which to choose?

wootmachine9000 · 03-25-2006, 07:05 PM

Yeah,
trying to figure out how to power my new rig and I've been hearing a lot of good things about Enermax and Antec. The problem is I'm not really good at knowing what I'll need for my system. So here's what's inside:

MSI K8N Diamond
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
Western Digital 250 GB SATA HDD
2 GB some sort of RAM
2 graphics cards of undetermined substance

since the board is SLI capable I figure why not, so obviously I need an SLI certified power supply, but I also want to be be modular to avoid any and all (as much as possible) cable clutter inside. I've been looking at these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...819680&ATTR10=
but I was hoping someone could recommend one for me. MSI also says this funny business that has me confused (you can read about it herehttp://www.techsupportforum.com/othe...+supply+issuesAlso ) only worried about that cause the reviews at NewEgg have people complaining about it and I don't quite get it (also hoping the power supply isn't too loud). Anyway, any thoughts on RAM and graphics cards would be nice (currently thinking about dual 7800GT's) but specific model recommendations would be great (any chipset).

Thanks

**forcifer** · 03-25-2006, 07:28 PM

look at the 7900GTs from evga, for ram i would go with corsair XMS or crucial ballistix. for the psu, i would look the the enermax librerty 550 for the antec NeoHE 550. those are probably your best bets. good luck

**Doby** · 03-25-2006, 07:35 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194003

Thats about the only psu in in that list I would consider, there is another enermax but it is costly. Read the reviews others say that although it is modular it really don't help that much with cable clutter. personally I ain't nuts about modular psu's, I have one and if you take your time and tie up cables neatly you don't need them plus some claim with the design you lose some amps and I tend to believe it because of the additional connections.

I like Antec but stay away from the NeoHE series.

As far as ram, goto corsair or crucial and use the memory configuator, enter you motherboard and it will give you very good choices plus its guarantied to be compatible.

Rick

crazijoe · 03-25-2006, 08:21 PM

The Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V ATX12V 550W would be my choice. It isn't modular but that never really bothered me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103932

As far as memory, I usually recommend OCZ, Corsair XMS, or Mushkin.

wootmachine9000 · 03-27-2006, 06:34 AM

Do those work with this funky MSI business:
MSI Reminds You...
• Both power connectors, JPWR1 (24 Pin) & JPWR2 (4 Pin, for CPU Power ) must be attached to this model to ensure operation of the Mainboard.
• A Power Supply of 450 watts, or above, is highly recommended for system stability.
• ATX 12V power connection should be 18A or greater.

and on a 1-10 scale how's this one: http://www.xoxide.com/hiper-power-supply-black.html

crazijoe · 03-27-2006, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wootmachine9000

and on a 1-10 scale how's this one: http://www.xoxide.com/hiper-power-supply-black.html

That looks like a decent PSU. I'd like to see some reviews on it first but I wouldn't pass it up.

wootmachine9000 · 03-27-2006, 02:32 PM

Funny you should mention reviews because I thought the same thing after I posted yesterday at http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/cases/other/psu/hip4B580/
and since I really don't understand it all that well I thought I would post it and see what you all thought.
It also says something in there about the cables being short and since I have kind of a big case (Thermaltake Xaser V Damier V5000a, see it at http://www.xoxide.com/xavdav5.html) I was wondering if that might be an issue for me.
Also wondering if the Hiper psu fits the MSI biz I mentioned above(heres the spec sheet from Hiper http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4b580.html

Thanks

ebackhus · 03-27-2006, 02:53 PM

I've run into issues where the cords coming from the PSU were barely long enough to reach from the PSU's location to the board/device inputs. This is especially true with full tower cases as the HDDs are usually at the bottom. Hopefully the BTX layout will resolve this.

wootmachine9000 · 04-10-2006, 06:56 AM

off the psu topic for a moment. I ran into this old friend who tells me that the DDR400 in this system will bottleneck the dataflow. So the questions are:
Is this true?
If I did switch to intel I would probably go with one of these two http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?CompareItemList=N82E16813131589,N82E16813131564&SubCategory=280
Not even sure if they support dual core, etc. But which one of them is better?

Thanks

03-25-2006, 07:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
wootmachine9000 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: RHIT-#1 in Engineering for 8 straight years Posts: 234 OS: none currently-broken My System	which to choose? Yeah, trying to figure out how to power my new rig and I've been hearing a lot of good things about Enermax and Antec. The problem is I'm not really good at knowing what I'll need for my system. So here's what's inside: MSI K8N Diamond AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Western Digital 250 GB SATA HDD 2 GB some sort of RAM 2 graphics cards of undetermined substance since the board is SLI capable I figure why not, so obviously I need an SLI certified power supply, but I also want to be be modular to avoid any and all (as much as possible) cable clutter inside. I've been looking at these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...819680&ATTR10= but I was hoping someone could recommend one for me. MSI also says this funny business that has me confused (you can read about it herehttp://www.techsupportforum.com/othe...+supply+issuesAlso ) only worried about that cause the reviews at NewEgg have people complaining about it and I don't quite get it (also hoping the power supply isn't too loud). Anyway, any thoughts on RAM and graphics cards would be nice (currently thinking about dual 7800GT's) but specific model recommendations would be great (any chipset). Thanks Last edited by wootmachine9000; 03-25-2006 at 07:06 PM.

03-25-2006, 07:28 PM	#2 (permalink)
forcifer ole' Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kansas City kansas Posts: 3,631 OS: Vista Premium 32 My System Blog Entries: 1	look at the 7900GTs from evga, for ram i would go with corsair XMS or crucial ballistix. for the psu, i would look the the enermax librerty 550 for the antec NeoHE 550. those are probably your best bets. good luck __________________

03-25-2006, 07:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
Doby Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central PA (USA) Posts: 8,109 OS: XP sp2/ Vista My System	http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194003 Thats about the only psu in in that list I would consider, there is another enermax but it is costly. Read the reviews others say that although it is modular it really don't help that much with cable clutter. personally I ain't nuts about modular psu's, I have one and if you take your time and tie up cables neatly you don't need them plus some claim with the design you lose some amps and I tend to believe it because of the additional connections. I like Antec but stay away from the NeoHE series. As far as ram, goto corsair or crucial and use the memory configuator, enter you motherboard and it will give you very good choices plus its guarantied to be compatible. Rick __________________ Would you like to help TSF fight cancer and other diseases??? JOIN TEAM TSF

03-25-2006, 08:21 PM	#4 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	The Antec TruePower 2.0 TP2-550 EPS12V ATX12V 550W would be my choice. It isn't modular but that never really bothered me. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103932 As far as memory, I usually recommend OCZ, Corsair XMS, or Mushkin. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

03-27-2006, 06:34 AM	#5 (permalink)
wootmachine9000 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: RHIT-#1 in Engineering for 8 straight years Posts: 234 OS: none currently-broken My System	Do those work with this funky MSI business: MSI Reminds You... • Both power connectors, JPWR1 (24 Pin) & JPWR2 (4 Pin, for CPU Power ) must be attached to this model to ensure operation of the Mainboard. • A Power Supply of 450 watts, or above, is highly recommended for system stability. • ATX 12V power connection should be 18A or greater. and on a 1-10 scale how's this one: http://www.xoxide.com/hiper-power-supply-black.html Last edited by wootmachine9000; 03-27-2006 at 06:39 AM.

03-27-2006, 02:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
wootmachine9000 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: RHIT-#1 in Engineering for 8 straight years Posts: 234 OS: none currently-broken My System	me too Funny you should mention reviews because I thought the same thing after I posted yesterday at http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/cases/other/psu/hip4B580/ and since I really don't understand it all that well I thought I would post it and see what you all thought. It also says something in there about the cables being short and since I have kind of a big case (Thermaltake Xaser V Damier V5000a, see it at http://www.xoxide.com/xavdav5.html) I was wondering if that might be an issue for me. Also wondering if the Hiper psu fits the MSI biz I mentioned above(heres the spec sheet from Hiper http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4b580.html Thanks Last edited by wootmachine9000; 03-27-2006 at 02:50 PM.

03-27-2006, 02:53 PM	#8 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,318 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	I've run into issues where the cords coming from the PSU were barely long enough to reach from the PSU's location to the board/device inputs. This is especially true with full tower cases as the HDDs are usually at the bottom. Hopefully the BTX layout will resolve this. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

04-10-2006, 06:56 AM	#9 (permalink)
wootmachine9000 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: RHIT-#1 in Engineering for 8 straight years Posts: 234 OS: none currently-broken My System	questioning my choices off the psu topic for a moment. I ran into this old friend who tells me that the DDR400 in this system will bottleneck the dataflow. So the questions are: Is this true? If I did switch to intel I would probably go with one of these two http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?CompareItemList=N82E16813131589,N82E16813131564&SubCategory=280 Not even sure if they support dual core, etc. But which one of them is better? Thanks