Best PSU?

[icewolf69]

hey all, I'm building a new gaming system, and need some help on the best PSU to get. ATM I'm looking at the PC Power & Cooling turbo-cool 1KW. But I'm not sure if PC P&C are as good as what's out on the market atm.

I'll be running a core 2 duo or quadro, with twin 8800 GTX's, 4-6 HD's, 2 optical drives, 4 GB RAM, water cooled. i figured the KW would be the best option with the twin GTX's and Water cooler; and not having to worry about having an additional video card PSU.

Price isn't really a problem, i just want the best, most reliable (and quiet if possible) PSU available.

thank you.

 

[pshrk]

I think the PC Power & Cooling power supply is overpriced, but since price doesn't seem to matter to you it is the best one I know of.

Though the PC Power & Cooling power supply puts 72A on a single +12V rail. Seems dangerous to me.

If it was me I would get a really nice FSP, or ThermalTake Tough Power PSU and save a heck of a lot of money without sacrificing much quality.

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/buildyourown2.html

http://www.guru3d.com/article/psu/368/

http://users.on.net/~darkpeace/psu/List_of_Recommended_PSUs_Nov_2006.pdf
^ - Well it is on the nVidia SLI Zone Certified list, so it should work a treat.

 

[col-p-todd]

PC Power & Cooling make one of the best psu's on the market but they are loud. I had a 510W Deluxe installed in my system but replaced it with a Corsair HX620W to reduce noise. I must say this Corsair is really really silent. I might not be enough power for your setup but if you can get away with the Corsair PSU and want a silent setup get the Corsair. if not get the 1kw pc p&c, but it does make alot of noise.

 

[icewolf69]

That's weird because i have a P&C 500watt and i don't hear hardly anything from it. you sure it wasn't faulty or something?

Also, can someone explain to me why putting the 72A on a single +12V rails seems dangerous?

Also, would it be wise, or OK even, to get a PSU that's not on nvidia's "recommended PSU list"?

thanks for the help guys

 

[doolittle]

I also have a Turbo-Cool 510 ATX powering my fileserver and it is near silent.

 

[tmac]

Except for price, I hear only good things about
PC Power & Cooling PSUs. The only down side is
that they aren't modular.

But it's my PSU of choice in a dream machine.

 

[col-p-todd]

Well my PC P&C was loud I have my cpu and gpu water cooled 1 case fan, and the only part that generated noise was the psu. my sis has a PC P&C 510 silencer and they are alot quieter.

 

[weskurtz81]

Well, if you are running that system with core 2 duo, you don't really need a kw psu, a good 750 will run that setup. You might was to bump it a little higher if you go with the quatro. But, if you must go over the top, which it seems you are already doing.... I would go with the Tagan 1100W simply because it costs a little less with a little more wattage than the PC Power and Cooling. You pay for the name when you buy PC P&C. It's a great psu probably, but over priced in comparison to competitors.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817811009
I read reviews at other sites, no one has had issues with it from what I have seen....

wes

 

[gondo]

If you want a readily available power supply that is high quality, modular, and has a great warranty to boot go for an Antec NEO 550. Otherwise check the net for reviews and judge for yourself what you wanna get.

 

[col-p-todd]

1100 w But at what temperature? if it is @ 40c what most of the psu are tested at than it won,t be more then the PC P&C 1kw.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Check this out,youll want at least that 1100.Check out this link and add em up,youre building the power companies future with this rig link:http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

 

[weskurtz81]

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't you speaking of efficiency?? Cause, you are correct in that aspect.... if they test the PSU efficiency @ 25c, and say it is 83%.... then under real world conditions, it won't be 83%.... but it will still output whatever the sustained voltage is supposed to be. I know they get less efficient as the heat up, but are they not built to use more power from the wall(lose efficiency) to maintain the desired output?

wes

 

[col-p-todd]

No that not what I meant. The efficiency is almost always tested at 25c as you’d said but the wattage is usually tested at 40c or 50c. 50c being the industrial standard, and used on the better psu’s (mostly) A 1000 watt psu rated at @ 40c delivers less power than a 1000watt psu @ 50c. if this second psu would be tested @ 40c it would deliver more then 1000watt.

 

[zjohnr]

Also, can someone explain to me why putting the 72A on a single +12V rails seems dangerous?

When it comes to electric shock, it's the amperage, not the voltage the matters, no? So my guess is that 72A is much more likely to kill you dead if you accidentally send it through youself.

OTOH, I have no idea why 18A seems to be the magic "per rail" number that was picked as supposedly "safer". I guess (again) that an 18A shock would hurt you bad but not kill you. If you take an amperage hit above that number then probably your chances of surviving start dropping sharply.

(Perhaps? Maybe? Could be? :?)

-john

 

[randomcow]

You need far less than 1A to potentially kill someone but you need some voltage to pass that current through the body. 12V should be safe.

I have a PC P&C 510W and it's loud. I didn't notice it at first but lately I have been replacing components in my PC to make it quieter and now it is by far the loudest component. Let's just say that if your PC is as quiet or quieter than three 120mm case fans at 800RPM then you can really hear that PC P&C making noise.

 

[wun911]

I have a TIG based PSU.

When I turn on my PC the lights in the house go dim and the fridge stops working.

Sometimes as I start to play games and OC my PC the street lights start to flicker.

The wires to my PC are all water cooled to prevent them from melting.

My house had to be rewired six times to keep up with my energy demands.

Now that is the BEST PSU....

 

[croc]

Actually, its the frequency that kills.... Until you get to really high voltage DC that is.

An arm to arm (or foot) jolt of 240VAC @ 50 hz, of even a 100mA rating, will mess with most hearts. Vfib, outright stoppage. 115VAC @ 60 HZ, same thing...

DC, on the other hand, just blows holes through you. If the most direct path to ground avoids your heart, (and brain) likely you'll live through it.

People live through lightening strikes... People die because of faulty electric appliances...

For next week's lecture we'll talk of why Tesla's views of RF didn't make him rich.

 

[zjohnr]

On a still not too serious but slightly more factual note ...

Sometime back in the 90's I was working on a raised floor while some electricians were doing prep work for the installation of an IBM 3090 mainframe later that week. While I don't know much about the details of a 3090 I do know it was cooled with chilled water. When you installed a 3090, you also installed the plumbing for it and added new chiller capacity to the building.

What I saw was the reason why you needed the chilled water to cool it. The electricians were installing the power cables for it. I remember them as being bigger than my wrist. They were so big they needed a small winch just to be able to pull the cable through the conduit.

The power needs for PCs have definitely grown, but thankfully they haven't reached that level yet.

-john, the redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[wun911]

Dont you know what TIG is? Its a quad rail system that draws about 2000 amps per rail.

The wires I use are made of pure tungston to prevent them from melting.

My TEC setup is so powerful I can turn my room into a -80 freezer in about 20 mins.

Green peace sends me letters begging me to stop using my PC, because it sucks up so much energy.