The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

[jalyst]

Hi Folks,

As the title says...
Just interested in peoples thoughts on the ideal PSU for a HTPC/PVR I'm building.

Components:
1x Core i3-530 CPU
8GB CL7 DDR3-1600Mhz RAM (low voltage, 1.35v)
1x ATX H57 Motherboard (Asus)
1x Intel X25V 40GB SSD
This will prolly change to 4x 2.5" SSD's (diff. makes/models too)
Composed of; 1 scratch-disk RAID-0, & 1 boot/sys RAID-0.
1x Samsung 7.2k 1TB HDD
This will prolly change to 2x 2TB WD Green (or similar)
1x PCI DVB-C tuner card + 1x USB powered smart-card reader
1x PCIe Dual-hybrid DVB-T tuner (HVR-2200)
1x PCI sound-card & 7.1 daughter-board (Essence ST & H6)
A few Case/CPU fans...
Possible extras:
1x USB powered DAB+ tuner & maybe some other USB powered devices.
1x PCIe graphics card (GT-220; depends on IGP's performance in Linux)
1x extra PCIe sound-card
1x extra PCIe tuner card (DVB-T/C YTBD)
These PCIe devices may be swapped-out for one or two other things.
Can't recall them right now....

I'm hoping all this should still easily be powered by something like 400watt?
But I'm guessing there's a more methodical way to determine this!

Whatever the wattage requirements, I realise the virtue in having some 'head-room'.
After determining roughly how much wattage I need...
Equally important is identifying the most efficient/stable/reliable PSU around for that wattage!

I don't care too much about quietness, so long as it's not ridiculously loud!
Any advice or recommendations greatly appreciated!

Thank-you.

[jalyst]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

Hmm 10min limit on editing?
Just want to clarify the RAM config:
4x 2GB CL7 DDR3-1600Mhz RAM (low voltage, 1.35v)
Thanks/good-night.

[370forlife]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139003

that or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371034

that or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151074

that would do just fine, but you would probably get by with a 350w or so.

[jalyst]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

yeah but are there any 80+ gold certified PSU's etc?
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/show...3261#post63261
That's the problem

Thanks/night.

[mockingbird]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

The absolute cram-of-the-crop sub 500w PSU is the Corsair 450VX. I think it's around $80 but it is well worth the money. And I think they just released a new revision of it.

Stay away from the Antec and Seasonic sub 500w units. They tend to have junk caps.

[370forlife]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

The absolute cram-of-the-crop sub 500w PSU is the Corsair 450VX. I think it's around $80 but it is well worth the money. And I think they just released a new revision of it.

Stay away from the Antec and Seasonic sub 500w units. They tend to have junk caps.

The Antec I posted uses Ltec and UCC. The seasonics generally use OST and UCC. They do fine in psu's if they are kept cool.

[ratdude747]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

i have a good one (i'm surprised nobody had mentioned it yet):

it's a 550w, but at it's really stinkin cheap price, you will not care:

http://www.hypermicro.com/ProductDes...LY-BULK&key=it

those things are BEASTS... the caps are not a good brand, but samxon makes replacemnts.

if you need pci-e connectors, there are solder holes for one, if you can get a hold of the srand from a junker. it also has a lot of molex connections so the molex to pci-e adapters are fine as well.

only two sata's, but again, plenty of molex so you can use adapters

also, the 12v+ is 8 pins, not 4, but most of the time you can slip it on a 4 pin with the second half overhanging

if you are in the us, then it is only $17 plus shipping.

the story behind the units:

they were supposed to be put in sun-station units. for whatever reason the few thousand of them were never built and hypermicro bought and resold the units. the have a tiny scratch on the label, barely noticeable, and that is the only defect. they are server grade. they are heavy, so the case had better not be a flimsy POS!

[Scenic]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

^ nice and all.. but efficiency in the low 70s is not quite what he wants..

got the same problem with my Delta DPS-700... 700W with 50 amps on 12V alone.. but efficiency is 72% average (230V)... no go..

edit:

The absolute cram-of-the-crop sub 500w PSU is the Corsair 450VX. Stay away from the [...] Seasonic sub 500w units. They tend to have junk caps.

uhm... the Corsair VX450 IS a seasonic.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...=Story&reid=64

my Antec NeoPower/NeoHE 430W is also a "low end" seasonic OEM. Has OST caps.. never had any problems with them cause it's a pretty cool running unit.
it's powering my overclocked Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 @ 3.6 with a GTX260.. (say hi to GTA IV... lol)

[mockingbird]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

uhm... the Corsair VX450 IS a seasonic.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.ph...p=Story&reid=64

My Sigmatek 750W also looks precisely like the Corsair 750w but the specs are different. I asked and was told by a representative of Corsair, and he said that Corsair doesn't just OEM units, they actually tweak them.

[jalyst]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

The Antec I posted uses Ltec and UCC. The seasonics generally use OST and UCC. They do fine in psu's if they are kept cool.

what are the caps to look out for in 500w or less units?

[jalyst]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

i have a good one (i'm surprised nobody had mentioned it yet):

it's a 550w, but at it's really stinkin cheap price, you will not care:

http://www.hypermicro.com/ProductDes...LY-BULK&key=it

those things are BEASTS... the caps are not a good brand, but samxon makes replacemnts.

if you need pci-e connectors, there are solder holes for one, if you can get a hold of the srand from a junker. it also has a lot of molex connections so the molex to pci-e adapters are fine as well.

only two sata's, but again, plenty of molex so you can use adapters

also, the 12v+ is 8 pins, not 4, but most of the time you can slip it on a 4 pin with the second half overhanging

if you are in the us, then it is only $17 plus shipping.

the story behind the units:

they were supposed to be put in sun-station units. for whatever reason the few thousand of them were never built and hypermicro bought and resold the units. the have a tiny scratch on the label, barely noticeable, and that is the only defect. they are server grade. they are heavy, so the case had better not be a flimsy POS!

Thanks for the advice but cheap is the least of my concerns...
Just want a unit that's 520w or less, is widely lauded as the most stable/efficient, & has the most reliable circuitry/caps.

[jalyst]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

My Sigmatek 750W also looks precisely like the Corsair 750w but the specs are different. I asked and was told by a representative of Corsair, and he said that Corsair doesn't just OEM units, they actually tweak them.

I know they do have a track record in substantial after-market mods to many of their product lines, so this is not inconceivable.

Would ya'll agree with some of the suggestions here for 520w or less?
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/show...3261#post63261
Which would be your top pick and why?
Or would some of you still suggest the seasonic x650, despite being much higher wattage than needed?

[jalyst]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

@Scenic, 370forllife, or Mockingbird
Any further thoughts or advice on this?

Much appreciated!

[ratdude747]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

Thanks for the advice but cheap is the least of my concerns...
Just want a unit that's 520w or less, is widely lauded as the most stable/efficient, & has the most reliable circuitry/caps.

well, it is:

the thread about it- it is widely lauded as a very stable unit- not flashy but stable- that is what server-grade is all about:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3741

some pics pulled from the thread:






much more guts then you will ever find in a corsair, antec, or the like.

a few extra watts will not hurt you; it just gives you extra coverage on what it will do for you.

the caps are of the grade that do fine if the fan is good- and which they are, they are nice nidec beta sl fans, and they move air.

take a look. cheap is the least of the reasons to go this route, it is simply a better supply that just happens to be for sale at a mind-boggling low price.

[370forlife]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

Only problem with the AcBel is it is not quiet, as in you would notice it, it's also not that efficient.

Something you are looking for is like the Corsair CX400 or VX450, or even that antec green 430W i posted earlier.

Maybe even this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151072

[ratdude747]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

noisy? mine was never any louder than the 350w delta it replaced. no crap.

i thought the efficiency was good on those units... obviously im a dumbass

i thought for what he was looking for, it would be a good unit... how do you know the efficiency is in question? i know my ultra v 500w that i modded is not the most efficient unit... but i got the idea that the ac-bels were decent. if not really good.

besides, i thought corsairs were prone to the squealing bug?

[jalyst]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

Doesn't efficiency (i.e. 80+ standard/certification) strongly correlate with how stable a PS is?

I'm resigned to going all the way up to 650w or similar if that's the only way I'm going to get all the best characteristics.
Not happy about having to do that though, as it seems silly....

But I guess it beats paying a bigger premium (because of the smaller market) on a sub-500 model with the same characteristics (should that ever be an option) but less wattage, should I ever need it.

[370forlife]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

Efficiency dosen't correlate to dc output quality, but it does effect heat output. That AcBel is probably 75-78% efficient at best.

If your really looking for efficiency and silence at full loads, go with a seasonic X650, fanless up until about 250W and 80plus gold. Expensive though.

[jalyst]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

So the AcBel's DC output quality is just as good as the x-650, but it requires fans at a much lower wattage?
Hence it's probably louder (i don't really care so long as it's not a total "blower") & has a slightly shorter lifespan?

[370forlife]

Re: The most stable/efficient/reliable sub-500w ATX PSU?

I would say the DC output quality of the X650 is actually superior.

The AcBel is temperature controlled, but not quiet. It's a heavy duty workstation/server psu, it has a lot of components crammed in there and has very little fan gap. Also only has 2 sata connectors, and A LOT of molex connectors.