PSU for Nforce4 PCI-E comp

[wheels]

I am pretty new to building comps . About to build one once the nforce4 comes out. I pretty much know all the parts I am getting, except the power supply. I dont know alot about them but I do know that the nforce4 and pci-e need a certain kind, I think. Many of you people are waiting for nforce4 to build and was wondering what kind of PSU you were thinking? The only one I know of is the Antec Neopower, but there has to be other ones....

 

[gobucks]

if you are looking at a 6600GT or below video card, then the good news is you don't need any external power connector for your video card, since the PEGx16 slot provides 75W. If you are looking at a 6800GT or higher, you're gonna need an external connector, and it's different than the ones used on AGP. Fortunately, most of these cards have an adaptor, so you don't have to worry too much. Just get something in the 450-550 range, and you'll be fine. I like the thermaltake 480W Silent Purepower, and I'm getting one for my nforce4 system. There are better supplies out there, but it's pretty quiet, pretty stable, and it's got plenty of power, along with native SATA power connectors. Also, it's like $50 bucks on newegg, which is substantially cheaper than any of the big PSU brands, like Antec, Zalman, Fortron, OCZ, etc. The 480W PSU is probably overkill for a 6600GT/A64 3200+ or similar system, but it will give you plenty of breathing room for overclocking, upgrading to dual core or SLI, and for adding extra hard drives, optical drives, etc.

 

[wheels]

I'm planning on 3500(winchester), 6800GT.

What external connector are you talking about? I'm confused. The thing I keep worrying about is the 20pin and 24pin stuff. Which one do I need, I read somewehre that if you use an adaptor, you lose performance or I could be thinking of video card adaptor for a 4 pin video card to fit a 6pin, either one, I don't want to lose performance. I am probably wrong though. I dont want to buy a $130 especially if I dont even need it.

 

[beatle]

The 24 pin connector is part of the ATX 2.0 standard. The 4 extra wires are to provide 75 watts of power for PCI-Express devices, as seen in this document.

This is interesting, as some PCI Express video cards still have an auxilary connector for additional power.

 

[gobucks]

The 6800GT and ultra cards either use more than 75 watts, or they use so close to 75 watts that it leaves zero headroom for variances or overclocking. 6600GT still eats up a decent amount, but low enough to avoid the external connector, even when overclocking.

 

[arswihart]

i like my antec neopower, and if you'r'e buying such top-end equipment like 6800GT and 3500 winchester, I think you owe it to you components to get a nice power supply. Now, I have never had a power supply die on me or cause problems (that I know of) with running my computer, and the only difference I have noticed is watt rating and noise level. But a lot of people say that a good power supply is a very important and the most often overlooked component in the system, so I listen to the true geeks and got a nice one finally. Hopefully it won't need upgraded for like 5 years at least.

BTW, I went from an Enermax EG365P-VE (with two 80mm fans) to this Antec NeoPower480 (with 120mm fan), and the difference in fan noise was worth the cost by itself, so I'd recommend a PSU with a 120mm fan. As it has been linked to many times, I'll do it again because it is a good review of PSU's: Tech Report PSU roundup.

My guess is that all those power supply parameters that they measure have got to translate into some real-world difference when running computer components, I don't know exactly what difference that is, and I'd rather not learn the hard way.

 

[Xed]

I'll be getting the ocz 600w for my sli to be system. I'm sure its a bit overkill but /shrug. Rather have unused power than not enough =)

 

[arswihart]

that brings up a question:

I've heard that not using very much of the rated wattage of a PSU is less efficient and actually generates more heat from the PSU than if you are using it the near its max wattage. Can anyone confirm or explain this?

 

[xsilver]

Originally posted by: arswihart
that brings up a question:

I've heard that not using very much of the rated wattage of a PSU is less efficient and actually generates more heat from the PSU than if you are using it the near its max wattage. Can anyone confirm or explain this?

the higher the operating temperature -- the less efficient the power supply will be -- hence cooling is required
ont the cheap power supplies they say 500w @ 25celcius which isnt exactly reasonable -- so in fact it may only be 300w at 50c or whatever
on the better power supplies the loss shouldn't be so great though but not exactly sure of the numbers

 

[jose]

Is the 24pin 2.0 Atx standard the same used for 24p EPS power supplies for dual Opterons/Xeons ?

Regards,
Jose

 

[flexy]

Originally posted by: jose
Is the 24pin 2.0 Atx standard the same used for 24p EPS power supplies for dual Opterons/Xeons ?

Regards,
Jose

correct me if i am wrong,

but no.
"
What is EPS12V? EPS12V is a special, non-ATX standard adopted by the Server System Infrastructure (SSI) group to provide a more powerful and stable environment for critical server-based systems and applications. EPS12V equipment is not compatible with standard ATX or ATX12V PCs found in homes and offices. Power supplies built to the EPS12V standard include a 24-pin motherboard power connector and an 8-pin +12V connector. (Source: Antec)
"
AFAIK these PSUs for servers provide four separate 12V lines, and ATX2.0 standard is two 12V rails.

 

[tterris]

i'm curiious about this too because i was considering the antec true 550 w eps 12 v 24 pin psu, but if this is the case then i obviously will have to change that.

 

[jose]

So could you use an Antec 550w EPS w/ the new Asus A8N-SLI mobo ?? Are the 24pin connector the same or do they have diff pinouts ?

Maybe mobo manf. figured EPS was a better standard and decided to adopt it ?

I've read on 2cpu's site that multi +12v rail ps's are not good for dual systems.. The Antec 550 EPS model has 36A on the +12V rail ..

So w/ the upcomming release of SLI/pci-e mobo's , we'll need new ps's to go w/ them I guess...

Regards,
Jose

 

[wheels]

So can someone give me a few ideas of what one I should use for nforce4 system. Just give some other ones besides the Neopower so I can read up on them.

 

[tterris]

... does anyone know?

 

[maevinj]

im thinking an eps psu
if you go to http://www.velocitymicro.com/wizard.php?iid=32
they've got 3 psu to configure for the nforce4 board and they're all eps

 

[jose]

Thanks maevinj, welcome to anandtech.

That makes the Antec 550EPS a great choice for a new NForce SLI setup.

Not bad specs either. 3.3V@32A, +5V@40A, and +12V@36A ....

Regards,
Jose

 

[tterris]

That still doesn't answer this quote.

"What is EPS12V? EPS12V is a special, non-ATX standard adopted by the Server System Infrastructure (SSI) group to provide a more powerful and stable environment for critical server-based systems and applications. EPS12V equipment is not compatible with standard ATX or ATX12V PCs found in homes and offices. Power supplies built to the EPS12V standard include a 24-pin motherboard power connector andan 8-pin +12V connector. (Source: Antec)"

<a href="http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=20551">here is the source</a>

 

[maevinj]

its the 24 pin connector for the mobo. i saw one powersupply that was 24 pin that came with a 20 pin adapter. just know that you're going to need a new psu for the nforce4 sli board

 

[ArborBarber]

go to maxpoint.com for futher info about the pci-e power connector

 

[Sniper82]

whats gonna be the minimum wattage PSU one should use on a Nforce 4 board with 6600GT? Say a brand name like Antec?

 

[jose]

Well this is going to be confusing for awhile because not all 24pin power supplies are EPS. Which are required for dual processor systems . ie Opteron/Xeons The link about Enermax ps's
don't have a 8pin connector required for dual systems..

What's needed is info on how much a top cpu P4/A64 + dual SLI config requires for the main rail.. Then you'll need the 2nd rail to have enough amps for the rest of the system devices.
ie. 4-6 hd's , dvd-r, case fans etc.

here are some specs on popular ps's... listed are the +12V rails

Antec Neo 480 18A, 15A
Antec TruePower 550 24A
Antec 550 EPS 36A
OCZ 520 33A
OCZ 600 20A, 18A
Enermax 600 18A, 17A
Enermax 660 18A, 18A, 15A

Wish someone would have atleast 33A on the main rail and 18A for the rest of the system.

Regards,
Jose

 

[flexy]

i tell you, we need an extra board just PSU related...lol...so many PSU related posts recently

Ok..the most important thing is how many amperes are on the 12V rail. There are many (so called) "good" PSUs around which only have 18A or so on the 12V rail which is barely enough - and for sure not enough if you're overclocking.

Look for a PSU which has AT LEAST 25A on the 12V rail, OR has dual (2) separate 12V rails with 16A or so each.

Total Wattage can be extremely misleading...but it should NOT be under 450 W, depending on your video card, CPU etc....i would say you are good above 450W if its a good brand, like Enermax, Antec, Fortron, OCZ etc....again...before you order, look at the specs and if the Amperes on the 12V rails are sufficient. (25A minumum)

Also, you might wanna look for 24pin ATX2.0 PSUs which MIGHT come with the pci-ex connector and 24pin ATX2.0 plug....and/or get one of these connectors for pci-express (2 molex connectors ---> 1 6pin pci-connector) which you need for providing enough power to the pci-e card.

 

[jose]

flexy,

Looks like the best contenders are the Antec 550EPS &amp; the OCZ 520 &amp; 600 .. The Enermax 600+ units have only 18A on the main rail...

Right now my Antec TP550 is working find for all the stuff I currently have and it has only 24A... So I guess a safe bet will be the Antec 550EPS &amp; the OCZ 520 &amp; 600 units.

Can't wait for Asus A8N-SLI ....

Regards,
Jose

 

[ArborBarber]

I wouldn't sweat it too much, first let the mobo's get released, then all the major psu vendors will add to the hype. The major players aren't going to release a board no one has a psu for. Chill, don't jump the gun... "if they build it they will come..." lol. You guys aren't idiots, you know how it is...sit back and give it a chance, you don't want to be the ginnies do ya?