The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

Oman7,
This is what I replaced the 460w that came with my Cooler Master Centurion case. Very solid PSU, and you can't get anything better for the price. Dual rail and very solid voltages. I'm going to start using them for customer builds. Very Quiet, unlike previous Cooler Masters! Highly recommended!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031

Best Regards,
Russ

 

The one im replacing is a 450W x-power! LOL. New egg doesnt carry them. What does that tell you! She had the local computer store replace it a few years back. Before I had moved back to my current residence. Had I been here, I would have fixed it for her! I had to slap it 5 times yesterday to get it to shut up LOL!

There is a PSU thread now. We should continue discussion there
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2/761115

 

hey Russ I'm glad to see we recommended and like the same psu's in are customers builds...only thing that I don't like is the fan it comes with...I replaced mine with a less noise one instead just think trying to put a Fan control switch on your psu fan some psu's don't get hot as others do is the board in the psu made of the same material as a Motherboard? Good Question!!!

 

My answer was to Sam, because he was the one that made the statement I answered. I did mention that it was for you though! LOL!!

I stand by what I said, it's a decent quality, better than average PSU, that runs cool and quiet and delivers solid nominal voltages. 500w may seem like overkill but for $39.99, you can't beat it with a stick! After looking over the design, I'm pleased with the quality I find inside, where it counts!

Russ

 

I won't say any more on the matter as we have a proper PSU, but the reason it's $40 is because if it's anywhere near stable at 500W load, I'll eat my pants. It's built from the ground up as a 400W unit. It has 9 peripheral connectors versus the 12 on the Corsair 400W, and has a maximum loading of 18A per rail, 30A total, versus 17A per rail and 27A on the Seasonic 350W (Earthwatts 380W) units. The Corsair 400W has 30A on a single rail guaranteed.

Contrary to most reviews, the fan failure people don't necessarily come across as idiots, rather people with a genuine problem. Popular it may be, but as a long-term reliable PSU, I'm voting against it.

 

Will,
I'm not an Electronic Design Engineer, but I could easily be one, and I certainly know a good design when I see one. They are very good quality, solid PSUs. As far as the PC board goes, no it's not the same. Most motherboards have 4 or more layers these days, while the PSU has a board just as thick, but only a single layer of traces! I'm surprised about the fan noise as mine is near silent. That would lead me to believe that it's getting too warm.

I've stress tested my computer for hours on end and you never hear the PSU! You need strong airflow out the back of the case, or too much heat gets sucked into the PSU, which makes the fan run faster because the excess heat raises the PSU temp! It's been my finding that you need a good 50+ CFM rear fan to pull the warm air away from the CPU cooler, to prevent that from happening!

BTW, going to the Post Office in the morning. Russell is out of town, so my friend Frank, is going to take me in the morning!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I didn't say that they come across as idiots, but the #1 cause of PSU overheating is a low CFM rear fan, and a few of the complaints weren't even talking about this specific model, they were talking about the old model with two fans, which I agree was far from ideal! For a low power computer like Oman7's Mother's, it's a pretty good choice for the money! I doesn't suit every need, but in this case, it's more than adequate for the job intended! Time will tell just how durable they are! So far I see no reason that it's going to give me problems with mine down the road. I'm confident enough in the design that I plan on using them for all my stock customer builds. 18A per rail is more than adequate as is the 25A for the 5v rail for any stock speed computer that isn't using a high power video card. In fact it's overkill! As far as the extra connectors, what are you going to need them for in a machine like that? It's just excess baggage that will never be used anyway!

Russ

 

The only thing I've ever known to cause a PSU fan to speed up is having a Freezer 7 mounted so it blows into the cooler. That seems obvious, and while I can see a low speed rear fan causing issues, I had my rear fan as low as 500rpm and that doesn't change the speed of my Zalman or Corsair PSUs. The only ones to respond were those with aggressive fan controllers, i.e. the Hiper and Thermaltake.
Time will indeed tell if the units are up to the job, but realistically, you're installing a $40 unit with a question mark on it over a $38 unit that's proven to be reliable and powerful. What's in it for you with the risk? The only downside is that the Seasonic 300W doesn't have a PCIe 6-pin, but since you rarely advocate anything more powerful than a 9500GT (and you can go even further without a 6-pin, an HD4670 doesn't need one and that competes with the 9600GT which does) I don't see that as an issue. The Seasonic units go even further to do away with extra connectors at the bottom end.

 

I have plans to put that nice MSI 4850 in mine, and I have no plans to change the PSU. I've taken the CM apart and I'm satisfied with the construction and the choice of components used, including the fan. Like I said, time will tell! Hey, somebodies got to test this stuff, otherwise we'll never know for sure, will we! LOL!!

Russ

 

Is the artic silver 5 any good?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

 

yes AS5 is good stuff. I've used it many times and NOT a problem with cooling or anything else.

....gm

 

Here's the best deal on PSU
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V Power Supply - Retail
$40.99 ($28.99 after $12.00 Mail-In
Free Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023

Revues look good 4 this

 

I gave that very PSU to my brother LOL. It was quite the survivor for what I put it through. A lot of people seem to think I can do better, but 2000+ reviews...its hard to shy away from a supply thats pushing 2000 reviews. People seem to like it.

By the way. Theres a new thread regarding PSU's
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2/761115#4608121

 

150GB Velociraptor Performance Test

Heres a little update. Ive noticed, as im sure most have, that HDD's require exercise for viable, legitimate transfer speeds. What I mean is, You dont hook a brand new HDD up and expect it to perform top notch at the get go! Now that the drive has been running for almost 4Days with little breaks, LOL! NOW, we can see what my base score is gonna be. However, I will continue to monitor it. Ive had a seagate drive fail me. I watched it steadily decline over a 2 week period. QUITE disappointed! Though WD has never failed me yet! This is also for anyone considering getting this BADBOY HDD! LOL!

 

The best deal right now is this Thermaltake.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153028
I know I owed two of them, and still have one in Oxi, the other went with the E6750. It's all I've used for my customer builds for over 2 years! I've sold about 75 of them in the last 2 years, and not had a single failure. Had I not been impatient and bought the Cooler Master, I would be ordering one for myself right now! Better than anything else available for that price, at the moment! $39.99 after $30 MIR. Much quieter and cooler than the 430! A definite best buy!

Russ

 

Never have been to keen on M.I.R.!!! Seems like people always get stiffed! Such a shame that newegg doesnt take on that task for us :0 LOL...what...in a perfect world they would

 

Oman7,
Don't be selling Newegg so short! Corsair claimed that they never got my MIR for the Dominators, and without the UPC code, there was nothing they could do. I called Newegg and they took care of it! I got my $40! I didn't have to beg either!

Russ

 

Ok, I guess I cant say anything, since ive never actually had to deal with it Newegg is AWESOME