ST85ZF and dual PSU

[Fireside85281]

Just some background first...

I've been gearing up for a larger upgrade for the holiday season, and I thought the first upgrade I really needed was a better all-around power supply. Apparently I had not read as much as I should have around here, and just found Jonnyguru's site. (Love the site btw!) Anyways, as much as I'd love to grab a 700w Zippy, I just cannot find many reviews and suggestions for them, not to mention the price tag is pretty high for not being too popular. So judging from the site and numerous other reviews, I've found the ST85ZF (SilverStone Zeus 850W) is my favorite choice. It also helped that frozencpu.com had them for $249 :p

I'm shooting to move to Intel when Kentsfield and better motherboards come out. I thought that I'd get much better system stability for the future and my current rig. My system now has been having difficulty running a few new games, but all stress-testing apps show I'm stable. My best guess for problems now is a poor PSU, which only furthers the idea that I need a new PSU.

My questions now are:
-Will I regret getting the ST85ZF over the Zippy 700W?

-If I setup dual PSU with my Antec will this ST85ZF run more stable, the lower amount of accessories I had plugged into it? For example, if the Antec ran the HDDs, fans, and other drives, while the ST85ZF handled only the motherboard and video cards?

-On a dual PSU setup, are there any problems with hardware that is started first on the slave PSU, then the mobo starts second? I doubt there would be problems, but it's foreign territory to me.

[Super Nade]

My questions now are:
-Will I regret getting the ST85ZF over the Zippy 700W?

Regret? Probably not as the Etasis built units are quite close to the Zippy units. My personal choice would be a Zippy, but then the ZF's are very very well built as well.

-If I setup dual PSU with my Antec will this ST85ZF run more stable, the lower amount of accessories I had plugged into it? For example, if the Antec ran the HDDs, fans, and other drives, while the ST85ZF handled only the motherboard and video cards?


-On a dual PSU setup, are there any problems with hardware that is started first on the slave PSU, then the mobo starts second? I doubt there would be problems, but it's foreign territory to me.

No. This is not recommended. I would not run a dual PSU setup unless the circumstances are extenuating. First off, where will you put the second PSU? One of them will probably not be cooled well. If it is the antec (non-Seasonic versions), chances are you will blow a cap in it. The 850W ZF will easily handle pretty much anything you throw at it. Technically, tw good quality units can be used seperately if you have decent cooling and aple space to put them in your case. But, I would much prefer a single unit solution.



:)

[Fireside85281]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Concerning the dual PSU, I'm using a CM Stacker 1st generation which has the slot for another PSU, and I'm currently not using it for anything. The case is quite cool, in fact it's pushing out cold air from the computer. The case currently has 6 120mm fans, 1 80mm, and 1 crossflow fan.

[Super Nade]

Still, I'd go with a single PSU system. I'd suggest you wait for DX-10 cards to be released and analyze the actual numbers before you buy a new unit.:)