Overpriced/Out of stock Seasonic..Next best thing? NeoHE?

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:10 am

Hi all, at first, i was a little reluctant on posting this because it has been ask so many times and i don't want to have the same shit popping up....

Anyway, I recently sold my Sliverstone Strider 400W and my new rig is currently without a power supply. So, i began lookin online for an Australian vendor that sells Seasonic PSUs, however, they are overpriced (200 AUS compared to $152 NeoHE 500W and $133 Zalman Noiseless 460W)

The Zalman sounds very nice to me, not only it is cheap but also it is the next best PSU on the SPCR review, but my doubt is: Will 460 be enough for my next upgrade?

Current Rig
Opty 165 @ 2.6GHZ. NO OVERVOLTING
A8N32-Sli DLX
2GB (2X1GB) Kingston value ram NO OVERVOLTING
ASUS 6600 TOPS
Maxtor diamond 9 120GB
Maxtor diamond 10 120GB
Creative Audigy 2
2XOptical Drive

Given that voltage is the same, will it consume extra current and thus using extra power?

My next upgrade will most likely be 2 next-gen Nvidia (G80) mainstream cards in SLI. I would imagine the next gen card will draw powers between a 7800GT and 6800 Ultra, my guess is around the same as the 6800XT.

Here's my question, 2gigs of ram, Opty going at equivilent to an FX-60, 2 sata, 2 optical and future SLI upgrade, will 460Watt cater my rig?

If not, what of the below PSU will be best for me in terms of price/performance? WILL THESE PSU REACH my A8N32 in a P180?
BTW, they all got PCIE connectors right...?

FSP 500W - $149 <pick up in 2 days, or $140 3 days shippin
Anatec NeoHE 500W v 2.2 - $152 <pick up in 2 days
Seasonic S12 600W - $220 < not avalible until march 10ish
Seasonic S12 500W - $199 < same as 600w

My current pick is NeoHE, modular wiring is AWESOME, but will that thing compare to the FSP or Zalman in terms of reliability? Heard some bad stuff about it so....if any users can just give a yell will be appreciated.

Norm!

puppyhawk · Post by **puppyhawk** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:22 am

Reliability seems not a problem with Antec Neo HE. They are quite reliable and well made.
It is the compatibility with certain motherboards that has been bugging the users (min. 1A load on the 12V rails)

If it works with your mobo, it is a great supply. Mine have zero problem so far!

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:37 am

Thanks puppyhawk!

Is it possible to mod the NeoHE with quiet fan? I got an awesome ADDA 80mmX25MM. Checking the forum....

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:43 am

Greetings,

There are other quiet PS's, like Fortron Source "Green" or Enermax NoiseTakers -- please check out the Recommended section.

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:50 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Greetings,

There are other quiet PS's, like Fortron Source "Green" or Enermax NoiseTakers -- please check out the Recommended section.

Yeah...I know, but the Zalman is right after the Seasonic, so I thought I'll just ask and see if 460W is adequate. The NeoHE is not on the SPCR recommended due to the instability, but the vendor promised me that in V2.2, which is a very new revision, this issue has been dealt with. So, instabilty aside, the NeoHE should be comparable to some if not most of the PSU on the recommended. Also, it seems to me with the lower PSU bay arrangement, a fan arrangement such as the NeoHE should provide a better airflow because it can take the airflow from the lower bay fan directly into the PSU rather than having to suck it in from the above, but in real life, the 120mm PSU might perform just as good....

Feel free to correct me, but i did (an thoroughly) read the recommended PSU by SPCR lads. Awsome reviews may I add!

Too bad i cant get an SPCR P180 here in Australia...

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:00 am

G'Day,

Your [current] system would probably be fine with a 300watt PS.

[Edit: sure for a high powered SLi system, you should have 400-500 watts -- or more accurately, the 12v lines need to be up to snuff.]

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:08 am

In the worst case, the SLI G80 could take as much power as teh 7800GT, which by Nvidia's standard is 85W (I know...but it's Nvidia's statistics, might as well use it), but tested by Xbit lab as 56W, well, on the safe side, i'll use 80W, since this is the power used by 7800GTX.

Power consumed by A8N32 as reported by SPCR is 176W, that take away power used by the X2 3800
A 2.6GHZ Athlon X2 takes about 110W as reported in extreme cases.

That in total is 286+160-80 = 366W, then taking in account of the 2GB ram and SATA drive, the optical drives and the sound card maybe my 460W sitting on just under 400W load?

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:14 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:G'Day,

Your system would probably be fine with a 300watt PS.

Yeah, the current 1 with single 6600TOPS, but not so much for the SLI rig i plan to put together..

I did have a generic PSU overloading on me, so I wanna go to the safe side and kinda over-estimate everything for the worst case scenario.

Will Zalman reach the 4-pin ATX connector on my A8N32 with P180??

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:55 am

I think my best option is the 500W NeoHE, it's got detatchable cable for easy management, its airflow design should work well with a lowerbay fan in P180, it's cheaper than the Seasonic and quieter (and more power) than the Zalman.

I'll take my chances on imcompatablility if I have to....
I'll make the decision tomorrow, so that's about 8 hrs for ppl to jump on this thread and scream "BAD IDEA"

NapalmDeath · Post by **NapalmDeath** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:30 am

If you're hooked on modular cables, and don't want to risk the headaches of the Antec NeoHE, take a look at the Enermax Liberty PSU's 400, 500, 600.

The 120mm fan is temp controlled, and it's a nice reliable PSU.
The fan is slightly louder than the Seasonic fan, and all Liberty cables are sleeved. Do a search for their Liberty 500/600 review.

klankymen · Post by **klankymen** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:37 am

My 2¢:

I have the NeoHE 500 with my A8N SLI Premium, and it works perfectly, but only after 2 RMAs.

However I am very content with noise level, and it hasn't crashed yet (unlike my first one)

Modular cables, SLI support and Dual CPU are all pros, and the cables are long enough for my p180 (with ease)

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:59 pm

It looks like NeoHe500 it is, enermax will be my next pick if the Neo somehow dosn't work...

Thanks guys!

JJ · Post by JJ » Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:53 pm

CosmoHorizon wrote:It looks like NeoHe500 it is, enermax will be my next pick if the Neo somehow dosn't work...

Keep us posted. I'm considering the same PSU for an ASUS A8N-SLI Premium.

I'm finding it tough to believe that either ASUS or Antec hasn't addressed the problem by now. They've had plenty of time to work it out.

allenlux · Post by **allenlux** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:46 am

My thoughts:

- don't buy a NeoHE unless you are prepared for the possibility that you might have to return it

- be aware that the NeoHE doesn't work properly with quite a few motherboards, and sometimes the problems don't show up immediately

- be aware that getting an RMA from Antec is not quick or easy.

If you can buy from a good retailer who will accept a return, then go with it: the NeoHE is certainly an ultra-quiet PSU straight out of the box.

CosmoHorizon · Post by **CosmoHorizon** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:58 am

Reporting back

1. This baby is quiet, and by quiet i mean it is FUKING QUIET. I dropped in my passive video card and used speed fan to turn down my 120mm fans, and i even brought it to around 600RPM, i still cant hear the PSU over the 2 virtually silent 120mm fans.

2. Solid performance, not sure how it fairs if I have 2X7800GT or 2X1800XT, but so far, it did great with my high power Opty and A8N32, and with dual prime + 3dmark runnign all night, it hasn't failed me. IT DIDNT RAMP UP! given that it has access to cool air like in an open case or in P180

Basically, when i touched it this morning, it's mildly warm, possibly around 33~35C max, and the ambient is reported to be 27C, and the fan is still dead silent....cant say much more about this PSU, but if it's only mildly warm after around 8 hr of burn, then i really dont have anythign to say against it.

Edit: Serial number is S06010175656

hravn · Post by **hravn** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:30 am

Ohhh.. a S06

Haven't seen any of those before. Antec should have it fixed by now I think, the problems has mostly been with S0509 and slightly less with S0510 and S0511.