FSP 700 W Epsilon psu - advises welcome

[Geist]

Since I recently figured out that my Enermax 600 W Coolergiant has no 8-pin EPS plug, but my DFI Expert wants to have exactly that I´m in the need for a new psu. Here in Germany we don´t have any chances to get our hands on PCPower&Cooling, so I´m currently trying to figure out which psu will suit me best: Either FSP FX700W Epsilon or Silverstone ST75ZF 750 Watt. Any considerations, ideas, sharing of experiences are welcome.
New system will be: 170 Opteron (oc´ed), SLI Expert, 2x1 Gb Crucial DDR500, Gainward 7800GT; no plans to go SLI.

[PWatterson]

Why 700+ watts? That rig you listed in the last line should not need much more than 500 watts if you have no plans to go SLI. What about an OCZ 520w Powerstream or the 500w Fortron Blue Storm?

[UglyChild]

Just get a new Enermax, most of them now do have 8pin power connector.
Or you can get a power adapter from 4pin to 8pin, even cheaper.

[Geist]

True, but I wanted to get something future proof and since FSP is barely known here you get them for a decent price. In the end I´d pay more for some OCZ psu than for the 700W FSP.
Enermax on the other side is pretty damn hyped here...expensive stuff. And I don´t like them for having sold me that 600W Coolergiant without EPS plugs for around 150 USDs. :) Seriously I don´t like to buy another 2-12V-rail psu when I can have a 4-12V-rail one for a cheaper price.

[Nebulous]

Well, FSP/Sparkle is one of the best trusted psu's out. For the price I think they're great. never had any issues with the ones i've had.

If those you listed are the only choices available and you can get the Fortron for a cheap price, i say go for the Fortron. Stay away from the Enermax as i've had nothing but nightmares with them.

[UglyChild]

You shouldn't blame the seller, you should have checked the PSU for all the necessary connections need it before you bought it. Thats like jumping of the plane with out asking for a parachute first.

And Enermax has always been my fav, they make great PSU's. They worth every penny.

So why spend $100 when you can get an adapter for $10.

And you cant have something future proof, because you dont know what future holds and how things will change. In a year there might be AGP-E, and no more PCI-E. You never know what will happen.

[Oklahoma Wolf]

The Silverstone is the better of the two, though the FSP is quite good and getting very popular.

Enermax is ok, but I'm no big fan of theirs.

[Geist]

Thank you guys for all the replies.

Nebulous: Well there are more I could choose from, but I won´t thouch anything ToPower again which means 8 out of 10 psus here are a no go. That´s the reason for choosing between FSP and Silverstone.

UglyChild: Got me wrong there:) I don´t blame my retailer. I blame Enermax for their revisions politics.

OklahomaWolf: The 750W Silverstone would cost me around 50 Euro more than the FSP - maybe that reflects the better quality. -_-

[Oklahoma Wolf]

The Silverstone is both more powerful and better quality - worth the extra.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/ST75ZF

[jpersinger]

Sorry to somewhat thread jack, but I wouldn't mind obtaining some advice from the resident PSU gurus around here. I'll be doing the Conroe thing shortly, and I am looking forward to Crossfire and watercooling by the end of the year. So I am guessing I will be wanting to look at 500 watt or greater units; price range $100-$250. I am currently on a PC Power & Cooling 510 SLi unit which has been great for me but I had been strongly considering going with the Seasonic 600 watt unit for the next rig (price primary consideration). But, would I be better off with this Silverstone unit as well or maybe the 750 Silencer? I will be considering build quality, power output (possible future proofing), cost, and warranty primarily. Oklahoma, who's the best in build quality these days? Thanks for any info.

J. Persinger

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Oklahoma, who's the best in build quality these days?

Zippy, but you'll likely be doing a fan swap within seconds of firing one up for the first time. They build them to keep cool at all costs ;)

The Zippy 850W is already getting popular for really high end rigs with its single 60A 12v rail. www.servercase.com keeps selling out of them.

In your case however, I'll suggest the PC P&C Silencer 610W, FSP Epsilon/OCZ GameXStream 600W+, or the Silverstone ST75ZF or ST85ZF.

[Super Nade]

Or the Supermicro/Ablecom PWS-0056 :)

Wolf, would you still recommend the FSP after looking at JonnyGURU's preliminary ripple tests?

[UglyChild]

The Silverstone is both more powerful and better quality - worth the extra.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/ST75ZF


Looking at the graphs on that site, there are NO numbers to indicate how much voltage fluctuates. It could be 0.0001, it could be 5.000.

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Wolf, would you still recommend the FSP after looking at JonnyGURU's preliminary ripple tests?

Yep.

That Supermicro unit is amazingly affordable... $156 in Canada. It very much deserves a look too.

[Super Nade]

Looking at the graphs on that site, there are NO numbers to indicate how much voltage fluctuates. It could be 0.0001, it could be 5.000.
Dude, look at the scope scale at the bottom. 1 Division on the Y axis is 0.05V i.e 50mV. 100 mV ripple is quite acceptable.

[Geist]

I made my decision now: I´ll go for the FSP 700W. :) Thank you guys again.