TPN 750w vs Corsair 850HX

[ChorniyVolk]

TruePower New 750w
~$110 shipped ($100 + $10 shipping)
http://www.centralcomputers.com/comm...oduct_id=70620

Corsair 850HX
$156.95 shipped ($179.99 - Bing $23.04 + $0 Free Shipping)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...11&srkey=850hx

I live in CA so newegg isn't the best priced place (damn 9.75% tax!).

Anyway, I figure the 850HX is better because it gives me 100w more advertised power (I heard the TPN can go up to 900 something in a newegg review, just not officially, is that true for the HX?), is fully modular unlike the TPN, looks better (love the blue), and I hear the HX series provides better ripple suppression and all that other good stuff. Also, it has 80 Plus Silver certification compared to the TPN's Bronze.

The TPN does have 4 12v rails compared to the HX's 1, and through those it provides 100 amps (each one has 25) compared to the HX which provides 70 on its one rail. I don't know what that means exactly in terms of performance and use in a computer though.

I'm thinking the HX is indeed worth the $37 more, but of course I have to ask you guys before making the final decision.

 

[HOOfan 1]

1) Newegg does not review anything. User generated reviews are not real reviews and certainly should not be used to determine the actual performance of a PSU....in fact newegg user reviews should be completely ignored....especially when it comes to PSUs

2) Neither the HX850, nor TPN 750 are fully modular...the HX850, is more modular than the TPN, but it is not fully modular

3) The TPN 750 does not provide 100A on the 12V rail....Amps*volts=watts...so if it provided 100A of 12V power...then it would be providing 1200W of 12V power....this is a 750W power supply.....It provides 62A or 744W on the 12V output.

If you want to know which PSU is better....the answer is the HX850, hands down.
If you want to know which to buy...telling us what you want to power would help.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Both are good units. The choice will be determined by the hardware you want to run, and your budget.

FWIW, I got the TP new blue 750W over black friday (for $55 after savings and rebates ) and so far I have been very happy with it. A little early to tell for long-term stuff but I don't see any build quality concerns from the reviews I've read on jonnyguru and the like.

 

[ChorniyVolk]

Where did you get it on Black Friday for so cheap?

As far as the 12v rails on the TPN, HOOfan, would you say then that the newegg specs are wrong, or am I just reading them wrong?

As far as what I want to power, 5 HDDs (with maybe 2 more in the future, one definitely), 1 SSD, a standard ODD, overclocked i7 920 and one of four higher-end x58 motherboards, 6GB of RAM and if prices every fall to a decent amount maybe an upgrade to 12GB, a soundcard (though it uses power from the motherboard), multiple fans on the case and an aftermarket HSF for the cpu.

As far as videocards, right now I'll just have one 4890 and maybe a mid-range nvidia card for physx processing, but I'm hoping to upgrade in the future. Just so if I end up losing my mind and/or come into way too much money to use rationally, I'd like to be able to power 2 5870s/5890s/Fermi cards, basically so I'm set with this PSU to stick with me even through upgrades over the next year or 2 (or 3).

And no, I don't have a budget, but I'm trying to avoid wasting money on principle.

And the HX seems as modular as one would need, no? Correct me if i'm wrong, but I see the cable for the motherboard (necessary), one 8-pin cable that if I recall correctly (and might be wrong) is for the CPU (necessary) and 2 PCIE cables for videos cards which I'll definitely be using.

So basically, all I'd like to know is if the HX is $37 worth of better. It's not much money, so what I listed would probably justify it for me, but I ask just so I don't miss some detail that makes the TPN better for whatever reason.

 

[HOOfan 1]

As far as the 12v rails on the TPN, HOOfan, would you say then that the newegg specs are wrong, or am I just reading them wrong?

Their specs aren't wrong...you just have to understand that you can almost never add up multiple 12V numbers into a combined 12V number.

There is a single 12V source in the PSU, capable of 62A (744W). It is then split by safety circuitry called Over Current Protection (OCP). OCP is like a fuse, or circuit breaker in your house. The circuitry is designed to shut down the PSU if current over the OCP setpoint is drawn through that particular split. The setpoint is set by the manufacturer and is not a limited by the combinded capacity divided by the number of outputs. If Seasonic (maker of the TPN) decided to split the 62A into 4 outputs that were 62/4...or ~15A each, then you would possibly trip the OCP with a power hungry video card.

Also yes the HX850 is easily worth $40 more than the TPN 750W

 

[billyb0b]

easy pick here... get the hx850

 

[ChorniyVolk]

Their specs aren't wrong...you just have to understand that you can almost never add up multiple 12V numbers into a combined 12V number.

There is a single 12V source in the PSU, capable of 62A (744W). It is then split by safety circuitry called Over Current Protection (OCP). OCP is like a fuse, or circuit breaker in your house. The circuitry is designed to shut down the PSU if current over the OCP setpoint is drawn through that particular split. The setpoint is set by the manufacturer and is not a limited by the combinded capacity divided by the number of outputs. If Seasonic (maker of the TPN) decided to split the 62A into 4 outputs that were 62/4...or ~15A each, then you would possibly trip the OCP with a power hungry video card.

Also yes the HX850 is easily worth $40 more than the TPN 750W

So if I were to translate that into laymans, it provides 25a over each 12v rail, like how you can have x16 bandwidth in each slot on a lot of x58 motherboards, but if you're using a few of those rails like you use a few of the PCIE slots, then it reduces the amount of amps that each rail produces to fit how much the psu can output, like how the motherboard would reduce 3 x16 slots down to x16/x8/x8 if all are in use. Right?

And why do you say easily? Just for the same reasons that I stated? Or does it excel in some other way that I haven't noticed?

 

[Puffnstuff]

Get the corsair. Just take a look at the warranties and that should be enough in itself. I bought a hx1000 last week to replace my enermax galaxy 850 and it's doing just fine. I was looking for a ton of amps on the 12v rail and corsair gives them to me.

 

[Ayah]

I have to vote for the Corsair HX too. Good series.

 

[HOOfan 1]

So if I were to translate that into laymans, it provides 25a over each 12v rail, like how you can have x16 bandwidth in each slot on a lot of x58 motherboards, but if you're using a few of those rails like you use a few of the PCIE slots, then it reduces the amount of amps that each rail produces to fit how much the psu can output, like how the motherboard would reduce 3 x16 slots down to x16/x8/x8 if all are in use. Right?

And why do you say easily? Just for the same reasons that I stated? Or does it excel in some other way that I haven't noticed?

No, that isn't really how it works at all....

The connectors on the PSU are wired to certain OCP circuits. That means if the CPU connector is wired to 12V1...then it can only draw from the 12V1 circuit. If the CPU connector is the only connector you are using, then you are limited to 25A, because you are only drawing from a single OCP limit.

You could try to load just a single one of those rails on the TPN and if you try to load it past the OCP set point it will shut down. As I said before, OCP is like a circuit breaker on your house. It is there to make sure too much current is NOT drawn down a single wire. The most likely reason that too much current would be drawn down a single wire is a malfunction or short circuit.

Once you get far above 20A, traveling down a single wire, then you are going to have melted insulation or a fire. So they want to limit the amount of power that can be drawn down a single wire as much as possible. However, if they don't split it up into multiple OCP circuits, then you are not going to be able to get the full combined limit from the unit.

Let's use and easy example
62A combined limit split into 4 OCP 25A limits
Consider these loads
12V1 24A
12V2 24A
12V3 8A
12V4 5A
combined 61A
None of them exceeds the individual OCP limits and none of them exceed the combined limit
12V1 20A
12V2 20A
12V3 12A
12V4 11A
combined 63A
None of them exceeds the inidividual OCP limits, but the overall limit is exceeded.
12V1 26A
12V2 10A
12V3 10A
12V4 10A
combined 56A
12V1 exceeds the OCP limit, so the PSU will shut down, even though they don't exceed the total limit.

You can load any single one of those rails up to 25A and you are fine, unless the combined current exceeds 62A....it is nothing like what you are describing with the PCI-E bus speed. It doesn't matter how many of the rails you use....each rail is limited to 25A and combined they are limited to 62A.

I said the HX850 is easily better because it is much more efficient, it has much better voltage regulation and much better ripple suppression and it is just built on a more sturdy platform. That doesn't mean the TPN isn't a fantastic PSU, it just means the HX850 is better...and usually costs a lot more.

 

[ChorniyVolk]

Thanks for the explanation, looking at it and seeing how simple you've made it, I'm embarrassed I didn't understand it the first time around (guess I wasn't reading your post carefully enough).

And when you say usually, you mean as opposed to now when there's less than $40 of difference?

I guess I have my PSU then.

 

[HOOfan 1]

And when you say usually, you mean as opposed to now when there's less than $40 of difference?

Yes because the TPN usually sells for $120 and the HX850 for $190

 

[SparkyJJO]

Where did you get it on Black Friday for so cheap?

Newegg
It was actually more like $58 now that I think about it.

Another note: I've had my HX620 in my main rig for over 2 years now and am very happy with it. Some of my friends have had Corsair PSUs with zero issues from them. I'd probably lean towards the Corsair units myself, but the Antec is a nice unit too, so price and power needs would come into play here.

 

[ChorniyVolk]

Well Bing isn't listing TigerDirect for some reason, they did this before but then it popped up again. Hopefully it comes up before the paypal $10 off ends (end of today), or I'm going to save $10 less

I suppose in the long run it isn't all that much, but still, I should've bought it earlier and then cancelled if you guys said it wasn't worthwhile.

Sparky, how did that work out? I remember newegg's black friday sale and (pardon my language) it was total shit. 90% of the stuff was the same price as it is usually, but they set some crazy msrp original price to make it look like they were cutting off a fair chunk of cash. Only thing I bothered getting was the X25-M for $216 (-.25% bing lol)

 

[ChorniyVolk]

So turns out that I can't stack the paypal deal and bing, and with bing being twice as much as paypal is offering me, I'll go with it.

I'm guessing it's still worth it over the TPN even for $47 (my stupid way of justifying it: 47 - 10 for higher total wattage - 7 for much more modular - 5 for better looking - 12.5 for better performance/80 PLUS Silver over Bronze - 7.5 for Corsair over Antec and for warranty being a bit over 7 years compared to Antec's 5 according to google - 5 for TigerDirect; teehee)

Any comments on these?: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2034307

 

[ChorniyVolk]

Used the ebillme thing to get $25 off which does stack with bing, so in total, after I get the bing money back and this rebate, it will have cost me $132. Kickass deal if I do say so myself.

That is, unless those huge psu's from questionable manufacturers are any good.

 

[HOOfan 1]

That is, unless those huge psu's from questionable manufacturers are any good.

If you are refering to the BFGs you linked above...those aren't questionable at all. They are very good PSUs and those are awesome prices. But, they are OEM units and come with less warranty. They aren't modular and they are not as efficient at the HX850.

 

[Bacstar]

I purchased the HX850 and it arrived today. Amazon for $177. with free shipping.

Here is a great review.

http://hardocp.com/article/2009/05/27/corsair_hx850w_power_supply/

I personally had a HX620 for two years on my last machine, but I needed a more powerful PS for my new build. No complaints. It ran cool, quiet and reliably. I'm hoping for the same on the HX850.

 

[ChorniyVolk]

If you are refering to the BFGs you linked above...those aren't questionable at all. They are very good PSUs and those are awesome prices. But, they are OEM units and come with less warranty. They aren't modular and they are not as efficient at the HX850.

Really? So for $70 less I could've gotten 150w more power?

I mean, the HX is great and all, but $70 greater than this BFG 1000w PSU?

 

[yh125d]

I would have (and did) go for the truepower new. If you keep an eye on it, its pretty often under $100 with rebates, and I don't think the price diff for the HX is really worth it unless you really need the power


It's like Angelina Jolie vs. Scarlett Johannson. They're both extremely hot, one slightly hotter than the other, but costs 30-40% more. Is it worth it to go for the more expensive one?

 

[ChorniyVolk]

I would have (and did) go for the truepower new. If you keep an eye on it, its pretty often under $100 with rebates, and I don't think the price diff for the HX is really worth it unless you really need the power


It's like Angelina Jolie vs. Scarlett Johannson. They're both extremely hot, one slightly hotter than the other, but costs 30-40% more. Is it worth it to go for the more expensive one?

I don't know, in total the HX cost me less than $30 more so Id say it's definitely worth it.

Now I'm just wondering about those other ones.

 

[yh125d]

How did you get the corsair for under $140? :S


And the TPN is $110 now, but it fluctuates and can often be found under $100. I got mine in the summer for $95 shipped

 

[ChorniyVolk]

If you'd read my posts you'd know: $180 - $23 Bing - $25 ebillme = $132

 

[yh125d]

You started saying $156, mentioned something about bing not working then working again, paypal, $37 more then TPN, $40 more, $47 more, I just wanted to clarify


Could you have not also used some of those discounts on the TPN as well?

 

[ChorniyVolk]

Nope. TigerDirect doesn't sell the TPN, or anything Antec I think, for some reason.