Can someone please check these PSUs for me?

[Hunain]

Hey there, I had asked this about the ASUS Atlas 450w Psu earlier, will it be able to support the new cards along with the rest of my setup? The prospective cards include:

1) 8800GT
2) HD 3870
3) 9600GT

Now I have come up with the specifications for each PSU I have in mind, I was just about to buy the ASUS 450 today, but thought id ask you guys first for sure, dont want to buy it and then know that I need to upgrade it!

The problem is that according to the Evga website, the 8800GT SC needs the following:

Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 22 Amp Amps.)
Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 24 Amp Amps.)

I checked up on the PSUs I have in mind:

1) ASUS A-45GA 450W
2) Coolermaster Real Power M620 and also the 460W (for which I couldnt find any info)

The ASUS one has the following specs

+3.3V/+5V/+12V1/+12V2/-12V/+5VSB
30A/28A/14A/15A/0.5A/2A

The +12V1 has 14A and +12v2 has 15A, am i supposed to count them together as being 29Amps and sufficient for the cards aforementioned?


The Coolermaster one has 3 12V rails, all on 19Amps, even this PSU doesnt meet the 22A minimum, are these also added and seen as 57A?

Finally the Corsair 450w PSU, has only one +12V rail, rated at 33A. So is the Corsair superior to the above two? I have no clue about the 12v rails and needs of the system etc etc.

I really want the ASUS 450W, will it work for me? I am quite confused and would really be glad if someone helped me out here. Sorry for the long post, Hope I have made things clear for an easy answer..Thanks

[IAmATeaf]

No idea about the Asus but the Corsair VX 450w has received good reviews so I'd go for that.

[Hunain]

I know it has good reviews, i want someone to read the specifications of the PSUs and then enlighten me, i am pretty confused, plus the ASUS is affordable for me, I can go get it tomorrow, so need to make sure.

[DDY]

ASUS generally produces top quality gear, their PSUs shouldn't be an exception but I'd suggest you go for a more established brand of power supplies. I'd recommend Corsair or Antec.

The Antec Earthwatts series are very efficient for the price, have a look at those. Corsair VX PSUs are also worth a good look.

[Hunain]

Hey guys, thanks for the input, I do know about these, I want someone to discuss the nitty-girtty and enlighten me as to the 12V rails on these PSUs..

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Get the Corsair VX450W as every review I have read has stated that is one of the finest 400 to 500w PSUs that money can buy at the moment. It uses high quality components as well. Have you looked at the JonnyGuru review as this is highly detailed?

JonnyGURU.com - Power Supply Reviews and more! - Reviews - Corsair VX450W power supply review

The guy reviews many PSUs.

[Hunain]

Okay, im reading it, but what about the question about the 12V rails? Come on, someone would know if having one 12V rail is better than having multiple and do we have to add the Amps on multiple 12V rails to get the total rating

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

My HX520W has multiple 12v rails. However many people consider the VX550W potentially better as even though it only has one rail it is rated much higher.

[Thorsson]

There was a lot of fuss on some tech forums at one time about multiple 12v rail PSUs having problems. This was with the AMD S939 SLI mobos, and I've heard nothing since. TBH it was never really demonstrated that a good PSU with adequate power to the rails had any problems, and I think it was just that certain PSUs may have been a little underpowered on the 12V main rail.

Not seen any issues with C2D systems, and in theory multiple rails should be better as the supplies to different parts of the system are kept separate. If you're running SLI/Xfire though, you need to make sure that your 12V rail is up to the job.

[IAmATeaf]

You can't just say from the power of each 12v rail as that doesn't always tell the full story, you need to know what the combined output of the separate 12v rails is.

[Thorsson]

Ah, but if the rail supplying the GFX cards doesn't have enough power it won't matter what the total is...

[Hunain]

Thats exactly why im confused, the evga site says that the 8800GT requires 22A minimum on the 12V rail, the PSUs I have mentioned, ASUS 450, even the Coolermaster 620W have multiple rails, with no one rail providing 22A, so these can not run an 8800GT?

[Webby]

I would say that when grpahics card manufacturers tell you a minimum power supply requirement it is normally for the a PSU with a single 12v rail, 22A will provide 264W @ 12v that is more than enough for all the graphics cards you have mentioned. In fact a graphics card with a single PCIe power connector can (if I understand it all correctly) only draw a maximum of 225W.

PSUs with multiple rails are designed to provide better power distribution at a variety of loads, a lot of multiple rail designs are however actually a single rail split so they may as well be a single rail...

[Bounty_Bam]

Corsair HX520W

[Thorsson]

Corsair HX520W

I can also vouch that this has enough power, even under a decent OC. It's made by Seasonic, a manufacturer of impeccable pedigree. People say they also build the 450W.

I don't know anything about the Asus (which is enough to put me off) and some Coolermaster PSUs have had problems (they buy from a variety of OEMs, some of whom are not very good).

[DratUK]

check on Jonnys site again link is below, this will explain the thinking behind multiple rails.

The "power supply FAQ" - jonnyGURU Forums

its the 101 of power supplies. It dosent give a direct answer to your question regarding the Asus but it it may give you a better insight.