PSU purchase help

[Corwin_B]

Hello folks,
I think the new batch of GPUs will finally push my trusty Enermax PSU (400W) over the edge, so I'm looking at getting a new PSU. I'd like it to be modular (less clutter in the case), and my next GPU will be, in all likelihood, a R600 (XT or XTX). I don't plan on running Crossfire, and will keep my motherboard (Asus P5W Deluxe) and CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo 6300) for some time. I have 2GB of CAS4 DDR2-800, and may or may not upgrade to 4GB later if need be. Hard drives are 2 Samsung 300GB, in RAID1. I think 600W may be enough, but I'm not sure.

Do you have any PSU recommendations ? I'd like it reliable, not too noisy, modular, and, if possible, not too expensive (I live in France). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[nutball]

The latest favourites amongst the silence-obsessed are the Corsair HX520 and HX620. They're both rebadged Seasonics I believe. Modular, and exceedingly quiet by all accounts. Not so sure about the "not too expensive" though!

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article692-page1.html

[Bludd]

They aren't rebadged, because they don't contain the exact same components as the Seasonic, but Seasonic built them for Corsair and based them heavily on one of their own models.

[Corwin_B]

Thanks, those models look interesting. The 620W is a bit too expensive at €150, not sure if the 520W would be enough for my configuration.

[Windfire]

Thanks, those models look interesting. The 620W is a bit too expensive at €150, not sure if the 520W would be enough for my configuration.

I recently picked up the 620HX for $144 US w/ $20 rebate for a final price of $124 from ZipZoomFly.com.

I've not yet assembled it, but I did a lot of reading and it really is top-notch. The 620watt rating is very conservative too--rated a higher temparture than many others.

While the advertising says it has 3 18a 12 volt rails, the design is actually very much like a single-rail design (which is very nice, as you aren't limited to a mear 18a on each rail)--many think having more rails is superior which is not the case. Most PSU makers use multipe rails not because it is superior, but because higher amperage requires better components and better cooling design. I would much prefer a powerful single rail over multiple lower capacity rails (PC Cooling has a good write-up on this).

The 520HX may be more appropriate for you.

P.S.: On Corsair's site, they've tested it with 8800GTX is SLI. With a high-end system (quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM, 2 HDs and 2 8800GTX in SLI) it pulled ~45a on the 12 volt rail. The PSU can supply 50a at fairly warm tempartures.

[Corwin_B]

I did some reading, and the 620HX looks like a very good solution. And since my boss just announced me that he got me a bonus, I think I'll go with this model. Thanks everyone !

[Corwin_B]

Just a little bump to say that I bought the 620HX today, to go with my new 8800GTX, and I'm extremely impressed: the packaging is very high quality, the modular setup is a dream, and it's incredibly silent. A big word of thanks to everyone who recommended this PSU.

[Windfire]

Just a little bump to say that I bought the 620HX today, to go with my new 8800GTX, and I'm extremely impressed: the packaging is very high quality, the modular setup is a dream, and it's incredibly silent. A big word of thanks to everyone who recommended this PSU.

Great to hear! Yes, I'm very impressed with the 620HX as well. In the P180 case it is a >great< feature to have the modular connectors--I can't imagine having to jam all of the un-needed otherwise.

What do you think of how quiet it is?

[Windfire]

Just a little bump to say that I bought the 620HX today, to go with my new 8800GTX, and I'm extremely impressed: the packaging is very high quality, the modular setup is a dream, and it's incredibly silent. A big word of thanks to everyone who recommended this PSU.

BTW, which 8800GTX did you get? What are your impressions?

I'm planning on getting the GTX as well and am curiuos about stability, noise, heat, etc. :)

[Corwin_B]

BTW, which 8800GTX did you get? What are your impressions?

I'm planning on getting the GTX as well and am curiuos about stability, noise, heat, etc. :)

I got the Asus EN8800GTX. Didn't measure heat, but the sound level is pretty low considering the punch packed by the card. Stability, I don't know. The only game I've played right now is Supreme Commander, and my PC goes into BSOD (bad_pool_caller) after a while, which could be because of my RAM (doubt it), or because of a driver (more likely). I also tried a bit of Titan Quest (another favorite of mine), and playing at 1600x1200 with everything maxed and FSAA (and without the little shadow bugs this game had on my X1900XT) is a nice experience.

Unlike the previous Asus video card I had (an ATI 9800XT), this one plays nice with the standard drivers (the ATI used its own sets of special Asus drivers, and had a couple of bugs with official Catalysts). There are definitely some problems with the Vista 64 Forceware, though, such as some short display flashes/small corruptions when doing some operations, or the inability to use the deep sleep feature of Vista.

[Windfire]

I got the Asus EN8800GTX. Didn't measure heat, but the sound level is pretty low considering the punch packed by the card. Stability, I don't know. The only game I've played right now is Supreme Commander, and my PC goes into BSOD (bad_pool_caller) after a while, which could be because of my RAM (doubt it), or because of a driver (more likely). I also tried a bit of Titan Quest (another favorite of mine), and playing at 1600x1200 with everything maxed and FSAA (and without the little shadow bugs this game had on my X1900XT) is a nice experience.

Unlike the previous Asus video card I had (an ATI 9800XT), this one plays nice with the standard drivers (the ATI used its own sets of special Asus drivers, and had a couple of bugs with official Catalysts). There are definitely some problems with the Vista 64 Forceware, though, such as some short display flashes/small corruptions when doing some operations, or the inability to use the deep sleep feature of Vista.

So are you playing SupCom in Vista (although I believe Vista BSODs may not be blue anymore)? BSOD's are not good. But, if you are getting it in Vista then I would think it is likely drivers.

[Corwin_B]

So are you playing SupCom in Vista (although I believe Vista BSODs may not be blue anymore)? BSOD's are not good. But, if you are getting it in Vista then I would think it is likely drivers.

Yes, in Vista. And the BSODs are still blue as ever. :)
I think I may have tracked the problem to my audio driver, which I updated. Not sure, though. I'll have to play a bit longer to see if the problem reappears.

[Windfire]

Yes, in Vista. And the BSODs are still blue as ever. :)
I think I may have tracked the problem to my audio driver, which I updated. Not sure, though. I'll have to play a bit longer to see if the problem reappears.

Okay, that makes me feel better (being in Vista) as the state of drivers is bad for both Nvidia and sound drivers.

Regarding color, I know there is alson RSOD (red being for some particular type of BSOD's if I recall).

I ordered SupCom from GoGamer for $32 as I've tapped out the demo. :)