computerpro3
06-12-04, 10:08 AM
Hi all,
I have been seeing an incredible amount of posts that say "My Antec 550 has low voltage problems", "My antec 550 isn't powering my rig properly", "is an Antec 430 enough for this rig", "Can my generic 300watt psu power my new prescott rig with 9 hard drives", and "Is Deer a good PSU?" posts. Hopefully this thread will help reduce those.
I want everyone reading this right now to understand two things.
1. MOTHERBOARD MONITOR 5, YOUR BIOS READINGS, AND ANY SOFTWARE READING PROGRAM ARE NOT ACCURATE. The only way to accuratley measure your voltage is with a digital multimeter. There is no excuse not to have one. They are less than $20 at radio shack, home depot, basically any hardware/electronic store. Before spending potentially hundreds of dollars on new psu's, or crying that the psu's lines are crap and damaging a companies reputation, test the damn lines with a multimeter. I've had motherboard monitor 5 report that my 12v line was 14v before. It was really 12.5. Don't believe it or bios.
****IF YOUR PROBLEM IS DROPPING VOLTAGE LINES, IT OFTEN ISNT A PROBLEM AT ALL, THE SOFTWARE IS JUST INACCURATE*****
2. Antecs are great psu's, but they are NOT reccomended for heavy overclocking. If you want stable, reliable operation with mild overclocking or low speeds, they are the ticket. However, their voltage lines DO drop when you hit around 3.8-4ghz Intel, 2.7-3ghz AMD. That is a fact. Ask any of the people that have experience with them.
For heavy, heavy overclocking there are really only 2 or three choices. This is how the breakdown goes. And yes, everyone that is on the front page of the ORB will agree.
Pc Power and Cooling Turbocool 510 Deluxe
The ABSOLUTE BEST normal, ATX power supply on the planet. Yes, its pricey, but worth every penny. Yes, I know, I have one. Here are the reasons it is the best power supply on the planet:
*510 REAL watts compared to 360ish REAL watts on the Antec 550. When looking at power supply ratings, you have to take into account that the majority of power supply companies out there (antec's the worst when it comes to this) rate their power supplies at 25C. So what you say? Well, power supply output DROPS as temperature goes UP. Its an inverse relationship. How many of your case temps, let alone power supply internal temps, are 25C? 2, maybe 3 people on the boards, if that? Pc Power and Cooling rates their supplies at 40C, which is the real average temp. Basically, if you want to compare using Antecs rating system, its 660 watts for the pcp&c to 550 watts for the antec.
*1% voltage regulation. Basically, if your 12v line drops to 11.88, OR your 5v line drops to 4.95v or your 3.3v line drops to 3.267 your psu is defective. Try that with the Antec lol.
*34 amps on the 12v line, 38 peak!!!!!! Compare to 24 on the antec. Thats the important line too, peeps, as thats what the cpu is powered off of in most cases
*5 year warranty compared to 3. speaks volumes for workmanship
*every wire sleeved, matte black finish. nothing to do with performance, but a nice touch, none the less.
**********GREAT FEATURE ALERT****you can adjust the internal pots without voiding warranty. They drill little holes over them for you so you can just stick a screwdriver in and turn. They will also mount the pots on 3 foot wires if you want so you can turn them externally.
*myraid types of electrical features, such as active pfc, line conditioning, etc.
I do understand, however that not every person can justify $220-310 on a power supply, so despair not, there is another great choice for you. Here it is:
Fortron 530watt
*think of it as everything I mentioned above except 1% line regulation, sleeved wires, slightly less amps, slightly less power. Awesome, Awesome psu. basically a pcp&c without the fit and finish. Internal adjustable pots, has the works. here's the kicker: $75 bucks!!!!! All that for $75 bucks!!!!! Best value out there, probably in any type of componet.
2nd best supply out there, bar none
Enermax/Coolergiant 660w
Heard very good things about this supply from many people, but I have no experience with it myself so I can't comment.
Now on the issue of generic power supplies. 5 words:
DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT
Personally I have had 3 generics blow, and one catch on fire (that one was a deer :eek: ). I'm a fast learner. Generic power supplies will for the most part blow out if you try to use them to power a high power consumption rig. If you use one, you run the risk of it taking out every single componet in your system. Whats another $75 bucks (fortron 530) for the peace of mind that your $2000 pc will be nice, safe, and stable? Also, generic or underpower psu's often cause overheating, reboots, instability, lockups, power surges inside your pc, voltage drops, etc. Not things you want to be messing with if you like or rely on your computer like I and many other people on this forum do. Oh, if you have a Deer psu, they are also fire hazards and liable to burn down your house, killing your family, and ruining your life if you have crappy insurance. I'm not even kidding, if I hadn't been home when my deer went off....I don't even want to think about it. I don't care how little money you have, you can ALWAYS pick up at least an antec 430 (which you know at least will not catch on fire and is built with somewhat quality parts) for $38 shipped (an actual deal I just saw go on this forums classifieds). So skip lunch for a day or something and get a REAL psu. Your pc is an investment. Protect it.
Now a special note about the Antec 430 watter. This thing is possibly the best value besides the fortron 530watt out there, but it is NOT superman. This thing has gotten the reputation that it takes whatever you throw at, and it does....to a point. Look at my system in sig. Yes, it took all that to bring it down (kinda), but I finally did it. The antec trupower 430 was insufficient to power my system. I had to use two power supplies or I couldn't overclock for beans. The lines were dropping (measured with a DMM so they really were) and the air coming out was akin to a heatgun. This thing can take a lot of stuff, but please don't throw a prescott, 9 hard drives, 5 cd roms, 19 cold cathodes, and 55 fans at it. Guys, its a great psu, but not superman. Or should I say a pc power and cooling.
Sorry for the long post/rant, but I had to get it off my chest. Hope this helps a lot of people out there. I need to go ice my fingers after all this typing.
-computerpro3 out
I have been seeing an incredible amount of posts that say "My Antec 550 has low voltage problems", "My antec 550 isn't powering my rig properly", "is an Antec 430 enough for this rig", "Can my generic 300watt psu power my new prescott rig with 9 hard drives", and "Is Deer a good PSU?" posts. Hopefully this thread will help reduce those.
I want everyone reading this right now to understand two things.
1. MOTHERBOARD MONITOR 5, YOUR BIOS READINGS, AND ANY SOFTWARE READING PROGRAM ARE NOT ACCURATE. The only way to accuratley measure your voltage is with a digital multimeter. There is no excuse not to have one. They are less than $20 at radio shack, home depot, basically any hardware/electronic store. Before spending potentially hundreds of dollars on new psu's, or crying that the psu's lines are crap and damaging a companies reputation, test the damn lines with a multimeter. I've had motherboard monitor 5 report that my 12v line was 14v before. It was really 12.5. Don't believe it or bios.
****IF YOUR PROBLEM IS DROPPING VOLTAGE LINES, IT OFTEN ISNT A PROBLEM AT ALL, THE SOFTWARE IS JUST INACCURATE*****
2. Antecs are great psu's, but they are NOT reccomended for heavy overclocking. If you want stable, reliable operation with mild overclocking or low speeds, they are the ticket. However, their voltage lines DO drop when you hit around 3.8-4ghz Intel, 2.7-3ghz AMD. That is a fact. Ask any of the people that have experience with them.
For heavy, heavy overclocking there are really only 2 or three choices. This is how the breakdown goes. And yes, everyone that is on the front page of the ORB will agree.
Pc Power and Cooling Turbocool 510 Deluxe
The ABSOLUTE BEST normal, ATX power supply on the planet. Yes, its pricey, but worth every penny. Yes, I know, I have one. Here are the reasons it is the best power supply on the planet:
*510 REAL watts compared to 360ish REAL watts on the Antec 550. When looking at power supply ratings, you have to take into account that the majority of power supply companies out there (antec's the worst when it comes to this) rate their power supplies at 25C. So what you say? Well, power supply output DROPS as temperature goes UP. Its an inverse relationship. How many of your case temps, let alone power supply internal temps, are 25C? 2, maybe 3 people on the boards, if that? Pc Power and Cooling rates their supplies at 40C, which is the real average temp. Basically, if you want to compare using Antecs rating system, its 660 watts for the pcp&c to 550 watts for the antec.
*1% voltage regulation. Basically, if your 12v line drops to 11.88, OR your 5v line drops to 4.95v or your 3.3v line drops to 3.267 your psu is defective. Try that with the Antec lol.
*34 amps on the 12v line, 38 peak!!!!!! Compare to 24 on the antec. Thats the important line too, peeps, as thats what the cpu is powered off of in most cases
*5 year warranty compared to 3. speaks volumes for workmanship
*every wire sleeved, matte black finish. nothing to do with performance, but a nice touch, none the less.
**********GREAT FEATURE ALERT****you can adjust the internal pots without voiding warranty. They drill little holes over them for you so you can just stick a screwdriver in and turn. They will also mount the pots on 3 foot wires if you want so you can turn them externally.
*myraid types of electrical features, such as active pfc, line conditioning, etc.
I do understand, however that not every person can justify $220-310 on a power supply, so despair not, there is another great choice for you. Here it is:
Fortron 530watt
*think of it as everything I mentioned above except 1% line regulation, sleeved wires, slightly less amps, slightly less power. Awesome, Awesome psu. basically a pcp&c without the fit and finish. Internal adjustable pots, has the works. here's the kicker: $75 bucks!!!!! All that for $75 bucks!!!!! Best value out there, probably in any type of componet.
2nd best supply out there, bar none
Enermax/Coolergiant 660w
Heard very good things about this supply from many people, but I have no experience with it myself so I can't comment.
Now on the issue of generic power supplies. 5 words:
DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT
Personally I have had 3 generics blow, and one catch on fire (that one was a deer :eek: ). I'm a fast learner. Generic power supplies will for the most part blow out if you try to use them to power a high power consumption rig. If you use one, you run the risk of it taking out every single componet in your system. Whats another $75 bucks (fortron 530) for the peace of mind that your $2000 pc will be nice, safe, and stable? Also, generic or underpower psu's often cause overheating, reboots, instability, lockups, power surges inside your pc, voltage drops, etc. Not things you want to be messing with if you like or rely on your computer like I and many other people on this forum do. Oh, if you have a Deer psu, they are also fire hazards and liable to burn down your house, killing your family, and ruining your life if you have crappy insurance. I'm not even kidding, if I hadn't been home when my deer went off....I don't even want to think about it. I don't care how little money you have, you can ALWAYS pick up at least an antec 430 (which you know at least will not catch on fire and is built with somewhat quality parts) for $38 shipped (an actual deal I just saw go on this forums classifieds). So skip lunch for a day or something and get a REAL psu. Your pc is an investment. Protect it.
Now a special note about the Antec 430 watter. This thing is possibly the best value besides the fortron 530watt out there, but it is NOT superman. This thing has gotten the reputation that it takes whatever you throw at, and it does....to a point. Look at my system in sig. Yes, it took all that to bring it down (kinda), but I finally did it. The antec trupower 430 was insufficient to power my system. I had to use two power supplies or I couldn't overclock for beans. The lines were dropping (measured with a DMM so they really were) and the air coming out was akin to a heatgun. This thing can take a lot of stuff, but please don't throw a prescott, 9 hard drives, 5 cd roms, 19 cold cathodes, and 55 fans at it. Guys, its a great psu, but not superman. Or should I say a pc power and cooling.
Sorry for the long post/rant, but I had to get it off my chest. Hope this helps a lot of people out there. I need to go ice my fingers after all this typing.
-computerpro3 out