3 Power Supplies, which one?

Dazzeerr

Dazzeerr

New Member
The first power supply is a Hiper 580W, the cheapest of the three.
Has two +12v rails on 20A and 18A.
My question for this one is will the power supply handle a 9800GT and a future Quad fine? or will it struggle a bit.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=386404


The second power supply is a 500W BFG GS-Series, i've never heard of BFG making PSU's, maybe they tried it and flopped? Haha. Anyway i can't find any information on the amperage on the rails, all i know is there are 4 +12v's.
How much better (if any) is it than the Hiper PSU? and is it worth the extra money.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=860634


The final power supply is the most expensive, but from a brand that I see very often in good quality RAM and Power Supplies, the Corsair 550w VX.
I'm not sure if the VX Series is one of the better ones or what, all i know is it's on a single +12v rail with a high amperage, could anyone give me more info on the amperage and tell me if it's actually worth spending £15 extra just for a slightly (i think) better PSU to the Hiper 580.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=664337

Thanks for any help :D
 
gamerman4

gamerman4

Active Member
well...
The Corsair - 41A on the 12V rail.
The Hiper - 38A on 12V

so from a pure specification standpoint, the cheap Hiper isn't much worse than the Corsair but Hiper isn't a highly recognized brand AFAIK and Corsair makes good ones.

I could not find specs on a 500watt BFG GS series PSU (only 550 and 650 and they both had only dual 12V rails.)

Anyways, all 3 can definitely handle the power load of a 9800GTX and a quad (the rig in my sig still runs on a 400W (28A on 12V) PSU....but it's an Antec so it kicks a**)
 
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T

TrainTrackHack

VIP Member
Out of those, get the Corsair. It's one of the best recognized brands as far as PSUs are concerned, yes it may cost a little more but that thing won't crap out on you and it'll power a lot of crap, I've heard people running SLI/Crossfire(+other hungry components) setups with that thing w/o any problems.
 
Okedokey

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
double post http://www.computerforum.com/130502-will-psu-support-9800gt.html ... anyhoo

gamerman4 said:
well...
The Corsair - 41A on the 12V rail.
The Hiper - 38A on 12V

so from a pure specification standpoint, the cheap Hiper isn't much worse than the Corsair ....
Click to expand...

gamerman, it would be difficult to be more incorrect with that statement and you clearly don't understand the specs you are reading ;) - Why? Because under ATX 2.2 design standards of that PSU, 12V+2 is dedicated to the CPU. This effectively traps the unused current on that rail, making it unusable to the rest of the system. Let me explain.

If the 12-volt rail that powers (dedicated) the CPU is rated for 18 amps and the CPU only uses 7A, the remaining 11A is unusable, since it is isolated from the rest of the system (under the above mentioned standard). That means that you only have 20A (i.e. 12V+1) for the rest of the system. You need 26A minimum available for a system with a 9800GT. That PSU is poor quality in almost every way, and cannot provide sufficient power to a system with a 9800GT.

The Corsair is better quality in other ways too, such as its efficiency, 5 year warranty, under voltage protection, ball bearing fan, polymer capacitors, MTBF rated at 40oC. The specifications on the Hiper cannot even come close and the 15 quid is worth it without a doubt.

gamerman4 said:
Anyways, all 3 can definitely handle the power load of a 9800GTX and a quad ...
Click to expand...

Definitely incorrect (for the same reasons), and wrong GPU.


But to answer the question again, the Corsair is by far the better PSU, but i would recommend the 620W to allow you to upgrade to the 9800GT and quad and most other future upgrades with ease. Additionally, it has all the benefits mentioned before, and it is also modular and is not limited by the 12V ATX design standards as it is also EPS 2.91 http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=446787

:cool:
 
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Okedokey

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
It simply makes for a neater looming job of the PSU cables. This allows for better airflow. Modularisation can reduce efficiency though, but with the Corsair's 80+ certification, this is not something to be concerned about. Essentially having a modular PSU means that you only plug in the cables you need.
 
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Jerrick

Jerrick

New Member
bigfellla said:
It simply makes for a neater looming job of the PSU cables. This allows for better airflow. Modularisation can reduce efficiency though, but with the Corsair's 80+ certification, this is not something to be concerned about. Essentially having a modular PSU means that you only plug in the cables you need.
Click to expand...
Sweet. Thanks.
 
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