SPCR

Hey folks. Longtime lurker and reader looking for a little advice.

Putting together a new system real soon and I'm torn between these two PSUs (Neo HE 430w or SP 2.0 500w). Specs of the rig will be as follows:

DFI Lanparty Ultra-D
Opteron 165
2x 1GB Samsung TCCC
XFX Geforce 7900GT
Antec P180
Scythe Ninja HS w/ D12SL-12 Yate Loon
4x hard drives - 1x Cheetah 15k 3x IDE 7200rpm
various other stuff like 1 optical drive, sound card, scsi controller, etc.

I'm a gamer first and foremost so performance is the main priority however low noise is a very close second (I know, mutually exclusive things). I plan on overclocking as high as possible on air cooling with both the CPU and video. I have no plans to SLI.

According to this PSU calculator, on an optimistic but not unheard of 2.7ghz 1.5v overclock and the rest of the rig I'd be looking at a peak of 476w with everything going at once. Now I realize in real world usage that would basically never happen and I don't know how much this calculator errs on the side of overestimating.

I'm pretty sure a Neo HE 430 would be enough, and was fairly set on it for several reasons:
Straight through airflow design for the P180
Modular cables with generous lengths for the P180
Noise and efficiency obviously
Active PFC - I run everything off UPSes and if I understand right, this makes the draw from the UPS lower allowing me to plug in more things without overloading it?
And I've not read of any issues with the Neo HE's and DFI boards thus far.

But I recently saw the SP-500 at ZZF for $50 shipped after rebate which looks awfully tempting. I'd still get the straight through airflow, modular cables, similar efficiency, but noise ramping up would be a bit more harsh. I'm also concerned with the short cable lengths of the SP2.0 PSUs in the P180 and with a DFI board. But this would be $20-30 cheaper than the Neo HE and I'd have a tad more headroom for power (I think?).

Thoughts? I feel like I can't go wrong either way, which is making it even harder for me to decide.

the sp2 500w will have too short cables, if the 350w version is anything to go by (way to short) EDIT: sounds like sp500w would do fine, but neo HE would be quieter assuming it works . The neo HE 430w (or 380w) is a better choice. As a rough guide, halve whater peak output that psu calc says and thats a ballpark figure of actuall draw. So perhaps 220W dc, with heavy overclocking. Hopefully all the dodgy neo HE units are fixed now, so should go fine.

Active PFC - I run everything off UPSes and if I understand right, this makes the draw from the UPS lower allowing me to plug in more things without overloading it?

Yep. UPS's are rated by VA, so active power factor correction is a must.

The sp 2.0 500 has longer cables than the other models. There are several reader using it with the p180. Also check the antec site as in the p180 description they recommend the sp 2.0 500w along with the neo and a truepower.

Check this thread - http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... ht=#248449

About the neohe, you should check the neohe users poll. Also try the dfi forum - www.dfi-street.com You can search the power supply forum here for "dfi neohe".

Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

I'm leaning towards the SP-500 now. Seems like the modular cables on that model are longer than the rest of the SP2 family. I've been reading around and most everyone with a P180/SP-500/DFI have had no problems with cable lengths, except for one fellow who had to get a FDD power extender for his front bay card reader.

I'm probably worrying more than I need to about noise because either of these PSUs will probably be drowned out by the video card and/or the other fans in the system, especially since it should get relatively cool air most of the time in the PSU duct.

It's hard for me to pass up a good deal.

I've had a sp2.0 500w since they first came out and it has to be one of the best values out there.

I can attest that the SPII-500 is a great fit in the P180 and would HIGHLY recommend it. The cables are NOT to short, they fit fine. Also, with the lower chamber the fan barely ever ramps up even with my system folding both cores 24/7 and the Raptor and 320JD in the bottom chamber.
PM me if you have any more questions.

I have a P-180, SP 2 500w with an Abit AN8 Ultra. Bit of a stretch but it reaches. Keeps 2 Rators and 300g Seagate cool in lower cage. Got the PSU some time ago just for the P-180. No problems.

Any thoughts on the noise levels of the SP 2.0?

I'm almost getting the exact same setup as you. I've finally ordered my P.C. and I'll check out the SP-500 and tell you guys how it is. The only think that is annoying me right now is that there aren't any compatible available coolers for the 7900 gt.

My specs:

A8R32-MVP
Opteron 165
2 x 1GB G.SKill DDR500
XFX 7900GT (520/1500)
Antec P180
Scythe Ninja w/Nexus
1 Raptor 74gb ( dont need too much storage - external usb drives)
Benq DW1655
DVDRW drive
X-fi Xtrememusic
Sunbeam Rheobus/NXP-101
Antec Sp-500

Is Antec still shipping hosed NeoHE power supplies? I've been holding out to RMA mine for a while until the bad product gets out of the retail channels.