Next time a seasonic x 650 is under $100 in the US, I'm buying one, I think. that or a 600W 80+ for $50. When you do a lot of computer stuff one can never have too many spare ram/power supplies/hard drives.
rockz: Newegg currently has the SeaSonic X650 for $96 (when you use the 20% off promo code by 12/17) with free shipping. I actually picked one up just this week when earlier in the week I turned off my computer and then my power supply wouldn't turn on anymore when I came back to it a little later (an Enermax unit that I've had for about 3.5 years - warranty was 3 years).
Probably at least a bit overkill for my system, but I liked some features that were listed (the high efficiency, partly because I'm using a battery backup; and that it is silent or quiet, depending on the load) and I'm used to spending about that much on ones intended to go into my primary system anyway. Currently have a CPU with TDP of 95W; Radeon HD 6850, which people say uses slightly less power at idle and only slightly more at full load than a 5770 (difference is in the single digits, IIRC); and 4 hard drives (3 being more efficient with power than the other one).
Some notes on earlier comments:
A note I just found on the MOV:
Its main component is called MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) or varistor, labeled RV1 on our schematics, which is responsible for cutting voltage spikes (transients) found on the power line. This is the exact same component found on surge suppressors. The problem, though, is that cheap power supplies don’t carry this component in order to save costs. On power supplies with a MOV, surge suppressors are useless, since they have already a surge suppressor inside them.
If you use a surge protector, you don't actually need an MOV. So don't plug it directly into the wall.
They did not state anywhere that an external surge suppressor can replace the function of the MOV, so you can't assume that. The logic of that kind of statement only works one way, unless they word it in a way that also handles the opposite case.
On a related note, when deciding whether to plug your computer into something for protecting against extreme voltage spikes (like those caused by lightning), their statement about the presence or absence of that component should have no bearing there, because you wouldn't want a dead power supply in either case (even if a protection on your power supply does save the rest of the system).
The problem is that the 12 V is out of spec at low wattages (where you will usually be running), along with a number of other problems mentioned at the bottom. It's too bad, because the arctic cooling is the same as the corsair vx 450 and antec EA500, except it has tremendous efficiency. How much will at 10.8 voltage hurt your components? Actually, it won't. It might cause a crash, but it's more likely that it will improve your efficiency.
For the electronics, too low voltage probably won't damage anything, though if low enough it could mean data corruption in RAM or on the CPU, which is what would cause the crash. Basically when the voltage is below the required threshold, some signals might be read as a 0 instead of a 1. If you are cutting it really close, slight voltage fluctuations could be enough to cause it to read as a 0 only some of the times that it should be a 1.
For things with motors, too low volts can potentially cause damage. Fans I've heard of that it happens for sure on some of them when you get them into certain ranges. Of course, they only get that low from manual adjustment, so you're not likely to see that from low volts coming from the power supply. Hard drives could maybe be affected as well, but I'm not certain, because you don't undervolt hard drives intentionally like you might for a fan.
The EPS12V "aids stability" so what does that mean? In which cases would I need added stability?
I probably will go for a 4 pin connector since that is what I have right now and later make sure I still get one of the old 4 pin mobos.
There is no need to specifically get either a power supply or motherboard with only a 4 pin connection. Power supplies either have an 8 pin connector that splits or have a separate 4 pin. If you find one that doesn't, you can let the extra 4 hang over. If the motherboard uses an 8 pin, you can still plug a 4-pin into the part that fits and it will work. The extra connections are there to distribute the power between more wires so that it doesn't melt the wires or connector when you have a CPU that uses a lot of power, so it is better to have a power supply that has the 8 pin connector available in case you need it. This also applies to the 24 vs. 20 pin power connector to the motherboard - backward compatible, but you want to have the 24 pin so something doesn't melt it by drawing too much power on too few wires.
Btw. while I know rockz is our PSU expert here I wouldn't mind hearing more from Ex or ShadowFlare or whoever for a 2nd opinion.
Thanks for listing me.
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Dec 11 2010, 9:47 am by ShadowFlare.
None.
