Fortron 500W Blue Storm vs OCZ 520W PowerStream

I ordered a 7900gt and a 2gb kit of the DDR500 G.SKILL Extreme ram on Friday. My system's running like a dream, but I'm a little worried about my PSU. All the specs in my sig are current (well, as soon as the stuff arrives on Tuesday). All rails are very good. According to the bios, my +12V is hovering right around 12.34V. I have a multimeter, but I've been lazy and haven't tested it. As soon as I get my 7900gt, I'll test it with the multimeter to be sure. When I was using my NF7-S, I tested it then with the multimeter, and it was at a stable 12.05-12.10V. As soon as I get my ram, I'm going to run my 3500+ at 10x250.

Depending on how the system acts and what the multimeter reads out on Tuesday, the way I see it, I have 4 options:
1. The PSU reacts quite well. In which case, this thread is pointless.
2. Tweak the adjustable pots in my current 530W. I remember reading threads on how to do it way back in the day, and I'm sure I can dig up instructions.
3. Pick up the 500W Blue Storm.
4. Pick up the 520W PowerStream.

What do you guys think are my best options? If I have to pick up a new PSU, which would you guys recommend, and why? Thanks!

the fortron 500 is a very stable and worthy unit. However it does not have the 8way p4 connector and has split 12v rails, for those 2 reasons alone its not as good the 520 powerstream, the powerstream is more future proof and is a better PSU period becuase of 1 single 12v rail and it is a 520 true PSU and peeks at over 600... better for overclocking and will serve you well wether you go AM2 or conroe later.

Rattle said:

the fortron 500 is a very stable and worthy unit. However it does not have the 8way p4 connector and has split 12v rails, for those 2 reasons alone its not as good the 520 powerstream, the powerstream is more future proof and is a better PSU period becuase of 1 single 12v rail and it is a 520 true PSU and peeks at over 600... better for overclocking and will serve you well wether you go AM2 or conroe later.

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Why exactly would you say the single +12V is more future-proof? It seems to me that having 2 separate +12V lines would be more advantageous with newer +12V straining systems. I know back when the ATX2 specs debuted, everyone was all over the dual +12V PSUs. Is there a shift moving back to single +12V lines with higher amps?

OK, I just got bored and whipped out the multimeter. My +12V is registering a solid 12.13V idle, and when I run in-place large FFTs in Prime95, it goes down to 12.10V. Good to know this 3 year old PSU is still holding in there.

Fangs404 said:

OK, I just got bored and whipped out the multimeter. My +12V is registering a solid 12.13V idle, and when I run in-place large FFTs in Prime95, it goes down to 12.10V. Good to know this 3 year old PSU is still holding in there.

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I would say you are okay then.

Fangs404 said:

OK, I just got bored and whipped out the multimeter. My +12V is registering a solid 12.13V idle, and when I run in-place large FFTs in Prime95, it goes down to 12.10V.

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It's doing fine yet, though probably getting close to its 12v limit. The memory will be on the 3.3v rail, where the 530W has no shortage of power. If it spends a lot of time running the fans on high, I would move the intake fan outside the PSU case if you haven't done so already. Made a big difference on my 530W.

The AX500-A would do very well with that system, as would the PS520.

your fine. If was gonna get a new PSU it would be a GameXtreme and not the older Powerstreams

Excellent, thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll just check the rails again when I get the new parts. It'd be awesome if I didn't have to drop another $100.

Fangs404 said:

OK, I just got bored and whipped out the multimeter. My +12V is registering a solid 12.13V idle, and when I run in-place large FFTs in Prime95, it goes down to 12.10V. Good to know this 3 year old PSU is still holding in there.

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That's a nice margin when under load, only a .03 drop. My BlueStorm drops .08 under load (dual-Prime).

Okagi said:

That's a nice margin when under load, only a .03 drop. My BlueStorm drops .08 under load (dual-Prime).

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Man, tell me about it. This thing has always been rock-solid stable since I bought it. I love this PSU.

My components come in today, and I'll report back with how the 530W handles them. *crosses fingers*

Everything's installed, and it's running like a champ. OCed to 2.5 (250x10) at 1.45V with the graphics card and all, my idle and load +12V are now at an absolutely rock solid 12.03V. This PSU is amazing.

Congrats. Looks like you have a winner.

I choose option 1.

Fangs404 said:

This PSU is amazing.

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Heh - even though it's a 5v oriented PSU that's not too well suited for a modern rig it's easy to forget it still has a fair bit of muscle on the 12v