Is this a case of...a little knowledge is dangerous ?

[Baron]

Copied from another forum.........

Antec PSUs are a POS. Their quality is so subpar in any load test they fail. A 500w Antec is really rated below 480w. In contrast with PCP&C and Seasonic, cold boot wattage is over their advertized rate (with Seasonic is over 620 peak watts).

Two of the best PSUs are PC Power and Cooling and Seasonic (Fortron is also a good top shelf brand). This is based on 24hr load testing, cold boot wattage/ampage; failure rates; quality of parts, and critical tolerances (+.3/-.3 range on the rails) and reputation. Those PSUs cost more, but you're ensured of quality power that will handle what others only advertize.

If you're interested in getting the ATI card please pay attention to this (saves you grief later)...

1. Make sure that the 12v rail can handle 30 amps for the ATI X1950/PRO/XT. It needs 30amps to power the monster. There are some 500w and less PSUs that can offer that amount, but few have Active PFC (you'll only start seeing that feature on 600w and above PSUs).

2. Do get Active PFC. This line conditions the current into your case to prevent any brownouts or surges that can shorten the life of your hardware, or even destroy it. It also ensures the quality of power to the system if you're an uber overclocker.

3. Stay away from modular PSUs for high amp components. There's issues of those PSUs not holding amps (which causes random reboots and data corruption).


So, according to #3, my Corsair HX620 was wasted money ? :eek: :D

[SKYMTL]

I have constantly found that the amount of misleading information about PSUs on forums (and many "reputable" webistes) is nothing short of stunning. This just goes to solidify my point.

[burebista]

1. BS. X1950Pro reference desing at stock speeds needs only 5.5A (http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/x1950pro-gf7900gs/power_1950pro_7900gs.gif) from 12V.
2. Crap. APFC is useless for a home user who is billed in W's not VA's.
3. Myth busted (http://www.motherboards.org/articles/guides/1488_1.html) by jonny.

[jonnyGURU]

Wow! This guy is all over the place!!!

I mean... first.. Seasonic and FSP in the same boat with no mention of any other OEM's???

Then....

1. An X1950XTX needs 30A on the +12V?!?! OMG!!!! I have two on a Corsair HX520W!!!! It must be MAGIC!!! Let's see... 30A * 12V = 360W. Umm... No.

2. Umm.... Ok.. APFC can help filter out AC transients because it can auto switch, but the way the whole sentence is worded it makes you WANT to find fault in it! :D It's like Doug FUD! :D

3. "There's issues of those (modular) PSU's not holding amps." That one sort of stands on it's own as mildly humorous. ;) Maybe he means "holding voltage" under "high amperage," but that horse is beaten and is now a grease stain on the street. I still say the resistance is negligible and if the unit has excellent voltage regulation to begin with, then the drop in voltage is probably only going to be the same as 99% of the other units on the market.

[Baron]

It was a chap on the BF2142 forums........but it made me smile, and go 'Grrrrrrrrr' at the same time :D
The OP made no reference to his 'advice' thank goodness...:)

[ianm2]

well having seen inside pictures of some modular psu's, all they are, are the wires that would normally go out from the secondary, soldered onto a pcb, and then you attach your modular cables to that.

so modulars are the same as a regular psu, if you can generalize, but with an extra pcb after the secondary.

the only thing is, that it costs extra obviously, for a modular, so it MAY be the case that the design will suffer in comparison to the same priced 'normal' psu, ie be less capable in some parameter/performance

Quite how that messes up stability I will never know, they MAY be a slight issue, if the soldering or connectors aren't up to the ampage rating, as that could be your chains weakest link, remember solder tracks are like wire, and the thicker, the less the resistance (heat loss dissipated) but its total bull if even a half dimwit has taken that into account.

resistance = (resistivity (property of the type of metal, ie copper, silver) times length) / area

R= p x L/A in symbols, where p is greek letter rho depicting physical resistivity, silver best, copper next.

so longer wire and thinner by above equation is more resistance, as well as the material type.

that's why a thicker cross sectional area of cable is desirable for high amperages (current)

take some people's words with a factory full of salt. trouble is if you don't know is knowing how to filter the bull from the sound, the chaff from the wheat, or a lovely way I heard was, you have to dig a lot of muck to find a diamond

[davidhammock200]

Who ever wrote that is an idiot! :lol:

[Baron]

Trouble is, a lot of people might follow his 'advice' and not buy a decent modular PSU ...and miss out on one of the Corsairs (other brands available) for example :D

[davidhammock200]

Trouble is, a lot of people might follow his 'advice' and not buy a decent modular PSU ...and miss out on one of the Corsairs (other brands available) for example :DThis is the internet & this fool has the right to post whatever he wishes. :(

[SKYMTL]

All you have to do is state the fact that he did not back up any of his info with links.

[ianm2]

Who ever wrote that is an idiot! :lol:


not me I hope;)

that's probably the sort of person, who is a/ either a direct competitor of antec, and has a vested interest in not selling modulars, or is the sort who gets bribed with some expensive top of the range, ie. given it for nothing. all well and good if you get things like single rail $500 ones for nothing but doesn't help us in the street who can't afford them

[davidhammock200]

not me I hope;)

that's probably the sort of person, who is a/ either a direct competitor of antec, and has a vested interest in not selling modulars, or is the sort who gets bribed with some expensive top of the range, ie. given it for nothing. all well and good if you get things like single rail $500 ones for nothing but doesn't help us in the street who can't afford themHe hates Antec, but recommends Seasonic & Fortron, who build the newest Antec models! :crazy:

EDIT:

2. Do get Active PFC. This line conditions the current into your case to prevent any brownouts or surges that can shorten the life of your hardware, or even destroy it. It also ensures the quality of power to the system if you're an uber overclocker. This is 100% BS! I think he just made this up while high or something!

[Baron]

Like I say, a little knowledge is a bit dodgy when posted as fact :D

[fancyStufkiller]

Well, the above stament fore shure is not made from a men with knowledge, but some of the information is not that wrong.

And to be honest, i do not like cheap conectors with currents higher than a few amps personally.
Shure, if a modular psu is new, the resistance would may be negligible, but you can take it for granted, that this condition will not last for long.
I have seen too mutch conectors, even high grade and in expensive equipment wich failed after a few years (and there where only a few amps at all over the conectors).
There is no question if a conector will go bad, the only question is when.
So for me, seriousely i will never go modular i can`t see any seriouse advantage that outwights the additionall source of failure. As long as you don´t have an windowed case there is none. With a few tie-wrap there is not mutch less airflow than with a modular pSu.

[jonnyGURU]

You even qualify your own statement but saying you don't like "cheap connectors."

Of course, any added connector point is another potential point of failure, but if the connectors are quality, have a snug fit and make good contact with little resistance, that connection will likely out live the build.

[KorruptioN]

Somebody please call him out.

[ianm2]

yes remember the main pcb tracks on the psu board are not very thick at all, so a modular done properly is neglibibly worse than a regular one. its horses for courses. your arguments against modulars are not sound. connectors are really just bits of metal, and solder joints and exposed legs of components tarnish with age, too. stay around on the forum, its a good place :)

having had a good few psu's now, no question a modular will be a much neater solution, my case has arms spewing from it like an octopus, even if you can't see it, to go inside and mess around and change a few things, you have to fight thro a forest, its really not ideal,

and of course, from a reliability point of view, every time you bend the cables out of the way, you may stress solder joints and all sorts of connectors. that's not really mentioned.

it really makes sense only to plug in the ones you require. its just what you prefer, and that's fine if you don't want modular

[Chozart]

Connectors fail??

So my molex connectors, SATA hard drive connectors, the 24-pin and 4 pin motherboard connectors, 6-pin PCI-E connectors will all go bad soon?

Interesting :p

Of course I agree with Jonny and Ian here :D

I don't have modular right now, but definately thinking about getting one (Silverstone Decathlon 750W to replace my FSP Epsilon). Right now my cable management is to stuff everything on top of the DVD drive (left top bay open for this reason) :lol:

[Bbq]

Antec PSUs are a POS. Their quality is so subpar in any load test they fail. A 500w Antec is really rated below 480w. In contrast with PCP&C and Seasonic, cold boot wattage is over their advertized rate (with Seasonic is over 620 peak watts).

Wha? Antec is rated at 500w. If by continuous.. That's a different story.

Two of the best PSUs are PC Power and Cooling and Seasonic (Fortron is also a good top shelf brand). This is based on 24hr load testing, cold boot wattage/ampage; failure rates; quality of parts, and critical tolerances (+.3/-.3 range on the rails) and reputation. Those PSUs cost more, but you're ensured of quality power that will handle what others only advertize.

:lol: This guy is fucking nuts. 24 hour load testing? +-0.3 range (that's +-4%; atx spec is 5%, dummy). Reputation? However unlikely, a company with a less than steller reputation can build a solid supply. Just look at the Coolmax Green 850/1000.

If you're interested in getting the ATI card please pay attention to this (saves you grief later)...

nvidia fan much?

1. Make sure that the 12v rail can handle 30 amps for the ATI X1950/PRO/XT. It needs 30amps to power the monster. There are some 500w and less PSUs that can offer that amount, but few have Active PFC (you'll only start seeing that feature on 600w and above PSUs).

5. As mentioned above.. Then there's the bit on Active PFC (he's saying few have it, meaning that it's desireable. But wait..)

2. Do get Active PFC. This line conditions the current into your case to prevent any brownouts or surges that can shorten the life of your hardware, or even destroy it. It also ensures the quality of power to the system if you're an uber overclocker.

Someone give this man a medal.

3. Stay away from modular PSUs for high amp components. There's issues of those PSUs not holding amps (which causes random reboots and data corruption).

:lol: