psu reccomendations

what psu is great for overclocking and still quiet i was thinking about the antec 550 but i have seen a few bad posts about this psu i am looking to spend 120 or less on it and hopeing it is at least 450 watts or more is there anything like this out there

I'm gonna get carpal tunnel just from writing this...

Power quality is much more important to successful overclocking than how much power the PSU can make.

The total draw of the set up in your signature is 250-260 watts, and no, that's not a misprint.

If you're having power-related problems overclocking now, its not because that 400w PSU isn't making enough juice. But if the 5v rails drop from 4.9v to 4.7 when you put the system under load-that will cause problems. Ditto if the current fluxuates from 4.675-4.725 while you keep it under load.

To answer your question, I'd recommend any of the Sparkle FSP's. The 300, 350 or 400 all have 1% line regulation and are very stable. All have more than enough power for your rig. If you can't afford a PCP&C, this is the one to have.



BHD

i have heard good things about the pcpc one but i cant seem to find one on pricewatch is this that maker of it, like the sparkle isnt it made by fortron or something but i have heard good things about this psu also but like you said i will probley go with the sparkle

also the 5v rail goes clear from 4.93 down to 4.7 with my core @2.14 volts the 3.3 goes to around 3.2 and the 12 goes up to about 12.48.

BaldHeadedDork said:

If you're having power-related problems overclocking now, its not because that 400w PSU isn't making enough juice. But if the 5v rails drop from 4.9v to 4.7 when you put the system under load-that will cause problems.

Click to expand...

Actually it is that the supply is not making enough juice. The voltage drops under load are a consequence of hitting the current limitations of the supply. Voltage drop is the symptom, not the problem.

To fall back on an old analogy, voltage is like water pressure in a pipe. It does not describe how much water is in there, but rather is a property of whatever water might be there. If the source that feeds that pipe run dry, naturally the water pressure drops as the amount of water decreases. In similar fashion voltage describes the electrical potential of our current, not the amount. If the load outstrips the supply the natural consequence is a drop in voltage, mirroring the drop in water pressure in our analogy.

The real problem with cheap supplies is they simply don't make much current (and hence power). It's not regulation, slew rate, or voltage. These three important qualities do rotate clockwise down the commode as the current capability of the supply is exceeded though. The way to insure tight regulation, adequate slew rate, proper voltage and low heat production is to keep the supply in a state of relatively light load, as to not test its current limitations and therefore produce the degregation of all the other aspects of power supply performance. This is easy to do when your 350W Fortron/Sparkle actually makes 450W (even though it costs a mere $38), but desperately hard to avoid when your Fisher-Price 400W actually makes 125W of clean power.

thanks for the replies and the reccomendations i am going with the 400 watt sparkle and going to a tbred a. core (i had a budget of a 120 to spend)

That's quite the economy car you have there. I bet it get's good mileage. May steer better with the front tires touching the ground though.

lol that is a pic of a car that i have mine isnt tubbed yet and i am not proud enough to show it to every one so i found this one and put it up insted but i do have one and if i cauld get it to hook up i sould run mid 11s to high 10s but i did drive it from kent to evrertt wa. about 50 mi in town and on the freeway and got there and used about 6 gallons of gas so it isnt that much worse then what a stock vega got to the gallon new

i also forgot to say that i was on my way back when i got gas not sure if i would make it back but it gets about 10-11 mpg city or freeway i figure not to bad for about 450 hp it dont sound like much, but power to weight ratio is almost a crotch rockets raito w/rider

For $120 or less for 450W, you will get middle of the road, or less.

(1) PC Power and Cooling [if you have $180+ for a psu]

(2) Sparkle 400w [rock solid with POTs only US$64]

(3)Antec TruePower series [many people use it]

You can get a 450W Fortron/Sparkle from Directron.com for under $80. Is it middle of the road?

I have a 431W Enermax...and its quite excellent. IF not go for an Antec PSU.

well i got a sparkle 400 watt on the way and a antec 480 in a few days does anyone have a link on where to put the pots in the sparkle psu

Not sure what you mean about where to put the pots but I think you mean adjusting. If you turn it clockwise it will increase the voltage. I only turned mine about 1/32". A 1/16th is ALOT and you could hurt something. Be careful.

i thought that you had to install some i take it that the psu already has them they just have to be ajusted

if i have to adjust them what voltages should i adjust it to if i use a multimeter without a load on it