Smallest and lightest 500watt plus PSU

innomind · Post by **innomind** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:56 pm

Hello gang!
What's the smallest and lightest 500watt plus PSU out there. I am currently building a system using Corsair HX620W, but the sucker is pretty big.

Any comments are truly appreciated.

Thanks

Renat

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:37 pm

Do you really think it is big? It is 150 mm deep, which is only 10 mm more than the standard depth, 140 mm. Some models are closer to 100 mm, but they usually have something like 250 W output.

And what is the problem with it being big? I mean, either it fits, or it don't. Isn't it enough room for a DVD in front of it?
Or are you building your own case?

There are server PSU's that are quite small, but they look completely different and usually have tiny 40 mm fans.

innomind · Post by **innomind** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:24 am

Yeah I am building my own case that's why I ask...

Mats wrote:Do you really think it is big? It is 150 mm deep, which is only 10 mm more than the standard depth, 140 mm. Some models are closer to 100 mm, but they usually have something like 250 W output.

And what is the problem with it being big? I mean, either it fits, or it don't. Isn't it enough room for a DVD in front of it?
Or are you building your own case?

There are server PSU's that are quite small, but they look completely different and usually have tiny 40 mm fans.

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 2:09 am

Sounds intersting, what components are you going to use?

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:53 am

Small is one thing, but weight is another matter. Weight in a PSU usually indicates higher quality: thicker metal, more heavy duty components, larger heatsinks, etc. Most people WANT a heavy heatsink, unless their carrying their case around.

innomind · Post by **innomind** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:24 pm

Well I am building a video editing sys into a carry-on luggage. This way it's a full fledged screamer (quite one at that

) in a nice travel package. Although the trolley has wheels it would still be nice to shave off some weight without sacrificing on speed and quality of components.
It will have:
ASUS P5K Premium/WiFi-AP
Q6600 with mini-ninja heatsink
4GB Corsair RAM
XFX nVidia 8600GT card
C: 150 WD Raptor, D: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB, Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 as a scratch disk for Premiere Pro CS3
Adesso foldable keyboard
Wacom Cintiq 12WX
I am debating about the size and weight of the PSU I got - Corsair HX620W

jhhoffma wrote:Small is one thing, but weight is another matter. Weight in a PSU usually indicates higher quality: thicker metal, more heavy duty components, larger heatsinks, etc. Most people WANT a heavy heatsink, unless their carrying their case around.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 2:28 pm

btw, you don't need 500W+ for that; 200W is the max draw, less if you undervolt the CPU.

innomind · Post by **innomind** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:34 pm

I need all the voltage I could get since it's a 4core CPU. I guess there is no PSU that can rival Corsair one that I got in terms of weight and size...

jaganath wrote:btw, you don't need 500W+ for that; 200W is the max draw, less if you undervolt the CPU.

fwki · Post by **fwki** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:16 pm

You may want to reconsider the XFX 8600GT if silence is important to you. I used one for about three months in and it was very loud.....fan ran full blast always....nasty sound. I considered that it may have been just a bad sample until another poster in these forums confirmed the same problem. I won't use it in another system until an Accelero S1 becomes available to silence that thing.

See this thread: viewtopic.php?t=45551&highlight=

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:24 pm

Hello,

There are 8600GTS cards with stock passive cooling.

Even a quad core system won't use over 200watts.

innomind · Post by **innomind** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:32 pm

I am getting the Accelero S1 to silence that card. I wonder if I would need a fan for it though...

fwki wrote:You may want to reconsider the XFX 8600GT if silence is important to you. I used one for about three months in and it was very loud.....fan ran full blast always....nasty sound. I considered that it may have been just a bad sample until another poster in these forums confirmed the same problem. I won't use it in another system until an Accelero S1 becomes available to silence that thing.

See this thread: viewtopic.php?t=45551&highlight=

fwki · Post by **fwki** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:46 pm

Near the end of this thread viewtopic.php?t=44916&start=150 they address the S1 and fans....with good case airflow you could probably run it passive.

kaange · Post by **kaange** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:00 pm

NeilBlanchard wrote:Even a quad core system won't use over 200watts.

Yep.

Also, getting a non-modular PSU would probably give you slightly smaller options. I would think about the Antec EarthWatts 380W for your system else the Seasonic 330W.

I think with that heatsink/CPU combo, the fan noise from that will swamp PSU noise.

BTW if you aren't gaming, why not get a IGP motherboard?

innomind · Post by **innomind** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:05 pm

Well I already got the Asus mobo, plus its got onboard wi-fi for the portable sys I am building. You may be right about under 400w PSU, but you never know how many more hard drives I will add in the future.

kaange wrote:
NeilBlanchard wrote:Even a quad core system won't use over 200watts.
Yep.

Also, getting a non-modular PSU would probably give you slightly smaller options. I would think about the Antec EarthWatts 380W for your system else the Seasonic 330W.

I think with that heatsink/CPU combo, the fan noise from that will swamp PSU noise.

BTW if you aren't gaming, why not get a IGP motherboard?

kaange · Post by **kaange** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:47 pm

innomind wrote:you never know how many more hard drives I will add in the future.

An Antec EarthWatts 380W would easily power as many HDDs as you are able to fit in a small case.

Could you use a lower powered video card like a 8400GS or 2400Pro?

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:44 pm

innomind wrote:Well I am building a video editing sys into a carry-on luggage. This way it's a full fledged screamer (quite one at that ) in a nice travel package. Although the trolley has wheels it would still be nice to shave off some weight without sacrificing on speed and quality of components.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834201001

what about just getting that? maybe more expensive, but it beats a tower when it comes to carry-on.

innomind · Post by **innomind** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:10 am

Well this laptop is $3,749.99, plus it doesn't have the Wacom Tablet capabilities. My sys comes to $2400 luggage including. True the laptop will weigh less but I am looking to merge traveling and video editing into one nice package. I am still wondering how I am going to tie components to the xCase luggage but bit by bit I hope to find the best solution

bonestonne wrote:
innomind wrote:Well I am building a video editing sys into a carry-on luggage. This way it's a full fledged screamer (quite one at that ) in a nice travel package. Although the trolley has wheels it would still be nice to shave off some weight without sacrificing on speed and quality of components.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834201001

what about just getting that? maybe more expensive, but it beats a tower when it comes to carry-on.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:31 am

Hello,

innomind wrote:You may be right about under 400w PSU, but you never know how many more hard drives I will add in the future.

Hard drives use maybe 15watts or so each -- call it 20watts for good measure. A quad core system that might consume 200watts would already include 2-4 hard drives.