Fortron 530 or PCP&C Silencer 410 ATX?

[filledwithloathing]

The Story:
I was getting VCore voltage drops with my old Enhance 350W power supply with my Shuttle AN35N Ultra and my mobile Athlon. They're not huge dips 1.74v down to 1.71v but when I crank my Athlon past 2500MHz when the v drops, I crash. I can up the voltage to compensate for the drops but then I'll be running way too hot in the summer time.

I replaced my Enhance with an Antec True 330. I still get the dips. They're less frequent but I still get them. I suppose it's possible that my motherboard's defective but I am somewhat encouraged by the improvement I got by switching to the Antec.

I've been seeing a lot of good reviews about the Fortron but am a little concerned about the 12v rail. Since voltage stability is of paramount concern, I thought I'd check out PC P&C. Well there's no way I'm paying $179 for a power supply. Then I saw their "Silencer" line. They have a 410W model that is in my price range. I can't find any sort of comparative reviews on it however.

Any thoughts?

 

[t5brick]

the Fortron 530 is a very nice PSU with solid rails. unless you need the reduced noise levels of the Silencer, i'd go with the Fortron.

you might also want to check out the PCP&C Turbo-Cool 425 ATX-Deluxe. it's got the same 1% regulation on the 3.3, 5 and 12v rails that the 510 has. it is quite a bit more expensive than the Silencer though.

after getting a PCP&C Turbo-Cool 510, there is no going back. they are awesome PSUs.

 

[Vertigo Acid]

How do you know that the dips are even accurate? Since you can't exactly measure core voltage w/ a meter very easily, i'd assume that you are using a software based measuring program, all of which are notoriously inaccurate. It's not their fault, it's the poorly calibrated chips that are responsible for that on the mobo that are at fault.

But anyway, the core voltage is regulated by mosfets on the mobo, not the PSU. Any well designed power circuitry on the mobo will be able to compensate easily for variations in the +12v that the PSU is giving them. So don't go blaming the PSU for the problems, I think you're right on the money with blaming the mobo. But for christ sake don't RMA a board because it can't overclock as much as you want! Under extreme conditions, how can you really expect the power circuitry to keep up? I'd try cooling the power solution on the mobo better w/ some mosfet heatsinks and a fan blowing across them before dropping the cash for a PCP&C PSU. Or, like you said bump the vCore a little and suck it up, even at 1% regulation +12v coming from the PSU, it's obvious that the power solution isn't goign to be able to regulate to 1%

 

[filledwithloathing]

How do you know that the dips are even accurate? Since you can't exactly measure core voltage w/ a meter very easily, i'd assume that you are using a software based measuring program, all of which are notoriously inaccurate. It's not their fault, it's the poorly calibrated chips that are responsible for that on the mobo that are at fault.

I don't know that the dips are accurate however I believe they are happening.
I am using speedfan to monitor the voltages. I am aware that the sensors on the motherboard are inaccurate, however they should be able to measure changes fairly well. For example, your temp sensor may have an inacurate base temperature, but if it shows that your temp goes up 5C, you can be fairly sure that your chip actually went up 5C. The voltage sensors should work the same way.

But anyway, the core voltage is regulated by mosfets on the mobo, not the PSU. Any well designed power circuitry on the mobo will be able to compensate easily for variations in the +12v that the PSU is giving them. So don't go blaming the PSU for the problems, I think you're right on the money with blaming the mobo.

Yes, however, when I had my Enhance power supply in I could literally hear my fans spin down with the voltage drops. When I switched to the Antec, my fans don't groan every once in a while anymore and the voltage dips happen much less freq. I'm wondering if my system just needs a little more juice.

But for christ sake don't RMA a board because it can't overclock as much as you want! Under extreme conditions, how can you really expect the power circuitry to keep up?

I didn't say anything about RMA'ing the board, but this is a different situation from, "My uber video card only does 100MHz over stock instead of 200 like I was expecting." This is a situation where something in my PC, power supply or motherboard are not providing stable voltages.

I'd try cooling the power solution on the mobo better w/ some mosfet heatsinks and a fan blowing across them before dropping the cash for a PCP&C PSU. Or, like you said bump the vCore a little and suck it up, even at 1% regulation +12v coming from the PSU, it's obvious that the power solution isn't goign to be able to regulate to 1%

There aren't any heatsinks on the mosfets on this board. I have a 9 inch Honeywell "fan of death" that I tried blowing on them yesterday. That didn't seem to make a sig. difference.

 

[Vertigo Acid]

I don't know that the dips are accurate however I believe they are happening.
I am using speedfan to monitor the voltages. I am aware that the sensors on the motherboard are inaccurate, however they should be able to measure changes fairly well. For example, your temp sensor may have an inacurate base temperature, but if it shows that your temp goes up 5C, you can be fairly sure that your chip actually went up 5C. The voltage sensors should work the same way.

All you can gather is that a change is happening. It may not even be a drop, it may be a spike, and even if it says it dropped .4v it doesn't mean that it is droping that much. They are even some times not linear in their measurement.

Yes, however, when I had my Enhance power supply in I could literally hear my fans spin down with the voltage drops. When I switched to the Antec, my fans don't groan every once in a while anymore and the voltage dips happen much less freq. I'm wondering if my system just needs a little more juice.

Yes, the fans slowing down would be a good indication that you need more power.

I didn't say anything about RMA'ing the board, but this is a different situation from, "My uber video card only does 100MHz over stock instead of 200 like I was expecting." This is a situation where something in my PC, power supply or motherboard are not providing stable voltages.

Do you still have the problems when you're not overclocking your CPU?
As I said, under extreme conditions, like a big OC like you've got going, things don't work right sometimes, but you can't blame the mobo or the PSU for not working right because they are not desinged to be operated like that.

There aren't any heatsinks on the mosfets on this board. I have a 9 inch Honeywell "fan of death" that I tried blowing on them yesterday. That didn't seem to make a sig. difference.

Yes, I suggest adding some Mosfet heatsinks.

So, here's what I would do to deterimine if the drop is a result of the mobo power circuit or the PSU not giving enough juice:
1. Bring you system back to stock speeds
2. Get a multimeter, and measure the 3.3, 5, and 12v rails idle and under load such as prime95 or something similar
3. OC the hell out of it back to where it was
4. Repeat step 2
5. Report back

 

[Crosshairs]

after getting a PCP&C Turbo-Cool 510, there is no going back. they are awesome PSUs.

Amen to that !!!!

 

[jinu117]

If you don't want to spend the big $$$ on PC&P but wants something a little more solid on rail than fortron, I would recommend Enermax Coolergiant or noisetaker. Both have 2 12v rails which helps A LOT on stable power. Least amount of fluctuation of voltage I've seen out of all I've tried. (Truepower, Fortron, Seasonic, Zalman, to name a few. PC&P might be comparible but the price always turns me off)

 

[jasonlitka]

If you don't want to spend the money for a PCP&C PSU (they're worth every penny) then you might want to look into the Enermax Noisetakers. If you go with the Enermax you should look for one of the black ones with PFC, the blue units don't have it.

 

[t5brick]

every Sparkle/Fortron Source PSU i've used had rock solid rails. thats better than i can say for the Enermax PSUs i've tested. anyway, maybe i got a bunch of good Fortron and a bunch of bad Enermax.

filledwithloathing, i've got a new Fortron 530 on the way to power my Dualie AMD rig. i'll post results when i get them.

 

[jinu117]

every Sparkle/Fortron Source PSU i've used had rock solid rails. thats better than i can say for the Enermax PSUs i've tested. anyway, maybe i got a bunch of good Fortron and a bunch of bad Enermax.

filledwithloathing, i've got a new Fortron 530 on the way to power my Dualie AMD rig. i'll post results when i get them.

Noisetaker and CoolerGiant is newer line of enermax. You gotta check it out

 

[twajetmech]

I second that, has to be the best psu I've had, well worth the extra bucks ! They can also change the fans in any of their units if noise is an issue ! I run a stock 510 and its really not loud, heck my old P3 set up can drown it out completely !
twajetmech

 

[Bitchnmoan]

I'm using the Silencer 410 in my sigged system. I haven't had any problems with it on the sometimes-goofy power down in Georgia. Of course, my rig will suck up quite a bit less current than yours, so I'm playing with a bit more headroom than you will be if you get the same model. Even so, I can't give you any reason to NOT buy the PCP&C unit. I was also temporarily using an Antec 450(?) for a while that gave no trouble.