PSU Guide

[shilka]

Which is the best-buy quiet psu around 1000W?
R9 290 SLI ( 700W) default
i7
thanks

http://www.overclock.net/t/1438987/best-fully-modular-1000-watts-psu

But you dont need more then 700-750 watts
http://www.overclock.net/t/1482157/best-fully-modular-700-750-watts-psu

 

[m343]

I need 720W for my PC. And I have just 2 choise

-Enermax REVOLUTION X’t 730W Power Suppy Unit

-Corsair RM850 80Plus Gold Full Modular PSU

Which one is bether ??


Maximus VI Extream
4770K
16 GB Ram (2*8 )
EVGA 780 TI

 

[McSteel]

You do not need anywhere near 720W, unless you've got dry ice or liquid nitrogen cooling and are benching for world records...
Where are you buying from? Link some shops that are convenient for you, if possible...

 

[shilka]

None of them are great but the RM is better because ripple suppression on the XT sucks
Cant you find anything else?

But as said above you dont need anywhere near 700 watts a 550 watts PSU is all you need

 

[m343]

You do not need anywhere near 720W, unless you've got dry ice or liquid nitrogen cooling and are benching for world records...
Where are you buying from? Link some shops that are convenient for you, if possible...

None of them are great but the RM is better because ripple suppression on the XT sucks
Cant you find anything else?

But as said above you dont need anywhere near 700 watts a 550 watts PSU is all you need

Here is list that I can buy ( In Iran )

-Corsair VS650 Power Supply
-Corsair VS450 Power Supply
-corsair HX750 80Plus Gold
-corsair CX 750M
-Cooler Master GX-750W PSU
-Cooler Master GX-650W PSU
--Cooler Master V650
-ThermalTake Toughpower XT Gold 1475W( )

 

[RCoon]

Here is list that I can buy ( In Iran )

-Corsair VS650 Power Supply
-Corsair VS450 Power Supply
-corsair HX750 80Plus Gold
-corsair CX 750M
-Cooler Master GX-750W PSU
-Cooler Master GX-650W PSU
--Cooler Master V650
-ThermalTake Toughpower XT Gold 1475W( )

I don't mean to be rude, but you already have a thread asking this question. Try to keep it to one place, just as many people will see it.

 

[roast]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a decent PSU but there's so many on the market now and I've been out of the game for a little while. I've been rocking my TX 850 for about five years now so it's definitely time for a change!

The most critical thing is that I need a PSU which is super-quiet, if not silent. As in, as-quiet-as-a-ladies-wind kind of quiet.
I've been leaning towards the Be Quiet! 800w, which seems like it might fit the bill. Are there any other major players I should be looking at?
And are there any decent passively-cooled PSU's on the market? I recall seeing some a few years back.

Current rig is a Gigabyte x58a-UD7 with an i7 920 (Ancient, I know... they'll be getting the boot soon too. ) and a GTX 970.

Thanks in advance..
/Mick

 

[Frick]

@roast Seasonic has a 560W fanless model. Here it's about €150, FSP has a fanless 500W unit for about €130. If you want more power, the big EVGA 1600W Supernovas will do more than that in fanless mode, if you have a well ventilated case.

 

[The N]

guys, i wanna buy PSU. please tell how is xigmatek centauro 700W PSU. its 80+ Bronze. will it be good enough for any SLI/cfx setup. or atleast 290x single. ???


waiting for suggestion.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Depends on exactly what video cards you try to run with it. 700 watts is not enough for 290X crossfire, although it is plenty for a single 290X. Personally, I wouldn't try crossfire 290X with less than 850 watts. 290X is a very power hungry video card.

 

[The N]

Depends on exactly what video cards you try to run with it. 700 watts is not enough for 290X crossfire, although it is plenty for a single 290X. Personally, I wouldn't try crossfire 290X with less than 850 watts. 290X is a very power hungry video card.

thanx for response.

actually i meant for single 290x and this is extreme power draw i know and if centauro 700w can handle single easily 290x this means, it will a good future proof option. thats why i mentioned 290x single for reference. OK. and what about 280x CFX on this PSU, would be a good enough??? just in case

 

[Frick]

thanx for response.

actually i meant for single 290x and this is extreme power draw i know and if centauro 700w can handle single easily 290x this means, it will a good future proof option. thats why i mentioned 290x single for reference. OK. and what about 280x CFX on this PSU, would be a good enough??? just in case

Depends if you're planning on running Furmark on them. Then it will not be enough as that has 50W on the 12V line = 600W which those cards will attain. Honestly I would not do it, and I'm very liberal in my PSU recommendations.

 

[Aquinus]

Depends if you're planning on running Furmark on them. Then it will not be enough as that has 50W on the 12V line = 600W which those cards will attain. Honestly I would not do it, and I'm very liberal in my PSU recommendations.

I've always felt that 50% to 80% of max as a good target. I start having concerns if you end up needing to run a PSU above 80% of max. Some quality single-rail PSUs can be good, like Seasonic and many corsair units. While the Xigmatek @The N described is a single rail PSU, I can't say anything for the build quality. I personally wouldn't go less than 850 for 290X crossfire.

 

[Frick]

I've always felt that 50% to 80% of max as a good target. I start having concerns if you end up needing to run a PSU above 80% of max. Some quality single-rail PSUs can be good, like Seasonic and many corsair units. While the Xigmatek @The N described is a single rail PSU, I can't say anything for the build quality. I personally wouldn't go less than 850 for 290X crossfire.

It's decent, but only 50A on the 12V rail. I probably wouldn't go under 850W even for 280x crossfire on the odd chance you want to run Furmark for funsies. It's not a realistic load, but still.

 

[The N]

It's decent, but only 50A on the 12V rail. I probably wouldn't go under 850W even for 280x crossfire on the odd chance you want to run Furmark for funsies. It's not a realistic load, but still.

OH, 700w centauro is outta stock right now. now i am going for Centauro 800w PSU, with 58A @12v . with difference of 1K new price. in our country, can't find many brands. i only find xigmatek in my range with good specs ad review. corsiar is very expensive

 

[Caring1]

Xigmatek are a decent brand, I have one running 24/7 and it is so far faultless and silent.
http://www.xigmatek.com/product.php?productid=193

 

[The N]

oh people, while i was focussed on xigmatek to buy and with no other options. suddenly i received an offer of be quiet 750w 80+ GOLD, Modular, used though. so i bought it wihtout any thought as i already read its review and it seems very very efficient due to GOLD rated and future proof.

 

[Aquinus]

oh people, while i was focussed on xigmatek to buy and with no other options. suddenly i received an offer of be quiet 750w 80+ GOLD, Modular, used though. so i bought it wihtout any thought as i already read its review and it seems very very efficient due to GOLD rated and future proof.

I would rather take the Zigmatek PSU. At least it only has a single +12v rail where the Be Quiet has 4. Despite efficiency, I think the Zigmatek is the better choice.

 

[Frick]

Just keep an eye out on how you plug stuff in on the rails and you'll be ok.

EDIT: Don't run furmark on the 280x's btw.

 

[AlwaysHope]

Interesting how 230v PSU with gold, platinum & titanium rating are more efficient than equivalent 115v series.

https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/understanding-the-80-plus-certification/3/

 

[robot zombie]

Interesting how 230v PSU with gold, platinum & titanium rating are more efficient than equivalent 115v series.

https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/understanding-the-80-plus-certification/3/

Not surprised. I'm no expert on electricity, but I do know that higher voltages require far less current for the same amount of energy. Vaping has taught me that the more current you push through a wire, the more of that energy flowing through is lost as heat.

On a component level, I can see how it might only make a slight difference. Once that 240v gets passed down through all of the stuff that takes it down to the various low-voltage, DC rails that your components require, it won't matter if there's 120 or 240 on the input end. Components on the front line may consume just slightly less power to output the same wattage at the same voltage, but that 240v doesn't stay that way for very long. Actually, if I'm not mistaken, that voltage switch actually throws the input over to a voltage doubler when set at 115v. A little power is undoubtedly lost in the process, but past that circuit, it shouldn't matter what's coming out of the wall. Even the more basic ones are pretty darned efficient.

Again, just my somewhat-read, non-electrical-engineer's guess at it. I may be completely wrong. It's been a while since I read up on this stuff. Maybe I should re-read the OP

 

[AlwaysHope]

Not surprised. I'm no expert on electricity, but I do know that higher voltages require far less current for the same amount of energy. Vaping has taught me that the more current you push through a wire, the more of that energy flowing through is lost as heat.

On a component level, I can see how it might only make a slight difference. Once that 240v gets passed down through all of the stuff that takes it down to the various low-voltage, DC rails that your components require, it won't matter if there's 120 or 240 on the input end. Components on the front line may consume just slightly less power to output the same wattage at the same voltage, but that 240v doesn't stay that way for very long. Actually, if I'm not mistaken, that voltage switch actually throws the input over to a voltage doubler when set at 115v. A little power is undoubtedly lost in the process, but past that circuit, it shouldn't matter what's coming out of the wall. Even the more basic ones are pretty darned efficient.

Again, just my somewhat-read, non-electrical-engineer's guess at it. I may be completely wrong. It's been a while since I read up on this stuff. Maybe I should re-read the OP

I'm like you, ain't no electrical engineer, but from my own daily experience with the rig in my system specs, that corsair AX760 is couple months short of 5 yrs old. Been used everyday since new, although it's only platinum grade & performs mostly 40-60% daily, its still performs like the day it was bought. All this in a regular suburban home with no A/C in a climate like SE Australia.
Not plugging for corsair, just saying it seems higher grade PSU seem to have better reliability as a bonus.
Got a Silverstone ST60F-TI ready to go in any day now. I reckon around 5 yrs of grueling benching & gaming from an OC rig is time for PSU renewal imo. It will get a new life in my LGA775 restoration project for now.
I just think that if your serious about long term sustained OC for daily usage, then don't cut corners with the juice quality feeding it.

 

[robot zombie]

I'm like you, ain't no electrical engineer, but from my own daily experience with the rig in my system specs, that corsair AX760 is couple months short of 5 yrs old. Been used everyday since new, although it's only platinum grade & performs mostly 40-60% daily, its still performs like the day it was bought. All this in a regular suburban home with no A/C in a climate like SE Australia.
Not plugging for corsair, just saying it seems higher grade PSU seem to have better reliability as a bonus.
Got a Silverstone ST60F-TI ready to go in any day now. I reckon around 5 yrs of grueling benching & gaming from an OC rig is time for PSU renewal imo. It will get a new life in my LGA775 restoration project for now.
I just think that if your serious about long term sustained OC for daily usage, then don't cut corners with the juice quality feeding it.

Oh, no doubt. When I was talking efficiency, I was only referring to the circuit that pushes 120 up to 240. I was just saying there are slight gains there, but it makes sense that it's just a couple of percents.

I think you should factor-in the most reliable and efficient PSU you can buy. It's the last thing to skimp out on, no matter what you're doing imo. There is no excuse for putting say, a $30-$40 PSU in $2000 rig. But whether its 120 or 240 going in matters a lot less than the base efficiency and quality of components.

 

[MrGenius]

It was a comparison between certification requirements for redundant and non-redundant PSUs. It doesn't say anything about how efficient a particular PSU is when run with a given voltage. Granted the theory that using 230V input is, typically, slightly more efficient than using 115V input on any given PSU still applies. Though the difference in efficiency is very likely to be so slight as to be negligible(if it exists at all).

Long story short. You use whatever comes out of the outlet on the wall. There's no real need to concern yourself anything else.

BTW no. That's not why. Because such a thing does not exist. As there is absolutely no need for it. Voltage needs to go down. Not up.

 

[robot zombie]

Long story short. You use whatever comes out of the outlet on the wall. There's no real need to concern yourself anything else.

Well... yeah. I don't think anybody was suggesting that you try to rig up your PSU (or your house) to run off of 240 when your house is mostly 120. There's squeezing the last coupla percents and then there's just crazy. More just a curiosity with how they work and why they are more efficient at higher input voltages.

BTW no. That's not why. Because such a thing does not exist. As there is absolutely no need for it. Voltage needs to go down. Not up.

Maybe I'm confused, but I understand that ultimately we're trying to get the voltage down. I'm referring to the input part of the circuit, not the output. The input stage is meant to filter the power of things the output stage doesn't want and give it the voltage and current levels that it needs, right? It's got nothing to do with what we're trying to get out, but what needs to go in.

When we're talking PSU's with the actual red/black voltage switch... ...my understanding of it was that everything from the rectifier stage on is designed to run with 230 as the input voltage, because it's easier/more efficient to boost from 115 than it is to step down from 230, I assume. The rectifier that converts everything to DC needs to get the right voltage or the whole thing simply doesn't work like it's supposed to. A DC rectifier can't make something from nothing. The step up has to be the first thing to happen, because the voltage coming out needs to be the same whether your feed in 115 or 230. The narrower the voltage range going in, the less the rest of the circuit has to try to adapt to/correct for. It is much simpler to design an already complex power circuit to take a narrow voltage and do the conversion first off as opposed to leaving it with a range from like 110-240. All it basically takes to do this is two smaller capacitors wired in series and a switch. Easy, cheap way to do things.

So, when set to "115", the voltage doubler basically serves to get the same power out of the DC rectifier as you would by running 230 straight out of the wall. If you only fed it 115, it wouldn't kick up enough DC to drive the output side. This is also why I always thought the PSU would fry if you plugged it in to a 230v outlet with the switch set to 115. Feeding 230 through that doubler would easily kill everything with crazy high voltage if there wasn't a fuse.

I'm sure I'm missing stuff and oversimplifying. But to me this just makes sense as the simplest way to get past having to deal with such a wide input range for something that needs to output power consistently and precisely. Design a circuit to run at the higher input voltage, and boost the lower voltage up to match it, rather than add a ton of complexity by making something that can, by design, take any voltage you toss into it and output the same power. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I'm just saying how I think it works based on what I do know. It's the only way taking two distinct voltages makes sense to me, without coming up with something even less intuitive.


I get that most newer PSU's use a different type of circuit that can take a wide range of input voltages and make the same output automatically. Active PFC is beyond me. Might as well tell me it's deleting electrons. I'd believe you.