The New Power Supply Thread

[Stereodude]

Seems we don't have a recent power supply thread...

What is everyone using / recommending these days?

I'm looking for something quiet & efficient in the 400-500W range to power a modestly overclocked Sandy Bridge i7-2600k with a few HDs, optical drives, modest graphics card, SSD, etc. I was looking at the Seasonic Platinum-400 Fanless (SS-400FL2) unit. It's a little spendy, but that's not a showstopper...

 

[P5-133XL]

I'm using PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 Quad on everything. Not perfect because they are big, relatively loud, over powered, and you can get more efficient now. However, I bought a whole bunch of them at $79 each, from a retailer that had an excessive number of them, which was a very good price at the time.

 

[ddrueding]

I'm liking the Corsair AXxxxi line. The fan doesn't even turn on below about 50% of its rated load. Fully modular. Nice cable lengths. Available in 1200W. Darn expensive.

 

[Stereodude]

I'm liking the Corsair AXxxxi line. The fan doesn't even turn on below about 50% of its rated load. Fully modular. Nice cable lengths. Available in 1200W. Darn expensive.

Isn't that the AXxxx line? Corsair's page shows the AXxxxi turns on the fan at ~20%.

 

[mubs]

My current and previous (still working after 6+ years) Seasonic's are great. Fan never turns on. When I turn off the switch on the power supply to cut the mains power every night, I can see an LED on the motherboard and another on the keyboard lit for several minutes (yeah, I know LED's consume hardly any juice, but still). Fantastic amount of capacitor buffering. Absolutely no issues.

 

[Handruin]

I'm using PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 Quad on everything. Not perfect because they are big, relatively loud, over powered, and you can get more efficient now. However, I bought a whole bunch of them at $79 each, from a retailer that had an excessive number of them, which was a very good price at the time.

These are the same ones I have in a couple machines. They've been running for years with no issues so far.

 

[ddrueding]

Isn't that the AXxxx line? Corsair's page shows the AXxxxi turns on the fan at ~20%.

I didn't look at the spec, just personal experience. The AX1200i I have here doesn't spin up until beyond 500W sustained.

 

[CougTek]

I've recently used Cooler Master's Silent Pro Gold 450W and Seasonic G series without issue. Both are fairly affordable, very efficient (80Plus Gold) and produce low amount of noise, if any.

 

[Stereodude]

I think I will probably go with a Seasonic G-550 (SSR-550RM) instead. It's a bit cheaper, and has a fan. The Lian-Li PC-7FN USB3 case the system is going into only has 2 case fans, a 140mm in the front and a 120mm in the rear and I'm not sure I want a fanless or fan limited power supply helping to heat up the case relying on the case fans for ventilation.

 

[Mercutio]

I primarily use Seasonic and Corsair power supplies. My big file server has a PCP&C 1kW power supply in it, but that has more to do with the fact that I had that power supply sitting around than because I had a specific intention to use it. I also buy a lot of Antec Earthwatts and Corsair Bulder series power supplies as low-cost options in system builds.

 

[Bozo]

The only power supplies I use are the Antec Earthwatts series. They have an excellent survival rate in our production facility where they live without a ups or line filtering. They also must survive the dirt and heat. They run 24/7/365 which I believe is the reason they last. [ same with hard drives ]
All of the ones I have had to replace were ~ 5 years old. And every one of those the fan had failed.
An odd thing though. The absolute dirtiest computers come from climate controlled offices. ?? :dunno:

 

[mubs]

Carpets with embedded dust in offices vs hard floors on the shop floor that are easier to keep clean? Most vacuums are a joke anyway.

 

[snowhiker]

My baby here.

Quote from the review:

"The Seasonic PLATINUM-660 is the newest member of the Seasonic PLATINUM line of power supplies we have reviewed, and when all is said and done it is probably the best power supply we have reviewed overall. The PLATINUM-660 posts the best voltage regulation we have ever seen, close to the best efficiency we have ever seen, it is for all intents and purposes is silent compared to other components in a system, has outstanding DC Output Quality, absolutely excellent build quality, and even posts better Transient Load responses than we have seen in a long time from a unit of such a capacity."

 

[Bozo]

That's a great power supply. Too bad it has modular cables. To me, the connection to the power supply is another point of failure.

 

[Handruin]

That's a great power supply. Too bad it has modular cables. To me, the connection to the power supply is another point of failure.

It does sound like a wonderful power supply. I've heard/read other's with concerns for modular power supplies. Have you or others had actual issues with this type of design in the past? I like being able to remove a chunk of unused cables but I get that if there isn't a connector, there's one less point of failure.

 

[Mercutio]

I've never had a problem with a contact failing on a modular PSU failing.
In fact, I've never had a super-premium PSU of any sort fail. Amazingly enough, when I buy a $100+ PSU, it's probably going to last long enough that the connectors get outmoded before the power supply craps out.

That said it's still not a feature I'm willing to pay extra to get. When I buy an 800W power supply it's probably because I have plans for all those 5V connectors.

 

[Bozo]

My concern is more for the environment at work. Dirt, goo, and grime have a way of getting into everything. And electrical connections seem to be a magnet for dirt.
I have one at home as that is the only thing the local computer store had in stock when I needed one. It is a NZXT model of some sort.
They are probably fine for home use.

 

[Mercutio]

In an industrial setting, a little electrical tape would probably go a long way toward keeping the connections covered.

 

[P5-133XL]

Power supplies are not the place to be cheap. Buy a premium one and it will last through multiple machines.

 

[Handruin]

My concern is more for the environment at work. Dirt, goo, and grime have a way of getting into everything. And electrical connections seem to be a magnet for dirt.
I have one at home as that is the only thing the local computer store had in stock when I needed one. It is a NZXT model of some sort.
They are probably fine for home use.

In an industrial setting, a little electrical tape would probably go a long way toward keeping the connections covered.

I get that concern with dirt and grime. How often does one typically connect/disconnect the modular plugs? I don't see the frequency of connecting/disconnecting as adding undo stress. I see it happening once or twice then let the system run as-is until it needs an upgrade/etc. For the open ports I agree the electrical tape could help keep extra grime out.

 

[Stereodude]

That said it's still not a feature I'm willing to pay extra to get. When I buy an 800W power supply it's probably because I have plans for all those 5V connectors.

I just use splitters.

 

[P5-133XL]

I started out a big believer in splitters but over the years I've changed my mind. Repeatedly, I've had very bad experiences with splitters. They become intermittent connectors over time resulting in lots of time lost diagnosing problems that are not real HW failures but rather just intermittent connector problems.

 

[Mercutio]

I just use splitters.

My Norco 24 bay chassis use 12 5V molex connectors. My big boxes have splitters no matter how big the PSU is.

 

[Stereodude]

I started out a big believer in splitters but over the years I've changed my mind. Repeatedly, I've had very bad experiences with splitters. They become intermittent connectors over time resulting in lots of time lost diagnosing problems that are not real HW failures but rather just intermittent connector problems.

I've haven't had that problem (yet?). However, in general I try to use them on optical drives or fans and not hard drives.

 

[P5-133XL]

I was using raid-5 on two large disk arrays and was constantly fighting random dropped disks that would test out fine. Eventually I got rid of the splitters and didn't have any more problems.

 

[snowhiker]

That's a great power supply. Too bad it has modular cables. To me, the connection to the power supply is another point of failure.

I think the easier cable routing plus the option of not installing unneeded cables is worth the tiny risk of a modular connection failure.

The real problem with modular cables is that there is NO UNIVERSAL STANDARD for modular connectors. In fact modular connectors from the same vendor are sometimes not even standard within their own PSU lines.

I would also like to see PSUs available without any included cables whatsoever. Allowing me to order the exact length of 24-pin cable I needed. Or say I have a 24-bay drive enclosure I could buy a 12 Molex (or SATA) connector cable with 3" between plugs. With a universal standard there would be plenty of companies making cables to keep the prices reasonable.

Today there are no real options for aftermarket modular cables that aren't completely custom and crazy expensive, save for a rare few...Corsair comes to mind. We need more options.

 

[ddrueding]

I think the easier cable routing plus the option of not installing unneeded cables is worth the tiny risk of a modular connection failure.

The real problem with modular cables is that there is NO UNIVERSAL STANDARD for modular connectors. In fact modular connectors from the same vendor are sometimes not even standard within their own PSU lines.

I would also like to see PSUs available without any included cables whatsoever. Allowing me to order the exact length of 24-pin cable I needed. Or say I have a 24-bay drive enclosure I could buy a 12 Molex (or SATA) connector cable with 3" between plugs. With a universal standard there would be plenty of companies making cables to keep the prices reasonable.

Today there are no real options for aftermarket modular cables that aren't completely custom and crazy expensive, save for a rare few...Corsair comes to mind. We need more options.

Amen to that. I have bags full of Antec and Corsair modular cables that aren't compatible. At one point I had a full custom set of cables made for a Corsair PSU on a high-end build. Contacted someone through a forum and they made a beautiful set with exact cable lengths and connector specs. I believe it was about $200.

 

[Bozo]

A little clarification. Where I work we cast, hot roll, and cold roll aluminum. We do not make any finished product though. The casting area contains dross dust ( think baking flour ) that gets into everything.
In the hot mill we spray coolant on sheets of aluminum that is 900 F-1000 F during the rolling process. The coolant is made of water and a soluble oil.
In the cold mill we spay coolant on the sheets of aluminum that is ~250 F. The heat is generated by the rolling process. The coolant is made up of solvents, oil, and paraffin.
About 90% of the motors in the plant are DC. DC motors use carbon brushes which produce carbon dust. The carbon dust finds it's way into everything.
We have large exhaust fans, bag houses, and fume scrubbers to clean up the air in the plant. Sealed, pressurized and air filtered cabinets for electrical items. But the dust and goo still find their way into everything. Actually we are a very clean facility for a casting/rolling mill.
The computers that are in a climate controlled room ( control rooms ) usually stay clean. But I have a few that are out in the production area. After 3-5 years they are recycle bin material. The cases aren't even worth saving. Any kind of electrical connection is a magnet for the dirt and goo. Many times I have repaired an electrical device just by unplugging and re-seating circuit boards. It wipes the goo off the connectors.
This is my 'dirt'.

BTW, we make the aluminum for Apple products.

 

[Bozo]

I have been using the NORCO RPC-270 2U case for most of my rack mount needs. It uses a standard ATX12V power supply. I have been using an Antec EA-380 power supply as it has it's fan mounted on the side ( or end ) of the fan case. If I need a larger power supply what could I use? Everyone that I look at has the fan mounted on top of it's case, which would be up against the lid of the RPC-270.

 

[Bozo]

Nevermind. I got my head out of my arse found that you can use 2U server power supplies in it. DUH