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#119943 - 05/03/06 03:25 PM Need more power!?!?  
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vmann Offline
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Hey guys. Long time, no post. Work has been insane and I MAY have gotten 20 hours of play out of my Alienware rig since last summer! I've had some graphics issues with some games, Lock-On being the most important to me. Nothing in the LSD effect genre, just some "shaky" stuff in game. After trying out new drivers with no impact whatsoever, I ran some voltage checks. Seems that the the two vid cards are not always getting the same voltage and under load, almost never does EITHER receive stable voltage. The PC Power and Cooling 510W is an Alienware standard and thus should have been ok, but this one doesn't seem to be cut out for SLI work from the start. It doesn't come with two PCIe connectors, so it uses an adapter for one of the cards. Apparently to poor effect here.

Done some research, NOT springing for the PC P&C 820W or 1000W units! Leaning toward a SeaSonic 600W unit that performed well in a Tom's Hardware comparison thrashing (full load for a sick amount of time - 48 hours or some such). Anyone own and recommend this unit? An Enermax modular wired unit is my second choice, but I think I prefer the stability of soldered connections.

As always, your input is valued. I have MUCH time off this summer and would like to begin gaming again to the potential of this rig. Thanks.


Athlon X2 4800+, Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, 2Gb OCZ PC4000 EB Plat, 74G 10k WD Raptor, 2 X Leadtek 7900GTX, Audigy 2 Zs, SeaSonic 600W PSU, Windows XP Home, CH Products Fighterstick, Pro Throttle, Pro Pedals USB.
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#119944 - 05/03/06 03:40 PM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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Heh, Alienware.

#119945 - 05/03/06 03:49 PM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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:rolleyes: Thanks, Operator.

vmann, what do you mean by "shaky"? I'm not sure what you're actually seeing.

I don't know if varying voltage under load would concern me. Video card load is always changing, so the voltage may as well. Maybe you should contact Alienware and see what they have to say.

#119946 - 05/03/06 06:41 PM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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Right. The entire screen appears to shake as if the refresh rate is set too low. But it's not too low as it's the same as when I've tried it in single card mode with no ill effects.

As for the voltage readings, I took the most accurate ones not from the rig itself, but from hooking the PSU to a testing platform from work that we call "the wringer" (as in put that piece through the..). Some of the equipment I work on have batteries that are supposed to put out some pretty lofty numbers and the test bed's PSU can be inverted to pull for testing these while the attached laptop shows the results. The rails are not even close to stable, fluctuating by .75v and neither gets to with .5v of its nominal voltage when both are loaded. Alone, each gets the job done getting to within .1v of nominal and fluctuating by only .10 to .15v. But an SLI rig requires two and herein lies the rub.

Alienware is terrific for customer support, but their solution involves my packing up the whole rig and sending it back. Not in this lifetime.

Thoughts?


Athlon X2 4800+, Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, 2Gb OCZ PC4000 EB Plat, 74G 10k WD Raptor, 2 X Leadtek 7900GTX, Audigy 2 Zs, SeaSonic 600W PSU, Windows XP Home, CH Products Fighterstick, Pro Throttle, Pro Pedals USB.
#119947 - 05/04/06 12:35 AM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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Another PSU worth considering is the FSP Epsilon in either 600W or 700W flavours \:\)


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www.CombatACE.com SF P1/WOV/WOE/First Eagles flunky

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#119948 - 05/04/06 12:47 AM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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Why is it you won't pack it up and send to Alienware? It sounds like a PSU problem. Why not let them solve it? Think it will take too long?

#119949 - 05/04/06 01:16 AM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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oh yes the days of the kilo-watt psu will soon be upon us.....

soon we'll be replacing psu's for ac to dc coverters and running the pc straight off the mains...


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#119950 - 05/04/06 02:17 AM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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Quote:
Originally posted by Davros:
oh yes the days of the kilo-watt psu will soon be upon us.....
you are behind the times they've been here for a while ...
want a 1.1kW? http://tagan.de/pages/products/turboS/e_tg1100_u95.html#
£235 though


"Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder"

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#119951 - 05/05/06 11:42 PM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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Thanks for the suggestions, all. I think that speedbump misunderstands my meaning. Alienware wants the entire rig! It is enormous and it's been 3 months at least since I've discarded the original box.

Yes, the day of the 1kW PSU is indeed already here. PC Power and Cooling already offers one but they want 450+ USD for their 820W unit, what will they ask for 1000W?!?!?

Checking out the FSP Epsilon, BUFF. Thanks for the suggestion.


Athlon X2 4800+, Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, 2Gb OCZ PC4000 EB Plat, 74G 10k WD Raptor, 2 X Leadtek 7900GTX, Audigy 2 Zs, SeaSonic 600W PSU, Windows XP Home, CH Products Fighterstick, Pro Throttle, Pro Pedals USB.
#119952 - 05/06/06 12:07 AM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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450 dollars for a psu !!!!!!!


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#119953 - 05/07/06 03:38 PM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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Yeah, Davros, those were my thoughts as well. I'd do it if I could drive in my rig to work, but until that day comes, that's just too much for this type of component. Especially when you know how little money goes into a PSU. I guess the crossfire guys have no choice from what I've read as those rigs consume quite a lot of wattage.

My local PC guy had the SeaSonic S12 600W in stock and was happy to bench test it in front of me. Ran solid and silent so I took it and installed it yesterday. Two and a half hour job with the wire management steps for asthetics/cooling.

Runs super, no bells or whistles just power. The shaky/shimmer effect in Lock-On is gone.
Alienware will issue me a $100 credit if the PSU I send back proves untampered-with. Nice of them, I thought.

This belies my previous experience with PSU "failure". It's always been an all or nothing affair for me in the past, never a degradation of power. A pop, no juice and a tell-tale odor was always the way it went.


Athlon X2 4800+, Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, 2Gb OCZ PC4000 EB Plat, 74G 10k WD Raptor, 2 X Leadtek 7900GTX, Audigy 2 Zs, SeaSonic 600W PSU, Windows XP Home, CH Products Fighterstick, Pro Throttle, Pro Pedals USB.
#119954 - 05/07/06 03:46 PM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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Glad to hear it worked out so well and that's admirable of Alienware to issue 100 dollar credit. Seasonic always gets good reviews.

#119955 - 05/07/06 07:38 PM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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This may not be a case of PSU failure as much as it was a case of PSU inadequacy. If that's the case, however, it means that a PCP&C 510 was an inadeqaute PSU, which is a frightening thought.

#119956 - 05/07/06 09:57 PM Re: Need more power!?!?  
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2x7800GTX isn't going to be an easy load though ...


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www.CombatACE.com SF P1/WOV/WOE/First Eagles flunky

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