Which Seasonic PSU

[Axbattler]

My next system is going to be based on the following:

- AMD Opteron 165 (dual core, and it will be overclocked)
- Radeon X1800XT
- 4 HD including one 10k RPM Raptor.

I guess those are the main power drainers. There will be fans, high end sound card, 2 optical drives etc. etc. - although not everything will run at the same time.

I suspect that the 430W is enough, and I -probably- won't go crossfire in the forseable future (I reckon that by the time I can afford a 2nd card, it might be best to just sell the first one and get a new gen card - although that is still up in the air). The cost difference is pretty significant here in the UK - to quote one retailer (for completeness, I am listing them all):
- £35.24 for the 330W
- £42.29 for the 380W : 20% more expensive than the 330W
- £60.50 for the 430W : 43% more expensive than the 380W!
- £87.53 for the 500W : 45% more expensive than the 430W!
- £96.29 for the 600W : 10% more expensive than the 500W

From the price, I should get anything BUT the 430W and 500W. Both are a big step up in price compared to their predecessor... But perhaps that is because they best fit the requirement of a high-ish end system.

Whats your verdict?

 

[Bobthelost]

430W is probably enough. But the 500W model does have a better fan controller which means that it runs quieter.

Seasonics are bloody expensive over here, but worth it.

 

[Axbattler]

Are you in the UK as well?

Compared to the quote in $ I've seen here, they are expensive...

Then again, most things here are...

Are there any differences in noise between the 500W and 600W? For 10%, I think that the 600W does have better resale value at later date...

 

[Bobthelost]

No, none at all.

(Yeah i'm in sunny england)

 

[w00t]

get a 500-600W even though 600W would be an overkill you might be able to use it with your next setup.

it's like for the cost it's just worth instead of getting the 500W just get the 600W :-D

 

[Mem]

Axbattler:I would go with 500w model,however personally I would also look at other brands like Enermax,Fortron,Tagan,Antec,Hiper Type R etc...nothing wrong with Seasonic but I would never restrict my choice to one brand only,plenty of good quality PSUs out there.

You can find PSUs from Antec,Enermax,Seasonic,Tagan,Hiper Type R and Fortron Source here at OcUK.

 

[jelifah]

First, I'd like Bobthelost to verify his statement that the 500W unit is quieter than the 430. I just bought a SeaSonic 430 from NewEgg and installed it in my system Friday. I specifically bought the 430 because IT is quieter than the 500, not the other way around.

I'm basing my statement on SilentPCReview's article that says exactly that, click here here for page and look under the 400W+ heading. Please correct me if I'm wrong

If you can order from NewEgg they have several mail in rebates, one for the 500W, and another for the 380W. Click here for listing

 

[Axbattler]

Originally posted by: Mem
Axbattler:I would go with 500w model,however personally I would also look at other brands like Enermax,Fortron,Tagan,Antec,Hiper Type R etc...nothing wrong with Seasonic but I would never restrict my choice to one brand only,plenty of good quality PSUs out there.

You can find PSUs from Antec,Enermax,Seasonic,Tagan,Hiper Type R and Fortron Source here at OcUK.

Indeed I have looked at the alternatives. But the Seasonic seem to perform at least as well as most established PSU out there (save PC Cooling & Power - but I've not seen them in the UK, and I bet they would cost a lot more than I willing to pay), and they appear to be one of the quieter ones too (not counting fanless).

My last PSUs are Antec TrueBlue (480W) which was replaced by an Enermax Noisetaker (600W) when it died. Now the Enermax is in the process of being RMAed, so I've decided to try another brand.

Note: Nothing against either Antec or Enermax - provided the later's RMA process won't be too troublesome, and I'll consider their PSU again in the future... but hopefully not for another 2 years at least (I hope that the Seaonic will last 2-3 years)

 

[Tostada]

It's overkill to get the 500W unless you're running SLI and you have a lot of other stuff in your system. 600W is just ridiculous.

Look at the specs on the PSUs. The 430W is the good one. Notice that all the rails are stronger on the 430W compared to the 380W, but then when you go from 430W to 500W, it only gives you another +3A on the 12V rails... Then when you go from 500W to 600W, again, all you get is +3A combined on the 12V rails.

And I also think Bob is wrong about the 500W being quieter. My 430W is silent as it is.

Look at the facts. A complete system under heavy gaming running a pair of SLI GF7800GTX's, the most power-hungry cards available, only uses 343W.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/09/seven_of_nvidia/page40.html

It's just sad that so many on this forum tell everyone they need 500-600W when they have no idea what they're talking about.

 

[sellmen]

Originally posted by: Tostada
It's overkill to get the 500W unless you're running SLI and you have a lot of other stuff in your system. 600W is just ridiculous.

Look at the specs on the PSUs. The 430W is the good one. Notice that all the rails are stronger on the 430W compared to the 380W, but then when you go from 430W to 500W, it only gives you another +3A on the 12V rails... Then when you go from 500W to 600W, again, all you get is +3A combined on the 12V rails.

And I also think Bob is wrong about the 500W being quieter. My 430W is silent as it is.

Look at the facts. A complete system under heavy gaming running a pair of SLI GF7800GTX's, the most power-hungry cards available, only uses 343W.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/09/seven_of_nvidia/page40.html

It's just sad that so many on this forum tell everyone they need 500-600W when they have no idea what they're talking about.

Wattage isn't the problem, its amperage. Specifically, on the 12V line (or lines). This becomes especially important when you're overclocking - modern CPUs and GPUs pull a lot of current from that line.

Unless you have a ton of hard drives or other junk, you'll "run out" of amps on the 12V line long before you hit the maximum wattage of your PS. Buying a 500W or 600W power supply can absolutely make sense if you want to push your system to the max.

 

[Mem]

It's overkill to get the 500W unless you're running SLI and you have a lot of other stuff in your system. 600W is just ridiculous.

Not really,he can add additional hardware down the road and it will last several upgrades,remember it was only a few years ago a 350w PSU was the standard,times are changing,bottom line better to have more power then you need then not enough.

I hate to think how power hungry Nvidia and ATI video cards will be in a few years time.

 

[Elcs]

I recently ordered the Seasonic S12 600w from Dabs.com. The difference in price between the 500w and 600w was such that I felt the extra £££ was worth the 100W. It gives me a real safeguard on my current PC and pretty much any upgrade I do in the next 2 years... almost guarunteed and probably longer.

I also only chose Seasonic because the power provided by fanless or hybrid (fan turns on when it gets too hot) isnt great for its price.. whereas Seasonic offers quietness, stability and power of the highest order.

If the price jump from 500w to 600w wasnt as small as it is, Id have settled with 500w and still had plenty of power left over.

 

[WildHorse]

Axbattler,

Suggest you read this thread.

Beware Seasonic. It's not the only brand with quiet 12cm fan.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: scott
Axbattler,

Suggest you read this thread.

Beware Seasonic. It's not the only brand with quiet 12cm fan.

And if you read this:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=65481

You will see that a Zippy 700 and PC P&C 850 behaves the same way, because the mobo run some voltages out of the standard spec, and these PSU protects against wrong voltages. But it also shows how you get the mboard and PSU to work together.

Maybe you should warn people against buying those PSU's as well as it is clearly the PSU's that are the bad guy and not the design of that particular mboard.

 

[ribbon13]

I love how people blame Seasonic when DFI went out of thier way to make thier board not work with compliant PSUs (aforementioned) and RAM (corsair value ram anyone?) because of shady deals with OCZ... or was that alice in wonderland?

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: sellmen
Wattage isn't the problem, its amperage. Specifically, on the 12V line (or lines). This becomes especially important when you're overclocking - modern CPUs and GPUs pull a lot of current from that line.

Unless you have a ton of hard drives or other junk, you'll "run out" of amps on the 12V line long before you hit the maximum wattage of your PS. Buying a 500W or 600W power supply can absolutely make sense if you want to push your system to the max.

Isn't that why hard drives pull from 12V1 and the CPU pulls from 12V2?

And also, you need to look at the actual specs of PSUs. The SeaSonic 500W has a combined total of 3A more than the 430W one, and the 600W has a combined total of 3A more than the 500W one. They're extremely similar PSUs.

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: Tostada
Isn't that why hard drives pull from 12V1 and the CPU pulls from 12V2?

And also, you need to look at the actual specs of PSUs. The SeaSonic 500W has a combined total of 3A more than the 430W one, and the 600W has a combined total of 3A more than the 500W one. They're extremely similar PSUs.

That's great too man... last time I checked 3A of 12v was 36w

 

[WildHorse]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
I love how people blame Seasonic when DFI went out of thier way to make thier board not work with compliant PSUs (aforementioned) and RAM (corsair value ram anyone?) because of shady deals with OCZ... or was that alice in wonderland?

ribbon13,

Nefarious conspiracy for real?

Do you really think DFI mobo designs were intentionally tweaked because of some marketeer's scheme to drive potential customers toward OCZ psu's & OCZ RAM?

If so, what is your reason for thinking so?

And let's get Mulder on it stat!

Also, contratrary to claims several guys keep repeately posting here that Seassonic problems are only with DFI, I've seen reports of Seasonic S12 problems also with ABIT & Asus, and as the suspected cause of problems with MSI.

By the way, ribbon13, I've learned a lot of helpful things from your posts an AT over the last 8 months or so, & had a few laughs from them in ATOT too.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: jelifah
I'm basing my statement on SilentPCReview's article that says exactly that, click here here for page and look under the 400W+ heading. Please correct me if I'm wrong

If you can order from NewEgg they have several mail in rebates, one for the 500W, and another for the 380W. Click here for listing

Hmm you may well be right, i swear i read a review over there that said the fan controller on th5 500W models was better than the 430W ones. I retract my earlier comment

(But you can't do mail in rebates from the UK )

DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER

There's no PCIe power plug on the 430W model!

 

[Axbattler]

Thanks for the replies.

I am aware that there are some issues with Seasonic & DFI boards (also heard a new revision of the PSU will fix the problem). I haven't read/heard many issues between Seasonic & other motherboard makes though (any more than most other PSU out there anyway).

Still, I am still willing to give Seasonic a shot though

Umm, still a difficult choice. I wonder if I'll ever go Crossfire. If I don't, then I am pretty sure that I can get by with a 430W PSU for the next two years. But wattage at least, it would be the first time I go a step back lol (480W -> 600W -> 430W?).

How much power does a dual core opteron at 2.6Ghz need? And I take it that an X1800XT need more than 100W at full power (in demanding games)?

Cheers.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I just got my 430 and installed it. That thing is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better than the generic crap that was in it. No longer does the comp freeze when a play a 32 bot match on UT2K4. Go for the 430. Its got plenty of power. And it is sooooo quiet. I cant hear it at all over my case fans.