Perfect PSU for new rig?

[Gripp]

Hi,

i'm looking to set up a new system and i'm getting confused by what PSU would be ideal; i was running with the Corsair 620HX but then i'm reading in the buyers guide (stickied on this forum) that i would want 34A on the12V rail for an SLI configuration - this only has 18 (16 if all three rails are used from what i gather from the specs at corsiar's website)

the buyers guide says that the PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 SLI is better for the SLI set-up and meets that 34A req
but i cant help but notice that it is only a single rail... plus it is 510W vs 620W...

so, here's my planned set-up, what would be an ideal PSU?

mobo:
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI
GPU:
2x EVGA 8800GTS (640) SLI
CPU:
Intel Q6600 G0
RAM:
2x Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
HDD:
3x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
(2x RAID0 1x separate for *pagefile*/storage/backup)
OPT:
2x SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B
1x SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive
Cooling (air...):
//
2x SILVERSTONE FM121 120mm Case Fan
2x Thermaltake A2017 90mm Blue LED Case Fan
CPU - ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink
HDD - MASSCOOL SYTRIN Kuformula SHF1 Ultra HDD Cooler (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835150085)
RAM - 2x OCZ OCZTXTCC Memory Cooler
(!! NEED SLI GPU COOLING !! any good leads?)
//
all of which is going into a Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811133154)

you can find the whole set-up here (https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=7342448)
the price is a bit steep ATM, but when i first set it up i had it at ~$1800 - so i may change a few things before all is said and done, but this will be about what it will look like

and i know.. new quad AMD may be worth waiting for, but i dont want to wait for the prices to be right..... that'll might be my nexy rig :santa:

edit: also, i am still a bit green to building my own machines - only done one and half but they were low budget systems where perfection wasn't too high of a concern... so please, explain everything you can so i can adsorb it all :)

[ancalime]

Well the buyer's guide is a tad outdated. The Corsair 620hx has a 54 amp 12v rail. It is overkill for two 8800GTS, but not overkill enough to not buy it :D.

And no, the AMD quads aren't worth waiting for IMO. :p

[Vento1]

The Corsair will be fine for what you want, when you have your rig built then we can realy help with the fun of oc'ing that baby.

[aja]

the buyers guide says that the PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 SLI is better for the SLI set-up and meets that 34A req
but i cant help but notice that it is only a single rail... plus it is 510W vs 620W...



Read THIS (http://www.pcpower.com/technology/myths/) - points number 2 and 8

PC P&C is amazing, you can't go wrong!

[burebista]

OK, why GTS in SLI? You look for problems and headache? Go for an 8800GTX an @ like hell and you're fine. What monitor do you have?
And if you go for single card route you can a get a P35 mobo, ABIT IP35 Pro or Gigabyte P-35 DS3/4, DQ6. They're more suitable with quad G0 and future Penryn.
Why 2 DVD's?
Heatsink. Zalman is overpriced. At least in my country. I'd go for Tuniq Tower, Scythe Infinity (with 2 fans in push-pull they're damn good) or the king: TR Ultra-120 Extreme and a fan at your choice (Nexus or Scythe S-Flex are good candidates).

So we arrive at PSU choice. Corsair HX520/620 is more than enough and damn quiet.

[Gripp]

Well the buyer's guide is a tad outdated. The Corsair 620hx has a 54 amp 12v rail. It is overkill for two 8800GTS, but not overkill enough to not buy it :D.

And no, the AMD quads aren't worth waiting for IMO. :p

yeah, but am i wrong in the understanding that each of the 3 rails only gets 18A (54/3=18) a piece?


and reading point 8 in aja's link...
but with one rail wont i get the backgroud niose from the fans and what not... i know its an issue on my current comp, which has one rail...

[Gripp]

OK, why GTS in SLI? You look for problems and headeache? Go for an 8800GTX an @ like hell and you're fine. What monitor do you have?
And if you go for single card route you can a get a P35 mobo, ABIT IP35 Pro or Gigabyte P-35 DS3/4, DQ6. They're more suitable with quad G0 and future Penryn.
Why 2 DVD's?
Heatsink. Zalman is overpriced. At least in my country. I'd go for Tuniq Tower, Scythe Infinity (with 2 fans in push-pull they're damn good) or the king: TR Ultra-120 Extreme and a fan at your choice (Nexus or Scythe S-Flex are good candidates).

So we arrive at PSU choice. Corsair HX520/620 is more than enough and damn quiet.

yeah, i went back and forth about the P35+gtx or 680i+2GTS for a while there... finally just said screw it, and decided SLI
it is the config of the highest 3dmark scores and even if i do end up getting some crap parts that wont let me OC well it will work great

and, as to your Q.. i'm looking at running this on a 60" 1080p as a gaming PC... so full res is very important; the memory of 2-640's is what is ultimately attracting me to this route vs the 1 768

[Rattle]

if your in the US grab this evga 8800ultra for $560 and to hell with SLI
corsair 620 or even a 520 will be fine, grab a p35 chipset, i like abit's IP35. i dont have a use for all the extra stuff on the PRO so I would save myself about $40 on that.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0260398

in sli you dont get 2x the memory anyway 2x640's is still seen as 640 in sli, not sure if 2x640 or 1 ultra will give you better frames at 1900x1080

[Hazaro]

Don't go SLI.

I'd grab a Corsair 620W since they are getting cheaper.

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A6200027&cmp=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r

520W is even cheaper though.
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=203270716&SearchEngine=PriceGrabber&SearchTerm=203270716&Type=PE&Category=Comp&dcaid=15890

[Gripp]

understood with the 640 still only being 640
but it is 640 per half of the screen... so, while it isn't faster it should be able to handle more

and my current card (an old crappy ATI 9200SE) can push 1900x1300 on this screen - just cant run newer games very well - so i'm thinking a newer card may have higher res's

anyhting less than very high res's on this screen makes everything look like paper cut-outs...

and, for my P35 set-up i have this partially pout together here https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=7342928
but it only comes out to about a $200 diff
and, again, i'm worried about getting maybe a bum part or two and being limited in how much OCing i can do
if that happens my P35 will be the suck compared to the SLI not-OCd..

but, i mean, a lot of people seem to push me away from SLI - why?

edit: oh, and besides, the 8800GTS is $225 so, it is less than the single Ultra above..

[burebista]

it is the config of the highest 3dmark scores
I guess you know that from 3dmark to games is a a looong way... ;)

i'm looking at running this on a 60" 1080p as a gaming PC... so full res is very important; the memory of 2-640's is what is ultimately attracting me to this route vs the 1 768
60" Gulp...:drool:
But again, i guess you know that in SLI you don't have 1280 MB video RAM,just 2 cards with 640MB each. ;)
And frankly I have a feeling that even 2 Ultra's in SLI can't play at full detalis/options on a 60" screen.

[Rattle]

because sli at most scales like 25% if that on maybe 50% of games, the rest maybe 25% it scales maybe 15% over 1 card and the other 25% it does nothing. It draws alot of power, makes EVERYTHING hotter and its just not really worth it when you can get a ultra to do the same thing.

this is just a guesstimate but you get the idea

[Gripp]

:devil's advocate:
///
yeah, from what i understand, in terms of speed you dont get double the mem, but in terms of power you do
i.e. it wont increase your FPS much but will be very helpful in my situation of needing hi res

and, i'll have to find it again, but i saw a benchmark comparing one Ultra to two GTS and there was an appreciable increase
and, initially people were selling me on the idea that it costs less and gets almost the same performance
but, really, it doesn't cost less...

and while i'm not worried about it drawing more power, the extra heat is something to contend with - which is why i went with the full tower and loud/hi flow rate air cooling system
////

but, guys, really please keep trying, i've gone back and forth about the SLI or not sooo much
i still dont feel confidant that either is the best way to go; just tired of researching about it, and figured with the SLI i can always jump to two Ultras (or, whatever is good for the price) in the future if this doesn't work out as well as i thought

the other way, i'm stuck with 1 ultra or GTX period... until something better comes out at least..

[Gripp]

oh yeah
we got off topic a bit
620HX 3-rail vs Turbo-Cool 510 SLI??

[Hazaro]

Or you could go with two 1Gig 2900Pro's at $340 each...

[Gripp]

http://techreport.com/articles.x/11686/5

is one that shows the benefit of 2GTS over 1U
isn't even the one i had read before.. but shows the same results

same price, better results...
but, still

1rail @32A or 3 rails at 18A ??

[Rattle]

Or you could go with two 1Gig 2900Pro's at $340 each...

the 1gb cards show no improvement over the 512 for the most part

[ancalime]

Corsair power supplies only have 1 rail.

[Oklahoma Wolf]

620HX 3-rail vs Turbo-Cool 510 SLI??

The Turbocool is an ancient, inefficient, and loud design. Corsair gets my vote.

FWIW, the Corsairs have only one 12V rail despite what you see on the label. They just didn't want to fork out the cash to have the UL recertify them as such.

[Gripp]

so it is really just one rail at 54A??!
so then, i'm guessing that if it is so touted then background noise isn't an issue?

well, i guess that solves it, i'm stickin with the Corsair :)

any more debates on SLI or P35??
i really dont know why there hasn't been a vote yet...
seems to be enough of a split

[Hazaro]

SLI takes more Watts, more room, gives off more heat, you need more PCIe connectors, hence a bigger PSU and more money spent.

A single card with the same performance is the best way imo. And you can always grab the more powerful single cards that come out.

[Drew@PSU]

+1 for single powerful card/ no SLI; grab an ultra and reign death on anything without 1

[Hazaro]

Make sure it's one of those good deals, otherwise get a GTX.

[aja]

+1 for a single card and P35

Simplistic setup

Smaller power requirements

Better chipset for overclocking (high FSB and stable VCORE)

[[Spectre]]

Well the buyer's guide is a tad outdated. The Corsair 620hx has a 54 amp 12v rail. It is overkill for two 8800GTS, but not overkill enough to not buy it :D.

And no, the AMD quads aren't worth waiting for IMO. :p

54Ax12v=648w out of a 620 power supply that the 12v rail iscapped at 600w. :eek:

Really the HX620 has a combined 50A 12v capacity. The "rails"/rail as labeled are not strictly additive.

[Elluzion]

I'd say a corsair 620hx would be perfect for you :D

$ about 125..

[Nebulous]

;5281788']54Ax12v=648w out of a 620 power supply that the 12v rail iscapped at 600w. :eek:

Really the HX620 has a combined 50A 12v capacity. The "rails"/rail as labeled are not strictly additive.


Woah! We got us another psu guru? How come I did'nt know this? :D

[burebista]

LOL! Spectre is Paul Johnson @[H]ard|OCP (http://www.hardocp.com/reviews.html?cat=NDUsUG93ZXIgU3VwcGxpZXMgLyBQU1Usa GVudGh1c2lhc3QsLCw=). ;)

It's in his signature. :D

[aja]

Woah! We got us another psu guru? How come I did'nt know this? :D

Great to know! :soda:

[Oklahoma Wolf]

LOL! Spectre is Paul Johnson @[H]ard|OCP (http://www.hardocp.com/reviews.html?cat=NDUsUG93ZXIgU3VwcGxpZXMgLyBQU1Usa GVudGh1c2lhc3QsLCw=).

I think he followed me here one day :D

[Gripp]

SLI takes more Watts, more room, gives off more heat, you need more PCIe connectors, hence a bigger PSU and more money spent.

A single card with the same performance is the best way imo. And you can always grab the more powerful single cards that come out.

well, i'de be looking at either the 620 for two or 520 for one
not too big of a diff. and like i said earlier, when i put the two systems up against each other the prices are comparable
plus i really dont have a need for the other PCI slot(s) anyways...
i'm only planning on air cooling in the immediate future
so super-crazy OC'd isn't on the agenda
some amount, but not anything on the bleeding edge

from the reading around i've done, super high resolutions are when SLI shines. (and remember, i'm talking large screen - so res is more important than any other setting; hi fps and everything maxed except res still just looks like paper cut-outs....)
at the lower resolutions its true that the 2xGTS barely beats the GTX or Ultra, but when put against hi rez situations there's just no comparing...
am i mis-reading something here?

i see a lot of you are voting the "one" route
i mean, are there stabilty issues with the SLI set-up? or is it that it simply doesn't overclock as well and with as great of effeciency?
i just cant help but be concerned that the one card wont give me the hi-res stabilty that i'm looking for, and then i'll be stuck with the one card until something bigger/better/more expensive comes out
and all things considered, i'm not concerned if it uses a bit more electricity, and my home A/C sounds like a jet engine as is, so the noise from a hi air-flow system wont bother me. and whether i can get my CPU to 4.0 rather than a mere 3.6 doesn't bother me much either
plus, once the prices are lower i could always go out and get two Ultras - or whatever may be worth the cost at that time...

see, its just that from my research the SLI config seems to be the way to go for my application - but i have had sooo many people on these boards tell me not to... and just few tell me SLI is great...
with this much mulla on the line, its making it a bit of a hard decision!

[Gripp]

oops

[cw823]

FWIW I believe Seasonic manufactures the Corsair 620 and the PCP&C Silencer, I think you may as well pick up the cheaper of the two. Great PSUs, and rated at a much higher operating temp than most.

[White Rain]

Question -
Which would run quieter and cooler,
HX620 or the HX520

[ancalime]

;5281788']54Ax12v=648w out of a 620 power supply that the 12v rail iscapped at 600w. :eek:

Really the HX620 has a combined 50A 12v capacity. The "rails"/rail as labeled are not strictly additive.

I stand corrected Mr. [H]ardOCP PSU Reviewer & Editor guy. :eek::)

[RollingThunder]

Question -
Which would run quieter and cooler,
HX620 or the HX520

White Rain,

Both power supplies use the same fan for cooling so it appears both will have the same sound (practically nothing). I have the 520HX and there have been times where I have to physically look to see if the fan was running. I'm sure the 620HX is the same.

I won't comment on SLI or not but either Corsair will run any vid card you choose with ease. They won't even break into a sweat. The only significant difference in the two are power output, cost plus an extra cable or two for the 620HX.

There always seems to be a MIR for each unit from ZipZoomFly and other retailers. A five year warranty isn't bad either!

[White Rain]

White Rain,

Both power supplies use the same fan for cooling so it appears both will have the same sound (practically nothing). I have the 520HX and there have been times where I have to physically look to see if the fan was running. I'm sure the 620HX is the same.

I won't comment on SLI or not but either Corsair will run any vid card you choose with ease. They won't even break into a sweat. The only significant difference in the two are power output, cost plus an extra cable or two for the 620HX.

There always seems to be a MIR for each unit from ZipZoomFly and other retailers. A five year warranty isn't bad either!

I was wondering about how if you get the 520hx you'd be running closer to max than the 620hx would on the same equipment, if running it closer to max would cause it to make more heat and ramp up the fan, or if being it's lower wattage the 520x would generally produce less heat and therefore not need to ramp up the fan as much. /shrug I've no clue, but I wanna try to make my pc as quiet as possible and due to case ventiliation heat is also a consern.

[RollingThunder]

I was wondering about how if you get the 520hx you'd be running closer to max than the 620hx would on the same equipment, if running it closer to max would cause it to make more heat and ramp up the fan, or if being it's lower wattage the 520x would generally produce less heat and therefore not need to ramp up the fan as much. /shrug I've no clue, but I wanna try to make my pc as quiet as possible and due to case ventiliation heat is also a consern.

With any single video card, even the 8800GTX, you won't be near "max." Those card coolers will make more noise that anything else you run and SLI is worse. If you feel more comfortable with the 620HX, and you are comfortable with the price difference (~$40), that should be your choice. At a certain point of wattage use, the fans will ramp up faster either way.

With my ordinary rig, my fan has never ramped up in speed but I think with either Corsair and a high end video card, yours will.

[Gripp]

yeah, i looked around some more and think im sticken with the SLI
all the cons i'm fine with
unless the cost keeps creeping up like this.. may go P35 and one GTS (rather than the GTX or Ultra...) if it keeps going
but at any rate the 620HX is how i'm going
thanks guys

[[Spectre]]

Woah! We got us another psu guru? How come I did'nt know this? :D

I have been around a for a bit:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=489106&page=6

I stand corrected Mr. [H]ardOCP PSU Reviewer & Editor guy. :eek::)

Ha, you can call me Spectre or Paul. I have been known as Spectre around the wibble web longer though. :)

[aja]

;5285573']I have been around a for a bit:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=489106&page=6



Ha, you can call me Spectre or Paul. I have been known as Spectre around the wibble web longer though. :)

Cool!

Erm, :welcome: Paul!

Hope you stick around!

[Hazaro]

With any single video card, even the 8800GTX, you won't be near "max." Those card coolers will make more noise that anything else you run and SLI is worse. If you feel more comfortable with the 620HX, and you are comfortable with the price difference (~$40), that should be your choice. At a certain point of wattage use, the fans will ramp up faster either way.

With my ordinary rig, my fan has never ramped up in speed but I think with either Corsair and a high end video card, yours will.

What he said.

The fan spins at maybe 200rpm or slower, never goes higher. You can barely feel the slightly warm air is pushes out. It's completely silent too... So silent I made a thread about how slow the fan was spinning. Seems ok though :santa:

[RollingThunder]

What he said.

The fan spins at maybe 200rpm or slower, never goes higher. You can barely feel the slightly warm air is pushes out. It's completely silent too... So silent I made a thread about how slow the fan was spinning. Seems ok though :santa:

Hazaro,

The Corsair 520HX apparently has a thermal setting that at about 300 watts, the fan speed ramps up to a higher rpm. I can't remember where I saw that, another tech review, or whatever, it's not on Jonnyguru's review site. It was a reliable review, perhaps even spectre's.

My fan speed rpm has never increased on my current rig that I could notice. I'm not surprised, I don't think it uses near 300 watts if that's any gage to go by. The 620HX is probably the same, I don't know for sure. I know both Corsairs are nearly stealthy when they are running and even running Orthos, the heat felt from the exhaust is certainly not alarming at all and I still don't hear the fan speed increase.

Both of my old borked Antec True Power 480s kicked out a lot of heat at the exhaust, it was very warm all the time. According to OW and SuperNade, excessive heat combined with lousy capacitors contributes to the failures for the Antec True Power, Smart Power and NEO Power units in particular.

[Hazaro]

Hazaro,

The Corsair 520HX apparently has a thermal setting that at about 300 watts, the fan speed ramps up to a higher rpm. I can't remember where I saw that, another tech review, or whatever, it's not on Jonnyguru's review site. It was a reliable review, perhaps even spectre's.

My fan speed rpm has never increased on my current rig that I could notice. I'm not surprised, I don't think it uses near 300 watts if that's any gage to go by. The 620HX is probably the same, I don't know for sure. I know both Corsairs are nearly stealthy when they are running and even running Orthos, the heat felt from the exhaust is certainly not alarming at all and I still don't hear the fan speed increase.

Both of my old borked Antec True Power 480s kicked out a lot of heat at the exhaust, it was very warm all the time. According to OW and SuperNade, excessive heat combined with lousy capacitors contributes to the failures for the Antec True Power, Smart Power and NEO Power units in particular.

I believe I read that as well,at some point the fan ramps up speed, but I have 7 case fans and a 8800GTS at 100%, so it wouldn't bother me anyway.