What is the smallest PSU I need ?

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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takeawaydave
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What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:59 pm

I was hoping to get some advice on a PSU to run a new machine I am building which comprises

2 x Xeon X5660 (95W mTDP)
Supermicro X8DTL-6F
AMD FirePRO v4900
ASUS PCE-AC68
IBM M1015
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
4 x SATA Drives

Whats the least I can get away with ?

Thanks and happy new year !!

EDIT: I was thinking down the lines of ones of these:

Seasonic Platinum Series 660 / 760 / 860

http://www.seasonicusa.com/Platinum_Series_XP2.htm

Hoping I could get away with:

Seasonic Fanless 520W

http://www.seasonicusa.com/Platinum_Series_FL2.htm

CA_Steve
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Dec 30, 2013 5:02 pm

cpu 95W x 2 = 190W
video card 75W
mobo ~ 30W
SSD 5W
HDDs 10W x 4 = 40W

100% stressed load~340W plus whatever the IBM and Asus cards use.


Yes, the 520W fanless would work - in a suitable case.

quest_for_silence
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Mon Dec 30, 2013 5:11 pm

takeawaydave wrote:Whats the least I can get away with ?

Thanks and happy new year !!


With such a setup I think you'd barely see the 300W DC mark, so even a 350-400W PSU could work flawlessly.
Unless you do something intensive like mining or folding, I would expect a maybe 180W-200W DC real power consumption under normal usage (load).

I won't use an old Vertex 3 as system drive, but it's not the question. With reference to your question, I won't use even a Seasonic PSU, unless your source is a seller like Amazon, I mean with a first class customer service (as those PSUs have suffered of too much squealing and RMA, recently).

Happy holidays!

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Tue Dec 31, 2013 9:07 am

CA_Steve wrote:cpu 95W x 2 = 190W
video card 75W
mobo ~ 30W
SSD 5W
HDDs 10W x 4 = 40W

100% stressed load~340W plus whatever the IBM and Asus cards use.


Yes, the 520W fanless would work - in a suitable case.
Thanks CA_Steve for the reply.

Any ideas of any slightly high wattage fanless power supply ? I am a bit concerned around future proofing since I could perhaps in the future get a more thirsty card like the 7950 plus stack the 2 SAS controllers with more disks.

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Tue Dec 31, 2013 9:08 am

quest_for_silence wrote:
takeawaydave wrote:Whats the least I can get away with ?

Thanks and happy new year !!


With such a setup I think you'd barely see the 300W DC mark, so even a 350-400W PSU could work flawlessly.
Unless you do something intensive like mining or folding, I would expect a maybe 180W-200W DC real power consumption under normal usage (load).

I won't use an old Vertex 3 as system drive, but it's not the question. With reference to your question, I won't use even a Seasonic PSU, unless your source is a seller like Amazon, I mean with a first class customer service (as those PSUs have suffered of too much squealing and RMA, recently).

Happy holidays!
Thanks for the response. BTW I am reusing the Vertex from my current build not ideal but haven't got the funds to buy anything new right now.

Any other suggestions for a quiet fanless PSU ?

Abula
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by Abula » Tue Dec 31, 2013 10:00 am

takeawaydave wrote:Any other suggestions for a quiet fanless PSU ?
If you wish to avoid Seasonic, check the following reviews,

SPCR Fanless PSUs: Kingwin Stryker STR-500 & Silverstone ST50NF
SPCR Rosewill Silent Night 500 Platinum 80 Plus

Here some links in case you are in the US,
KINGWIN STR-500 500W ATX 12V v2.2, EPS 12V v2.91 and SSI EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Modular Active PFC Stryker Fanless Power Supply $160
Rosewill SilentNight-500 500W Continuous @50°C, Intel Haswell Ready, 80 PLUS PLATINUM, ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92, SLI/CrossFire Ready, Fan-less Active PFC Power Supply $120

If you are not in the US, look for JonnyGuru Reviews - Super Flower Golden Silent 500W Fanless

Just remember coil noise and whining is not an exclusive thing of seasonic, it can happen with any PSU, some believe (like me) that its a combination of hardware, so its the luck of the draw, that said, seasonic has gotten much more claims about their platinum series having those issues, but i own seasonics and been flawless.

Good luck on your choice,

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Dec 31, 2013 11:12 am

takeawaydave wrote: Thanks CA_Steve for the reply.

Any ideas of any slightly high wattage fanless power supply ? I am a bit concerned around future proofing since I could perhaps in the future get a more thirsty card like the 7950 plus stack the 2 SAS controllers with more disks.
The high end gfx cards top out at 225 to 250W TDP.

There's really no point in getting a fanless PSU when you have a rack of spinning drives..and then add a 250W graphics card into the mix. Just get a decent fanned PSU with a good rpm profile/quiet fan and quiet when you want quiet and quiter than your gfx card when running games. Lots to choose from. Seasonic gold and platinums, Kingwin LZP series, Corsair RM series, Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10.

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Thu Jan 02, 2014 7:57 am

Thanks All for the advice - looks like I'll be trying the SUPER FLOWER Golden Silent Platinum Fanless, 500 Watts.

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Fri Jan 03, 2014 6:21 am

Update : Got a bit of a bargain for a AMD FirePro W7000 ($300) - (I expect reasonable performance despite having it in a lower generation PCI-e slot) - it is not too power hungry at 150W tops with averages at around 100W.

By Steve's calculation this pushes me in the realms of 415W is this getting too close for comfort to still be going with the Super Flower 500W ?

Would it be safer getting a PSU around spec'ed at 600-650W. Since the Seasonic 660XP appears to have too high a chance of whining - any other safer ~600W options ?

lodestar
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by lodestar » Fri Jan 03, 2014 6:56 am

takeawaydave wrote:By Steve's calculation this pushes me in the realms of 415W is this getting too close for comfort to still be going with the Super Flower 500W ?
Fanless PSUs are clearly going to get hot at higher power draws but this is less of an issue with Platinum rated units. According to jonnyGuru's review the Super Flower 500 can take 415W in its stride.

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:20 am

takeawaydave wrote:Update : Got a bit of a bargain for a AMD FirePro W7000 ($300) - (I expect reasonable performance despite having it in a lower generation PCI-e slot) - it is not too power hungry at 150W tops with averages at around 100W.

By Steve's calculation this pushes me in the realms of 415W is this getting too close for comfort to still be going with the Super Flower 500W ?

Would it be safer getting a PSU around spec'ed at 600-650W. Since the Seasonic 660XP appears to have too high a chance of whining - any other safer ~600W options ?

I beg your pardon, but I don't understand the need for a fanless (or very quiet) PSU with a W7000 GPU, an hot potato with a blower on it, so about 25-35dB of noise: you could use anything you want with such a card, as you won't ever hear it over that one.

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Fri Jan 03, 2014 3:17 pm

lodestar wrote:
takeawaydave wrote:By Steve's calculation this pushes me in the realms of 415W is this getting too close for comfort to still be going with the Super Flower 500W ?
Fanless PSUs are clearly going to get hot at higher power draws but this is less of an issue with Platinum rated units. According to jonnyGuru's review the Super Flower 500 can take 415W in its stride.
Thanks that's good to know. I might play it safe and go with the be Quiet 550W anyway.

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Fri Jan 03, 2014 3:18 pm

quest_for_silence wrote:
takeawaydave wrote:Update : Got a bit of a bargain for a AMD FirePro W7000 ($300) - (I expect reasonable performance despite having it in a lower generation PCI-e slot) - it is not too power hungry at 150W tops with averages at around 100W.

By Steve's calculation this pushes me in the realms of 415W is this getting too close for comfort to still be going with the Super Flower 500W ?

Would it be safer getting a PSU around spec'ed at 600-650W. Since the Seasonic 660XP appears to have too high a chance of whining - any other safer ~600W options ?

I beg your pardon, but I don't understand the need for a fanless (or very quiet) PSU with a W7000 GPU, an hot potato with a blower on it, so about 25-35dB of noise: you could use anything you want with such a card, as you won't ever hear it over that one.
Thanks for letting me know I have not seen or heard this card yet. I guess I could always look for a passive /semi-passive quieter cooling solution - perhaps this would work:

http://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/accelero-s1-plus.html

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Sat Jan 04, 2014 4:17 am

takeawaydave wrote:I guess I could always look for a passive /semi-passive quieter cooling solution - perhaps this would work:

http://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/accelero-s1-plus.html


Yes, the S1 Plus should work, maybe strapping a slow fan on it (a 500rpm Scythe may let you spare some headers).

For your PSU, I would pick the cheapest one among a Corsair RM650 and a Super Flower SF-550P14PE: if you may rather the Dark Power Pro 10 from beQuiet might be a good candidate also, as also the Enermax Platimax 600 is, where Super Flower and Enermax are perhaps the better built units among them.
All those unites should be extremely quiet up to 400W load when bottom mounted, and I don't see any advantage using a fanless PSU instead.

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:21 am

Golden King arrived today :)

Just wiring it up.... however.... there is no second 8-pin CPU power connector :(

The x8dal-6f mb needs the standard 24-pin and 2 8-pin connectors. There is an available pci-e however it doesn't fit - probably for good reason since its probably wired up differently and would fry something if tried.

Any one able to suggest what to do ?

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:38 am

takeawaydave wrote:Any one able to suggest what to do ?


AFAIK, as it's a single 12V rail PSU, you just need a suitable adapter, like this one: http://www.moddiy.com/products/2-x-4%25 ... apter.html

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:58 am

quest_for_silence wrote:AFAIK, as it's a single 12V rail PSU, you just need a suitable adapter, like this one: http://www.moddiy.com/products/2-x-4%25 ... apter.html
Sweet - Now to find one in Europe that can be delivered fast....thanks !

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:29 am

takeawaydave wrote:
quest_for_silence wrote:AFAIK, as it's a single 12V rail PSU, you just need a suitable adapter, like this one: http://www.moddiy.com/products/2-x-4%25 ... apter.html
Sweet - Now to find one in Europe that can be delivered fast....thanks !

You may also look for a splitter: http://www.ebay.ch/itm/400124748299

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Jan 09, 2014 4:07 pm

quest_for_silence wrote: You may also look for a splitter: http://www.ebay.ch/itm/400124748299
Don't know if I'd load two CPU Aux on one cable.

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Jan 09, 2014 10:06 pm

CA_Steve wrote:
quest_for_silence wrote: You may also look for a splitter: http://www.ebay.ch/itm/400124748299
Don't know if I'd load two CPU Aux on one cable.


As long as you can load an AMD FX-9590 on one cable, why not? On the contrary, dealing with a modular PSU, it should be also preferable.

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Sat Jan 18, 2014 1:58 pm

Any idea what the kind of symptoms would be if the wrong type of power adapter here was used.
Currently machine posts with 2 CPUs but bios is not able to detect all of the Ram.

I have got 6 x 8 GB RDIMMS however only 24 GB presented by bios.

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:31 pm

takeawaydave wrote:I have got 6 x 8 GB RDIMMS however only 24 GB presented by bios.


Which is the RDIMM SKU?

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need

Post by takeawaydave » Sun Jan 19, 2014 1:05 am

Got two of these:

SAMSUNG 8GB PC3L-10600R DDR3-1333 REG-ECC DIMM M393B1K70CH0-YH9

Got 4 of these:

SAMSUNG 8GB PC3L-10600R DDR3-1333 REG-ECC DIMM M393B1K70DH0-YH9

Both are listed as supported for mb. Nb posted with 1 CPU and also posted with 2 for a while but doesn't any more.

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Sun Jan 19, 2014 3:20 am

takeawaydave wrote:Any idea what the kind of symptoms would be if the wrong type of power adapter here was used.
Currently machine posts with 2 CPUs but bios is not able to detect all of the Ram.

I have got 6 x 8 GB RDIMMS however only 24 GB presented by bios.

Which power adapter did you use? Is it the two 4-pin molex to 8-pin EPS 12V one?

Anyway, I know for sure such an adapter works for a dual CPU setups: so at first glance you may either have a faulty component, or some incompatibility while using the two slightly different RAM DIMMs with that mobo; obviously also the PSU adapter cable and the PSU itself can either be the culprit, but maybe as a third and fourth option.

Are you able to boot with just one CPU (please try each of them) but inserted alternatively in either the two sockets, and just one DIMM? In such a condition, does each DIMM work? And are you currently able to boot with both the CPU inserted but just the two "slower" M393B1K70CH0 DIMMs (each of them in the very first DIMM socket of either the CPUs)?

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:23 am

quest_for_silence wrote:
Which power adapter did you use?
Super Flower SF-550P14PE - I assume all adapter outs from PSU are equivalent.
quest_for_silence wrote:
Is it the two 4-pin molex to 8-pin EPS 12V one?
Well.... I had tons of trouble getting one and ended up with a single SATA to EPS.
I have an AKASA PCIe to EPS on order might be here this early week.
quest_for_silence wrote:
Are you able to boot with just one CPU (please try each of them) but inserted alternatively in either the two sockets, and just one DIMM? In such a condition, does each DIMM work?
Can boot with 1 CPU and any 1 DIMM.
Also memtested all DIMMS individually and they appeared ok. Not a long soak test though.
quest_for_silence wrote:
And are you currently able to boot with both the CPU inserted but just the two "slower" M393B1K70CH0 DIMMs (each of them in the very first DIMM socket of either the CPUs)?
Yes with the 2 slow DIMMS in P1 DIMM1 and P1 DIMM2 boot is ok.

Also with Faster DIMMS in P1 DIMM1 and P1 DIMM2 boot is ok.

However 3 DIMMS in P1 DIMM1 , P1 DIMM2 and P1 DIMM3 is not ok.

Also Just tried again Fast DIMM in P1 DIMM1 and P2 DIMM1 with 2 CPU is not ok.

Some thing is amiss but hard to say what.....

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Sun Jan 19, 2014 1:36 pm

takeawaydave wrote:Well.... I had tons of trouble getting one and ended up with a single SATA to EPS.
I have an AKASA PCIe to EPS on order might be here this early week.


I think it is not safe, because the SATA connector can carry just up to 4.5A, so 54W at most.
IMVHO you need the 10A supplied by a 4-pin molex (120W max), as a 6-pin PCI-E theoretically can carry up to 39 Amps but current ATX specs limits PCIe-PEG connectors to 6.25 A (75W), while a 8-pin PCI-E should double this limit.

quest_for_silence wrote:However 3 DIMMS in P1 DIMM1 , P1 DIMM2 and P1 DIMM3 is not ok.

Also Just tried again Fast DIMM in P1 DIMM1 and P2 DIMM1 with 2 CPU is not ok.


AFAIK, when you populate all the triple channell DIMM sockets, the CPU power draw rise: so unless you have a better adapter cable than your current SATA-to-EPS, I think it isn't sound to perform such a test.
It might be possible that even with just two DIMM channels per CPU the power draw from the SATA-to-EPS connector rise, but I don't know.

Is the motherboard able to boot with just 1 CPU and 1 CPU-power connector (the original 12V EPS one, I mean) inserted?
Whether it boots in such a condition, what about booting it with two or three M393B1K70DH0-YH9 DIMM modules inserted? And then, what about mixing up the M393B1K70DH0-YH9 with the M393B1K70CH0-YH9 modules (I mean still with 1 CPU fed only by the original 8-pin 12V EPS connector)?

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Mon Jan 20, 2014 7:10 am

Ok new adapter arrived things are looking better..... Slightly.
Seem to be able to get 2 CPUs working but only after taking everything out of the case. Not sure if there is some kind of shorting going on.

Running now with 2 CPUs however filling P1 DIMM1 and P2 DIMM2 with either type only getting 8 GB to show. This should be 8+8 = 16 GB.

Also tested with 1 CPU and all 3 DIMMs filled and got 24 GB.

2 CPUs with 4 DIMMS slots filled also give 24 GB.

And 2 CPUs with a 6 DIMMs slots filled give only 32 GB.

Could any Bios setting be causing such behavior?

Thanks Luca for all your help so far.

takeawaydave
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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Mon Jan 20, 2014 8:39 am

Problem seems to be a couple of bent pins on CPU 2.

Slight adjustment now shows 40 GB on line when 6 DIMMS installed. Will try and keep adjusting....

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by takeawaydave » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:51 am

2 CPUs and 48 GB RAM running now. Bent Socket pins on CPU 2 to blame to be expected at times on a second hand board. Running a long over night memtest ....

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Re: What is the smallest PSU I need ?

Post by quest_for_silence » Mon Jan 20, 2014 3:21 pm

I'm glad to see that all's well that ends well: enjoy your new dual puppy! ;-)

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