sense.

 

[imported_ThEThInG]

Thancks for the info, I have the umost confidence in OCZ now. I wasn't sure if some of the things i've heard about Topower were true, but I've also learned that contractors only produce what they are contracted to do, so Topower probably hasn't had any contracts for high end PSU's until OCZ, but from the way OCZ Power Streams run(in the same league as PCP&P, not quite as good but compeditive with them) it is apparent that Topower is perfectly capable of producing quality parts when required to do so. I cannot afford the 520, but the 420 should be plenty, in the reviews they ran on a FX-55 oced to 2.9GHz, X800XT, 5 hd's, 2 opticals, 5 case fans, and cold cathodes for 2 days straight, that's a huge power load, and the power stream 420(which was the first one they reviewed) ran perfectly, no lockups, crashes, reboots of any sort. They said the ONLY other PSU that was that stable was the PCP&P 510w deluxe. So i think i'm going for the 420 for $91, my system is designed for gameing, so I keep the drives to a minimum. I'll be running 2x512 OCZ DDR533, A64 3200 WInchester, A8V deluxe, 2 optical, 1 seagate 120gb hd, 6800 GT and 2 cold cathodes. The only other upgrade I would get would be a faster CPU like a FX 53 or 55 when they come down in price, so it should be plenty for my system with room to expand. And my CPU will be oced to 2.5 GHZ(250 HTT) and my GT with a 1.4v GPU vcore mod @400/1100. Since the OCZ PS's come with large 12v rails it should handle that with ease.

 

[CraigRT]

My Modstream 450W is taking my system in stride currently, I think the OCZ supplies are very nice. You are doing the right move by going with the 420, more is definitely not needed. That's why I went wiith the 450 as well. Do NOT need the 520.

 

[SAO]

i think you guys should check this thread out : http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/38623/?o=0 many good info if you are looking to upgrade your config to a8n sli delux.

i have a 600w ocz, and it is not stable for my rig. apparently i am not the only one having problems with the ocz. if you are looking for a high quality PSU go for PCP&C (they are comming out with a new 850W soon). i

config:
a8n delux
fx55
vapochill xe 2
2x6800u
2gigs twnmos twister pro
2xultra 320 74g
all GPU,chipset, HDs are watercooled

so now you know why i need a good damn PSU. (tried hooking up 2 PSUs, but its not stable enough)

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: SAO
i think you guys should check this thread out : http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/38623/?o=0 many good info if you are looking to upgrade your config to a8n sli delux.

i have a 600w ocz, and it is not stable for my rig. apparently i am not the only one having problems with the ocz. if you are looking for a high quality PSU go for PCP&C (they are comming out with a new 850W soon). i

config:
a8n delux
fx55
vapochill xe 2
2x6800u
2gigs twnmos twister pro
2xultra 320 74g
all GPU,chipset, HDs are watercooled

so now you know why i need a good damn PSU. (tried hooking up 2 PSUs, but its not stable enough)

From the thread you posted:

"Power supplies tested with GeForce 6800GT and 6800 Ultra in SLI

- Tagan TG480-U01"

It is a well known fact that Tagan TG480-U01 = OCZ 420

Also:
"- Fortron Source FSP550-60PLN*
- Antec TruePower 550 EPS12V*

The power supplies designated with a * are needed if you want to run the A8N-SLI with an Athlon 64 FX 53 or 55 processor, two GeForce 6800 Ultras and two or more high capacity Serial-Ata drives. "

The OP has A64 3200+ not FX53/55 and he isnt running SLI either.

Did you try adjusting the rails on your 600 watt PSU? Maybe you have some other issues associated with system instability? Did you check the voltage on the rails?

 

[ddviper]

wow i can see y u need such a huge psu. nice system