Doh - silly me - I need a new PSU and a little help!

[cyberspacegenie]

OK here's the story....I spent weeks planning my system before I built it - a modest system I thought, and I wouldnt really mess around much with that overclocking stuff, most of all quiet. I decided all the parts and slowly went round picking them up at the best price I could find. The last thing i picked up was the CPU. My plan was to get an E6600....but enticed by the dramatic price reduction I happily skipped home with an Q6600 in my bag.

I didnt bother to re-evalaute everything else on the basis of the change of CPU, I just put it all together. It worked great. I did a modest overclock - it worked great. It did a bigger overclock. It worked great. then one day strange noises began to come out of my psu under load. I made some enquiries about it and got lots of advice. A couple of people told me that my CPU was underpowered. I did an online powercheck and it seems that I have put a morris minor engine into a double decker bus! Hence it is now struggling under load and making strange high-pitched noises - I think this may be the reason anyway.

Therefore I realise that I need to get a new psu pretty sharpish. This is the entire system breakdown - what do you guys reckon I need in terms of power:

Q6600 (GO) - overclocked to 3.2Ghz @ 1.4v
P5K-E/Wi-fi
2 RAM sticks (1GB x 2) DDR2 800 RAM (1.95v)
Asus EN8600GT silent (passive - no fan)
Samsung HD501LJ SATA HD (500GB) x 1
Asus DVD RW
2 x 120cm fans (1600RPM - currently 1100RPM)
1 x 100cm fan (1500RPM - currently 1100RPM)
Antec spot fan (2200RPM currently 1300RPM)
scythe Karmameter fan controller
floppy drive with card reader
Antec P150 case

currently this is running using an Antec Neo430 watt PSU (and doing quiet well considering!). Obviously I've now set it back to stock speeds.

I'm now looking at 620-650 watt PSUs and basically shortlisted 3:

Enermax Liberty 620watt (The CF favourite)
Enermax Infiniti 650 watt
Corsair CMPSU 620HX (620 watt) - here its actually the 620HXJP - any idea what the difference is?


My questions are this:

1. 620-650 watts - enough? too much? too little?

2. Which is best for reliability and quietness? (The rest of the comp is pretty silent now - only 2 fans needed for autumn/winter/spring and both running undervolted and quiet - would like to maintain this. The NEO430 is very quiet so want the new PSU to be also).

3. Is it likely that I have done irreparable damage to my existing psu? (works fine apart from the high pitched noise under load). Should I try and RMA it? (oh dear, I'm not sure what could have happened to it Mr Antec)

My favourite is the corsair - has excellent reviews and seems extremely quiet - near the top of the silent reviews forum recommended list to. I can pick one up for just slightly more than the Enermax, so prices pretty similar.

What do you guys think?

[alex]

Hi Cyber.

The Neo is a decent psu, but yeah, it sounds woefully underpowered for an oc'd quad.

1) 600w sounds about right. It is too much wattage for that build but this means you'll have that much more headroom when oc'ing. Also, even with oc'ing a 600w psu in your build isn't going to run anywhere near peak so it should still be quiet.

2) One word: Enermax. If you've read some of my older posts, I'm like you; I like a quiet system.

3) Likely, but not definate. Also, you could try the rma but you may well have voided your warranty. But it's doubtful the etailer is going to know that.

Out of the three, I'd (personally) be going for the Infiniti.

The 'JP' simply refers to the fact it's a Japanese version of the model.

[cyberspacegenie]

Thanks so much for that Alex, as usual it was really helpful.

I'll bring the NEO430 back to the shop and get them to test it. Hopefully they should replace it (Of course I wont mention ocing!)

I think the whine is actually a more common problem not necesarily just because of the voltage issues. I found a thread on it elsewhere inc. a recording someone made of the prob - same as mine.

I'm still undecided on the new PSU. The corsair has received some great reviews, but so has the Infiniti. I can actually get the Corsair cheaper, but frankly there's not much in it. Basically, they are both great PSUs it seems. Can I ask why you would choose the infiniti?

[alex]

I choose the infiniti over the CM simply from personal experience.

The Liberty's/Infiniti's are extremely quiet, oc friendly, well priced and very stable.

I do like CM's lower wattage models but their higher power one's tend to be louder. Not sure if this is simply down to a different fan or not. Stable, efficient and competitively priced on all models.

Not saying the CM is in anyway a bad psu, just I like the infiniti more. Your money, your choice fella. Simply personal preference.

[cyberspacegenie]

Thanks for that again Alex.

The 620HX seems to come out the quietest in most of the reviews that i've read, but both are very good PSUs so I`ll have to look at other factors (like how they deal with high ambient temps) and decide from there. It's always useful to hear experiences from others so thats why I asked.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

[alex]

No problem, anytime.

[cyberspacegenie]

Hi Alex, I'm getting lots of conflicting info about the the power consumption of my rig and its leaving me a little confused. On one hand some are saying that its underpowered and on the other some are saying it should be fine.

I did the extreme power calculator out of interest based on the overclocked Q6600 (not running oc'd now til PSU sorted!) and it came up with a recommended PSU wattage of 400w. Hence I am a little confused.

I know the damage that a psu can do to the system if it goes, and I'm pretty sure that my current one is faulty in some way and therefore will be replaced either by the shop or Antec. I'm happy enough to buy a new PSU if its necessary and either sell the replacement PSU or use it in something else in the future, but I thought before I go out and buy another PSU I'd check that its necessary.

The difference in price between a 500w and 600w PSU here isn't huge so most likely If I get another I will still go with either the Corsair or Infinity (By the way I just noticed in your previous post you refered to the Corsair as 'CM' - I'm just checking that you didnt confuse it with a coolermaster PSU). Hopefully then no matter what i put in the case within reason I wont have to worry about whether or not the PSU can handle it.

Can you shed a bit of light on the power consumption/PSU wattage.

Sorry for all the questions!

[alex]

Hi Alex, I'm getting lots of conflicting info about the the power consumption of my rig and its leaving me a little confused. On one hand some are saying that its underpowered and on the other some are saying it should be fine.

I did the extreme power calculator out of interest based on the overclocked Q6600 (not running oc'd now til PSU sorted!) and it came up with a recommended PSU wattage of 400w. Hence I am a little confused.

I know the damage that a psu can do to the system if it goes, and I'm pretty sure that my current one is faulty in some way and therefore will be replaced either by the shop or Antec. I'm happy enough to buy a new PSU if its necessary and either sell the replacement PSU or use it in something else in the future, but I thought before I go out and buy another PSU I'd check that its necessary.

The difference in price between a 500w and 600w PSU here isn't huge so most likely If I get another I will still go with either the Corsair or Infinity (By the way I just noticed in your previous post you refered to the Corsair as 'CM' - I'm just checking that you didnt confuse it with a coolermaster PSU). Hopefully then no matter what i put in the case within reason I wont have to worry about whether or not the PSU can handle it.

Can you shed a bit of light on the power consumption/PSU wattage.

Sorry for all the questions!

Hi Cyber.

I'm still saying 600+ watt simply because Intel quote 450w-600w for a quad cpu based system. Now, that isn't a hard and fast measure and as you can tell by the difference between the lowest measure and the highest measure (150w) it's kind of hedging as well, primarily (I suspect) to widen the market to prospective quad buyers who also don't want the expense of purchasing a new psu.

This measure is based on 2 sticks of ram, 1 optical drive, 2 case fans, 1 hdd and 1 separate gpu (not motherboard based).

Your build is slightly more power hungry than this at stock BUT you, personally, have to take into account you're oc'ing so will need more wattage AND you like a quiet system so if you were to get a lower powered psu and oc it would tend to run nearer peak increasing volumes as the fan on the psu (and the case fans) will run faster.

I'm still of the opinion, (it's just that but founded in a lot of experience), that a 600+ watt is what you require. You are free of course to go with another opinion I don't for one minute believe I'm omnipotent but as you say you're very aware of what damage a blown psu can do to a system, so I ask you this: Why take the risk? Getting the higher powered psu can't hurt can it. Should you ever upgrade the gpu or get a soundcard etc then the extra wattage will also come in useful. What I'm also trying to say is that you have to think about the upgrade path as well.

Regarding the "CM" quote, apologies, that was simply a typo on my part. I had to order a Coolermaster for a friend of mine and that was in my head. My comments however were not based on Coolermaster's psu's.

Any further concerns or questions you have please, by all means, post back and I'll be only too happy to answer them.

[cyberspacegenie]

Thanks Alex,

Reading around, much of the stuff on PSU wattage is pretty confusing and lots of stuff contradicts other stuff. I was really just trying to get it clear in my head.

You guys have always been extremely helpful here and I trust your judgement, so it was a case clarification more than anything else - just trying to understand the logic. You guys are one of a very few number of sites with a personal touch and it is greatly appreciated by me and all the other users I'm sure. I know you guys always do your best to give the best and most accurate advice you can.

Your points about the link between load, quietness and future upgrades are well made, so now I understand the logic of it a little better. I'll pick up either the 620HX or Infinity 650w this week (although not looking forward to taking the rig apart and putting back together!)

Thanks again for all your help.

[alex]

No problem fella, what I'm here for.

And many thanks for your comments, they sure are appreciated.

Feedback is always good

Especially the positive kind

[cyberspacegenie]

Got the corsair in the end, it was on special and worked out much cheaper than the enermax. It seems pretty good and I'm happy with it - very quiet. Unfortunately, the problem that prompted all this is still there. I brought my original power supply (NEO430w) back to the shop and they gave me a new one. I put the corsair in the rig though, I'll decide what to do with the NEo430 at a later stage. Time to resurrect my thread about the high-pitched whine!

[cheesepuff]

corsair are among the best PSU's IMO. they got 80% or more efficiency, really good AMPS on the 12v line and dont lose much power at all from heat. i honestly wouldn't recommend a hi end PSU other than Corsair. just my 2 cents.

[alex]

Got the corsair in the end, it was on special and worked out much cheaper than the enermax. It seems pretty good and I'm happy with it - very quiet. Unfortunately, the problem that prompted all this is still there. I brought my original power supply (NEO430w) back to the shop and they gave me a new one. I put the corsair in the rig though, I'll decide what to do with the NEo430 at a later stage. Time to resurrect my thread about the high-pitched whine!

Glad the psu got sorted out Cyber.

Anyway, regarding still having the 'whining' sound. Does this happen at boot and then settle down upon reaching windows? Happen all the time?

Are your case fans of the sleeve bearing variety? Actually, what's the make/model of your fans?

I forget, whats your cpu hsf?

[cyberspacegenie]

HSF is Thermalright ultra 120 extreme with Scythe S-flex fan. I'm pretty sure its not the fan bearings though as I disconnected all the fans, inc the one on the TR 120, and the noise was still there.

The whine appears at different times.

1. A little at start up
2. when the computer at load
3. sometimes on mouse movement e.g. using the object dock (vista-like aero) or sometimes just highlighting something with the mouse. I can even hear with scrolling through options in the Bios.

Its worse when the computer is overclocked so it seems linked to voltage. The whine is a high pitched, tinny, electronic type sound.

The sound sounded like it was coming from somewhere near the top of the case, hence I thought the PSU was the culprit. Now its looking like it has to be either the Mobo or the video card.