New member/rig!

Got a shopping cart of parts that you want opinions on? Get advice from members on your planned or existing system (or upgrade).

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
Ezzy
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 7:45 pm

New member/rig!

Post by Ezzy » Thu Dec 23, 2004 5:25 pm

Hey all,

Been reading up on the forums and articles, and I must say you guys are really picky about the quiet thing (I mean that in a good way :wink:)

I am trying to build a quiet PC and need some advice.

I'm putting together dual 1.6 xeon processors that will be overclocked to at least 2.4 on an Asus PC-DL mobo. From the fellows at www.2cpu.com, I was told that I would need at least 450W power supply to run this overclock along with my ATI AIW 9800 and 2x HDs.

I can't seem to locate any quiet Power Supplies here that's over 450W. I was wondernig if you guys can point me to one, even a 500W that's relatively quiet for that purpose.

As well, it seems the the recommended list of cases in the articles on this site are all UGLY heh. Is that just a universial law, that quiet and cool PC cases have to be ugly?

The only thing that comes close to pleasing my aesthetic taste, on the list that is, is the SLK3700BQE.. meaning I'm most likely considering the 3000b as I will swap the power supply out anyway.

I have a small small room, and I'll need to leave this rig on to render 24/7. Quiet is a must but I'm afriad my OCed dual Xeon is gonna blow my ear drums out.

THanks for reading and thanks in advance for those that reply!

cansan
Posts: 127
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 1:33 pm
Location: Germany

Post by cansan » Thu Dec 23, 2004 8:17 pm

There is the Seasonic Super Silencer 460W. I don't know how quiet that particular model is, but the other (lower power) models are praised around here, particularly for their high efficiency. Which would very be important in a power hungry system such as yours. If you want to run cool-thus-quiet you may as well choose a psu that will produce the least amout of heat. You could also buy any psu you like and swap out the fans.

Ezzy
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 7:45 pm

Post by Ezzy » Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:22 pm

Thanks for the reply, cansan.

I forgot to mention, my choices of products are limited because I'm in Canada. I don't think the 460W is available. It's a shame cause I was going to ge tthe Seasonic Toranda 400W before realize I need more juice!

I'm getting my stuff at ww.ncix.com. I don't want to get all my parts from 3 different sites that will ship to Canda because that's gonna hurt my wallet.

I'm already getting the 3000b from a site that will ship to Canada, which is hard to believe to begin with!

I'm not too sure if I'm skilled enough to do a PSU fan swap..

NeilBlanchard
Moderator
Posts: 7681
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
Contact:

Hello & Welcome to SPCR!

Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Dec 24, 2004 2:50 am

Hello & Welcome to SPCR!

You may also want to check out the "How much will a 300watt PS run..." thread! There are machines that are likely to draw even more power than yours running on 300watt PS and *lower*. Really.

The *biggest* thing causing the perception that we need more power is that low quality PS units are rated far to high, and don't actually meet the rating. Why are they marketed this way -- because of the perception that "bigger is better"...it's a vicious circle.

It is quite possible, in fact very likely that the 400watt Seasonic will easily meet your needs!
Last edited by NeilBlanchard on Fri Dec 24, 2004 2:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ezzy
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 7:45 pm

Post by Ezzy » Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:37 am

Hi Neil, thanks for your reply!

I'm just a litle skeptical because the guys in the forum at www.2cpu.com are insisting I need at least 450w. I assume they know what they were talking about. It's hard because I don't know which source to trust on regarding this =/

It would be great if I can overlock my dual 1.6 xeons with my AIW 9800 and 2 HDs with the tornado 400w

nici
Posts: 3011
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:49 am
Location: Suomi Finland Perkele

Post by nici » Fri Dec 24, 2004 9:46 am

Read the articles on this site about PSUs, and you should understand what you need :)

NeilBlanchard
Moderator
Posts: 7681
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
Contact:

Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Dec 24, 2004 2:21 pm

Hello:
Ezzy wrote:Hi Neil, thanks for your reply!

I'm just a litle skeptical because the guys in the forum at www.2cpu.com are insisting I need at least 450w. I assume they know what they were talking about. It's hard because I don't know which source to trust on regarding this =/

It would be great if I can overlock my dual 1.6 xeons with my AIW 9800 and 2 HDs with the tornado 400w
Well, the group here on this site are sure to be in the minority of opinions on this. I was alluding to this in my post -- but please do read the thread I suggested -- there are real people actually running real machines with *good quality* power supplies that are rated at lower total wattage than the rest of the "bigger is better" world out there would have you believe is possible.

Read the thread: there are dual CPU machines with multiple hard drives, overclocked machines, machines with 5 or more hard drives, power hungry video cards -- some are using 250watt PS's, 200watt PS's, 180watt PS's and smaller if my memory serves!

There are other threads on this site about how much power a typical, or even a high power machine uses: peak power use is oftem no more than 150-180 watts, even for oc'd machines with multiple HD's and high power video cards, and so your second CPU is unlikely to draw enough power to even tax a good 300watt PS.

Read the threads on this site, and see if we can't convince you -- and you'll even get a quiet machine! :o

JimK
Posts: 345
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2003 6:02 pm
Location: Hudson Valley, NY, USA

Re: New member/rig!

Post by JimK » Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:30 pm

Ezzy wrote:I can't seem to locate any quiet Power Supplies here that's over 450W. I was wondernig if you guys can point me to one, even a 500W that's relatively quiet for that purpose.
Well, if you must, from the Power Supply Fundamentals and Recommended Units section there is the Enermax NoiseTaker 475. That's a bit over 450w and it placed high on the list for Noise (or the lack thereof).

burcakb
Posts: 1443
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:05 am
Location: Turkey

Post by burcakb » Sat Dec 25, 2004 4:05 am

You should be more concerned about the load on the individual power rails than the total wattage of the PSU. The reason most people are suggesting a large power supply is because you'll probably need a lot of juice on the 12V - the kind that only comes in 400+ W units. This ofcourse doesn't change the fact that 200+W of capacity will be sitting idle.

Ezzy
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 7:45 pm

Post by Ezzy » Sat Dec 25, 2004 3:07 pm

How many Amps on the +12 rail would I need for the dual xeons?

burcakb
Posts: 1443
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:05 am
Location: Turkey

Post by burcakb » Sat Dec 25, 2004 4:10 pm

Sorry, no freebie answer to that question. If you look around you'll find lots of threads on calculating the rail requirements of various hardware as well as links to several online rail calculation utilities with comments on their accuracy.

Happy reading.

Ezzy
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 7:45 pm

Post by Ezzy » Sat Dec 25, 2004 6:49 pm

I'll just ask in the 2cpu.com forum, thanks -]

burcakb
Posts: 1443
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:05 am
Location: Turkey

Post by burcakb » Sat Dec 25, 2004 10:49 pm

I'd suggest taking the advice you're already given (ie reading up) instead of asking.

There's a reason why I recommended learning about it. Unless you know which component is drawing what power from what rail and how efficient your PSU is at what temperatures, etc, you're going to run into power problems that you won't be able to pinpoint easily.

Whatsmore, everyone I know (no idea about 2cpu though) is overly generous about power issues and simply just don't realise the importance of efficiency, lower power PSUs etc.

Advice has been given, it's up to you to use it.

Ezzy
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 7:45 pm

Post by Ezzy » Mon Dec 27, 2004 9:19 am

The fact is my worktime consist of reading up and keeping up with with various other priorities. My job requires me to spend 14 hours a day reading and researching and I really have no time to add another book to my desk

My point is, I'm not lazy. I just have many things that require my attention, and I can only create a hierchy and determine which I have time for.

For me, understanding power supplies just really doesn't sit on top of the list. Right now I just need this machine built so I can get on to my real work and move on. Maybe later this summer I'll start reading up on it.

So I hope you can understand my perspective nad position, and there are many other people like me I"m sure, he just cna't invest the time and put comptuer building as their top hobby and interest.

Post Reply