Help me decide the best power Supply for my build.

jlaavenger

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I've narrowed down a list of power supplies for my in progress build. Which one should I go with? I want cool, quiet, reliable and efficiant.


OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ700FTY 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified $109.99
1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 12V(4+4Pin)
8 x Peripheral
8 x SATA
1 x Floppy
2 x PCI-E
120mm fan

COOLER MASTER Silent Pro 700 RS-700-AMBA-D3 700W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active $109.99
1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x CPU 4+4 Pin
5 x Peripheral
9 x SATA
1 x Floppy
2 x PCI-E
135mm silent fan

COOLER MASTER UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified. $99.99
1 x Main connector (24Pin)
1 x 12V (4+4Pin)
5 x Peripheral
6 x SATA
1 x Floppy
2 x PCI-E 8 Pin
4 x PCI-E 6 Pin
An Intelligent 120mm fan

Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply, $94.99
1 x Main Connector 20+4pin,
1 x ATX12V 4pin,
1 x EPS12V 8pin,
9 x peripheral,
9 x SATA,
2 x 6+2pin PCI-E,
2 x 6pin PCI-E,
1 x FDD
135mm low noise cooling fan

Antec TruePower New TP-750 Blue 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply, $109.95
1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 4-Pin ATX 12V
1 x 8-Pin EPS 12V
9 x Peripheral
9 x SATA
1 x Floppy
4 x PCI-E
1 super-silent 120mm PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) fan

CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply -a lot more than I wanted to spend. $169.99
1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 8-Pin EPS 12V
8 x Peripheral
12 x SATA
2 x Floppy
4 x PCI-E
140mm double ball-bearing fan

Antec TPQ-850 850W Continuous Power ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply-but it's a little more than I wanted to spend. $139.99
1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 4 Pin ATX 12V
1 x 8 Pin EPS 12V
9 x Peripheral
8 x SATA
2 x Floppy
4 x PCI-E
80mm low noise cooling fan

My build:
• COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KXN1-GP Black Steel, ABS Plastic, Mesh bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition Bloomfield 3.33GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
• COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
• ASUS Rampage II Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
• CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D
• XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity (possibly 2 in X-Fire)
• NZXT SEN-001LX Sentry LX Aluminum dual bay fan controller
• Koutech IO-FPM220 3.5" Floppy Drive & Multi Card Reader Front Panel
• LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner
• Benq 22xDVD-RW with Lightscribe
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional 70SB088600002 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express Interface Sound Card
• 2x Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive in Raid 0
• Or
• SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
 
Solution
This is definitely the best deal out right now.

Antec TruePower New TP-750 Blue 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply, $109.95
1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 4-Pin ATX 12V
1 x 8-Pin EPS 12V
9 x Peripheral
9 x SATA
1 x Floppy
4 x PCI-E
1 super-silent 120mm PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) fan

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=140

jlaavenger

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Hmm. I'm not really getting the answers I was hoping for. So I'm still confused. Some of these say "compatible with Core i7", is that something that should sway my decision? The Corsair is the most expensive on my list, and it seems like it might be the coolest and quietest due to the 140mm fan. It has the biggest fan out of all the others, yet it's missing 1 x 4 Pin ATX 12V? Do I need that? and a couple of these specify 2 x PCI-E 8 Pin and 4 x PCI-E 6 Pin or 2 x 6+2pin PCI-E which is also confusing. And when I ad everything up it looks like what I might need in terms of power is actually a little less than watts, but I want to be safe and at the same time not be in overkill, despite being told I was crazy for buying the I7 975. I've only built one PC before and I had help, and that was back when the P4, 3.2 was the big dog and Windows ME was on the way out. The CPU performed great, but was as hot as hell.
 

sportsfanboy

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I already gave you a link to the best power supplies, not sure what else you would like to know. Anything from the tier 2 column will be a great choice. Tier 1 even better but a little over priced.

Compatibility with corei7 is only a selling gimmick, good power is good power, just make sure the power supply comes with the connectors you require.
 

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
The EA750 isn't to bad. I thought you were looking for cheap ones until I saw the Corsair 750. Thats not a bad one either, but I'm not sure its worth that price. From that list, I'd probably stick to one of those, or perhaps another of the Antecs OTHER then the truepower new. Maybe its "bleed over" from the old truepowers, but I don't remember it being a good performer. EA750 if you need cheap, Corsair if you have the $$$ to spend.
 

That list needs alot of work.
I think it's great how the XFX BE psu has made Tier 1 while the Seasonic M12 that is the guts of it is in Tier 2 along with the Corsair HX850 that received just as high a rating from JG, that's some kind of fanboism.

 

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
I've seen five tier lists and don't like them for that reason. In my mind, you only need 3. Tier one which includes all the good PSUs. Tier 2 which are the ones you can run in a pinch if your short of funds and just need something. And finally tier 3 which should never be run, or ran only if you gave it to your worst enemy. As you pointed out dell, there are only a few different PSUs out there, but they can end up on different tiers. Do you really need 5 when 3 will do?
 

ragsters

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This is definitely the best deal out right now.

Antec TruePower New TP-750 Blue 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply, $109.95
1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 4-Pin ATX 12V
1 x 8-Pin EPS 12V
9 x Peripheral
9 x SATA
1 x Floppy
4 x PCI-E
1 super-silent 120mm PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) fan

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=140
 
Solution

rand_79

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My last 3 power supplys have been pc-power & cooling.. Havent had a problem yet..

I think any of those(listed) would be ok but id skip coolermaster its not an inspiring brand
and too much better stuff priced similarly.. now if they were half price I might consider trying them again.
 

jlaavenger

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Yeah, that's the one I've decided on. Thanks.
 
Start with what you need. Crossfire 5870's need 600watts, and 4 6-pin pci-e connectors according to amd:
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5870/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5870-system-requirements.aspx

Other parts do not make much difference.

A motherboard requires either a 4 pin cpu connector or a 8 pin cpu connector. The latter is used in high end motherboards and for overclocking. Your system undoubtedly fits the 8 pin mold. Any good psu will give you both in some fashion. Most psu's with 4 connectors will be 750 watt units. I would suggest the PC P&C silencer 750.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011
You might pay a bit more, but their products are good, and so is their customer support.

Corsair, Seasonic, and Antec are also good. A psu is not the component to go cheap on.
 

Rock_n_Rolla

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PSU:
Go for a 850 - 1000 Watt range. I suggest buy a brand that offers CONTINUOUS peak power output, with DC-to-DC volt conversion feature, Modular (ofcourse), capable of 30 or more amperes on the rails and conforms to PLUS 80 regs and supports latest high end video cards in CrossFireX or SLI mode. This is enough to handle the high wattage demands of your i7 extreme quad core procie specially if you overclock it. Also, it will give (incase you decided to go CrossFireX mode using 2 5870's) an ample wattage when gaming in very high res with game settings set to its highest (depending on the game can support) including its AA and FSAA mode set to its max, rendering HD videos and using multi-threaded apps.
Its also important when you're multi-tasking (e.g. DVD burning, rendering or watching HD videos and using multi threaded applications all at the same time).
The Brands i highly recommend that has these features and more are:
1. the mighty Ikonik VULCAN 1000 Watt! here's why:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/ikonik-psu-roundup_10.html#sect1

2. Antec's Signature SG-850 here's why: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/antec-enermax-seasonic-psus_2.html#sect0

3. Seasonic's M12D SS-850EM here's why:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/antec-enermax-seasonic-psus_12.html#sect0

-- In addition: based from the specs of your rig, a 750 watt power supply is not enough. Actually your system will require at least an 850 watt power supply, whether you OC or not still, the power it requires are more than a 750 watt PSU can give. Dont think you might over spent if you buy an 850 - 1000 watt PSU coz in the near future your PSU will be an important deciding factor when its time to upgrade your procie (specially to those upcoming Intel's LGA 1366 6 core processors) and other components that requires higher wattage.



CPU Cooler:
When it comes to cooling HOT i7 procie specially the extreme edition ones,
the cooler your OC'ed procie @ frequencies (lets say oc'ed to to 3.8 - 4.0 ghz)
the stable it gets. So what are the best CPU cooler that can bring down the temp
of these HOT oc'ed procies @ that speed to a low temperature where few can achieve???
The mighty Scythe Mugen 2, you know why? just click the link:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/scythe-mugen-2.html
- i've recommended this to two of my friends on their high end gaming rigs powered by an i7 950 and 965 XE procies oc'ed @ 3.8 and 4.0 ghz and hell yeah, it cooled their procies as if its not overclocked!
Also, if this Mugen 2 is not available in your local pc shops in your area, go for the
Xilence Black Hawk, here's why:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/xilence-black-hawk-copper.html#sect0
OR, if this is not available buy the Xigmatek's Thor's Hammer here's why: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/xigmatek-thors-hammer.html
These are the CPU cooler i found BEST for your i7 procie specially the Mugen 2!


Case Fans for your Sniper Case:
Thats the gaming case i have right now and honestly and not being biased
but, as those countless extreme pc gamers and reviews says..
"Its is truly an awesome gaming case!" No doubt! I have mine equipped with
a Coolermaster 5pcs x 120mm (120x120x25) Long Life Fan with 69+ CFM as compared to others but this one runs only @ 19DBA @ 2000 RPM! Huge airflow but silent! That means cooling your video cards and other internal components of your rig more efficient. I replaced the top mounted 200MM fan with 2 of these long life huge air flow fans and installed the other 2 at the side panel and the other 1 i replaced the rear side stock 120mm fan and all these fans are controlled by a digital LCD front bay fan controller and the front 200mm fan is controlled by the sniper's main fan controller. Upon observing the air flow and the temperature inside the case, hell yeah it is much much better and cooler and the hot air exits the case more efficiently.
 

jlaavenger

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This fan? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103060&cm_re=Coolermaster_120mm-_-35-103-060-_-Product
 

Rock_n_Rolla

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Nah dude, this one from the coolermaster's website:
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2916
These are the ones installed in my Sniper case which has no led lights but this model comes in a
variety of led colors from green, red and blue also.
For the Led version of this fan click the link below:
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=1655&product_id=2915


The info from newegg is different. This is what the model number of that
coolermaster fan looks like: http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=1655&product_id=2914
Its the 90 CFM model @ 2000 RPM as stated on newegg's website.
It says 19 DBA @ 2000 RPM, actually a friend of mine bought 2 of these to upgrade
the case fans of his Antec LanBoy gaming case but i found it kinda a bit noisy and i doubt its not
19 dba i think its around 26++ dba.



-- If you may ask, aside from the Sniper's stock fan controller, what additional fan controller i use?
Well, i use the Aerocool V12XT fan controller with digital 2 bay touch screen LCD display, with this controller
i can regulate each intake fan including the front 200mm fan into different rpm based on the room
temperature and the exhaust fans are controlled by the Snipers stock fan regulator.
Though before i use to mix the intakes and the exhausts from the two controllers but know its much easier to
manage them coz i set all the intakes to the LCD front bay controller and the exhaust to the case stock controller. :)
here's the link: http://www.aerocool.com.tw/peripheral/v12xt.htmuse
 

jlaavenger

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I just ordered the NZXT SEN-001LX Sentry LX Aluminum dual bay fan controller this morning, I hope it's as good. Do you have
pictures of your system somewhere on the net?
 

Rock_n_Rolla

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NZXT SEN-001LX Sentry is also one of the nicest dual bay lcd touch screen fan controllers available today.
I could've buy that but since its not available here in my country, i bought the Aerocool V12XT
instead. Both are cool lookin' fan controllers. :)


For the Fans:
If newegg dont have this available
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2916

Try it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-120mm-Case-R4-C2R-20AC-GP/dp/B0026ZPFDE/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1254194764&sr=1-12
-- Just remember the model number - R4-C2R-20AC-GP its important.



Or this one if you like some blue led lights to complement the large cool blue led light 200m fan at the front.
(this is the led light version)
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=1655&product_id=2915

Try it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-120mm-Blue-Case/dp/B0026ZPFCK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1254194764&sr=1-2



As for the pic, right now i haven't got any but i will upload soon, coz im gonna be upgrading my rig to an
i7 860 Lynfield procie and that Big Bad Rad 5870 video card. I'll let you know first thing when
i uploaded some pics. :)
 

jlaavenger

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Thanks. I'm not sure if I'll buy them just yet; do they really make that much of an improvement in noise and cooling over the stock fans? As for your other suggestions, they where a little too late, I ordered the PSU just prior to your first post based on this calculator: http://www.antec.outervision.com/ I figured I’d need just under 700watts. My system specs are now consisting of:

COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KXN1-GP Black Steel, ABS Plastic, Mesh bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Antec True Power New TP-750 Blue 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply

Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition Bloomfield 3.33GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor

COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler

ASUS Rampage II Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

XFX HD-587A-ZNF9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity (in X-Fire)

HIS H587F1GDG Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity (in X-Fire)

NZXT SEN-001LX Sentry LX Aluminum dual bay fan controller

Koutech IO-FPM220 3.5" Floppy Drive & Multi Card Reader Front Panel

LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo LG Blu-ray Reader & 16X LightScribe DVD±R DVD Burner

MSI SATA 52x CDRW/DVD with Lightscribe

I just need to decide on the drive(s).

 

jlaavenger

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You actually replaced two of the 200mm fans? I always thought the bigger the fan the quieter and more efficiant they were. The 120mms are really better? Also would I be crazy to go with a side window instead of the stock mesh panel?