Wich PS I take??

[Charloz24]

I want to build up a SMP with these components:

MSI K7D master
2 xp1700-1800
geforce4 mx440

So My question is:

I have three choices in mind for the power supply:

1) Fortron 530W -> 150$ CANADIAN
2) Fortron 350W -> 69$ CANADIAN
3) Antec True 430W-> 110S CANADIAN

It is sure that if the fortron 350W is ok, I would choose it because of the price, but I need advice! This is sure that I will overclock those XP to at least 2200 mhz (they are able of 2450+ on my NF7).


Last question: I will also buy one stick of memory. Can I take generic ddr 333 ram or I'm better with some samsung?

Thanks!

 

[aftermath]

id say Fortron 530W probably the wiesest.
if its got the highest 12 volt amp rating then definately. it will alow u to add to ur pc indefinately ull proabably need a biger case before a biger psu.
if u look at it this way the system should be nice and stable plenty of juce for cpus etc.
your generic memory will be fine but it may need the timings set manuly to work.

 

[Charloz24]

Ok I find some good Samsung memory (512 MG DDR333 non-ecc)
So can you explain me why I may need to set the timings manuly to work?

 

[aftermath]

its not necessarily true that it has to have the memory timings set manuly but if it dont boot then thast posibly it... set fsb to 100 by jumper and then manuly set timings then set fsb to 133 its all posible to do in the bios except fsb thats a jumper. most memeory will work.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=181885

 

[Jen]

Might even consider the Sparkle 550 watt powersupply as long as it comes with a atx converter to 20 pin. Its rated 36 amps on the 12 volt side



Jen

 

[Rav]

Don't get the Antec. I've got a 550 Truepower and it is choking on my dual 2100Mhz Bartons. The 12V and 3.3V are fine, but the 5V has collapsed to 4.5V. It was 4.75 with 2x1800Mhz TbredA's. I've heard of PSU's in the 300W range powering duals, but to be safe I'd go with the 530W. In fact, thats the PSU I was planning on getting to replace my Antec and for my second dual. I'd be very interested to see how that 530 works for you, so keep us updated!

-Rav

 

[IFMU]

I would go for the 530. Never hurts to have a strong PSU.

However, if you want to save a few, the Antec wouldnt be too bad. I am running an Antec True 430 on mine. Full rig specs below.

MSI K7D Master-L
2 x 1700's @ 2250Mhz each.
512 Samsung PC3200 Reg ECC
ASUS GeForceTi 4200 w/128
Winfast Deluxe TV Card
Muse 5.1 Sound card

15gig 7200rpm drive
40gig 7200 rpm drive
Sony CDRW
DVD Rom Drive
DigiDoc 5

2 - 120mm fans
1 - 60mm fans
Then of course 2 - 80mm fans on the SK-7's.

This is being ran on the Antec PSU. the 5v is a little low, but rig is stable.

 

[Rav]

This is being ran on the Antec PSU. the 5v is a little low, but rig is stable.

Just curious, what are your voltages exactly? My 5V runs 4.5 with MBM and 4.6 at the rear molex.

-Rav

 

[IFMU]

DigiDoc says my 5v is sitting at 4.97, 12v at 11.8. It seldom varies, but does slightly. Say within .01 to .03 variance.
MBM on the other hand says 4.81, 11.67, and within there it does fluctuate quite a bit. MBM varies with a good .5 to .8.

 

[cmcquistion]

I'm going to be the devil's advocate and say go with the Fortron 350 watt, IF it is the FSP350 series, and IF you absolutely have to save some money. I have two AMD duallies, running dual Barton XP2500's at 2 GHz, that run perfectly off Fortron FSP300 power supplies. This is the little brother of the FSP350. The only thing I didn't like about these PSU's was that the fan is temperature controlled by the intake air temp and not the actual load or PSU heatsink temp. In a hot dually, this temp controlled fan was running too loud, for my tastes. I modded both PSU's by disconnecting the fan from the temp controller and hooking it directly into the 5V line. The fan now always runs 5V and stays nice and quiet.

In the past, I have ALWAYS suggested that people use high wattage PSU's in AMD duallies. I have learned, however, that PSU quality is far more important than manufacturer's published ratings of their PSU's. I have seen plenty of 300-400 watt PSU's that didn't work well in AMD duallies, but I can attest that the Fortron FSP300 does work quite well, at least for my rigs.

 

[billobob0]

I have an FSP-350, and I love it. The fan's noise doesnt really bother me, and the added airflow around the motherboard area is a nice bonus of the 120mm fan. Also, several websites have shown that the fsp models actually ususally put out 90-100W over their ratings, with the 300 being capable of about 390W, and the 350 capable of 430-450W. Not to mention that if you mod in some LEDs the back of it looks cool.

 

[Charloz24]

Ok I found out on a online store a SPI (sparkle) PS that the code is FSP350-60BTS. Is this is the same as the Fortron 350W?

I hope so, because it is only 52$ CANADIAN!
Just one thing, this one seems not to have the 120mm fan

So cmcquistion, do you recommend it for my dual??

 

[cmcquistion]

Sparkle and Fortron are the same power supplies.

The only model Fortron I have used is the FSP300, which is a 120mm model. I don't know about any of the others, but if they are built as well as the FSP300, then I'm sure you'll be happy.

P.S. FSP350 is probably a 120mm model.

 

[Charloz24]

Thanks a lot cmcquistion!

BTW just want to know to how high did you ever overclock a dual amd setup with this 300W fortron??

 

[diehrd]

Prices sound high for a power supply..I know you are in Cananda but do you have a comp usa up there lol ? If you do grab there 500 watt supply it is a great price and made by FMI. I have many many systems using them with no problems at all for and one box with one at least 2 years old.

 

[wquiles]

Rav,

Not trying to contradict you or anything, but my experience so far with the Antec 550 is different.

I have the Antec True Power 550 Watts in my fully loaded and overclocked AMD K7D dually, and the PS is not even working hard:

=> 5 volt rail = 5.03 per software monitor and 5.06 per high-end RMS voltmeter (at the PS's molex connector).
=> 12 volt rail is (11.98/11.96 software/voltmeter)

I just took measurements again with the Fluke M87 RMS Voltmeter and the 5 volt rail measured a steady 5.06 volts and the 12 volt rail was at 11.98 volts.

My guess is that you either have a defective PS or a HUGE load on the 5 volt rail. Either that or I just got really lucky and have an outstanding Antec 550 in my case

William

 

[cmcquistion]

Thanks a lot cmcquistion!

BTW just want to know to how high did you ever overclock a dual amd setup with this 300W fortron??

I have two dual Barton XP2500 setups running with FSP300 PSU's. One is running 2 GHz @ 1.40 Vcore (but I have taken it as high as 2250 MHz @ 1.75 Vcore). The other rig is running 2 GHz @ 1.675 Vcore.

Even overclocked as high as I can take them, neither machine uses more than 250 watts at full load. I learned this by using a Kill-A-Watt power meter. If you're interested, you can read about some of my experience with this meter in this thread.

P.S. The FSP300 has been shown to deliver up to 390 watts, according to testing by Tomshardware. (same PSU, with different brand name on it.) The FSP350 was shown to deliver 454 watts.

 

[Charloz24]

Ok the order is done! I take this SPI FSP350-60BTS

Will give some news about it later!