Antec TP-750 vs Corsiar 850TX

[rob_bailey191]

Antec: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
Corsair: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... sair%20850

$120 is about my max budget for a Power Supply in this power range (I'll be running 2 Radeon 5850's). The reason I'm leaning towards the lower wattage Antec at this point is it's recommendation from Silent PC Review (http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_PSUs) as well as some good reviews I've read about it elsewhere. A silent PSU isn't my biggest concern but I don't mind paying a little extra if it makes some difference in the noise department.

Paying a little less for the higher wattage corsair might also be worthwhile, however I don't see it listed under silentPC's recommendations. How does it compare to my Antec in the noise department? Just looking for recommendations/feedback on from people who've used these.

[jhhoffma]

The TruePower New 750 is very quiet. Quieter than my VX450 and S12-330 and way quieter than my EA-430 and EA-550.

I can't comment on how quiet the Corsair is, but with regards to the power, what hardware would you be running that might require more than the TPN-750 can quietly provide?

[quest_for_silence]

Antec: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
Corsair: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... sair%20850

$120 is about my max budget for a Power Supply in this power range (I'll be running 2 Radeon 5850's).

A CrossFire of HD5850 may pull from the PSU about 200W at max while gaming, and up to 280W benching with Furmark or OCCT: you won't need at all 750W DC or more. If you haven't a Bloomfield (i7-9XX), you shouldn't ever pass the 400 marks while benching (no OC).

For that sum, the (best) options to go for are about three: the Seasonic X-560 (it's way better than Antec electrically and sonically), the Enermax Pro87+ 500W (maybe even the Modu82+/Pro82+ II 525W), several Nexus (RX7000, RX6300, RX5300 and NX6000R3 or NX5000R3), and maybe a few others to name. The Antec may come second close, but only up to 300W DC (the above mentioned ones should perform quietly at least up to 450W DC), as its fan controller is somewhat aggressively set (and however its build quality is a bit lower than the other units, even if always very well above average).

About the Corsair, I owned the smaller but almost identical (made by CWT) 750W, and it was a very performing and relatively well priced unit, but it's also quite loud, even at idle: unrecommendable for any silencer, and indeed MikeC refused to review the 850W for SPCR for its high noise (while the quieter cousin, Seasonic made, TX650 is no longer built, AFAIK).

[rob_bailey191]

Thanks for the responses so far. To calculate my power consumption I used the eXtreme PSU calculator which gave me a recommended wattage around 500. I gather 750w, and especially 850w, is probably more than I need, but I'd like to leave room for future upgrades. I also don't mind investing a bit more in a power supply if it's something I know I can still be using years from now.

That said perhaps it wouldn't be a terrible idea to downgrade a bit. How about PSUs around 650 watts?

[NeilBlanchard]

I'd be surprised if the system draws much more than 300watts peak. Those calculators are usually way too high...

[rob_bailey191]

Well I guess it's overdue, system specs:

ASrock 890fx Deluxe 4 mobo
AMD Phenom II 1090t 3.2 ghz (will likely OC, my first time doing it so will be a learning process)
8GB (2x4GB) Ripjaws DDR3 1333
2 XFX Radeon 5850's
2 2TB WD 7200RPM Green HD's in Raid configuration
+ other peripherals, wifi card and DVD burner


Potential upgrades I see in the future are a Blu Ray Player/burner, groovy sound card, and more ram. I dunno, maybe 750 is overkill.

[quest_for_silence]

I'd be surprised if the system draws much more than 300watts peak. Those calculators are usually way too high...

Well, if we're talking about benching (usual multiple instances of Prime95 plus FurMark or OCCT for the GPUs), I guess it should go well above the 300 marks, maybe just under the 400W DC, while in real life scenario (heavy gaming taxing the system) that *peak* figure could be "rounded down" by 100-120W DC (maybe more), so under the 280-300W DC.

Therefore, any rock solid 450W DC unit will work flawlessly with his current setup (no OC).
With a "typical" (typical as it's a common ceiling for such a CPU) 4GHz OC, we may guess a rise of about 150-180W peak (as Xbit Labs scored), so any really good 650W unit should be more than adequate at any extent.

[quest_for_silence]

I dunno, maybe 750 is overkill.

Along with any power-requirement concern, you have to look at the noise curve of any PSU: you should go for one with a low noise up to 250-300W. Another thing to check on any PSU is the availability of the right power connectors: due to your CrossFire setup, I think you should need four 6-pin PCIe power connectors (and as mid-power PSU may lack all those four, you could need to buy some molex-to-PCIe adaptor cable, while with any >750W unit you should be safe).

Among silencer-oriented unit, I guess that one of the most silent units is the Nexus NX6000R3 (630W), but it isn't widely available in North America (108USD at Ditaq, Sacramento, 115USD at East Luna, Chesterfield, Virginia, even if I think you might ask at NewEgg, as they already carry the smaller NX5000 tested on SPCR), and you might feel yourself somewhat uncomfortable with an under 650W unit (I wouldn't feel so).
Moreover, it's not modular.

With loads under 300W DC (your typical ones) the proposed Antec TP-750 New may come second relatively close (2-3dB more? Check), and you may spare an added bonus of 25USD (if you trust in MIRs): but it's way louder past this mark (even if I don't know how loud are your HD5850s at load, and so if you may notice the PSU above them!), and maybe the Seasonic X-650 even if slightly out of your budget (on NewEgg at 140USD) should be preferable (way quieter under 400W, a tad quieter up to 650W, surely better built, fully modular, better NewEgg ratings for reliability). Perhaps the TP-650 New might be a viable (way cheaper!) alternative, but take note that it also got noticeably worse rating on NewEgg (particularly in the last six months), and it should be way louder than the 750W at full power.

If you won't OC your puppy, personally I would go for either a Nexus NX5000 (530W, fixed cables), or a Seasonic X-560 (560W, modular): both are on NewEgg. Second might come the Antec TP-550 (but it costs as high as the TP-650 and probably could be not quite as quiet).
Due to your constraints (budget and planned OC) and actual availability, I don't see currently any more favourable alternative (if you trust SPCR philosophy and findings). Maybe some other else will be able to help you better.

[rob_bailey191]

About the Corsair, I owned the smaller but almost identical (made by CWT) 750W, and it was a very performing and relatively well priced unit, but it's also quite loud, even at idle: unrecommendable for any silencer, and indeed MikeC refused to review the 850W for SPCR for its high noise (while the quieter cousin, Seasonic made, TX650 is no longer built, AFAIK).

Newegg has the TX650 (at an amazing price no less), and I also see it as one of SPCR's recommended power supplies, although that article is dated back to 08 - is it still the same PSU?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139005

[quest_for_silence]

is it still the same PSU?

(As I believed to have already said) No, it isn't.

IIRC up to one year ago, Seasonic made for Corsair the CX and VX series and the lower models of the TX series (the old TX650), while CWT made all the HX and the higher wattage models of the TX series.
Since then CWT made them all (CX, VX, TX, HX) and they are all far way louder than the old Seasonic made series.

I won't recommend it (as I'm an incurable big spender), but if you're looking for a similar (to the old TX650) product, you may give a chance to the Seasonic S12II-620 Bronze (the M12II is the modular version).

[JamieG]

FWIW, I've just picked up an Antec TP-750 as a replacement PSU to try and diagnose some power issues I've been having with one of my systems (Q07 main rig in my signature) - utterly overspecced but it was the cheapest PSU I could find on the weekend over the holiday break that was well-reviewed at SPCR. It's very quiet at low loads with a bit of ticking detectable in the fan noise at >40cm on an open desk.

For your rig, I doubt you would notice the noise from the PSU at idle over dual 5850's. I estimate that the TP-750 at idle is about as loud as a Slipstream 800rpm somewhere between 7V to maybe 9V or so.

Hope that helps you with your decision.

[rob_bailey191]

Quest: Thanks for clarifying. The seasonic model you mention seems reasonable, I just can't seem to find any reviews/information about it online! The nexus models also look like a good option.

Jamie: thanks for that feedback. I'm basically just trying to to get a lot of bang for my buck in a quiet PSU that will last me a long time. And to make my decision a little easier Newegg now has a 25$ rebate for the unit, not sure if I can pass this up: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

[quest_for_silence]

Quest: Thanks for clarifying. The seasonic model you mention seems reasonable, I just can't seem to find any reviews/information about it online! The nexus models also look like a good option.

If you trust vendor's MIRs, the TP-750 is a valuable overkill.

About the Seasonic Bronze, you may find a well made review of the slightly smaller 520W (still good for your need I mean) at jonnyGURU: it's way cheaper than any TP-750, but also a bit louder than it (even granting that you may hear it over your CrossFire).

[rob_bailey191]

This may be a stupid question. What do I need in the way of power cables for my 5850? Here is the model: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

It says "2 x 6 pin" power connector, is that two of the six pin connectors or one of the 6+2 connectors? One of the card accessories is a "2 x 6-pin to 4-pin power cable", can I simply use adapters?

[quest_for_silence]

It says "2 x 6 pin" power connector, is that two of the six pin connectors or one of the 6+2 connectors?

IIRC it means that you have two 6-pin power connector on each card (you have two card, so you will need four 6-pin plug to properly feed them).

One of the card accessories is a "2 x 6-pin to 4-pin power cable", can I simply use adapters?

AFAIK you can: you may either have four 6-pin power plugs coming straight from the PSU, or adapt two (or four) 4-pin molex power connector coming from it (or even SATA ones).