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derFunkenstein
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stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:33 am

I have a Seasonic 400W power supply that's starting to whine under load. It's an older model that's not in production anymore, and I can't be sure but I THINK it's out of warranty. So I'm in the market for a new PSU.

Additionally, because I can't resist tinkering (and because my Core 2 Duo E4400 was slowly dying, because I kept having to dial back an OC that was totally stable in June), I have a slightly different setup than I did back in February. Incidentally, the whine showed up about the same time I got the new parts installed. So here's the hardware this thing needs to feed:

Phenom II X2 550 Black (still tinkering, but I have it at 4 cores, 3.6 GHz right now)
MA790X-UD4P
4GB DDR2-800
Geforce 8800GT 512MB
1 WD Caviar 640GB, 1 DVD-RW drive, both SATA

I'm thinking that the extra power required by the CPU is starting to take its toll on the power supply. I'm thinking a 550W unit? Maybe 600W? I care about what's good, but I also care about what's quiet - I have my desktop on top of my desk (novel, I know) so it's like 2 feet from my head. Right now it's very very quiet - Cooler Master 1300RPM 120mm fans in front and back, a Hyper 212 on the CPU, and a CoolViva Pro on the video card and cranked all the way down (and temps are still better than the stock solution).

edit: had the wrong mobo listed.
Last edited by derFunkenstein on Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
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GeForce6200
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:49 am

I recommend the Corsair HX-520. Quiet, modular, and will run alot of hardware. Mine is 100% stable with 4850 Crossfire. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139001
AMD FX8350|Gigabyte GA78LMT Modded (Rev 5.0)|EVGA 980Ti FTW|16GB Corsair DDR3|840 EVO|Raijentek STYX|Enermax TriathlorEco 650|M-Audio BX8a Deluxe
 
tfp
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 9:28 am

I like the 600W FSP PSU I have now, I know it isn't rated at the 80+ efficiency but it is very close I did notice a power usage difference when I swapped it in.

The thing is I don't even need anything close to 600W, the APC backup I have reports I'm using ~240W with an overclocked Q9400 (3.12 Ghz) and a 9600GT (older version) running full out.
 
Airmantharp
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 9:56 am

GeForce6200 wrote:
I recommend the Corsair HX-520. Quiet, modular, and will run alot of hardware. Mine is 100% stable with 4850 Crossfire. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139001


If you liked how quite and stable your Seasonic was, then I second GeForce6200's recommendation. I love my HX-620 for all of the above reasons.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:27 am

Well, I was thinking about just getting another Seasonic, an S12-II 500W. But if the Corsair is that good, I might just give it a go. The local computer shop sells the 520 for about $10 (plus tax) more than Newegg, but I could have it this weekend. Hrmmm...the $10 is mostly offset by shipping costs. I might just have to go check it out.

edit: you know, it'd be awful if my CPU was fine and it was the PSU all along. Such is the life of mis-diagnosed problems, I guess. :-/

But I DO like the quad. :p
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
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mdk77777
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 11:24 am

WOW

You won't beat this deal if you can tolerate MIR

$60 after MIR !!!!!

ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817194034
 
[SDG]Mantis
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 11:26 am

GeForce6200 wrote:
I recommend the Corsair HX-520. Quiet, modular, and will run alot of hardware. Mine is 100% stable with 4850 Crossfire. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139001


I've got the larger cousin, the Coursair HX-620. Review. Same comments as GeForce had about the 520. I picked mine up on a steal of a deal from an online retailer that isn't around any more for about $100.
Image
 
UberGerbil
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 11:31 am

tfp wrote:
The thing is I don't even need anything close to 600W, the APC backup I have reports I'm using ~240W with an overclocked Q9400 (3.12 Ghz) and a 9600GT (older version) running full out.
Peak efficiency tends to be around 50% load. You might be slightly better off with a ~500W unit (especially if you aren't running "full out" most of the time), but not enough to matter.
 
mdk77777
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:53 pm

OP

I care about what's good, but I also care about what's quiet - I have my desktop on top of my desk (novel, I know) so it's like 2 feet from my head.


RE: ENERMAX PRO82+ EPR525AWT 525W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Review:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/551/8

The fan used on this power supply is extremely quiet even when it was running at its full speed. In fact this was the quietest power supply we reviewed to date.


PS....No I don't work for enermax
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 1:21 pm

Silent PC Review gave it really high marks, too. Well, they gave the 625W version high marks anyway. Since I can get the Corsair locally I think that's what I'll wind up doing though.

edit: well now we're talking more like a $50 difference when Provantage has the 525W Enermax for about $75 shipped.
nevermind, that's the 385W version.
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mortifiedPenguin
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 3:42 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
Well, I was thinking about just getting another Seasonic, an S12-II 500W. But if the Corsair is that good, I might just give it a go.
IIRC, Corsair actually contracts with Seasonic to produce the HX series.

Oh, and I have one too. It's quiet.
2600K @ 4.8GHz; XSPC Rasa/RX240/RX120 Phobya Xtreme 200; Asus P8Z68-V Pro; 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1333 C9; 2x7970 OC w/ Razor 7970; Force GT 120GB; 3x F3 1TB; Corsair HX750; X-Fi Titanium; Corsair Obsidian 650D; Dell 2408WFP Rev. A01; 2x Dell U2412m
 
tfp
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Jul 24, 2009 4:32 pm

UberGerbil wrote:
tfp wrote:
The thing is I don't even need anything close to 600W, the APC backup I have reports I'm using ~240W with an overclocked Q9400 (3.12 Ghz) and a 9600GT (older version) running full out.
Peak efficiency tends to be around 50% load. You might be slightly better off with a ~500W unit (especially if you aren't running "full out" most of the time), but not enough to matter.


Right but when I bought the PSU I was running a P-D and it was maxing out closer to ~300W so at one point I was at about peak efficiency.
 
tfp
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:47 am

Well my FSP PSU died yesterday, just under 2 years old. I don't know what the deal is but I will be getting something else, so that puts me at hit and miss with them as a supply should longer than that. Unless my 9600GT and MB that died a few months ago or the dieing battery I replace in my APC backup did something to the PSU slowly over time...

Oh well got a good sale on a Corsiar yesterday on the egg.
 
potatochobit
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:53 am

This is the first time I have heard of FSP and apparently they have been around awhile... :o
 
just brew it!
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Aug 27, 2010 12:00 pm

potatochobit wrote:
This is the first time I have heard of FSP and apparently they have been around awhile... :o

I think they tend to sell mostly into the OEM channels, rather than marketing direct to DIYers. Yes, they've been around for years; and (IIRC) had a reasonably good reputation back in the day.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
tfp
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Aug 27, 2010 2:24 pm

Yep which is why I went with them I had luck in the past. I can't say my hardware didn't do something to the PSU but damn they should have some amount of protection built into the PSU and the PSU failed months after both the card/MB where replaced and a new battery was picked up for the APC.

Just annoying that the PSU died after such a short period of time after trying to do things like getting a nice UPS to make sure the HW isn't killed by the **** ComEd power up here. Once in a while there is a dud so maybe I got it...
 
Airmantharp
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Aug 27, 2010 2:45 pm

tfp wrote:
Yep which is why I went with them I had luck in the past. I can't say my hardware didn't do something to the PSU but damn they should have some amount of protection built into the PSU and the PSU failed months after both the card/MB where replaced and a new battery was picked up for the APC.

Just annoying that the PSU died after such a short period of time after trying to do things like getting a nice UPS to make sure the HW isn't killed by the **** ComEd power up here. Once in a while there is a dud so maybe I got it...


Have you tried a home theater style line conditioner yet?

I have an ancient Monster Power HT-1000 (or some sort) that serves as a giant power strip and line conditioner, just to make sure that whatever power I plug my system into reasonably doesn't end up hurting it. I've had very limited failures in the 10 years that I've owned it, despite sketchy power grids.
 
tfp
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Aug 27, 2010 3:01 pm

I have an APC RS 1500, I was under the impression it had all of that but I might not really understand all of the features correctly.

http://www.apc.com/resource/include/tec ... sku=BR1500
 
Airmantharp
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Aug 27, 2010 8:45 pm

tfp wrote:
I have an APC RS 1500, I was under the impression it had all of that but I might not really understand all of the features correctly.

http://www.apc.com/resource/include/tec ... sku=BR1500


I honestly couldn't tell you- battery backups are designed to do some filtering, but I don't know how they compare to a dedicated unit.
 
FuturePastNow
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Re: stop whining!

Fri Aug 27, 2010 9:09 pm

potatochobit wrote:
This is the first time I have heard of FSP and apparently they have been around awhile... :o


I'd put FSP on par with Seasonic in terms of quality. They're a good brand, although they still sell some models based on older designs that aren't terribly efficient or quiet.
 
tanker27
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Re: stop whining!

Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:39 am

I have the Corsair HX 750...its whisper quiet.
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FreiburgJ
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Re: stop whining!

Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:06 pm

I have an amazing 850W Corsair. Dead Silent. GO WITH A CORSAIR! :D
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