if you want a cpu with good 5V rails, look no further: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TTGI-TT-520SS-Power-S … =item1c26b7df91

TTGI power supplies of the era were of good quality. they were made in the transition between 12V based supplies and the old 5v ones.

vetz wrote:

Yes, I was using XP 2800 and a 6800GT on a 300W PSU.

That's because your 6800GT draws power from +12V through a Molex adapter (otherwise your card won't boot). As for your XP 2800 there could be two possibilities:
1) you're using a mobo with ATX 12V connector and it's paired with a modern, 12V-oriented PSU.
2) you're using a mobo without ATX 12V connector (i.e. it draws mostly from +5V for CPU) yet it's paired with a PSU that adequately supplies enough juice for both your +5V and +12V loads.

My opinion is that people are worrying too much about PSU power. Never had or heard anyone have any real problems with it.

Actually in this thread, you can read some *real* problems (hint: 5u3's posts), hence the topic. But yes, there's no need for worry--just some good practical knowledge.

nforce4max wrote:

I can't say much about it till I see some pics of the unit's board.

This.

Now I'm a total noob when it comes to electronics but I try to learn anyway. I got to know Jonnyguru's thorough + succinct review style from another forum years ago. Some other websites seem to have followed but I still like that one best (also you can always find some PSU geeks in the forum).

Interesting watch/read:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB0vkBgFdFI
Corsair 400CX 45A off of the +5V rail (load test)

This is why I tend to judge PSU from feedbacks (on the innards from those more knowledgeable) rather than from specs alone. Specs and marketing can be deceiving, but the actual components and performance can't.

As for the "officially-spec'd +5V @ 30A or more" topic, unfortunately 5V has become a minor rail today that it's hard to get a new model with this spec from the top brands (IMO--ones who consistently deliver quality product throughout their entire lineups: Seasonic, Corsair, Enermax, Antec). Enermax gets mentioned often, and for good reason. It would be my #1 choice of PSU brand back in the early 2000s (Now they're still good, but 3-year warranty is just lame compared to Corsair's 7-year).

If I were to go down the old/used PSU road for recapping, I'd get one of these myself:
* Enermax EG 365/465 VE series
* PC Power & Cooling Silencer 360/410 ATX

They were somewhat legendary in their times but difficult to find at where I live. 😐

luckybob wrote:

if you want a cpu with good 5V rails, look no further: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TTGI-TT-520SS-Power-S … =item1c26b7df91

TTGI power supplies of the era were of good quality. they were made in the transition between 12V based supplies and the old 5v ones.

Isn't that similar to what m1919 uses? Looks good too.

tl;dr conclusion: don't go the cheap/unknown/unproven PSU road.

P.S. Also @KT7AGuy: just try booting up your Athlon 1.4 with your 5900 Ultra (it should draw mostly from +12V) with your Antec Basiq 350, then add the Voodoo2 cards later if there's no prob, my bet is that it's okay.

archsan wrote:

This. […]
Show full quote

nforce4max wrote:

I can't say much about it till I see some pics of the unit's board.

This.

Now I'm a total noob when it comes to electronics but I try to learn anyway. I got to know Jonnyguru's thorough + succinct review style from another forum years ago. Some other websites seem to have followed but I still like that one best (also you can always find some PSU geeks in the forum).

Interesting watch/read:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB0vkBgFdFI
Corsair 400CX 45A off of the +5V rail (load test)

This is why I tend to judge PSU from feedbacks (on the innards from those more knowledgeable) rather than from specs alone. Specs and marketing can be deceiving, but the actual components and performance can't.

As for the "officially-spec'd +5V @ 30A or more" topic, unfortunately 5V has become a minor rail today that it's hard to get a new model with this spec from the top brands (IMO--ones who consistently deliver quality product throughout their entire lineups: Seasonic, Corsair, Enermax, Antec). Enermax gets mentioned often, and for good reason. It would be my #1 choice of PSU brand back in the early 2000s (Now they're still good, but 3-year warranty is just lame compared to Corsair's 7-year).

If I were to go down the old/used PSU road for recapping, I'd get one of these myself:
* Enermax EG 365/465 VE series
* PC Power & Cooling Silencer 360/410 ATX

They were somewhat legendary in their times but difficult to find at where I live. 😐

luckybob wrote:

if you want a cpu with good 5V rails, look no further: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TTGI-TT-520SS-Power-S … =item1c26b7df91

TTGI power supplies of the era were of good quality. they were made in the transition between 12V based supplies and the old 5v ones.

Isn't that similar to what m1919 uses? Looks good too.

tl;dr conclusion: don't go the cheap/unknown/unproven PSU road.

P.S. Also @KT7AGuy: just try booting up your Athlon 1.4 with your 5900 Ultra (it should draw mostly from +12V) with your Antec Basiq 350, then add the Voodoo2 cards later if there's no prob, my bet is that it's okay.

Recapping isn't hard, the hard part is getting the caps that you want or need that are the best fit for the job. I got several units that I can very easily fix but don't have the proper caps for and don't want to pay huge premiums for what could be inferior quality caps. Want those modern low esr long life caps. Recapping boards and cards are easier as well they can be very lenient when it comes to specs.

I've still got an Enermax Noisetaker 475W (EG475P-VE). It's ATX 1.3 and has lots of power for every voltage really...
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article149-page1.html

What do you guys think of BadCaps.net and their capacitor store? I've redone a couple of boards with caps from there. I imagine they don't have the parts to do a PSU though.

swaaye wrote:

I've still got an Enermax Noisetaker 475W (EG475P-VE). It's ATX 1.3 and has lots of power for every voltage really...
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article149-page1.html

What do you guys think of BadCaps.net and their capacitor store? I've redone a couple of boards with caps from there. I imagine they don't have the parts to do a PSU though.

I had one and wish that I had never sold it, even ran a 8800GTX just fine.

Vetz wrote:

Yes, I was using XP 2800 and a 6800GT on a 300W PSU. My opinion is that people are worrying too much about PSU power. Never had or heard anyone have any real problems with it.

Yes but did you run your 2800XP on a KT133 based system as they tend not the have the 4pin 12v attachment on the motherboard for splitting the cpu voltage,them use 5v line.

But 20A should be low, 25A should be minimal for stable system i guess.

Swaaye:

Chris at BadCaps.net is a really good guy. He charges a premium, but he does fantastic work. So far, he has recapped three KT7A's and an ABIT KV85 for me. All of them turned out fantastic and I no longer have to worry about capacitor issues with these boards.

My father has also had Chris recap a few of his motherboards too, also with very good results.

I definitely recommend his services. I hope he stays in business for awhile, because I don't know of anybody else who does what he does. Once he quits, I may actually have to learn how to recap boards myself. This isn't good, because I definitely do not have surgeon hands.

I've decided that I don't want to worry about PSU issues. I went ahead and ordered the Rosewill 600W PSU with 45A on the 5V rail. I'll have peace of mind now, and hopefully a nice stable system as well.

Thank you all for your thoughts, opinions and insights! This site is a fantastic resource!

Thanks again!

KT7AGuy wrote:

I've decided that I don't want to worry about PSU issues. I went ahead and ordered the Rosewill 600W PSU with 45A on the 5V rail. I'll have peace of mind now, and hopefully a nice stable system as well.

Thank you all for your thoughts, opinions and insights! This site is a fantastic resource!

Thanks again!

holy overkill batman!

600W? seriously? My DUAL 2800+ with a voodoo 5 is on a 510W pcp&c. That includes a video tuner, nic, 2 hard drives, 3 floppys and a cd writer.

How much did you pay, may I ask? I have a dual 771 board that needs a power supply and I'm looking for a 600W ISH supply.

holy overkill batman!

600W? seriously? My DUAL 2800+ with a voodoo 5 is on a 510W pcp&c. That includes a video tuner, nic, 2 hard drives, 3 floppys and a cd writer.

How much did you pay, may I ask? I have a dual 771 board that needs a power supply and I'm looking for a 600W ISH supply.

Here's the PSU I ordered:

Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W ATX12V v2.01
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16817182032

NewEgg currently has a promo for 15% off, so I got it for $51 with free shipping. The promo expires on December 12th.

No, I definitely don't need a 600W PSU for this system. Realistically, I only need about a 420W/430W PSU. However, this is quite literally the only brand-new PSU I can find with 55A on the 5V rail that gets decent reviews. The price was pretty good too.

Seriously though, check around. There are still a handful of other models with greater than 40A on the 5V rail, but this is the only one that looks to have some measure of quality behind it.

One of my other systems has an Enermax Whisper 420W unit that I like, but of course I can't find these anywhere anymore; not even used. I've also got a ThermalTake PurePower 420W in another system that is also rock solid. Again, I can't find a new unit like that anymore. There's a guy selling one on eBay used:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermaltake-Purepower … =item2a26b6ca2a

That auction is ending in 18 hours though, so you better grab it quick if you like it. Here's the NewEgg reviews for it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16817153006

See what I mean though? 80% positive feedback for that ThermalTake PSU. I'm sure the Enermax Whisper PSU is even better. But you just can't find that kind of quality anymore. The Rosewill PSU that I ordered has a 73% feedback rating, and that looks to be about as good as things get nowadays. 😢

I really hope the Enermax Whisper lasts for awhile longer. I think I bought it back in 2001, so it's already almost 12 years old. I have no idea how long a PSU can realistically last though...

@KT7AGuy

Let's hope that your Rosewill 600W is based on/improved from this older RP500-2 model, which seems to be a good performer:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDR … e=print&reid=32
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16817182016
(they do look similar)

I was worried about the 1-star reviews/DOA reports etc but then I checked even top models from Seasonic/Corsair/Enermax do get quite a number of bad reviews, surprisingly. The downside of online shopping I guess, vs buying locally. Sometimes I think manufacturers shouldn't even let a unit pass the QC until it's been used for 30 days...

Anyway, looks like you could fire up dual Athlon MP 2800+ with that unit no problem. 😀