Power supply for p180

Dish · Post by **Dish** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 6:19 pm

Hello everyone, been reading these forums like crazy the last few weeks and i thought i'd might aswell get active. ^^

I know this topic has been discussed all over the place but i can't seem to find a straight out answer.

I'm wondering which power supplies that have cabling enough to allow for having the ATX main running under the MoBo, (ASUS A8N SLI Premium).

I've been looking at dynamiks thread and he says that he could get it to reach, (though my first thought was that it must be closer to have it go behind the MoBo), and it seems he's got pretty much every angle covered i guess it's so.

I'm gonna want a quite heavy power supply which will allow for eventually running an SLI setup.
I was considering the Phantom but it seems it'll be hard doing the cabling neatly with that little space to work with in front of the PSU.

Anyone has actually ran into a PSU with cables long enough to do this or should i just give up and try another route?

PositiveSpin · Post by **PositiveSpin** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:37 pm

The problem is not usually the ATX main, because that usually plugs into the motherboard in a convenient place (like near the floppy and primary IDE connectors). The problem is usually the 4 or 8 pin ATX12V connector (the black/yellow one), 'cause it typically plugs in up near the keyboard connector.

You always have the option of buying extenders - there's a pointer to them in the thread.

The Phantom cables are reasonably long, and may well be long enough. I had just enough length to plug in the 8pin ATX12V, but if your motherboard only requires 4pin, then you get an extra 3 inches or so (the 4 pin comes off the

.

The PSUs that are giving some people trouble are Seasonic, I think.

Pgh · Post by **Pgh** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:46 pm

Dish wrote:...
I was considering the Phantom but it seems it'll be hard doing the cabling neatly with that little space to work with in front of the PSU.
...

If you're not going to be running a bunch of hard drives in the lower chamber I don't this this would be a problem.

The P180 has a sliding door between the chambers with a half-round cut-out in the front edge of the sliding door. When you get all the cables routed into the top chamber just slide the door forward and the cables should bundle together nicely in the cut-out.

Also, replacing the 38mm fan and plastic holder thing with a 25mm fan without the holder gets you more than .5" additional clearance.

vine-au · Post by **vine-au** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:20 am

well i dont have the same mb as you (A7N8X-E) but my PSU is the SilenX iXtrema 520W and it fits perfectly in the P180, with extra cabling to spare. a solid PSU and whisper quiet.

ozdoc · Post by **ozdoc** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:41 am

OOhhh.... A SilenX PSU in a P180. Now there's a match made in heaven. I hope it's not a SPCR P180.

Dish · Post by **Dish** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 3:51 am

PositiveSpin wrote:The problem is not usually the ATX main, because that usually plugs into the motherboard in a convenient place (like near the floppy and primary IDE connectors). The problem is usually the 4 or 8 pin ATX12V connector (the black/yellow one), 'cause it typically plugs in up near the keyboard connector.

Yes sorry you're right that's what i was thinking about.

You always have the option of buying extenders - there's a pointer to them in the thread.

I read MikeC strongly advice against getting extenders for power cables so i wanted to try and avoid that option.

noac · Post by **noac** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:12 am

Well - kind of confusing to strongly advise against extenders seeing he was involved with the design of the p180 (I may be mistaken) since not using extenders limits the choice of either PSU or Mobo greatly.

Not trying to flame, sorry if anyone read it that way. My point is that very many p180 builds are using extenders - and I for sure will.

Dish · Post by **Dish** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:01 am

I searched through the boeards again to find where i read it and I'm think the bolded "don't" might have had me believe it was more of an issue than the post actually suggests.

MikeC wrote:If it fits and you're happy with the system temps and things are stable, I suggest you don't extend the PSU cables. Adding an extension to any cable increases resistance -- particularly at the contact points for the extension. Small voltage drops at low power are not an issue, but at high load, it can become an issue. Contact points tend to increase resistance over time (joining of two air-exposed metal surfaces).

However the next poster seems to agree on it.

Freelancer77 wrote:I heartily agree. Do not add "load-sinks", which is what an extension would create at the intermediate connector junction, to a power line if it can be avoided. But if you must, apply a dielectric grease to the contacts to mitigate oxidation of the exposed metal.

The perfect solution, short of a new PSU with longer cables, would be to run an entirely new set of wires of the correct length. However, that cannot be recommended because (1) it's dangerous to work in an open power supply unless you are CERTAIN you know what you're up to, and (2) bye-bye warranty on the PSU once you crack the case open.

Since i don't have the knowledge to make an own assesment of the statements I just quoted them and you'll deicde on how much weight to put into it.

It would be nice if someone with some experience of these things would shed some light over whether it's recommended to avoid extensions.

Sunfox · Post by **Sunfox** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:05 pm

I have a P180 with a Phantom 500, standard thick lower fan plus 4 hard drives all packed into the lower chamber, and interestingly cables were not a problem. Yeah, it took some work to get everything nice and neat, especially between the Phantom and the thick fan, but in the end it all fit just fine (tip: install the Phantom "upside down" so that the cables exit on the opposite side to normal).

As for the ATX 8 pin, it did fit directly on my Intel D955XBK motherboard which places the connector up by the keyboard connector, but it WAS a tight fit. But not stretched tight, and it does go over all my cards without touching them. An alternative was to use the Phantom's 4-pin connector and then the motherboard's bundled 4 - 8-pin converter, but that would have been like a foot too long.

It's nice to finally get a power supply that has all the correct connectors AND enough of them.

vine-au · Post by **vine-au** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:25 pm

ozdoc wrote:OOhhh.... A SilenX PSU in a P180. Now there's a match made in heaven. I hope it's not a SPCR P180.

lol no it's a standard P180. No doubt if it WAS an SPCR version i would start to experience strange anomolies like false voltage readings, incorect temp readouts, and a "Welcome to Macintosh" on the boot screen hehe
imo the standard P180 case is much nicer than the black version. looks to monolithic and nondescript.

[/completely-off-topic]

noac · Post by **noac** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 2:28 am

Dish wrote:I searched through the boeards again to find where i read it and I'm think the bolded "don't" might have had me believe it was more of an issue than the post actually suggests.

MikeC wrote:If it fits and you're happy with the system temps and things are stable, I suggest you don't extend the PSU cables. Adding an extension to any cable increases resistance -- particularly at the contact points for the extension. Small voltage drops at low power are not an issue, but at high load, it can become an issue. Contact points tend to increase resistance over time (joining of two air-exposed metal surfaces).
However the next poster seems to agree on it.

Freelancer77 wrote:I heartily agree. Do not add "load-sinks", which is what an extension would create at the intermediate connector junction, to a power line if it can be avoided. But if you must, apply a dielectric grease to the contacts to mitigate oxidation of the exposed metal.

The perfect solution, short of a new PSU with longer cables, would be to run an entirely new set of wires of the correct length. However, that cannot be recommended because (1) it's dangerous to work in an open power supply unless you are CERTAIN you know what you're up to, and (2) bye-bye warranty on the PSU once you crack the case open.
Since i don't have the knowledge to make an own assesment of the statements I just quoted them and you'll deicde on how much weight to put into it.

It would be nice if someone with some experience of these things would shed some light over whether it's recommended to avoid extensions.

Yes, I have read this too. But - check signs and you see that alot of people have mobos with the 4pin atx connector in the left top corner and still use PSU from Seasonic, Hiper, Tagan which have cables that dont or should not be long enough.

I have seen alot of pics with ppl having closed off one pci-e or pci slot and having the cable running across over the mobo trying to make it fit- Im thinking this must be more risky.

And considering airflow I have seen several users not really needing extenders using them just bcos they want it neat.

The only to posts I have read on any forum about not using extenders are the two ones you are quoting.

All that Im saying is I dont think its that big of a deal. And if it were I think MikeC (if it was him) did a questionable job designing the p180 since it rules out alot of combinations of mobos and psu. Actually how many recommended PSU of spcr can be used with a a8n-sli card from abit or asus for instance?

Further more, non of the retailers in Sweden (where I live) post any warnings of using extenders - that I have seen.

Anyways, If you have any other sources please share them - bcos Im in the same boat that you are. Im looking at the Seasonic s12-500 to use with the upcomming P5N32-SLI Deluxe and Im pretty sure Ill need extenders.

Dish · Post by **Dish** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 6:04 am

I'm gonna keep asking around to see what people say about in other places, i'll let you know if I find more info on it.

If I don't find anything more i think i'm gonna go for the SeaSonic, it just seems like a too good of a power supply to give up on only because of the need of extenders.

Where are you buying from in Sweden btw? I also live in Sweden and have only found them on riksdata.se. Not that i don't want to order from there just wanted to see if you knew any other place that has them. Always nice to be able to compare prices. (If in Gbg non-online stores would be nice.)

noac · Post by **noac** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:18 am

Dish wrote:I'm gonna keep asking around to see what people say about in other places, i'll let you know if I find more info on it.

If I don't find anything more i think i'm gonna go for the SeaSonic, it just seems like a too good of a power supply to give up on only because of the need of extenders.

Where are you buying from in Sweden btw? I also live in Sweden and have only found them on riksdata.se. Not that i don't want to order from there just wanted to see if you knew any other place that has them. Always nice to be able to compare prices. (If in Gbg non-online stores would be nice.)

www.overclockers.se (okey price)
www.kylning.se (offline sthlm)

Im having problems not buying the Tagan that's on sale on komplett.se however. I also like the Hiper Type-R but as the Tagan its supposed to sound awful under load.

Edit: Riksdata have the best price, what does retail mean? SEASONIC S12-500 (RETAIL) ?

Ackelind · Post by **Ackelind** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:43 am

Shipping from riksdata is 250SEK which makes it more exensive in the end. Also, if you make a search for "riksdata" over at sweclockers' consumer feedback forum, you will find out why they are more known as "riskdata". I wouldn't order anything from them at all.

I got mine from kylning along with my P180.

noac · Post by **noac** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 3:09 am

Ackelind wrote:Shipping from riksdata is 250SEK which makes it more exensive in the end. Also, if you make a search for "riksdata" over at sweclockers' consumer feedback forum, you will find out why they are more known as "riskdata". I wouldn't order anything from them at all.

I got mine from kylning along with my P180.

Did you check the shipping price from overclockers.se? I know Luleå and Umeå inst as close as it sound but it closer than to sthlm.

Power supply for p180

Power supply for p180

Re: Power supply for p180