When is too much power a bad thing?

E

EricDawg

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 7, 2004
Messages
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Yes I tried to read the FAQ's.

I'm buying an AMD64 3500 with an eVGA 6800GT. The power choices I have are 475W or 600W (well the 2 Enermax I prefer anyway). 475 is slightly lower than the 480w recommendation for the 6800 (or is it just the ultra?). But I'm wondering... is the 600 too much? Will it lead to more heat? Or does it just put out more power when it's needed? Or is the 475 JUST FINE?

Sorry I'm not up to snuff on the EE. Any thoughts appreciated!
 
the 475w unit should work just fine, although the 600w may put out less heat.

a PSU will only push it's maximum output if it is needed, so any other time it just supplies what it has to. the 600 watt unit would be working farther from it's limit and it could possably create less heat.
 
Bigger PSUs typically just put out more power when needed. Unless of course you find a non switching PSU which is kind of rare nowadays.
 
Frankly I'd go with the Fortron 530 instead.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-968&depa=0

Widely considered to be the best PSU as far as price to performance go, used by a ton of overclockers on VR-Zone and xtremesystems.org. Fortron under rates their PSU's as well so they generally put out more than they are rated for, has separate 12v lines (18a each if I recall) so it's ideal for a modern video card setup. It also has adjustable rails (though you need to remove the cover to get to them) for tweaking.

Warden
 
Warden said:
Frankly I'd go with the Fortron 530 instead.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-968&depa=0

Widely considered to be the best PSU as far as price to performance go, used by a ton of overclockers on VR-Zone and xtremesystems.org. Fortron under rates their PSU's as well so they generally put out more than they are rated for, has separate 12v lines (18a each if I recall) so it's ideal for a modern video card setup. It also has adjustable rails (though you need to remove the cover to get to them) for tweaking.

Warden
Click to expand...
According to the Forton site, that model only has a single 12v rail rated at 18a. I think dual 12v version is the FPS550-60LPN. 550w Fortron...
 
Yourself said:
According to the Forton site, that model only has a single 12v rail rated at 18a. I think dual 12v version is the FPS550-60LPN. 550w Fortron...
Click to expand...

Not so sure on that. I believe there was athread at xtremesystems.org and one of the experts ran some tests and determined that their were 2 separate rails on it. I could be wrong but a lot of us are using this PSU to power some hefty rigs and haven't see the rails even blink. It's running the system in my sig 24/7 and 100% stable :)

Warden
 
Warden: Do you have a link to the thread in question? I don't know too much about these "experts", but I know that it's pretty easy to tell whether the PSU has multiple rails, AKA outputs... you open them up and their marked like that and obviously have two sets of +12v connection points. Not too many "tests" necessary... :p
 
Other than performance and heat, noise is my biggest concern. I like the ability to adjust the fan (although I don't plan on doing it much) for a little while if it's bugging me. From what I've read I shouldn't have too because the Enermax is really quiet.

The other option I was thinking about was the OCZ 520 because it adjusts it's fans not on heat, but output. Based on heat, I'm thinking the PSU fans would run louder if my 6800GT was cooking. I'd rather it only speed up if the PSU needed it too. Then again, if the system is hot, speeding up the intake to spit the hot air out might not be a bad idea. But the OCZ has no manual control so pooh. I have to have control!

Anyway... nice to have some options.

Thanks again all for your thoughts.
 
Well, I really have no experience with anything other than the Enermax series of PSU's, but I have the 475W (I think.... I'll check when I get home. It's the one that's "active", I believe.)

In any case, it is beautiful. It supplies my 5800 Ultra and A64 3000+ beautifully, with dual 12V rails.... ;)

I checked the voltages and they're beautiful - almost perfectly inline with the spec... This power supply is SILENT.
 
I have the 600W PSU from Enermax that you're talking about. The only time you can have too much power is when it gets too heavy :)
 
Glad to hear you like em'. Hard to believe something that powerful can also be quiet. Thanks everyone for your input. Good stuff!

The first PC I bought in 93 from Gateway had a PSU that sounded like a friggin' jet engine. In my dorm room it was painful to use. I vowed to never again buy a PC that was that loud. Unfortunately, namebrand PC's don't let you choose parts. Which led me to DIY.

Here's a review I found on the Enermax 600W.
Notice this quote:
"I can tell you that these fans are QUIET. So quiet in fact that I thought this feature wasn't working until I looked closely and saw that the fans were indeed spinning. Never have I seen quieter operation."

Enermax Noisetaker - OC Cafe Review
 
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