MUSHKIN are into PSUs !

[Super Nade]

Well folks, looks like Mushkin are into the PSU business. Here is a review:-
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=446

Its a 650W PSU, 4x12V lines with 20A per line (not sure how the amps are shared)

While I had my concerns about the modular design beyond those covered in this article, modular PSU’s seemed destined as mid-line budget models for many companies. The XP-650 may be one of just a handful of high-performance PSU's which also incorporate a modular cable system. This PSU performed very well given the fact each test system was watercooled and overclocked for half the tests. The Intel Presler rig in particular used a 12 ~ 24V voltage box on the Alphacool AP1510 pump, this ran continuously on the 18V position. The XSPC CrossFlow raditor included 3 x Zinruilian 12VDC/0.40A 120mm fans running flat out. The highest compliment I can pay to any component is when it replaces another in my system. The XP-650 will replace the OCZ PowerStream in my AMD rig. No price was given at the time of writing but I would expect a decent value from Mushkin whom delivers affordable quality. I would like to thank John and Lee at Mushkin for this "first look.

Wolf, what do you make of the innards?

[Voodoo Rufus]

Looks like a decent PSU. I'd like to see SPCR or Systemcooling get their hands on one for more in depth testing. Maybe a PSU I'd consider if it's quiet enough.

[ScottinIndy]

A tad on the expensive side.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=458476

[RangerXLT8]

A tad on the expensive side.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=458476
You get what you pay for. The 650w unit seems to be a strong performer from what I've seen. Not to mention top notch build quality.

[ScottinIndy]

You get what you pay for. The 650w unit seems to be a strong performer from what I've seen. Not to mention top notch build quality.


Overall I agree, I guess I just feel the New OCZ's or Epsilons are better bang for your buck.

[Super Nade]

I'd like to see a few more detailed tests before offering an opinion on this. I would have much preferred that a 120mm fan was used instead of 2 x 80 mm fans. Also, why are there no markings on the big filter caps?

The review says they are made by ToPower/Tagan/EPower. I've never used any of this.. How do they stack up against the big boys i.e. FSP, Zippy etc ?

[itshondo]

If they make PSUs like they make memory, then it ought to be a good one.

I'm going to keep an eye on this....

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Wolf, what do you make of the innards?

Sorry I'm late - no net access sucks :(

Mushkin is filling the void over at Topower left by OCZ's departure. I'm going to wait and see how they do compared to the old Powerstreams before recommending them.

[Super Nade]

What I can't understand is, why are people splitting the 12V lines, when most recommendations favor a beefy single line? Is this something new? :confused:

[Neuromancer]

Not bad looking... held its own on an opty and a p4... although I would wait to get one till it fails into the 125-150 range. 229MSRP is just too much.

oops 219 at the egg

[nikhsub1]

What I can't understand is, why are people splitting the 12V lines, when most recommendations favor a beefy single line? Is this something new? :confused:
Fairly new. I'm not a fan of multiple 12V rails myself, but Joe n00b sixpack can tell his buddies he has not one 12v rail, but 4! :D

[Know Nuttin]

The initial argument for splitting the +12v lines was for "safety reasons". To some extent, you can agree. On the other hand, it is easy to disagree with the implementation of it when it is clear that the 240VA limit that they had decided on is too low (Crossfire X1900XTX, anyone?).

FWIW, they are doing a not too bad job of it now, having split the rails so that each video card is on a separate +12v line.

[Super Nade]

I did a preliminary calculation based on the extreme-tech PSU calculator and came up with 848W for an x1900xtx CF. :rolleyes:

If I'm not mistaken, the 4x split is not really legit because one of the 12V lines is shared by either the 5V or the 3V, correct?

So, as it stands the OCZ 520 SLI is the only good one which still has the single 12V rail?

[Rattle]

Sorry I'm late - no net access sucks :(

Mushkin is filling the void over at Topower left by OCZ's departure. I'm going to wait and see how they do compared to the old Powerstreams before recommending them.


OCZ isnt using topower anymore then ? who are they using now?

[Know Nuttin]

OCZ isnt using topower anymore then ? who are they using now?

The Powerstreams are Topower. The Modstreams are still Topower but the GameXStreams are Fortron/SPI.

[Rattle]

The Powerstreams are Topower. The Modstreams are still Topower but the GameXStreams are Fortron/SPI.

ohh cool thanks man

are all the new xstreams slip 12's like the fortron/spi

[infinitevalence]

yep... OK hit the nail on the head. Looks almost identical to the Toppower that OCZ was using for the 520 and up. Should be a decent supply but i wont know till i get one to toss around :)

[eva2000]

OCZ isnt using topower anymore then ? who are they using now?
OCZ GameXStream = FSP http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=459495 :D

[CGR]

I'd like to see computer equipment using far less power than having to continue to upgrade my wattage to accommodate newer equipment. Tired of my electric bills going up and up when I upgrade my systems...

[Gautam]

I'd like to see computer equipment using far less power than having to continue to upgrade my wattage to accommodate newer equipment. Tired of my electric bills going up and up when I upgrade my systems...
Sigh, don't we all.

I have to add in my experience here. If the Mushkins/OCZ's are indeed Fortron based, then I'm not sure I can trust them. It feels really weird to type this, as I've been a VERY staunch Fortron aficionado ever since I started building computers about four years ago. Over that period of time I've owned somewhere around 10 of them, which is quite a bundle for a teenage computer enthusiast I'd say...just goes to show how much I like them. I have always recommended them, even when others wouldn't. For the rig in my sig (Core 2 Duo + 1900CF) I obviously went with Fortron without a second's thought, as usual. I was planning on running dual PSU in case things got icky. I bought the 550W variant of the Epsilon. It has 4x20A rails as well, which according to the datasheets combine to provide a single 44A rail when necessary. Sounds pretty good. I also chatted with an engineer about the unit, and he said it could handle Crossfire no problem by itself. The big day came, and I fired it up. With everything at stock, including my ~30W Yonah, I was experiencing massive instability. I couldn't even make it a minute or two through a Windows installation without it hanging. Monitoring the +12v with a DMM I observed that it would jump to about 12.6v and even higher at some points, past the danger zone (IMHO) of 5% regulation. (Single card it would be around 12.05) Plan B was to go dual and put the 550 on the video cards by itself with a CD drive added to place a load on the +5v. That seemed to be going a little bit better, but this time the +12v was low, at about 11.86, which wouldn't have been the end of the world, except that it would drop to 11.72 whenever the CD-ROM drive spun up. A little unnerving, but not a horrible drop considering the load. Halfway through the installation, the screen burst into artifacts, and my motherboard was damaged permanently.

Maybe I got a bad apple, but I wasn't willing to find out. I returned it for a refund and purchased a 700W Zippy/Emacs unit, which holds the +12v dead tight, dropping only .02v under load, extremely tight regulation.

One point one might try to make is that 550W might be on the lower end. Possibly, but if a 700W is to handle a fully oced modern day processor such as a Toledo or Presler along with fully OCed 1900's in CF, then a 550 of the same model line should probably be able to handle a stock mobile processor (you can literally run 6 or 7 stock Yonahs with the power it takes to run one heavily clocked Presler), along with stock video cards. The 4x20A +12v rail structure is the same on both of the models.

And IMHO, this is the problem. This quad-rail structure always raised an eyebrow, but I accepted it in my full faith of FSP. But thinking about it, it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense in a unit that they're marketing towards powering two video cards. They know fully well that a dual-card system is going to draw well over 20A off the +12v, and the combined figure will come into play, not the individual 4x20 figure, that is almost completely irrelevant here. I don't know much about power supply circuity (yet), but I'd wager that this design is cheaper than that of a single, more sturdily regulated rail. I feel that FSP has made a mistake with this design. Single card tests prove nothing of the kind. I was running single card without a problem even on my old school dual +12v rail 550W unit. However, the second card adds a tremendous amount of power draw, which is enough to push almost any unit on the market over the edge, literally. I see that Fortron has released a seperate power supply intended exclusively for video cards, which is a step in the right direction, however I hope that they market a unit with a beefy +12v rail in the future.

After observing my unit, there is no way I can recommend these 4x +12v rail supplies. It's very hard to grasp the power requirements of such a system without actually owning one. For anyone planning a Crossfire build, I would recommend no less than 700W or 850W Zippy, or the 850W or 1000W units from PCP&C personally. My two cents, take them for what they're worth.

[NinjaWreck]

Fairly new. I'm not a fan of multiple 12V rails myself, but Joe n00b sixpack can tell his buddies he has not one 12v rail, but 4! :D

The four 12v rails combine into a single 44amp rail depending on the power load of the rails. So you can say you have both.