Seasonic M12D vs. Corsair HX vs. Enermax Revolution85+ vs. Antec Signature

[Bob1967]

I am looking for new modular PSU at least 850W for my future build (Asus P6X58D, Intel I7 930 and Nvidia GTX 470). I put four PSU on my shortlist. Each of them has some subjective drawbacks that is why I would appreciate some help in selection the most adequate one based on yours knowledge and experience.


Seasonic M12D-850 (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=127)

Subjective drawbacks: Old construction (2008) and may have a problem with buzz noise.

CorsairCMPSU-850HXEU (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=153)

Subjective drawbacks: Some of them have a problem with buzz noise. Made by CWT (company I not fully trust)

Enermax Revolution85+ 850W ATX 2.3 (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=150)

Subjective drawbacks: Expensive, some MB compatibility issues, require connection to the MB fan socket.

Antec Signature (http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=101)

Subjective drawbacks: Not fully modular, hot, old design, low 12V current.

[Lemmy]

I'd just get a Seasonic X-750.

Out of those, I'd get the Seasonic M12D. Based of later reviews of PSUs based on this platform, it seems that is has been improved and performs even better.
The Corsair has the best price/performance ratio out the these, but it's not that quiet compared to the others.
Yeah, I don't care much the Revolution, it's too expensive. It does not require connection, that's optional, in case you want to check the fan speed.
The Antec is not hot, it has best cooling out of the pack and is not an old design, it uses DC-DC topology,just like the rest of these. But it's too expensive.
Every PSU can have buzz noise.

[p4l1ndr0m3]

Corsair

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Old construction (2008)... old design

That's not really a drawback.

[Travis]

Basically you don't have to worry about "low 12V current", because they all can output entirely on 12V output. Performance wise is SG850>REV850>>M12D850, HX850 is somewhere near REV850.

[HOOfan_1]

If all M12Ds have been tweaked to the performance of the XFX Black Edition...it seems the M12D is the best performer to me

[burebista]

I am looking for new modular PSU at least 850W for my future build (Asus P6X58D, Intel I7 930 and Nvidia GTX 470).
You don't need 850W for that. Take a Seasonic X.

[Proximon]

I don't think the MD12-850 is available any more.

[Phaedrus2129]

I don't think the MD12-850 is available any more.

They aren't on Newegg last I looked, but you can still get them through Provantage and a few other mid-range etailers.

[Stefan Payne]

I must agree with the 'take the Seasonic X-Series' Statement.
It's probably the best PSU on the market - even at low loads, it's very efficient.
The Enermax 87+ Series is not as good but has a better fan.

Though I wouldn't buy a GTX470 due to heat/power consumtions and availability.
At the moment you can only dream of a GTX470 card but not buy one and I don't think that that will change soon 'cause there aren't many cards available...
So you may want to think about the GTX400 card...

[Bob1967]

Thank you everybody for very valuable advices and informations. I will go probably with Antec Signature SG-850.
It has very good reviews however I am surprise with particularly one on www.anandtech.com (http://www.anandtech.com/show/2522/5)
It states: "Even though the 12V rails don't have as much voltage drop and stay within the 3% regulation, the drop is still quite large. Both smaller rails have a regulation limit of 5%, which is again quite large, and we can see both rails heading towards the lower end of the allowed area of the ATX norm."
Could you please comment it?

Some answers for suggestions from forum members:
You don't need 850W for that. Take a Seasonic X.
I have thought about Sesonic X-750 and I agree it is greate PSU but does not have enough power for my system I have a few HDs + overclocking I7 + powers consuming graphic cards than PSU calculators shows power supplier rather close to 850W than 750W and personally I would prefer to have rather some extra power than to be just on the edge.
Though I wouldn't buy a GTX470 due to heat/power consumptions and availability.
I still prefer Nvidia cards than ATI as I trust more their drivers. Even thought if I do not buy particular GTX 470 I will probably go with card with similar power consumption.

[ef3393]

XFX Black edition 850W is an improved M12D-850 and have best price than others
________
Harmed By Nexium (http://www.classactionsettlements.org/lawsuit/nexium/)

[Makalu]

Thank you everybody for very valuable advices and informations. I will go probably with Antec Signature SG-850.
It has very good reviews however I am surprise with particularly one on www.anandtech.com (http://www.anandtech.com/show/2522/5)
It states:
Could you please comment it?



well his results don't jive with these four other full load tests:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/psus/2008/12/05/antec-signature-850w-psu/6

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=659&pageid=4

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/antec_signature_850w/4.htm

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=101

five if you count the 80plus report.

His results do jive with planet3dnow which is using the same equipment and possibly the same review sample:

http://www.planet3dnow.de/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=357202&garpg=8

so possibly just an oddball sample...

[HOOfan_1]

I thought Christoph did planet3dnow's reviews anyway

[Makalu]

I thought Christoph did planet3dnow's reviews anyway

well I know he has done some but I think he uses the nick "prophetchris" or somesuch and the ones by "soulpain" are another person. I could be wrong though...Stefan probably knows...not sure if it makes any difference if they both run the same automated test program on the same unit though???

[Stefan Payne]

That's right, Christoph uses the nick 'ProphetCHRIS' in the P3D Forum, soulpain is a completely different person.
Though, Planet3DNow still uses a Chroma active load (http://www.planet3dnow.de/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=366647&garpg=6)

I still prefer Nvidia cards than ATI as I trust more their drivers. Even thought if I do not buy particular GTX 470 I will probably go with card with similar power consumption.
Well, good luck buying one.
As you know, there were just about 8k GTX400 series units available worldwide, wich isn't much and the yieldrate is under 20%, so you'll probably won't get a GTX470 for another 3-6 months.
And than there is the heat/power consumption issue, you can say, it consumes about 100W more than a Radeon.

So, that card is really just for nV Fans...

[C'DaleRider]

I still prefer Nvidia cards than ATI as I trust more their drivers.


Puh-leese stop with the ATI driver FUD. Can you name in the last few years when ATI put out a driver that caused cards to burn themselves? Nvidia can....

[burebista]

Can you name in the last few years when ATI put out a driver that caused cards to burn themselves?
Nope but I can name some drivers which gives GSOD on HD5xxx series. ;)
I'm a owner of Sapphire HD5850 and I saw 2 GSOD's until I've changed to a new driver. From then my card is flawless but still not so good impressions about ATI drivers.
Do you want me to quote Unwinder (RivaTuner developer) or unclewebb (RealTemp developer) about ATI drivers? :D
Nevertheless both companies have highs and lows about their drivers but indeed generally speaking ATI drivers are OK. Now.

[Redbeard]

In a lab with literally dozens and dozens of cards from both vendors, ranging from 5-6 year old cards to modern 5870s and 480s, I can tell you that there is seemingly no difference in reliability anymore.

If you'd asked me a few years ago, I'd have given you a very different answer.

Personally I'm not a fan of how both sets of drivers add these monstrous control panel apps. I miss the days of a small, simple driver that just told Windows what kind of card you had and let Windows configure the stuff.

I guess that's not possible with the modern complexity and feature sets, but still.

[jonnyGURU]

Linux. ;)

[Zero82z]

Linux. ;)
Yep; in Linux, both ATI and nVidia drivers suck :p.

[HOOfan_1]

Puh-leese stop with the ATI driver FUD. Can you name in the last few years when ATI put out a driver that caused cards to burn themselves? Nvidia can....

Speaking of FUD

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=29669759&postcount=6



Some of the advantages that our Antec PSU (in this example the TruePower 750W) over our competitors is continuous power and we have (4) +12V output circuits provide maximum stable power for the CPU independently of the other peripherals.



:rolleyes:

[Bob1967]

What about Antec Signature SG-850 failure rate?
It looks like almost 17% of customer who bought Antec Signature on Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817371018) and decided to to share their opinion, complain the reliability of the product. 5 years of Manufacturer Warranty is a good argument and huge adventage but still I have some doubts.

[Zero82z]

What about Antec Signature SG-850 failure rate?
It looks like almost 17% of customer who bought Antec Signature on Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817371018) and decided to to share their opinion, complain the reliability of the product. 5 years of Manufacturer Warranty is a good argument and huge adventage but still I have some doubts.
Newegg reviews are not something you should consider when making a purchasing decision. The majority of people who do not have any trouble with a product will simply not comment, so the reviews will naturally be skewed toward people who had issues.

[mdk777]

Newegg reviews are not something you should consider when making a purchasing decision. The majority of people who do not have any trouble with a product will simply not comment, so the reviews will naturally be skewed toward people who had issues.

Yeah, but when they go massively negative, very soon, then it is a cause for further investigation.:D

I ignored the first few negative reviews on an OCZ PSU and lived to regret it.

Not conclusive, but a good canary in the mine.:)