Fact is there are ways to overcome the issues, or at least minimize the issues, with using modular cables. Once you have used them, it's hard to do without. And since a good portion of PCP&C's business comes from enthusiasts, not just servers, there should be consideration for both markets. He makes it sound more like he can't solve the issues when he talks about the risk involved.
Silence? If 90% of the PC Power supply market is or has moved to 120mm and larger fan designs, would you call a failure to do so as well stubborness or good design? Greater volume of air with less noise is the benefit, and users appreciate it, and in fact demand it often now. It's long past time to go back to the lab and figure out how to incorporate it without losing the other good qualities of PCP&C designs.
currently i assembled a asus p5v hdmi microatx g35, 1hard drive,
6gig 800mhz ddr2,1 dvd rom, 1 3870, and e8400 cpu all this running on
antec 380wtts..i'm thinking of switchin my 3870 to 8800gtx will this psu be enough?
You should be fine considering you're not going to be pulling more than 300w. Would I buy an Antec 500 instead? Yes. But I want my PSU to last until I toss it, not until I burn it up. I will admit my sister has an old PC Power and Cooling 350 (which has never had over an AthlonXP 3200+, well a barton 2500+ running at 3200+ speeds...LOL) that's over 7 years old and running like a champ. My old 425w from them is running in a friends PC after nearly 6 years. IF you buy overkill for what your job is you get a PSU that lasts FAR beyond the warranty. I've never had a PC Power and Cooling PSU fail (and I sold a lot as a reseller). Of course I always sell overkill because I don't want to fix them :) But I did tell the customer that IS what I'm doing.
Check above for a good estimation of power. It's almost a dupe of your system. They have a bunch of cpus heavily overclocked and running a 8800GTX I think it was - yeah check here for whats in it:
These are quads so you should be fine. In fact the 8400 is in there too. You can easily check vid card reviews to see how much difference there is in watts from a 3870 to 8800gtx. Sorry I don't have time to do that homework for you :) Good luck with the upgrade. If that PSU is 2yrs old or so I'd upgrade to a 500 Antec. You don't want it to burn out in 6 months and take some other parts with it. Realistically if you're running your PSU over 70% of it's value (60 in my book) I'd think about more power. Overkill probably at 60% but I've never had a BSOD and asked "hmmm...I wonder if it was my PSU"...LOL
thanks for the info..i normally don't check xbit labs.. too many tech info sites..but i'll take a look now.
you're scaring me with the 6months burn out psu lol
the 8800gtx is sweeter for cod4 on a 1920 res than 3870.
i choose a 380watts cause we're thinking summer will come and you need to crank the AC too :)
I check everywhere...LOL As much as possible anyway but xbit only maybe once a month. I try to hit them all at least that much (I know, I'm an addict...:) or maybe it's just a product of being bored some days). Actually the 8800GTX beats the 3870 at 1920x1200 resolution in EVERY GAME I've seen tested. Check a few at TomsHardware here:
Just keep changing which game/resolution you want tested in the drop down list (assuming you already picked your two cards for test 3870+8800GTX). I think the 8800GTX wins 4/4 there (all of them) in that res. Knowing you may be in a HOT summer area of the world makes me lean even more to 500w PSU. I'd want my PSU running cool normally because I'm not really pushing it at all, then when summer comes it won't cause a problem even if you get 114f weather :)
I think a lot of people aren't realizing that if PC P&C just built PSU the same as everyone else, it devalues their product. They are INDUSTRIAL grade, when something deviates from the norm for certain benefits, one has to decide if that's really what they want.
Nobody ever mentions things like whether their supposed 500W system draw would allow their quieter PSU to last for the life of the system. They act as though $1000 system running for a year is proof of something when it's not the first year that counts as much as the last year, until the viable lifespan of that system is over.
Even some of those Antecs with the heat-intolerant caps would tend to run for a year or longer. Maybe those Antec owners wished their fan had moved a bit more air. I just don't see why someone buys an industrial rated higher wattage PSU if their system doesn't seem to fit that description, and if it does it's likely to have video card fans that make the PSU fan noise less obtrusive.
The only question I wanted asked wasn't. If it was a 120mm fan in their PSU I'd be more inclined to buy again. Currently my dad is about to dump his perfectly good TurboCool 510 because it's far noisier than my Enermax which runs silent. His is noisy all day. It's not a high pitched whine but still it sucks for $210 when bought its unacceptable to sound like a buzzing bee all day long. I went cheapo on an enermax with dual fans and he's sold on switching. They should fix this before they lose customers. We both know the PC Power and Cooling is the best out there but he doesn't care. Both fans in the enermax run slow and the back one shuts totally off a good portion of the time. My PC is silent almost always and much more powerful (1.8ghz OC to 3.0 with 4 HD's etc...it's loaded) than my dads. I'd venture to guess that 90% of his noise comes straight from the PSU (we both have the same Antec Super Lanboy aluminum case and dual 120mm fans so the only difference is the PSU and vid cards, and I have 2 more drives than him). The remaining portion is his old 9800 Pro. What gives? Why not a 120mm or even dual 80mm's running less rpm to cut noise like enermax? I've never liked the fact that PC Power and Cooling doesn't have an Intake fan sucking off some cpu heat but the rear 120mm takes care of that anyway in the lanboy case. But I'd still like dual fans or a 120mm. I've built a ton of PC's (owned a PC business for 8 years) and have always been impressed by the quiet middle of the road PSU's compared to all our PC Power and Cooling PSU's in the family (350w, 425w, and two 510's over the years).
I actually got stuck with the enermax as an RMA for someone so I just kept it for testing in a 2nd PC and have liked it for almost 2 years. I got rid of my 425 for the same reason as my dad...LOL. If their claim is super high end PSU's (800w+ he said) are in a server what's their excuse for noisy 510's? Even their 750 Silencer can be noisy. For their money I'm expecting the silencer's to be the normal Turbo cool and something nearly silent all day for the word Silencer to be attached to it. I see that they have a "super silent" 510 coming but why isn't their whole line being converted to this? The rest of us just like noise or something? All of their "TURBO" labeled PSU's should be labeled "TURBINE". Because they sound like engines running all day. They never change. Constant BUZZ. I love the quality but hate the BUZZ. The only BUZZ I want is from a good beer or shot glass please :)
It wasn't designed to be a quiet PSU for a home environment, so why did you buy it if that mattered more?
If you don't mind voiding the warranty I suggest you just swap in a lower RPM fan, something like a dual ball bearing NMB rated for about 2200 RPM. The result should cost $4 and be acceptible since PC P&C uses a very conservatively high ambient rating system and your dad's system doesn't use near 510W.
I was thinking the same thing with regards to the fan switch, though the idea of tossing away 2.5yrs of warranty is hard to fathom if it fails. But what I didn't put in the post was my dad is about to go core2 dual (with overclocking in mind of course) and an 8800GT or above. The PSU was bought for this upgrade actually, not the originally built PC. You know, you buy with the future in mind, and here we are in the future - it was admittedly complete overkill before. But yeah I don't really like voiding the warranty on a 5 year PSU.
However I disagree with it not being a home PSU. According to this article and Doug Dodson's responses he says 860+ PSU's from them are for servers etc (discussing the 1200w he said this). I'm inclined to believe all below that are HOME versions (even though he states a home PC with quadcore and quad SLI can push 1000+ at home...hmmm). I've had the same noise coming from their 350 and 425w versions previously as they all use the same fan. They have always been loud. OK, not video card/northbridge loud when loaded, but the only thing you hear when your PC was built with low noise in mind. I'm not saying it would drive you insane (well, depends on the person I guess) but as you get less noise you seem to want even less or none. You can't go back :) Its like cable internet. Once you've downloaded at 10mbit on cable even DSL seems like a 56k modem...ROFL. I'd apply that to noise as well :)
I think we didn't notice much until the 9800pro (his previous 9700 pro was noisy and so was the old Barton chip). Once he went to A64 and had to RMA the 9700pro (they sent back an 9800pro...thanks ATI) everything was much more noticeable in the PSU I guess. Currently I don't think he's pushing even 220w (it's pretty loaded with cards and ram but still), which it would seem should trigger something in the PSU that would ratchet down the RPM like all our other PSU's. I have built lots of Antec's/Enermax's that will stop the rear fan completely when you're sitting in Word/Excel or browsing the web. Also at the time their Silencers were wimpy so I avoided them (they still don't have the regulation of the highend turbocools at 1% last I checked). In the end I'll probably mod the fan if the new build comes in at 300w or so. I think just a few decibels would be great so we probably wouldn't need lower the fan much to get to that "ahhhh" feeling :) Or we'd "maybe" look at the new 510 coming out if it doesn't take too long. They'd better not slap a $200 tag on it though, knowing the only difference is an adjustable fan probably which everyone else seems to be able to accomplish on a $50-80 PSU.
That guy he interview was very good at answering the questions. i hope we get more inteviews like this one posted. i actually feel like my next power supply should be pc power and cooling branded.
According to Newegg, the Antec NeoPower NeoHE 380 power supply is SLI certified. 380 watts.
According to Antec this PS can also run at 100% load 24x7 guaranteed and comes with a 5 year warrenty.
I bought this PS because after looking at AnandTech's power draw on several systems showing quad core, 8800gtx, very high end usually pulling less that 300 watts.
No I'm not going to be able to run "tri-fire" but c'mon..lol
Then again I don't drive a SUV so maybe I don't fully comprehend the American need for excess quantities.
You have a good point but that 100% load rating may be at a lower ambient temp than yours sees. If the ambient is higher than the context it's rated under then the total output has to be derated to account for this.
It wouldn't be hard to derate a 380W PSU below 300W simply by using it in a typical case with components using 300W.
Why make them is easy. The goal is NOT to try to buy barely enough PSu for your needs. When you buy a car if you intend to drive 65MPH on the expressway do you select one that can barely go 70?
If you plan on having 4 cubic feet of food in the freezer do you want exactly 4 cubic foot capacity?
The wattage rating on a PSU is it's sustainable upper limit, not a lower limit nor average to match against system consumption. As the interview onlined, there are significant benefits choosing a PSU rated for more than the system will use. It's only extreme penny pinchers who tend to end up with less desirable results that try to cut every last cost.
Consider another example, OEMs who use median to higher quality PSU but are often bashed by gamers for including a 300-350W PSU in a system they hoped to do a video card upgrade on. To some extent, the PSU should be matched to the reasonable expansion capabilities of the case and buyer, not just what is plugged in the very first time. A good PSU may last for multiple system upgrades or entire system replacements if you're the type that won't use the same CPU, video, etc for more than 3 years or so.
So if you buy a 3 ghz CPU, you're going to run it at 2.4 ghz?
PSUs should be rated at sustainable output at good efficiency, like other components.
Not rated for some fantasy conditions.
It applies just as much to generic manufacturers who sell 500W PSU for $15, knowing you'd have to pour some fuel in and light it to get 500W out for more than a moment.
Those figures are only enough if you're an OEM with control over a standardized platform so you know the current per rail the system use and can then spec the PSU current per rail you need.
Otherwise, consider some recent P4 CPUs produced 110W+ themselves, running off a (roughly) 93% efficient VRM subcircuit on a motherboard that would already be 118W. Will 32W be enough to run the whole motherboard, a hard drive, optical drive, maybe one expansion card? Doubtful, many motherboards use this much by themselves.
300W is a lot more breathing room, since most with a video card don't buy 300W PSU if it's a higher end card and why should they really? If their budget includes $150+ for a midrange or better video card they shouldn't really be thinking along the lines of paying only $30 or less for a PSU to power it all, especially when the PSU is the least likely to be obsolete within 18 months so it might be reused.
It goes back to marketing. NVIDIA and AMD have requirements for SLI/CrossFire certification, and you can't easily market a PSU as a high-quality unit unless it has SLI/CF support. So, you need to meet their requirements (1100W for Tri-SLI and 550W? for SLI), which means pretty much all PSUs these days worth considering start at 550W or more.
Doug explains this in the article. A crappy PSU from a generic brand that says 450W isn't going to work with SLI, and many users don't know the difference between good and lousy PSUs. So, to be safe they figure a crappy 600W PSU can run SLI, so they "require" a 600W PSU for SLI. The reality is that your typical SLI rig won't even draw more than 300W, and triple-SLI is under around 600W (without overclocking).
You may not be susceptible to marketing, but about 90% of the market is unfortunately.
You hit Doug for noise on the Turbocool 1200, and he fires back with 50C ambient requirements - isn't it time someone mentioned water?!
OCZ did hybrid air/water cooling for RAM, and RAM is already silent. The guys blowing money on Triple-SLI rigs are the same guys blowing money water cooling them for silence. How long will PCP&C keep designing 80mm jet engines?
There are many different PSu configs out there to suit many different needs. It would be terrible if everyone changed their designs to suit your one ideal because that one ideal is subjective to your needs.
If your system uses little enough power that it can run a PSU at acceptible lifespan using low air volume, the Turbo 1200 wasn't right for your needs.
Just moving up to 120mm fan doesn't magically keep noise low when talking about even an optimistic 85% efficiency at 1200W which is close to 210W of heat it has to remove, and that when at it's rated 50C ambient. Your CPU isn't likely to be in 50C ambient, 210W heat, and run ok from a quiet heatsink fan either.
Amidst your obvious statements, you appear to assume that I've used the TurboCool 1200, and that I want all PSUs to be watercooled.
In fact, I've used the 'Silencer' 750W, found it to be obscenely loud, and replaced it with a Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1000W, which is inaudible as far as I can tell, and has fantastic efficiency from 290W to 700W according to Jonnyguru.
In fact, I suggested that Mr. Katzer ask PCP&C about the possibility of adding hybrid water cooling to a PSU, seeing as OCZ has already experimented with this on RAM.
There is just no way to get a watercooled PSU certified that it can be sold as a retail product. No chance in Europe and in the US it won't be too much of a difference.
I would like to clarify that I was not suggesting water-only cooling. As I said, OCZ has experimented with hybrid air/water with it's XLC RAM kits. If the water is optional, what is to stop certification?
If UL certification is such a problem, how can we allow for the Koolance 1200W unit? Non-conductive fluid? Going to market without certification? What?
He also said the Turbo 1200 is designed for the server market which is not generally noise conscious. PCP&C is obviously a conservative company. A company that eschews multiple rails and modular cables is unlikely to embrace water cooling.
The whole multiple rail thing is a cop-out anyway. The ONLY way you could justify multiple rails is if you can't design a power supply that can source the needed current while maintaining regulation and ripple. That's not easy. It is MUCH easier to design a circuit that can source a fraction of what you need then put multiple ones in the power supply to get your "xx Amps @12V!!!" marketing quote.
PCP&C does it the right way. And the capabilities of their supplies shows.
And getting UL approval on any kind of water cooled power supply is going to be VERY interesting! I would LOVE to have a true 750w "Total Silence" WC power supply to plug into my computer and hook up to my WC system! I hate fan noise.
> The ONLY way you could justify multiple rails is if you can't design a power supply that can source the needed current while maintaining regulation and ripple.
or that's what the ATX specification required (no more than 20A allowed per rail, something about safety reasons)
for instance, that was the spec when Corsair was designing their supplies, but then the 'requirement' was changed to a 'suggestion' so they changed the design of their 620HX and 520HX to a single rail . . . but they had already spent a lot of money on documentation that said 3 rails, so that's how they sent it out
the supplies are actually 1 rail, but the box and manual and spec page all say 3 rails
[quote]But I don't see many power supplies with lower outputs and more cables. I actually had to ask you to build me a custom power supply with all the connectors I wanted.[/quote]
this is a question that has vexed me for years, but forget about PCIe connectors, how about regular old peripheral connectors?
my system isn't powerful, but i have a lot of HDs. I had to get a 620W PS which is way overkill simply to get 10 peripheral connectors. 6 IDE HDs, 2 HD cage fans, 2 case fans, very easy to hit 10.
would it kill somebody to offer a 400-500w supply with say 16 peripheral and 10 SATA connectors?
(in case you're wondering i've had bad experiences with Y-splitters and prefer not to use them)
You may have bad experiences with Y-splitters, but so might you have bad experiences with a poor PSU. IOW, if you don't pull so many watts as to need a higher wattage PSU, the wiring harness present should be sufficient if only you choose decent splitters.
Intermittent connections are why higher quality splitters are needed, and also why PC Power & Cooling doesn't like modular connectors.
No it wouldn't be so expensive to add another lead but most systems don't need that many and someone is bound to come along and suggest it creates more clutter to have to tuck away the unused cable, or that it be modular which brings us back to the potential problem with adding connectors.
Really I think you only need higher quality Y splitters, and to inspect the contacts in them before use to ensure they make a good tight fit. Also, if an unused connector on a PSU is contaminated by dust or other environmental agents, it may need cleaned off before plugged into anything, even directly to a drive not just if a y-splitter were used.
If you really need 10 connectors then a 600W PSU may not be such a bad idea, as fans already have pass-through connectors in many cases so you're really talking mostly about hard drives and if you have anywhere near 10 that is a non-trivial spinup current requirement, suppose that's 20A did you really want to pick a PSU with a maximum current rating so close to the continual power on current requirement?
If you have that much to power, it's only prudent to pay for a PSU that has enough connectors, look at it as a matter of % of total system cost instead of just trying to go cheap, as we all know trying to go cheap has an effect on most parts you buy, not just the PSU.
chris, u dont have the pencil neck geek look. i refuse to read your articles anymore dam it. i dont need no hip guy telling me about technology! for shizel!
I noted that one post mentioned the 80 cert issue. I started using PC P&C Power supplies back when cyrix made cpu's and still have that one working in my cousin's kids computer. I took note then while looking into power supplies that PCP&C's power supplies were the only ones out there that were industrial rated supplies. This meant that you bought one for a system that if it went down it cost your company a LOT of money. Even way back then they were the top of the line power supplies. Each one I bought is still working today and I don't have glitch issues when putting computers together because they have the cleanest power output. They keep their voltage and current stable under heavy fast loading where cheaper ones will dip and give owners fits trying to find out why their computers lock up every now and then. I also note this with people who buy new high wattage video cards. This is also a problem I don't have to tear my hair out trying to find out why because having a stable clean power supply is one of the most important parts of any computer and can cause the worst troubleshooting nightmares when they are the culprit. I've got a 750W in this computer, very low noise, can not hear it unless I put my ear up to it. The only time I've seen noise problems was because of the case design caused poor air flow and/or restricted air getting to and through the power supply cleanly. I am VERY worried about their takeover no matter what the new owners say. I've seen the results of top of the line products get raped by larger more money bottom line folks than I care to think about but one I will mention because it should be a well known company to any electronic minded person. The company was called Fluke ind... They were the last word in testing equipment and made the best hand held units for years. Then they got bought out by Danahure (I only know how that company called but not sure about the spelling). A good friend of mine was a electronic engineer there and watched them go from top class to radio shack quality in components installed and reliability. They are now junk for the most part. they make kind of good stuff but nothing like they used to. Most of their mfg. got moved to china and it's just a sad story. I hope hardware sites keep a eye on PC Power to make sure they stick to the high quality and overkill components that make them a almost bullet proof power supply and their noise output levels stay almost nill. But I do worry. But I still have not seen any reason to stop using them over the rest out there.
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49 Comments
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FXi - Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - link
Fact is there are ways to overcome the issues, or at least minimize the issues, with using modular cables. Once you have used them, it's hard to do without. And since a good portion of PCP&C's business comes from enthusiasts, not just servers, there should be consideration for both markets. He makes it sound more like he can't solve the issues when he talks about the risk involved.Silence? If 90% of the PC Power supply market is or has moved to 120mm and larger fan designs, would you call a failure to do so as well stubborness or good design? Greater volume of air with less noise is the benefit, and users appreciate it, and in fact demand it often now. It's long past time to go back to the lab and figure out how to incorporate it without losing the other good qualities of PCP&C designs.
$.02
anandtech02148 - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
currently i assembled a asus p5v hdmi microatx g35, 1hard drive,6gig 800mhz ddr2,1 dvd rom, 1 3870, and e8400 cpu all this running on
antec 380wtts..i'm thinking of switchin my 3870 to 8800gtx will this psu be enough?
should i get 2 north korean nuclear reactor?
TheJian - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
You should be fine considering you're not going to be pulling more than 300w. Would I buy an Antec 500 instead? Yes. But I want my PSU to last until I toss it, not until I burn it up. I will admit my sister has an old PC Power and Cooling 350 (which has never had over an AthlonXP 3200+, well a barton 2500+ running at 3200+ speeds...LOL) that's over 7 years old and running like a champ. My old 425w from them is running in a friends PC after nearly 6 years. IF you buy overkill for what your job is you get a PSU that lasts FAR beyond the warranty. I've never had a PC Power and Cooling PSU fail (and I sold a lot as a reseller). Of course I always sell overkill because I don't want to fix them :) But I did tell the customer that IS what I'm doing.http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2...">http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2...
Check above for a good estimation of power. It's almost a dupe of your system. They have a bunch of cpus heavily overclocked and running a 8800GTX I think it was - yeah check here for whats in it:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2...">http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2...
These are quads so you should be fine. In fact the 8400 is in there too. You can easily check vid card reviews to see how much difference there is in watts from a 3870 to 8800gtx. Sorry I don't have time to do that homework for you :) Good luck with the upgrade. If that PSU is 2yrs old or so I'd upgrade to a 500 Antec. You don't want it to burn out in 6 months and take some other parts with it. Realistically if you're running your PSU over 70% of it's value (60 in my book) I'd think about more power. Overkill probably at 60% but I've never had a BSOD and asked "hmmm...I wonder if it was my PSU"...LOL
anandtech02148 - Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - link
thanks for the info..i normally don't check xbit labs.. too many tech info sites..but i'll take a look now.you're scaring me with the 6months burn out psu lol
the 8800gtx is sweeter for cod4 on a 1920 res than 3870.
i choose a 380watts cause we're thinking summer will come and you need to crank the AC too :)
TheJian - Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - link
I check everywhere...LOL As much as possible anyway but xbit only maybe once a month. I try to hit them all at least that much (I know, I'm an addict...:) or maybe it's just a product of being bored some days). Actually the 8800GTX beats the 3870 at 1920x1200 resolution in EVERY GAME I've seen tested. Check a few at TomsHardware here:http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?m...">http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_...del1=106...
Just keep changing which game/resolution you want tested in the drop down list (assuming you already picked your two cards for test 3870+8800GTX). I think the 8800GTX wins 4/4 there (all of them) in that res. Knowing you may be in a HOT summer area of the world makes me lean even more to 500w PSU. I'd want my PSU running cool normally because I'm not really pushing it at all, then when summer comes it won't cause a problem even if you get 114f weather :)
Sorry to scare you :)
dailytechsucks - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
I like how you attacked him over building you an UNDERATED PSU that YOU requested. Then, you attack him over a noisy fan on an 1100W PSU. What a tool.mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
I think a lot of people aren't realizing that if PC P&C just built PSU the same as everyone else, it devalues their product. They are INDUSTRIAL grade, when something deviates from the norm for certain benefits, one has to decide if that's really what they want.Nobody ever mentions things like whether their supposed 500W system draw would allow their quieter PSU to last for the life of the system. They act as though $1000 system running for a year is proof of something when it's not the first year that counts as much as the last year, until the viable lifespan of that system is over.
Even some of those Antecs with the heat-intolerant caps would tend to run for a year or longer. Maybe those Antec owners wished their fan had moved a bit more air. I just don't see why someone buys an industrial rated higher wattage PSU if their system doesn't seem to fit that description, and if it does it's likely to have video card fans that make the PSU fan noise less obtrusive.
TheJian - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
The only question I wanted asked wasn't. If it was a 120mm fan in their PSU I'd be more inclined to buy again. Currently my dad is about to dump his perfectly good TurboCool 510 because it's far noisier than my Enermax which runs silent. His is noisy all day. It's not a high pitched whine but still it sucks for $210 when bought its unacceptable to sound like a buzzing bee all day long. I went cheapo on an enermax with dual fans and he's sold on switching. They should fix this before they lose customers. We both know the PC Power and Cooling is the best out there but he doesn't care. Both fans in the enermax run slow and the back one shuts totally off a good portion of the time. My PC is silent almost always and much more powerful (1.8ghz OC to 3.0 with 4 HD's etc...it's loaded) than my dads. I'd venture to guess that 90% of his noise comes straight from the PSU (we both have the same Antec Super Lanboy aluminum case and dual 120mm fans so the only difference is the PSU and vid cards, and I have 2 more drives than him). The remaining portion is his old 9800 Pro. What gives? Why not a 120mm or even dual 80mm's running less rpm to cut noise like enermax? I've never liked the fact that PC Power and Cooling doesn't have an Intake fan sucking off some cpu heat but the rear 120mm takes care of that anyway in the lanboy case. But I'd still like dual fans or a 120mm. I've built a ton of PC's (owned a PC business for 8 years) and have always been impressed by the quiet middle of the road PSU's compared to all our PC Power and Cooling PSU's in the family (350w, 425w, and two 510's over the years).I actually got stuck with the enermax as an RMA for someone so I just kept it for testing in a 2nd PC and have liked it for almost 2 years. I got rid of my 425 for the same reason as my dad...LOL. If their claim is super high end PSU's (800w+ he said) are in a server what's their excuse for noisy 510's? Even their 750 Silencer can be noisy. For their money I'm expecting the silencer's to be the normal Turbo cool and something nearly silent all day for the word Silencer to be attached to it. I see that they have a "super silent" 510 coming but why isn't their whole line being converted to this? The rest of us just like noise or something? All of their "TURBO" labeled PSU's should be labeled "TURBINE". Because they sound like engines running all day. They never change. Constant BUZZ. I love the quality but hate the BUZZ. The only BUZZ I want is from a good beer or shot glass please :)
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
It wasn't designed to be a quiet PSU for a home environment, so why did you buy it if that mattered more?If you don't mind voiding the warranty I suggest you just swap in a lower RPM fan, something like a dual ball bearing NMB rated for about 2200 RPM. The result should cost $4 and be acceptible since PC P&C uses a very conservatively high ambient rating system and your dad's system doesn't use near 510W.
TheJian - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
I was thinking the same thing with regards to the fan switch, though the idea of tossing away 2.5yrs of warranty is hard to fathom if it fails. But what I didn't put in the post was my dad is about to go core2 dual (with overclocking in mind of course) and an 8800GT or above. The PSU was bought for this upgrade actually, not the originally built PC. You know, you buy with the future in mind, and here we are in the future - it was admittedly complete overkill before. But yeah I don't really like voiding the warranty on a 5 year PSU.However I disagree with it not being a home PSU. According to this article and Doug Dodson's responses he says 860+ PSU's from them are for servers etc (discussing the 1200w he said this). I'm inclined to believe all below that are HOME versions (even though he states a home PC with quadcore and quad SLI can push 1000+ at home...hmmm). I've had the same noise coming from their 350 and 425w versions previously as they all use the same fan. They have always been loud. OK, not video card/northbridge loud when loaded, but the only thing you hear when your PC was built with low noise in mind. I'm not saying it would drive you insane (well, depends on the person I guess) but as you get less noise you seem to want even less or none. You can't go back :) Its like cable internet. Once you've downloaded at 10mbit on cable even DSL seems like a 56k modem...ROFL. I'd apply that to noise as well :)
I think we didn't notice much until the 9800pro (his previous 9700 pro was noisy and so was the old Barton chip). Once he went to A64 and had to RMA the 9700pro (they sent back an 9800pro...thanks ATI) everything was much more noticeable in the PSU I guess. Currently I don't think he's pushing even 220w (it's pretty loaded with cards and ram but still), which it would seem should trigger something in the PSU that would ratchet down the RPM like all our other PSU's. I have built lots of Antec's/Enermax's that will stop the rear fan completely when you're sitting in Word/Excel or browsing the web. Also at the time their Silencers were wimpy so I avoided them (they still don't have the regulation of the highend turbocools at 1% last I checked). In the end I'll probably mod the fan if the new build comes in at 300w or so. I think just a few decibels would be great so we probably wouldn't need lower the fan much to get to that "ahhhh" feeling :) Or we'd "maybe" look at the new 510 coming out if it doesn't take too long. They'd better not slap a $200 tag on it though, knowing the only difference is an adjustable fan probably which everyone else seems to be able to accomplish on a $50-80 PSU.
fausto412 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
That guy he interview was very good at answering the questions. i hope we get more inteviews like this one posted. i actually feel like my next power supply should be pc power and cooling branded.Bozo Galora - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Well gee, maybe when they get around to selling this thing or its offspring to the public at large, it will be able to compete with Nehalem?Oh golly, an ES STOCK 2.66 non overclocked Nehsalem does an 8 second 1M super pi.
http://infomars.fr/forum/index.php?showtopic=1524">http://infomars.fr/forum/index.php?showtopic=1524
Hmmmmmmmmm.
Bozo Galora - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Oooops.Somehow clicked the wrong article - heh
tynopik - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
PS: that report has been debunked, it's not trueRocket321 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
According to Newegg, the Antec NeoPower NeoHE 380 power supply is SLI certified. 380 watts.According to Antec this PS can also run at 100% load 24x7 guaranteed and comes with a 5 year warrenty.
I bought this PS because after looking at AnandTech's power draw on several systems showing quad core, 8800gtx, very high end usually pulling less that 300 watts.
No I'm not going to be able to run "tri-fire" but c'mon..lol
Then again I don't drive a SUV so maybe I don't fully comprehend the American need for excess quantities.
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
You have a good point but that 100% load rating may be at a lower ambient temp than yours sees. If the ambient is higher than the context it's rated under then the total output has to be derated to account for this.It wouldn't be hard to derate a 380W PSU below 300W simply by using it in a typical case with components using 300W.
bob4432 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
for ~98% of the desktop pcs, a quality 400W unit is more than enough. why continue to make these higher W units when really very few people need them?pretty interesting business model when you are counting on ignorance as one of your income arenas...
then again i don't suffer from other inadequacies others might and am happy running my rigs w/ a antec EA 380 or 430....
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Why make them is easy. The goal is NOT to try to buy barely enough PSu for your needs. When you buy a car if you intend to drive 65MPH on the expressway do you select one that can barely go 70?If you plan on having 4 cubic feet of food in the freezer do you want exactly 4 cubic foot capacity?
The wattage rating on a PSU is it's sustainable upper limit, not a lower limit nor average to match against system consumption. As the interview onlined, there are significant benefits choosing a PSU rated for more than the system will use. It's only extreme penny pinchers who tend to end up with less desirable results that try to cut every last cost.
Consider another example, OEMs who use median to higher quality PSU but are often bashed by gamers for including a 300-350W PSU in a system they hoped to do a video card upgrade on. To some extent, the PSU should be matched to the reasonable expansion capabilities of the case and buyer, not just what is plugged in the very first time. A good PSU may last for multiple system upgrades or entire system replacements if you're the type that won't use the same CPU, video, etc for more than 3 years or so.
Olaf van der Spek - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
So if you buy a 3 ghz CPU, you're going to run it at 2.4 ghz?PSUs should be rated at sustainable output at good efficiency, like other components.
Not rated for some fantasy conditions.
Olaf van der Spek - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
> pretty interesting business model when you are counting on ignorance as one of your income arenas...Doesn't that always apply to quality and brand names?
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
It applies just as much to generic manufacturers who sell 500W PSU for $15, knowing you'd have to pour some fuel in and light it to get 500W out for more than a moment.Olaf van der Spek - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
> for ~98% of the desktop pcs, a quality 400W unit is more than enough.I think 150 W is enough if you use onboard video and 300 W is enough for a decent (8800 GT or Radeon 3870) video card.
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Those figures are only enough if you're an OEM with control over a standardized platform so you know the current per rail the system use and can then spec the PSU current per rail you need.Otherwise, consider some recent P4 CPUs produced 110W+ themselves, running off a (roughly) 93% efficient VRM subcircuit on a motherboard that would already be 118W. Will 32W be enough to run the whole motherboard, a hard drive, optical drive, maybe one expansion card? Doubtful, many motherboards use this much by themselves.
300W is a lot more breathing room, since most with a video card don't buy 300W PSU if it's a higher end card and why should they really? If their budget includes $150+ for a midrange or better video card they shouldn't really be thinking along the lines of paying only $30 or less for a PSU to power it all, especially when the PSU is the least likely to be obsolete within 18 months so it might be reused.
Olaf van der Spek - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
> Otherwise, consider some recent P4 CPUs produced 110W+ themselves,Those P4s have never been a good choice.
tynopik - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
b/c it only has a pathetic 6 peripheral and 4 sata connectorsbump it up to 10 and 6 and i might consider it
JarredWalton - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
It goes back to marketing. NVIDIA and AMD have requirements for SLI/CrossFire certification, and you can't easily market a PSU as a high-quality unit unless it has SLI/CF support. So, you need to meet their requirements (1100W for Tri-SLI and 550W? for SLI), which means pretty much all PSUs these days worth considering start at 550W or more.Olaf van der Spek - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
> So, you need to meet their requirements (1100W for Tri-SLI and 550W? for SLI),Looks like a requirement for the marketing department, not for the technical department.
Don't AMD and nV have any sense when it's about power?
JarredWalton - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Doug explains this in the article. A crappy PSU from a generic brand that says 450W isn't going to work with SLI, and many users don't know the difference between good and lousy PSUs. So, to be safe they figure a crappy 600W PSU can run SLI, so they "require" a 600W PSU for SLI. The reality is that your typical SLI rig won't even draw more than 300W, and triple-SLI is under around 600W (without overclocking).You may not be susceptible to marketing, but about 90% of the market is unfortunately.
NicePants42 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
You hit Doug for noise on the Turbocool 1200, and he fires back with 50C ambient requirements - isn't it time someone mentioned water?!OCZ did hybrid air/water cooling for RAM, and RAM is already silent. The guys blowing money on Triple-SLI rigs are the same guys blowing money water cooling them for silence. How long will PCP&C keep designing 80mm jet engines?
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
There are many different PSu configs out there to suit many different needs. It would be terrible if everyone changed their designs to suit your one ideal because that one ideal is subjective to your needs.If your system uses little enough power that it can run a PSU at acceptible lifespan using low air volume, the Turbo 1200 wasn't right for your needs.
Just moving up to 120mm fan doesn't magically keep noise low when talking about even an optimistic 85% efficiency at 1200W which is close to 210W of heat it has to remove, and that when at it's rated 50C ambient. Your CPU isn't likely to be in 50C ambient, 210W heat, and run ok from a quiet heatsink fan either.
NicePants42 - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
Amidst your obvious statements, you appear to assume that I've used the TurboCool 1200, and that I want all PSUs to be watercooled.In fact, I've used the 'Silencer' 750W, found it to be obscenely loud, and replaced it with a Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1000W, which is inaudible as far as I can tell, and has fantastic efficiency from 290W to 700W according to Jonnyguru.
In fact, I suggested that Mr. Katzer ask PCP&C about the possibility of adding hybrid water cooling to a PSU, seeing as OCZ has already experimented with this on RAM.
Christoph Katzer - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
There is just no way to get a watercooled PSU certified that it can be sold as a retail product. No chance in Europe and in the US it won't be too much of a difference.NicePants42 - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
What certificaiton are you referring to? UL?I would like to clarify that I was not suggesting water-only cooling. As I said, OCZ has experimented with hybrid air/water with it's XLC RAM kits. If the water is optional, what is to stop certification?
If UL certification is such a problem, how can we allow for the Koolance 1200W unit? Non-conductive fluid? Going to market without certification? What?
BigTex - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
He also said the Turbo 1200 is designed for the server market which is not generally noise conscious. PCP&C is obviously a conservative company. A company that eschews multiple rails and modular cables is unlikely to embrace water cooling.Snooper - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
The whole multiple rail thing is a cop-out anyway. The ONLY way you could justify multiple rails is if you can't design a power supply that can source the needed current while maintaining regulation and ripple. That's not easy. It is MUCH easier to design a circuit that can source a fraction of what you need then put multiple ones in the power supply to get your "xx Amps @12V!!!" marketing quote.PCP&C does it the right way. And the capabilities of their supplies shows.
And getting UL approval on any kind of water cooled power supply is going to be VERY interesting! I would LOVE to have a true 750w "Total Silence" WC power supply to plug into my computer and hook up to my WC system! I hate fan noise.
tynopik - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
> The ONLY way you could justify multiple rails is if you can't design a power supply that can source the needed current while maintaining regulation and ripple.or that's what the ATX specification required (no more than 20A allowed per rail, something about safety reasons)
for instance, that was the spec when Corsair was designing their supplies, but then the 'requirement' was changed to a 'suggestion' so they changed the design of their 620HX and 520HX to a single rail . . . but they had already spent a lot of money on documentation that said 3 rails, so that's how they sent it out
the supplies are actually 1 rail, but the box and manual and spec page all say 3 rails
lebe0024 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Click on the "Target $59.99" link in the artical header above. HAHAHA. It's for a product called the "Super Turbo Oven"!noxipoo - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
price went up to 69.99 from all your clicks!! how am i suppose to overclock my chickens now?tynopik - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
[quote]But I don't see many power supplies with lower outputs and more cables. I actually had to ask you to build me a custom power supply with all the connectors I wanted.[/quote]this is a question that has vexed me for years, but forget about PCIe connectors, how about regular old peripheral connectors?
my system isn't powerful, but i have a lot of HDs. I had to get a 620W PS which is way overkill simply to get 10 peripheral connectors. 6 IDE HDs, 2 HD cage fans, 2 case fans, very easy to hit 10.
would it kill somebody to offer a 400-500w supply with say 16 peripheral and 10 SATA connectors?
(in case you're wondering i've had bad experiences with Y-splitters and prefer not to use them)
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
You may have bad experiences with Y-splitters, but so might you have bad experiences with a poor PSU. IOW, if you don't pull so many watts as to need a higher wattage PSU, the wiring harness present should be sufficient if only you choose decent splitters.tynopik - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
well I had 1 y-splitter burn out (you can see the black marks) and it only had 2 devices (hd/fan/some combination thereof) attached to ita couple others had problems where if you jiggled the cables at all, they would lose connection and suddenly your HD would power down
tynopik - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
but regardless, is it really that expensive to add a handful more connectors to these supplies?is there any reason you have to get a 620w supply just to get 10 connectors?
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Intermittent connections are why higher quality splitters are needed, and also why PC Power & Cooling doesn't like modular connectors.No it wouldn't be so expensive to add another lead but most systems don't need that many and someone is bound to come along and suggest it creates more clutter to have to tuck away the unused cable, or that it be modular which brings us back to the potential problem with adding connectors.
Really I think you only need higher quality Y splitters, and to inspect the contacts in them before use to ensure they make a good tight fit. Also, if an unused connector on a PSU is contaminated by dust or other environmental agents, it may need cleaned off before plugged into anything, even directly to a drive not just if a y-splitter were used.
If you really need 10 connectors then a 600W PSU may not be such a bad idea, as fans already have pass-through connectors in many cases so you're really talking mostly about hard drives and if you have anywhere near 10 that is a non-trivial spinup current requirement, suppose that's 20A did you really want to pick a PSU with a maximum current rating so close to the continual power on current requirement?
If you have that much to power, it's only prudent to pay for a PSU that has enough connectors, look at it as a matter of % of total system cost instead of just trying to go cheap, as we all know trying to go cheap has an effect on most parts you buy, not just the PSU.
tynopik - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
> Intermittent connections are why higher quality splitters are neededhigh quality splitter, now there's an oxymoron ;)
> also why PC Power & Cooling doesn't like modular connectors
well presumably, the modular connectors would be of higher quality than these $0.15 splitters
> as fans already have pass-through connectors in many cases
. . . which are basically 'cheap' splitters (which is saying something)
Zoomer - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
I would like to see more sata power cables. It is a royal pita to use these splitters and converters.If they don't need the extra cables ever, a pair of scissors would do the trick.
HOOfan 1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
His Mtyhs answers are more like "this is the way we do it so naturally it is better" than "this is the best way, so that is what we use"poohbear - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
chris, u dont have the pencil neck geek look. i refuse to read your articles anymore dam it. i dont need no hip guy telling me about technology! for shizel!JarredWalton - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Maybe we should post pictures of the rest of us to make you feel better? LOLb_wallach - Monday, May 9, 2011 - link
I noted that one post mentioned the 80 cert issue. I started using PC P&C Power supplies back when cyrix made cpu's and still have that one working in my cousin's kids computer. I took note then while looking into power supplies that PCP&C's power supplies were the only ones out there that were industrial rated supplies. This meant that you bought one for a system that if it went down it cost your company a LOT of money. Even way back then they were the top of the line power supplies.Each one I bought is still working today and I don't have glitch issues when putting computers together because they have the cleanest power output. They keep their voltage and current stable under heavy fast loading where cheaper ones will dip and give owners fits trying to find out why their computers lock up every now and then. I also note this with people who buy new high wattage video cards. This is also a problem I don't have to tear my hair out trying to find out why because having a stable clean power supply is one of the most important parts of any computer and can cause the worst troubleshooting nightmares when they are the culprit.
I've got a 750W in this computer, very low noise, can not hear it unless I put my ear up to it. The only time I've seen noise problems was because of the case design caused poor air flow and/or restricted air getting to and through the power supply cleanly. I am VERY worried about their takeover no matter what the new owners say. I've seen the results of top of the line products get raped by larger more money bottom line folks than I care to think about but one I will mention because it should be a well known company to any electronic minded person. The company was called Fluke ind... They were the last word in testing equipment and made the best hand held units for years. Then they got bought out by Danahure (I only know how that company called but not sure about the spelling).
A good friend of mine was a electronic engineer there and watched them go from top class to radio shack quality in components installed and reliability. They are now junk for the most part. they make kind of good stuff but nothing like they used to. Most of their mfg. got moved to china and it's just a sad story. I hope hardware sites keep a eye on PC Power to make sure they stick to the high quality and overkill components that make them a almost bullet proof power supply and their noise output levels stay almost nill.
But I do worry. But I still have not seen any reason to stop using them over the rest out there.