11 replies to this topic

[Bencrest]

Ok chaps, made my mind up on a few things regarding my PC :

1) I'm gonna put so much stuff in I need a PSU which can handle it, looks good, and is ultimately 'above other PSUs'. I've ordered a Hiper 580W Blue PSU, it is Modular [rather than a bundle of molex cables, you get a pack of single cables and only plug the ones you need into the PSU!], and seriously stable.

That means I have my 550W Eye-T PSU on eBay, not an amazing PSU, but still exceeds what you can get on the markets. At full load I was getting a drop to 11.6V on my 12V lines. Now this is well within limits [guidelines state that a 12V line cannot be more than +-10% out, so the minimum is should touch is 10.8 whereas mine is 11.6], but my new one is known to not drop below 11.9 [mind you, my new PSU is £60 ]

If you are interested in a transparent dual Blue LED fan fitted 550W PSU, why not check out : http://cgi.ebay.co.u...RK:MESE:IT&rd=1

BTW I have the receipt for the PSU, it is as I say just over 2 weeks old, so if it does break within the next year, let me know and I can try and get it replaced

2) A nice chunky Graphics card
I've just ordered a Radeon X800 XT PE [I remember when these were £350 last year, couldn't resist £180 brand new for one [if OEM]].
This means I have a Radeon 9800 Pro, MINT condition, all boxed, all extras, as new [seriously!], not overclocked, basically stunning. It is the IceQ HIS Platinum edition. That means Silent, Damn cold [allows for huge overclocking], and a good software/cable bundle. It does however mean it needs a spare PCI slot below the AGP slot

Same as above, a couple of weeks old and I have the receipts, please note that if you overclock it to fook and it melts you will no doubt invalidate the warrenty so only overclock if you know what you are doing [i.e stick to the 10% rule]

You can find this here :

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...RK:MESE:IT&rd=1

Thanks all, thats all my pimping for tonight. Tomorrow I'm listing

a) Chipped Xbox
Modded GBA [well, aftermarket transparent shell]
c) EZF Advance GBA Flashcart [used for playing Gameboy Advance ROMs on a GBA/GBASP]
d) Anything else of use I can find!

[renoufchr]

oh well i didnt get highest bid but i bumped the graphics up to £20 for ya

[kensplace2]

Sometimes a off the shelf psu is a lot more reliable than a custom jobby.

Reason?

The off the shelf jobby has had millions of units sold, leading to pretty much every problem that could happen, that was not thought of at design stage, being reported and fixed in the new version.

Most custom jobbies are from smaller firms that concentrate on high end components, but have little feedback if the design actually works long term.. Thats why these companies come and go....

No idea about this one, could be great, hope it is! But its just a thought,
Often flashier is not always the best...

Just like people who spend shirtloads on sony dvd players etc thinking they have the top of the range, only to find they bought a nice shiny (with expensive internals) machine that isnt that good really, its kindof crippled compared to the lower priced ones....

Then theres the old parable of the emporers new clothes........

Hope its a nice psu, I really do, but Im always wary of specs and prices as a guideline.... Marketing people are not honest......

[Bencrest]

I can't find a bad review for my new PSU

Heres an example from HardwareXL : http://www.hardwarex...emid=41&lang=en

TBH I've had no problem with some of my older 350W PSUs that came with cases, they work fine, but the way my PC is gonna end up, I need to have some extra stable juice

I'm talking 5 Fans, at least 2x SATA HDDs, 2x EIDE DVD+-RW drives, Extra Cold Cathode tubes, my X800 XTPE... I can't be arsed with a low watt PSU struggling to power the lot

[kensplace2]

Does look nice mind and that is one cool box it comes in,
To be honest Im in the same boat, I had a 450 watt one, but it burnt out the caps (loads of stuff will have the same problem due to a dodgy supplier a few years ago) now Im stuck with a 350 and its struggling big time......

[Bencrest]

It's the 1st PC I've built where I haven't been on a serious budget, I normally say 'well, I've put in a more expensive CPU than planned so I need to cut £25 somewhere else', I'm trying not to let that happen this time.

Stuff like the Graphics, X800 XTPE isn't totally cutting edge, but is is £100 cheaper than an X850 and I doubt I would notice the difference on my games anyway.

With the PSU, I can't be arsed with cheap ones. The one I am selling isn't a cheap one, but I'm not sure how well it could handle all the stuff I intend to add. I think the 'slightly insane' one I've chosen will

A PSU is one of the least thought about components of a PC system, but considering it powers every single component I think people need to be more careful choosing them

[kensplace2]

Maybe I should start testing power supplies, I have three oscilloscopes now, so I could do some serious testing,and do a cool website.....
Problem is convincing all the manu's to send me free samples..

[Bencrest]

I know, I can't believe the amount of OCer type websites I go on where it ends with [and Thanks to Gigabyte for this £40000000 graphics card sent for testing ], you just know Gigabyte said 'good review or we pull the plug!'

Anyway, sounds like a good thing to get involved with

[kensplace2]

Come to think of it ben, you just reminded me of something that happened years ago when I did voluntary work for the nhs.

They were ahead of there time with electrical testing, nowadays every company is supposed to subject all there equipment to very high voltage to check for earth leakage. Nowadays of course most companies probably dont, but thats beside the point, they should according to mental laws....

The place I worked at refused to let me use a old dell 286 (may have been a 386, hazy memory) until they pat tested it (ie shocked the f(*ker with a load of volts)
Mental thing was, they did it, it passed the test, but then caught fire and could have killed someone, the actuall test was enough to shake loose a loose wire inside and it shorted out............

Power supplies are important, one little component goes wrong, combined with maybe a too high fuse rating and its not just the pc that goes, its your life....

But thankfully they are pretty safe

Many pc components are +- 5 % if you require them not to die on you, specially the 5v ones, so you are right, be careful in your choice.

Problem is, where do you get objective reviews that dont qoute marketing speak........ Specs mean nothing these days, I used to trust toms hardware guide but even that seems way to commercial these days.

[Bencrest]

Come to think of it ben, you just reminded me of something that happened years ago when I did voluntary work for the nhs.

They were ahead of there time with electrical testing, nowadays every company is supposed to subject all there equipment to very high voltage to check for earth leakage. Nowadays of course most companies probably dont, but thats beside the point, they should according to mental laws....

The place I worked at refused to let me use a old dell 286 (may have been a 386, hazy memory) until they pat tested it (ie shocked the f(*ker with a load of volts)
Mental thing was, they did it, it passed the test, but then caught fire and could have killed someone, the actuall test was enough to shake loose a loose wire inside and it shorted out............

Power supplies are important, one little component goes wrong, combined with maybe a too high fuse rating and its not just the pc that goes, its your life....

But thankfully they are pretty safe

Many pc components are +- 5 % if you require them not to die on you, specially the 5v ones, so you are right, be careful in your choice.

Problem is, where do you get objective reviews that dont qoute marketing speak........ Specs mean nothing these days, I used to trust toms hardware guide but even that seems way to commercial these days.

When my college told me they had to PAT test my Laptop before I could use it I told them to f*** off, no offense but if it catches fire I could put it out by jumping on it, rather than letting them blow it up for me!

I agree with TomsHardware, used to trust that loads until the same brands would win every time, I knew it would happen when stuff I bought had a Toms Hardware 'such and such award' sticker on it - unfortunately it became so respected it also became corrupted, no doubt through free samples and a bit of cash on the side

I generally, before I buy something, check the model nuber in Google, followed by Test or Review, which tends to move the English/American reviews to the top. Some components you just know are going to be superb [I was going to get an Antec TruePower PSU to go with my Antec PlusView 1000AMG case for example, because those PSUs have such respect that they will be good!], and some you can tell from a couple of reviews should be avoided!

[pnut]

hi Ben
i've been running one of these hipers for the last 3 months and its been stable as hell with:-
2x dvd's
2x ide hd's
a 3.2 prescott
asus p4p800
win2000 tv card
and a 6800 vid card

i've had asus probe running since the start with the build and the warnings on the voltages set very keenly and the little darling has been as good as gold.
i know you can get cheaper psu's but this is the dog's b******ks.
+ 3 years back to base warrenty and to top it all a pretty blue led in it!

[Bencrest]

Cheers

I'm looking at getting a TV card, but I won't get one from Aldi again, useless pile of crap