Enermax Liberty 500w or 620w?

DaveGT · 12-11-2006, 02:34 PM

Hi,

Recently built my system and it worked fine for 7 days and then the liberty 500w died. I am getting a refund, wondering - should I spend the extra and get the 620w or will the 500w do the job and I just got a dodgey 1?

It begs the question - why did it die and I was wondering if I pushed it to far. I thought It would be able to cope with my system and an overclocked CPU but I am not so sure now.

System Specs:

E6400 with Stock cooler
GA-965P-DS3 @F7 BIOS
GEIL 2X512MB PC2-6400 CAS3 (running at 2.0v)
1 x Sata HDD 1 x IDE 7200RPM HDD 1 x floppy
1 x DVD RW 1 x DVD-ROM
Coolermaster Mystique 632 case (2x 120mm fans)
3 x USB devices attached
Enermax Liberty 500w
X1950PRO

I did a trial overclocking to 3.2Ghz (didn't need to increase voltage), 4-4-4-12 800Mhz Ram. The system was stable but I wasn't happy with the CPU temperature so I returned it to stock until I get a better CPU cooler.

Will the 500w liberty be able to cope with this system, including overclocking and running the CPU at 100% for hours (prime95)?

Any help would be appreciated.

chauffeur2 · 12-11-2006, 02:40 PM

Hi Dave,

I have a philosophy when it comes to PSU's...It is "There is no such thing as Overkill".

The bigger the PSU [Wattage and Quality] the better.
A 650W PSU will probably not be ever working at its full peak capacity; hence, it'll last you a lot longer.
That's my opinion anyway, but others might beg to differ.

DaveGT · 12-11-2006, 02:47 PM

Valid point but do I really need it?

I will buy a new psu with my next system. I just want this to last me 2years or so.

Its an Enermax - one of the best quailty brands and I will never do SLI/Crossfire as I see it as a waste of money so 500w of liberty power at 32a on the 12v rails should be plenty?

chauffeur2 · 12-11-2006, 03:01 PM

Most indeed that Enermax™ should be fine!

Especially if you don't plan on too many upgrades to the system [hardware wise].

**linderman** · 12-11-2006, 03:02 PM

it really depends on what you paid for your failed enermax ?????

I bet that unit was only 70% efficient and no active PFC (but i could be wrong check the specs on Newegg.com

but if you paid any where near $100.00 then I would go for the Antec 650 Watt Trio rail

it sells for $125.00 with a $25.00 rebate while they are promoting them thats a really high class unit thats 85% efficient and has Active PFC >>>> the overclockers are singing the praises of this unit big time and nobody streses them harder than the overclockign club

it doesnt hurt to have more power than you need! as stated by Chauffeur2 above

if you are an Enermax fan ( i like them; but there are others I like more now!)
then look for a unit that has 550 watts and 85% efficiency but I dont think you will find such for $100.00 after rebate!

***** remember****** Watts by itself almost means nothing any more when determining suitability! look at efficiency and Power Factor Correction (active or passive = Active is better of course)

**linderman** · 12-11-2006, 03:07 PM

here is some good reading if you want the REAL skinny

http://www.techsupportforum.com/hard...selection.html

DaveGT · 12-11-2006, 03:33 PM

I spent around £70, which is about $140. This is the cheapest I can find it for overhere :S

Its rated as 80% effcient and has active PFC with dual 12v rails kicking out 32A.

Had a search there for that Antec but it doesn't appear to be avaliable over here... yet.

Just want something to last me a few years and that can cope with overclocking.

Already spent a lot on the rest of the pc, dont want to spend any more than needed, I know you can never have to much power but if a 500w quality unit can cope - there is no point spending the extra money.

Not an Enermax fanboy - all my previous units have been cheap but as I am building a quality system I want a Quality PSU to make sure it has enough power to run it.

In my research time and time again Enermax is at the top of reviews or forum related discussions.

**Kalim** · 12-11-2006, 03:34 PM

You might see what I have in my spec info. However as of three days from now, thats changing to an Antec TruePower Trio 650W tri 12V rail with 19A on each with 624W delivered to them, Nvidia SLI certified, 85% efficiency, APFC, 120mm fan that you cannot even hear, gold plated connectors for superior conductivity (lol), with 5 year warranty etc, I'm afraid

Once.. not long ago, a $200 Akasa PowerPlus 650W manufactured by Enhance being internally exactly the same as the SilverStone Zeus ST65ZF, with 33A on the 3.3V, 24A on the 5V rail and 13A, 18A, 16A and 8A on the 12V1, 12V2, 12V3 and 12V4 rails respectively, was a good buy even with its too-loud-for-a-house noise..

Right now, you can't beat the Seasonic in Antec 650W. Its your choice if you want to get it, but if you do upgrade, get it! I'm talking about John Fatal1ty, the no.1 professional gamer in the world stuff here.

Mods have given you good advice, zehr gut.

DaveGT · 12-11-2006, 03:55 PM

Just done more searching for the Antec and found a site offering it for only £10 more than i paid for the Liberty.

Looks a really good unit.

Is there a real advantage having 3 12v rails over 2?

And what is the combined Amps of the 3 rails?

Tumbleweed36 · 12-11-2006, 04:13 PM

Hi,

The posters in your thread have given you excellent advice. Why the 650 over the 500? Well, a sentence you wrote tells me a lot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveGT

Just want something to last me a few years and that can cope with overclocking.

With that in mind about the overclocking, a 500 just doesn't make it IMHO. Just wanted to add that bit to this discussion.

**linderman** · 12-11-2006, 06:27 PM

I agree with Tumble; if you stick with 500 watts erase the overclock ideas with your spec.

The three rails are good to 52amps!

the three rails are for 12volt to motherboard & CPU one rail each for two pci express video cards (the really high end power hogs too)

dont get me wrong; the Enermax company is first class (and the liberty PSU is the upper end of decent = on a scale of 1 to 10 I personally would give the Enermax Liberty a 8.75 the Antec 650 trio would get a 9.50 but the model you choose for the cost of it; makes it severley out gunned by the Antec 650 trio

**Kalim** · 12-12-2006, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linderman

The three rails are good to 52amps!

+ 5Amps

Yeah bugger, I'm in the UK at the moment and the prices there are too expensive in comparison to overseas.. especially US. Average price for the Antec I saw is £100 which is like $200. You can get the Antec here aswell. A good place for computing hardware is www.yoyotech.co.uk

Here's their Antec range: TruePower Trio 430W, 550W, 650W

Yes £xpen$iv£ I know

On a Xmas deal @ $140!

DaveGT · 12-12-2006, 02:28 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys,

I ordered the Antec Trio 650w last night before bed - getting it tomorrow.

Was a bit miffed as I found out I could get it through my work for a lot less - £63 ($120) instead of £85 ($170) which I paid on Ebuyer, shall know next time lol

52AMPS! - big jump from the 32a the liberty can push out, if that dies there must be water in my case

Def worth the extra money just to put my mind at rest and allow me to overclock in the future once I get my Zalman CPU cooler.

Memory was showing faults with memtest before the PSU died, hopefully this fixes it, if no - another RMA :S

Tumbleweed36 · 12-12-2006, 02:41 PM

Hi,

You will not regret that move. Regardless of the possible other problem (which might go away now), you made a move that is a major upgrade from where you were. If you choose to build something bigger in the next year or two, that part of the move up will be done, but with the 500, you would have had to do that again for a major upgrade. I just don't see how you could lose on this one. Keep us posted on what happens when you get the new PS in there and working.

**Kalim** · 12-12-2006, 03:56 PM

I couldn't agree more with Tumbleweed36. Good man.

DaveGT · 12-12-2006, 04:09 PM

Yeah it does future proof me, atleast for a couple years.

I will have it installed tomorrow nite so will let use know how I get on

On previous builds I got my parts from local retailers - a lot better for returning things as you can pop in and get a replacement that day. Online shops are cheaper but the RMA is a pain - started preceedings on the 3rd December .... just getting PSU now.

Goal is system 100% A ok before 2007 lol, with 2GB RAM and a Western Digital 150 rapter for my OS..... with that setup I am sure it will last me a few years..... maybe a DX10 G-Card next year to keep it up to date.

**linderman** · 12-12-2006, 04:49 PM

maybe a DX10 G-Card next year

now youre really lucky you got the 650 antec! the DX10 cards are reported as being absurd power hogs that 500 would have never taken that!

DaveGT · 12-13-2006, 05:04 AM

Aye true, was thinking tho that the G-cards makers would have sorted the power issues a bit by the time the cards become mainstream. But yes its good that the 650 should easily cope with one of them.

Canny see myself ever running SLI 8800's, just madness!

Just checked delivery and its on route to my house, so be installing it first thing when I get home...... praying the rest of the components are ok after the Liberty kicking it

Need to look out some cable ties too - nothing worse than a messy case!

12-11-2006, 02:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
DaveGT Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 14 OS: Windows XP 32bit	Enermax Liberty 500w or 620w? Hi, Recently built my system and it worked fine for 7 days and then the liberty 500w died. I am getting a refund, wondering - should I spend the extra and get the 620w or will the 500w do the job and I just got a dodgey 1? It begs the question - why did it die and I was wondering if I pushed it to far. I thought It would be able to cope with my system and an overclocked CPU but I am not so sure now. System Specs: E6400 with Stock cooler GA-965P-DS3 @F7 BIOS GEIL 2X512MB PC2-6400 CAS3 (running at 2.0v) 1 x Sata HDD 1 x IDE 7200RPM HDD 1 x floppy 1 x DVD RW 1 x DVD-ROM Coolermaster Mystique 632 case (2x 120mm fans) 3 x USB devices attached Enermax Liberty 500w X1950PRO I did a trial overclocking to 3.2Ghz (didn't need to increase voltage), 4-4-4-12 800Mhz Ram. The system was stable but I wasn't happy with the CPU temperature so I returned it to stock until I get a better CPU cooler. Will the 500w liberty be able to cope with this system, including overclocking and running the CPU at 100% for hours (prime95)? Any help would be appreciated.

12-11-2006, 02:40 PM	#2 (permalink)
chauffeur2 Manager, TSF Articles Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 9,503 OS: Xp Sp3 with all updates + Vista™ Ultimate SP1. My System	Hi Dave, I have a philosophy when it comes to PSU's...It is "There is no such thing as Overkill". The bigger the PSU [Wattage and Quality] the better. A 650W PSU will probably not be ever working at its full peak capacity; hence, it'll last you a lot longer. That's my opinion anyway, but others might beg to differ. __________________ Dave T. Submit New Articles If it works, Don't fix it! Especially if Bill Gates had anything to do with it!!

12-11-2006, 03:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
chauffeur2 Manager, TSF Articles Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 9,503 OS: Xp Sp3 with all updates + Vista™ Ultimate SP1. My System	Most indeed that Enermax™ should be fine! Especially if you don't plan on too many upgrades to the system [hardware wise]. __________________ Dave T. Submit New Articles If it works, Don't fix it! Especially if Bill Gates had anything to do with it!!

12-11-2006, 03:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,946 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	it really depends on what you paid for your failed enermax ????? I bet that unit was only 70% efficient and no active PFC (but i could be wrong check the specs on Newegg.com but if you paid any where near $100.00 then I would go for the Antec 650 Watt Trio rail it sells for $125.00 with a $25.00 rebate while they are promoting them thats a really high class unit thats 85% efficient and has Active PFC >>>> the overclockers are singing the praises of this unit big time and nobody streses them harder than the overclockign club it doesnt hurt to have more power than you need! as stated by Chauffeur2 above if you are an Enermax fan ( i like them; but there are others I like more now!) then look for a unit that has 550 watts and 85% efficiency but I dont think you will find such for $100.00 after rebate! *** remember** Watts by itself almost means nothing any more when determining suitability! look at efficiency and Power Factor Correction (active or passive = Active is better of course) __________________ IF you want or have a high end video card; you should be thinking high end PSU / SEASONIC** Last edited by linderman : 12-11-2006 at 03:06 PM.

12-11-2006, 03:07 PM	#6 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,946 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	here is some good reading if you want the REAL skinny http://www.techsupportforum.com/hard...selection.html __________________ IF you want or have a high end video card; you should be thinking high end PSU / SEASONIC

12-11-2006, 02:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
DaveGT Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 14 OS: Windows XP 32bit	Valid point but do I really need it? I will buy a new psu with my next system. I just want this to last me 2years or so. Its an Enermax - one of the best quailty brands and I will never do SLI/Crossfire as I see it as a waste of money so 500w of liberty power at 32a on the 12v rails should be plenty?

12-11-2006, 03:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
DaveGT Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 14 OS: Windows XP 32bit	I spent around £70, which is about $140. This is the cheapest I can find it for overhere :S Its rated as 80% effcient and has active PFC with dual 12v rails kicking out 32A. Had a search there for that Antec but it doesn't appear to be avaliable over here... yet. Just want something to last me a few years and that can cope with overclocking. Already spent a lot on the rest of the pc, dont want to spend any more than needed, I know you can never have to much power but if a 500w quality unit can cope - there is no point spending the extra money. Not an Enermax fanboy - all my previous units have been cheap but as I am building a quality system I want a Quality PSU to make sure it has enough power to run it. In my research time and time again Enermax is at the top of reviews or forum related discussions.

12-11-2006, 03:34 PM	#8 (permalink)
Kalim Roaming To Help Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,538 OS: Many	You might see what I have in my spec info. However as of three days from now, thats changing to an Antec TruePower Trio 650W tri 12V rail with 19A on each with 624W delivered to them, Nvidia SLI certified, 85% efficiency, APFC, 120mm fan that you cannot even hear, gold plated connectors for superior conductivity (lol), with 5 year warranty etc, I'm afraid Once.. not long ago, a $200 Akasa PowerPlus 650W manufactured by Enhance being internally exactly the same as the SilverStone Zeus ST65ZF, with 33A on the 3.3V, 24A on the 5V rail and 13A, 18A, 16A and 8A on the 12V1, 12V2, 12V3 and 12V4 rails respectively, was a good buy even with its too-loud-for-a-house noise.. Right now, you can't beat the Seasonic in Antec 650W. Its your choice if you want to get it, but if you do upgrade, get it! I'm talking about John Fatal1ty, the no.1 professional gamer in the world stuff here. Mods have given you good advice, zehr gut.

12-11-2006, 03:55 PM	#9 (permalink)
DaveGT Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 14 OS: Windows XP 32bit	Just done more searching for the Antec and found a site offering it for only £10 more than i paid for the Liberty. Looks a really good unit. Is there a real advantage having 3 12v rails over 2? And what is the combined Amps of the 3 rails?

12-11-2006, 06:27 PM	#11 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,946 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	I agree with Tumble; if you stick with 500 watts erase the overclock ideas with your spec. The three rails are good to 52amps! the three rails are for 12volt to motherboard & CPU one rail each for two pci express video cards (the really high end power hogs too) dont get me wrong; the Enermax company is first class (and the liberty PSU is the upper end of decent = on a scale of 1 to 10 I personally would give the Enermax Liberty a 8.75 the Antec 650 trio would get a 9.50 but the model you choose for the cost of it; makes it severley out gunned by the Antec 650 trio __________________ IF you want or have a high end video card; you should be thinking high end PSU / SEASONIC Last edited by linderman : 12-11-2006 at 06:29 PM.

12-12-2006, 02:28 PM	#13 (permalink)
DaveGT Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 14 OS: Windows XP 32bit	Thanks for the feedback guys, I ordered the Antec Trio 650w last night before bed - getting it tomorrow. Was a bit miffed as I found out I could get it through my work for a lot less - £63 ($120) instead of £85 ($170) which I paid on Ebuyer, shall know next time lol 52AMPS! - big jump from the 32a the liberty can push out, if that dies there must be water in my case Def worth the extra money just to put my mind at rest and allow me to overclock in the future once I get my Zalman CPU cooler. Memory was showing faults with memtest before the PSU died, hopefully this fixes it, if no - another RMA :S

12-12-2006, 02:41 PM	#14 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 12,820 OS: XP Professional	Hi, You will not regret that move. Regardless of the possible other problem (which might go away now), you made a move that is a major upgrade from where you were. If you choose to build something bigger in the next year or two, that part of the move up will be done, but with the 500, you would have had to do that again for a major upgrade. I just don't see how you could lose on this one. Keep us posted on what happens when you get the new PS in there and working. __________________ ----------

12-12-2006, 03:56 PM	#15 (permalink)
Kalim Roaming To Help Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,538 OS: Many	I couldn't agree more with Tumbleweed36. Good man.

12-12-2006, 04:09 PM	#16 (permalink)
DaveGT Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 14 OS: Windows XP 32bit	Yeah it does future proof me, atleast for a couple years. I will have it installed tomorrow nite so will let use know how I get on On previous builds I got my parts from local retailers - a lot better for returning things as you can pop in and get a replacement that day. Online shops are cheaper but the RMA is a pain - started preceedings on the 3rd December .... just getting PSU now. Goal is system 100% A ok before 2007 lol, with 2GB RAM and a Western Digital 150 rapter for my OS..... with that setup I am sure it will last me a few years..... maybe a DX10 G-Card next year to keep it up to date.

12-12-2006, 04:49 PM	#17 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 12,946 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	maybe a DX10 G-Card next year now youre really lucky you got the 650 antec! the DX10 cards are reported as being absurd power hogs that 500 would have never taken that! __________________ IF you want or have a high end video card; you should be thinking high end PSU / SEASONIC

12-13-2006, 05:04 AM	#18 (permalink)
DaveGT Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 14 OS: Windows XP 32bit	Aye true, was thinking tho that the G-cards makers would have sorted the power issues a bit by the time the cards become mainstream. But yes its good that the 650 should easily cope with one of them. Canny see myself ever running SLI 8800's, just madness! Just checked delivery and its on route to my house, so be installing it first thing when I get home...... praying the rest of the components are ok after the Liberty kicking it Need to look out some cable ties too - nothing worse than a messy case!