modular, sli ready, 550-600w psu recomendation

osirus35 · Post by **osirus35** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 11:44 am

Im looking to update my psu mainly for sli. One problem is that there are so many psu's top choose from that it is hard to choose. Another thing is most of the psu's that I have been looking at all have had good reviews but i prefer to rely on user opinion. Must be modular, sli ready, quiet (this is the spcr forums

) and 500w-600w

some psu's that i am looking into:

Hiper Type-R 580W

Aerocool ZeroDBA 620W

SilverStone Strider ST60F 600W

***ULTRA 550W X2*** (this one im hesitant to even consider seeing as the orignal ultra modular psu's were not very good. Although the x2 has had some good reviews.)

Please feel free to add any other psu's to the list or vouch for any of the ones i have listed.

Asian Dub Foundation · Post by **Asian Dub Foundation** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:03 pm

enermax liberty

disphenoidal · Post by **disphenoidal** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 1:51 pm

Can't recommend the Ultra, I know people who've bought them (possibly for modular cables or excessive output, possibly for totally blinged out chrome case...) and I think they're unbelievably loud. The person I'm thinking of keeps his in his bedroom, and I can hear it clearly in the hallway even if the door is closed. Granted, this is probably the original version, but they'd have to make huge improvements in noise for me to consider one.

f_gx · Post by **f_gx** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:01 pm

Consider the NesteQ ASM 620 semi passive! One of the strongest ultra silent PSUs to date and i can tell you out of personal experience (i own a 7600 SLI system) that it's a excellent unit.

maybe you want to add it to your list.

(however it has only 2 12 Volt lines, 3 is ofcourse better. But the secound line has incredible 30 amperes, this is 10 ampere more than the specifications officially allow)

psionic · Post by **psionic** » Sat Jun 24, 2006 6:43 am

Enermax Liberty 500/620 or Antec NeoHE 550

I own both the Liberty 620 and the NeoHE 550. Right now, buy.com has the NeoHE 550 for $89.99 + Free S&H. Can't beat that.

ulric · Post by **ulric** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 6:39 am

psionic wrote:Enermax Liberty 500/620 or Antec NeoHE 550

I own both the Liberty 620 and the NeoHE 550. Right now, buy.com has the NeoHE 550 for $89.99 + Free S&H. Can't beat that.

Second that (the Antec that is

). Just bought and installed for my Asus A8N-SLI.

psionic · Post by **psionic** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 6:52 am

Yeah, as much as I love my Enermax Liberty, the Antec NeoHE 550 is an awesome deal right now. It's easily the best deal out there in quiet power supplies.

EvilNick · Post by **EvilNick** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:22 am

Antec NeoHE was not available in my area at the time I was shopping for a PSU and I too wanted something modular, so I went for a Liberty 500W.

My comments would be that:
The modular cables are nice, but that so called design feature of having both SATA and 4pin molex plugs mish-mashed onto a single line is quite messy for a person who only uses a single HDD. Lots of unnecassary plugs lying around. I'd switch to a NeoHE for this reason alone.

Also, it's not as quiet as I had hoped. Right now it's got the loudest fan in my system and it ticks me off occasionally. Some of you guys above have the Liberty too, what speed does yours run at? When I'm doin normal stuff, it's usually around 1000rpm, but under load, reaches 1300rpm.

psionic · Post by **psionic** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 8:13 am

I agree that the Eternity connectors get annoying. Even though there are 4 connectors, I had to use a Molex to SATA adapter to power 3 hard drives that were relatively close together.

Did you check the SPCR review of the Liberty? The noise (dbA) is comparable to the Seasonic S12-500/600 until about 200W. That being said, If you're drawing 200W at load, the fan will become noticeable. I am considering a fan swap with a Scythe S-FDB "E" fan, which is used by another person in these forums with the Enermax Liberty 620.

klankymen · Post by **klankymen** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 8:58 am

Get the Antec NeoHE-550, I own the 500W model and it is inaudible at 1 foot away, rock stable (after 1 RMA, since half a year ago they had some issues, but they're resolved now for me) and has modular cables for everything except the motherboard connector, but who takes those off?

EvilNick · Post by **EvilNick** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 9:11 am

psionic wrote:I agree that the Eternity connectors get annoying. Even though there are 4 connectors, I had to use a Molex to SATA adapter to power 3 hard drives that were relatively close together.

Did you check the SPCR review of the Liberty? The noise (dbA) is comparable to the Seasonic S12-500/600 until about 200W. That being said, If you're drawing 200W at load, the fan will become noticeable. I am considering a fan swap with a Scythe S-FDB "E" fan, which is used by another person in these forums with the Enermax Liberty 620.

My system is in my sig, I don't actually know how much it's drawing at load. I did think of a fan swap too, perhaps to a SUF-S12 which in my own experience (using it as case intake fan and NInja fan), is an excellent low cost fan which is pretty much inaudible from a foot away.

My main concern was switching to a quieter fan would cause heat to be an issue in the PSU. Any thoughts on this? Not to mention I'd rather not void the 3 year warranty.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:06 am

I read your requirements, and while modular is convenient, there are no spcr recommended modular, sli ready, and quiet power supplies out there. Spcr pulled their neo he 550w review stating "it's really not worth spilling more electonic ink that will promote a product that may or not have compatibility problems depending on when it was made. If/when there is a way to distinguish the new versions from the old is when the review deserves to happen." Anyway, it is doubtful that a 600 or 700w psu will be quiet under heavy loads.

A relatively new power supply that is getting great reviews is the ocz gamexstream 600 and 700w units. It is a rebranded fortron unit and is very efficient and supposedly quiet for its power rating. The latest review can be found here - http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/revi ... 00W_1.html

The same basic technology is used in the zalman zm460 (reviewed here) and fortron epsilon.

A lot of people seem to like the liberty however.

osirus35 · Post by **osirus35** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:22 pm

how about XCLIO greatpower 600w? 14cm fan similar to the liberty. Btw there are a lot of reviews about the liberty on newegg and there seems to be a high failure rate on that psu.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:37 pm

xclio's are made by channel well, just like most antecs. Look at this thread -

http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread ... ight=antec

Just saw a review for this psu at www.extremeoverclocking.com where it was rated highly recommended.

cyberspyder · Post by **cyberspyder** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:05 pm

you know what? this 900W PSU OWNS all other PSU's out there.

Tagan TG900-U95 ATX 900W Power Supply 100-120Vac/200-240Vac - Retail

Cost? $349.99

qviri · Post by **qviri** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:17 pm

cyberspyder wrote:you know what? this 900W PSU OWNS all other PSU's out there.

Tagan TG900-U95 ATX 900W Power Supply 100-120Vac/200-240Vac - Retail

Cost? $349.99

OMG I want two!! It's silent too!

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:22 am

you know what? this 900W PSU OWNS all other PSU's out there.

Great! Next time I want to power a small South American country I'll know right where to look! Thanks!

burebista · Post by **burebista** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:45 am

cyberspyder wrote:you know what? this 900W PSU OWNS all other PSU's out there.

Mine is better than yours.

ShagMan · Post by **ShagMan** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 4:49 am

Are there any more comments about the Antec NeoHE 550?

I am looking for the exact same specs as the OP (500+W, SLI-ready, modular, quiet).

The Liberty PSU's have that dang cable iwth IDE+SATA, and there's just not room in the P180 for extra connectors in front of the fan for the hard drives.

Looks like the NeoHE would be good, and I'm willing to RMA it if it's not compatible with the ASUS I'm purchasing next month.

The only thing I don't like about the NeoHE is the idea of a small fan, but I'm hoping the fan in the HD/PSU slot on my P180 will help keep the PSU cool for most of it's wattage range without kicking the 80mm fan in high gear.

psionic · Post by **psionic** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 5:30 am

I own both the Liberty 620 and the NeoHE 550 and I noticed that the modular cables have the same type of connector at the PSU end--6-pin rectangular shape. I wonder if the pin-outs are the same? Anyone know where to find this info out? If so, it would be kind of nice to use one of my extra NeoHE cables on my Liberty which is in a P180.

Right now I run a Liberty 620 in a P180 and the cabling is a little cramped in the HDD area, especially with 3 HDDs. I'll be consolidating to 2 drives this evening though, so that should help. If you're worried about the bottom fan, just put a wire grill in front of it like I did. My hard drives stay cool and my PSU is cool to the touch even with a fan swap to a YL D12SL-12.

I would be nice to see the P180 gain some additional room in the bottom area though. As it stands right now most people placing drives and a fan down there are pretty cramped, and those with larger PSUs like the Phantom have even worse problems.

ZeroR3D · Post by **ZeroR3D** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 1:46 pm

My 2 cents:

1) Modular PSUs are impractical, you tend to use up all the cables anyways, so what space/aesthetic advantage do they really provide? The only good reason to get a modular PSU is to mod the cables yourself (and impossible if it uses proprietary heads like the Neo series) for specifc length.

2) Most modular PSUs have insecure connections (except those like the Hiper), the ultra ones especially flimsy.

3) Of the ones you recommended, the Hiper has had some decent reviews, but none of them would I consider a reliable or voltage-accurate. Under extreme load, you will see them deviate quite a bit.

Seasonic's S12 600W is good quality and dead quiet. It's just not modular, but the new rev with sleeving looks shiney.

Alec Ross · Post by **Alec Ross** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:08 pm

I have the Liberty 500, I've never seen the fan above 950 RPMs even at full load. Nice and quiet, but I agree with the fellow near the top- the cables are a real pain.

psionic · Post by **psionic** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:29 pm

It really depends on the user. Out of the 8 modular ports on my Liberty, I'm using 3. So that cleans up a lot of clutter because a typical 600+ non-modular power supply has a TON of cables.

As far as extra resistance, as long as my components work great I'm fine with a bit of voltage drop.

fyleow · Post by **fyleow** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:11 pm

ZeroR3D wrote:My 2 cents:

1) Modular PSUs are impractical, you tend to use up all the cables anyways, so what space/aesthetic advantage do they really provide? The only good reason to get a modular PSU is to mod the cables yourself (and impossible if it uses proprietary heads like the Neo series) for specifc length.

I think that really depends on how many devices you need to power. I use only 3 connectors on my NeoHE 550 Watt. 2 of them have Molex connectors and 1 is a PCI-E connector for my 7900GT. I get the bypass all the extra clutter like SATA and Floppy power as well as any extra Molex.

The flexibility is great too, I just bought 2 SATA drives and I'm going to be swapping out one of the Molex connectors I have right now with the SATA cable.

2) Most modular PSUs have insecure connections (except those like the Hiper), the ultra ones especially flimsy.

I'm not really sure what you mean here. Are you referring to the connections to the PSU itself? I don't see it as a problem, they stay pretty secure on my NeoHE and I don't put a lot of pressure on the cord. I don't bring my computer to LANs or anything and it stays put it one place so this doesn't seem like a big issue.

So far I've had no problems with my NeoHE but YMMV