davidhammock200 Posted August 15, 2006 Posted August 15, 2006 Not recommended, but not junk either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidds Posted August 15, 2006 Posted August 15, 2006 They can support a Amd 3200+ (venice), DFI Expert, OCZ memory (PC 4000) and MSI NX7800GT with no problem??? What do you think?? Or i have to change my psu??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidhammock200 Posted August 15, 2006 Posted August 15, 2006 They can support a Amd 3200+ (venice), DFI Expert, OCZ memory (PC 4000) and MSI NX7800GT with no problem??? What do you think?? Or i have to change my psu??? If it works, it works, however just keep in mind, that it is not one of the greatest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ap90033 Posted August 15, 2006 Posted August 15, 2006 I just dont get it. I know a guy who owns a small outfit and over the past two years he told me has put together over 200 systems with Antec and had very little issue. I have had several and all have been good. Then I come here and find they suck. Then I find half a dozen sites that recommend the aspire power supply i have and find here they suck. going by my smartguardian ATX+12v= 12.09 ATX +5.0v= 4.94 ATX +3.3v= 3.28 and they dont change (looked for 10 minutes or so) seems within spec to me (isnt that like within 1%) ? Are you guys saying this is bad for SLI or running like 12 hard drives? Everywhere else pretty much says this is a good unit. So I am just confused. I have a decent but not crazy oc of 1.8 clocked to 2.52 which isnt bad. I run it 24/7 and have had it for several months. I guess now someone is going to tell me it will die at any time. Not trying to be a pain just trying to seperate fact from opinion. I know many people that will say "brand a motherboard is crap get brand b it rocks" and find another person that will say the exact opposite and both will swear up and down theirs is the best. I spent several hours finding out what would be the best board, memory, cpu, case, power supply, etc. and I am actually floored that you so stronlgly contradict all the other sites I look at, especially anandtech which I feel is one of the better sites around. Thanks. PS "With respect for the effort you put into trying to research this PSU, and sympathy for what you are now discovering ..." No offense, but I cant verify who you are at all and I would trust anandtech or toms over a single forum. I have seen many forums spouting hate speech towards a product that I found to be solid as a rock and then find another forum singing its praises. I would however like to find out the facts. To be honest unless the DFI tool used to monitor my system is off (which would be rather disappointing towards dfi) my numbers are well within specs... To be honest I would swear there must be two other companies with the same name because mine and others around me experience has been the complete opposite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Halvis Posted August 16, 2006 Posted August 16, 2006 I just dont get it. ... I spent several hours finding out what would be the best board, memory, cpu, case, power supply, etc. and I am actually floored that you so stronlgly contradict all the other sites I look at, especially anandtech which I feel is one of the better sites around. Thanks. No disrespect to any other sites or anything, but this IS kind of a unique forum. It is DFI specific, but if you look around, there are a lot of non DFI boards in many of the sigs here. THAT, if nothing else should tell you something. Its a community of folks with a shared hobby who arent out to SELL you anything. many of them/us have already made mistakes and shared them here, thus preventing others who read about it, from repeating them. jmnsho. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
red930 Posted August 16, 2006 Posted August 16, 2006 No offense, but I cant verify who you are at all and I would trust anandtech or toms over a single forum. Keep in mind Toms and Anandtech want to stay in business - they DO actually get money for doing reviews on products, and aren't going to outright say something is totally not worth purchasing. Companies know that enthusiasts (and computer builders in general) look to big sites like this all the time, and they're getting their moneys worth. That said - there are always flukes. There are many people that are running systems on very underpower PSUs and somehow getting away with it, but something keep them going. We aren't saying you should buy a new one on the recommend list now, if what you have is working thats great. The reason the recommended list is there is because its for people that don't know the difference between a qulaity PSU and a crappy one. When I first looked into it I almost bought the 680 watt Aspire because it was the most power for the money, but I did my homework and found that wasn't true at all. Now it might have worked - MAYBE - but why take the chance? We recommend quality power supplies because it reduces the chance of somebody coming back here and bitching about the Ultra-D (or whatever) not working. In all reality, probably 60%+ of the problems new users come here with are power supply related, and when we read that they have an Aspire case with included 500 watt power supply....well its kinda obvious for those that have been here for awhile. You're obviously entitled to your opinions. I really do hope it works out for you for years to come. Just know that it could easily be running at peak power instead of RMS at all times, which is GREATLY reducing its lifetime. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praz Posted August 16, 2006 Posted August 16, 2006 The computer industry is one of the most competitive with lowest margin of profits in existence. If the quality of a $60.00 power supply was the same as one for $120.00 there wouldn't be $120.00 power supplies. They would either be reduced in price or the manufacturers would be out of business. There is no governing body for testing power supplies. The manufacturers are free to test however they choose. So it isn't to difficult for an inferior psu to have good numbers. Time and again a person uses a program like MBM to demonstrate how solid the rails are. I'm sure that the manufacturers of these inferior supplies love this. After all there's the proof of stability. Programs like these don't have the sampling frequency necessary to show the true output of the supply. Look at some of these supplies with a scope under load and you will be amazed the computer even runs. This isn't to say all inexpensive power supplies are bad. When I build run of the mill point of sales systems or one for word processing I usually use an Antec case with psu. This is both cost effective and for these applications the supply is perfectly fine. Would I use one in one of my DFI systems? Not a chance. These boards are built to squeeze every last bit of performance out of the components. And to do this this require 100% clean stable power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ap90033 Posted August 16, 2006 Posted August 16, 2006 What you say makes some sense. Looking at my last post, does my voltages look like they should? How would I know if this power supply is running good or not? I am not an electrical expert thats why I looked at all the review sites. Geez I thought $165 for a case and power supply was paying enough to get quality, how much am I expected to pay? 200? 300? I cant believe 80% or so of the gaming community is paying that kind of dough for a case and power supply. I thought with oc'ing you were getting more cpu for the money. With what you guys are saying thats stupid dont oc spend the extra 200 or so on higher end cpu and keep it stock so you dont need a zillion killowat power supply that costs a grand! I mean really what Power supply can you get for say $80 or less that meets this forums opinions and is a stellar power supply? When I got this thing I was impressed the capicitors and heat sinks in this thing are friggin HUGE! But I digress, can you guys let me know if these are what I need to look at and are good--- smartguardian ATX+12v= 12.09 ATX +5.0v= 4.94 ATX +3.3v= 3.28 Thanks for putting up with me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
red930 Posted August 16, 2006 Posted August 16, 2006 What you say makes some sense. Looking at my last post, does my voltages look like they should? How would I know if this power supply is running good or not? I am not an electrical expert thats why I looked at all the review sites. Geez I thought $165 for a case and power supply was paying enough to get quality, how much am I expected to pay? 200? 300? I cant believe 80% or so of the gaming community is paying that kind of dough for a case and power supply. I thought with oc'ing you were getting more cpu for the money. With what you guys are saying thats stupid dont oc spend the extra 200 or so on higher end cpu and keep it stock so you dont need a zillion killowat power supply that costs a grand! I mean really what Power supply can you get for say $80 or less that meets this forums opinions and is a stellar power supply? When I got this thing I was impressed the capicitors and heat sinks in this thing are friggin HUGE! But I digress, can you guys let me know if these are what I need to look at and are good--- smartguardian ATX+12v= 12.09 ATX +5.0v= 4.94 ATX +3.3v= 3.28 Thanks for putting up with me! 1. Those voltages should be fine, especially if they're under load (i.e. gaming). 2. Overclocking gives considerable benefits. A 680 watt Aspire sells for ~$100, where a 600-700 watt quality PSU (Fortron, OCZ, etc.) will cost between $130-$160, perhaps even cheaper during if its on sale. So the extra cost of the PSU isn't great, and cases aren't terribly expensive. Call it an extra $100 for a good power supply if you want. That extra $100 allows you to overclock the average 'new' Opteron 165 to 2.7-2.8 GHz (or more even), around 1000 mhz faster than stock, and as fast as the most expensive AMD on the market. Essentially giving you an $800+ CPU for ~$250 or so. I'd say thats money well spent. As for the quality of the PSU....well it'd be great if you had a Fry's nearby (I don't...wish i did) just so you compare the weight alone of them. Even most Antecs are nearly twice the weight of your Aspire, the OCZ, Fortron, and PC Power & Cooling even more so. Look at it this way - if it's heavy, it's probably good, just like comparing a '100 watt' Sony receiver that weighs 15 lbs to my 100 watt Harman/Kardon that weighs 70 lbs. Something is different there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praz Posted August 16, 2006 Posted August 16, 2006 Your voltages look fine if that's the true representation of what they are. If your system is 100% stable then your supply is doing it's job. 80% of the gaming community isn't paying this kind of money. But they're not running DFI motherboards either. As great as DFI boards are there is some things a person gives up by using one. And the choice of components is one of them. These boards are above average and require components that are also. It would be no different then buying a Tyan server board and running $50.00 memory in it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ap90033 Posted August 16, 2006 Posted August 16, 2006 Oh ok, I have mine at 2.5 which is plenty for me. I heard it is the max for stock heatsink. It performs like a X2 4600 so I am happy. Not as adventureous as you guys man 2.8! Geez Do you know how much a good power supply weighs? I think I will see how much this one weighs to compare. Thanks for all the great info... PS the weight of my power 500 watt power supply is 5.0 pounds A FORTRON SOURCE FSP550-60PLN-R 550 watt is 5 pounds this is on the DFI approved list as great for single cards like me... Not trying to be a pain but the higher power supply should weigh more logically? Same weight... Here is an Antec 500 watt power supply note the weight- Oh Part #: SP-500-DT Condition: New Packaging: Plain Box Ship Weight: 5 lbs --- (not 10 lbs) Manufacturer: ANTEC INC MFG Part #: SP-500 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidhammock200 Posted August 16, 2006 Posted August 16, 2006 1. No one put Antec & Aspire in the same class. Antec has a long history of making quality PSU's & although there have been some problems with some of their newer models, there are in fact several Antec PSU's recommended in the PSU Guide. Aspire however is & always has been a junk dealer when it comes to PSU's! They do NOT even claim to meet the specs! 2. Software is USELESS for measuring voltages! All software including DFI's. A DVM/DMM can give you the basics, however a good O'scope is required for anything further. 3. Putting a 500W PSU in a system that will never draw over 250W's & declaring how well it works is just plain stupid! This proves NOTHING! 4. We recommend PSU's that WE KNOW WORK! We do NOT get paid to do this, we do this because we care! Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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