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Epower 550w, 12v droops .25v under load

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Bobnova

Bobnova

Senior Member
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Joined
May 10, 2009
How concerned should i be?
With the cpu at 3.6ghz and 1.33v(cpuz) loading it drops the 12v line (as measured by the mobo) from 11.99 to 11.88, loading the GPU(4830) drops it further to 11.75 or so.

With a p4 in here at 4ghz on 1.4v it dropped to 11.5 or so.
Having read a bunch of Ok. Wolf's reviews, i'm concerned that it's about to explode or some such.


So along those lines, what are some recommendations for a PSU that can handle a 4890 or 2x4830 (i want room for future expansion) and a high OC on my CPU(which takes lots of volts to get anywhere, being an e5200)?
The primary goal is not exploding, the secondary goal is costing the least amount possible.

Also, does anyone else have experience with an Epower EP-550XPF?
I know it weighs a lot, and it has @(*%* huge heatsinks :D
If i took pics of the guts, would that help in assessing the risk of kaboom?
 
Is there anything under $50 (ideally under $40...) that is any good? Money is tight, i'm funding all my computer stuff by selling off old parts :D
 
Bobnova said:
How concerned should i be?
With the cpu at 3.6ghz and 1.33v(cpuz) loading it drops the 12v line (as measured by the mobo) from 11.99 to 11.88, loading the GPU(4830) drops it further to 11.75 or so.

With a p4 in here at 4ghz on 1.4v it dropped to 11.5 or so.
Having read a bunch of Ok. Wolf's reviews, i'm concerned that it's about to explode or some such.


So along those lines, what are some recommendations for a PSU that can handle a 4890 or 2x4830 (i want room for future expansion) and a high OC on my CPU(which takes lots of volts to get anywhere, being an e5200)?
The primary goal is not exploding, the secondary goal is costing the least amount possible.

Also, does anyone else have experience with an Epower EP-550XPF?
I know it weighs a lot, and it has @(*%* huge heatsinks :D
If i took pics of the guts, would that help in assessing the risk of kaboom?
Click to expand...

Bob,

That E-Power ain't gonna cut it with a single 4890. It's a Topower unit and I wouldn't trust it with a high end video card. It doesn't have the connectors anyhow. You need 2 - 6 pin for a 4890.

Anything from this list in the 500w range will do nicely if it has 2 - 6 pin PCI-e connectors:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=589708

Your best best is a Corsair 550VX or similar. There isn't much you can do about it today. Check the sales available. That 4890 will outperform 4830s SLI so I would concentrate keeping your unit a single vid card.
 
So i measured the 12v and 5v with my $7 multimeter (yay harbor freight!), 12v is at 12.1 and drops to 11.97 under GPU load, which isn't nearly as bad as i thought.

I doubt i'll ever manage a 4890, but i'd like to have the breathing room, you know?
I looked through that list a bit and found that a lot of them are no longer available from newegg, can you recommend another such site that is trustworthy enough to buy from?


Wonder if i can convince Mr. Wolf to do a review of this thing.
 
Got some pics of the inside, are these enough for anyone to tell me anything about it?


Trying to decide whether to buy a 400w (30a 12v) corsair that is on sale on the Egg for $50 before $20 MIR. I can probably sell my epower to a friend of mine for $20 (cost me $30), as it beats his "360w" psu that came with his case all to hell.
 

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Decided the hell with it, and bought a corsair CMPSU-400CX, which also claims 30a on the 12v, but is likely much more honest about it, and quieter while running.
Friend of mine wants my Epower for $20 to upgrade from his "360w" that came with his $30 case. It's a win for everybody, he gets something that won't explode at the first sight of a real GPU, and i get something that can power a beefier GPU.
 
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