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O.T. HD, PSU review:



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 9th 18, 04:10 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

I have a Dell XPS 8500, with Windows 7 Professional, SP1,
with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

(1) TB HD
Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-33-3770 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Ram 12.0 GB
System type : 64-bit operating system

I also have

I have a Dell Optiplex 780 Tower, with Windows 7 Professional,
SP1, with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

Intel (R) Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz
4GB RAM, 750 GB HD
System type : 64-bit operating system

and (external hard drives)

(8500)
WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200
RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Hard Drive

(780)
Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive


Awhile back we discussed backup HD's and PSU's for the 8500 and 780.

I just wanted to verify again that these were still the best choices:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16822148834

PSU (for both the 8500 and 780):

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...82E16817151096

I do like the 2TB Seagate's they're quiet and reliable.

Thanks,
Robert
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  #2  
Old December 9th 18, 06:30 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

Mark Twain wrote:
I have a Dell XPS 8500, with Windows 7 Professional, SP1,
with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

(1) TB HD
Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-33-3770 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Ram 12.0 GB
System type : 64-bit operating system

I also have

I have a Dell Optiplex 780 Tower, with Windows 7 Professional,
SP1, with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

Intel (R) Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz
4GB RAM, 750 GB HD
System type : 64-bit operating system

and (external hard drives)

(8500)
WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200
RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Hard Drive

(780)
Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive


Awhile back we discussed backup HD's and PSU's for the 8500 and 780.

I just wanted to verify again that these were still the best choices:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16822148834

PSU (for both the 8500 and 780):

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...82E16817151096

I do like the 2TB Seagate's they're quiet and reliable.

Thanks,
Robert


Well, the power supply was selected for its generous 3.3V and 5V rails.
It's almost enough to be a "universal" mid-range power supply. That
may be how we selected it.

If you had a clamp-on DC ammeter, you could measure the
various rails and see exactly how much power is required.
You'd start a Prime95 "Torture Test" run, and measure the
ATX12V cable. Start a Furmark video card test, and measure
the PCIE power cable to the video card. And so on. This works
best, if the existing power supply is not "sleeved" and the
wires are both colorful and loose. You can gather up
the four red wires and put them in the jaws of the
clamp-on meter and "sum" the current in the wires.

That means, it is possible to work out actual loads, and
based on that, select some other supply.

In looking through the Newegg selection of 600-700W supplies,
there are supplies with higher ratings, but also higher prices.
And some of the cheaper ones, the 3.3V and 5V can be below 20A
max output. There's nothing particularly wrong with that...
as long as you know the motherboard doesn't draw that much.

I've had only one motherboard, where the CPU ran off +5V, where
the +5V drew current at 25 amps. That's not likely to happen
on any modern setup. It would take a large number of hard
drives to max out the +5V rail (as hard drives use about 1 amp
each from +5V). You'd need a huge tower filled with drives,
to tip over the power supply. (I generally start calculating
and including startup current on hard drives, when the PC has
four or more hard drives installed and powered at the same time.)

I think those will be good choices without running up
the price too high.

On hard drives, there will be plenty of temptations
out there, but you have to keep your eyes peeled for
"shingled" drives, and avoid buying those. Those
belong in data centers, by owners with deep pockets,
for when they fail. The manufacturer should not torture
consumers with those damn things. (They used the cache DRAM
on the controller board, to kinda fix the performance,
but they're still not a product I would recommend
to anyone. There's no reason for ****ty little
2TB versions of shingled drives to exist. They would
be a horrible choice as a boot/OS drive, because
they're really targeted for archival storage.)

Paul
  #3  
Old December 9th 18, 01:28 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:


If there's a better choice for the PSU
for a little more $$$ I'd like your
recommendations; I'm looking more for
quality.

As I said, I'm satisfied with the Seagate's
but wanted to check to see if they had a new
better HD?

Thanks,
Robert
  #4  
Old December 9th 18, 03:22 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

I should of included this for reference.

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-produ...nual_en-us.pdf


Robert
  #5  
Old December 9th 18, 03:37 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

This is the setup I'm going for:

(2) PSU's, one each for the 8500
and the 780.

(2) HD's which will give me (3)
total with the one I already
have cloned for the 8500.
Then I'll clone one for the
780 and leave the other clean.

I'm also going to pick up another
APC surge arrest.

What do you think?

Robert


  #6  
Old December 9th 18, 07:25 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

Mark Twain wrote:
This is the setup I'm going for:

(2) PSU's, one each for the 8500
and the 780.

(2) HD's which will give me (3)
total with the one I already
have cloned for the 8500.
Then I'll clone one for the
780 and leave the other clean.

I'm also going to pick up another
APC surge arrest.

What do you think?

Robert


The APC surge arrestor won't stop the "electrician
wiring problem" you had, where 220V was applied to
110V circuits.

The surge arrestor only works for transients.
Any even moderate steady-state threat (overvoltage
at substation), that'll just smoke the arrestor
and it then no longer protects anything.

Good arrestors have a status LED, which indicates
the surge protection is damaged.

I have one somewhere in my "power tree" for the
computer room, but I can't say it's still operational.

*******

For the PSU:

Open the web browser to newegg.com. Look for Power Supply
in the Components section. You want "Power Supply", not
"Server Power Supply".

In the selectors on the left, select "600W - 700W",
set Sellers to Newegg rather than All Sellers. Then,
sort the listed supplies by "Best Rating". You might
find supplies with Modular (cable looms unplug) or
Fixed wiring. I find them equally a nuisance. It's
hard to find wiring loops with proper color codes.
You'd have to check the photos of the supply for that.

The power supply has two "standard dimensions", leaving
the length of the supply as a variable. At 600W, the
supplies aren't likely to be so long with respect to
the faceplate, that they bump into the optical drive.

While keeping those things in mind, look at the output
current rating. I aim for 5V @ 20A , 3.3V @ 20A , as
a good minimum, just in case the supply is used in an
older PC. Modern PCs might not need that much. The 12V
rail rating, depends on what you're powering. My
current CPU draws 156W. The video card draws 180W.
I divide the total by 12V to come up with an amp
rating, then throw in a little margin. (If I got
a number like 30A, I might look for 45A say.) Maybe
that kicks me out of the 600W class. The machine
I'm typing on (which is similar to your 780), is unlikely
to even be remotely close to that high. Maybe it
only needs 15A on the 12V rail say.

When picking a 600W class power supply, that's to
cover the average kit you might find in a computer
room, with room to spare. What it doesn't cover,
is if you're a Rich Guy with four 250W video
cards, and then you need a 1300W supply which is
so long, you need a bigger computer case. And
you'd need a bigger computer case any way, because
the video cards are a couple feet long :-)

For specialty electrical loads, you should be
doing the math before buying.

The most expensive power supply you can buy,
is around $500, and has Gallium Nitride power
transistors. And is, perhaps, 90% efficient.
I don't think you need two of those, but who
am I to judge :-) I bet they come with a nice
hood ornament. And a fancy carrying case.

In that 600W section, you should be able to
find something between $60 and $100. There is
likely one with a better customer rating than
the one I selected. I selected that particular one,
because of the lower rail rating. And the lower rail
rating (the beef) is there, so the power supply,
while sitting on your spares shelf, could be placed
in any new computer you happen to buy a
few years from now (refurb or new). I tried to make
the selection a bit "generic", just like I do
when I buy a spare power supply for my
junk room. For example, right now, my spare
is sitting in a P4 machine (with more power
on the lower rails needed).

If you buy a Fortron-branded supply, be aware
the wires on those aren't very long, and depending
on where the motherboard connectors are located,
the connectors might not reach. The other brands
aren't likely to do that, but check the
*customer comments* section for details. I
did spot one comment while browsing a few
of them, where cable length got mentioned.
This can be a problem in larger computer
cases, where the PSU sits on the bottom
of the machine, and the main power
connector is on the upper corner of the
motherboard.

Paul
  #7  
Old December 9th 18, 08:45 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul in Houston TX[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 999
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

Mark Twain wrote:

If there's a better choice for the PSU
for a little more $$$ I'd like your
recommendations; I'm looking more for
quality.

As I said, I'm satisfied with the Seagate's
but wanted to check to see if they had a new
better HD?

Thanks,
Robert


IMO, Seasonic is the best you can get without going industrial redundant.
My Seasonic 750 Titanium Prime powers the Nvidia 1080 just fine.
It cost $170 last year. It barely gets warm at full gaming.
Both CPU and GPU are over clocked 30%.
It's unlikely you will need that much power.
Just make sure your PSU fits in the case before buying.
HDD. For XP I only use WD Blacks. They run hot but have never had one fail.

  #8  
Old December 10th 18, 03:50 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

I followed your instructions but it's
way beyond me to know what to look for.

I thought about this but I don't really
know what I'm looking for? I just went
with Seasonic because that's what was
suggested before. The prices do go
pretty high. I figured around $100-$125.

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...82E16817151096

but the 5V @ 24A, 3.3V @ 24A is higher. Are
we concerned more about that then about rails
or both?

I would really prefer if you could suggest
what you think is best or is the original
Seasonic OK to go with?

Thanks,
Robert



  #9  
Old December 10th 18, 03:54 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

I suppose the only way to see if it fits inside
before buying is to open them up and measure the
PSU?

I really hate doing that.... Paul knows I'm a
prime example of Murphy's Law. Weird things seem
to just happen.

Robert

  #10  
Old December 10th 18, 03:58 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

I also choose this one because it
had the most reviews.


Robert
  #11  
Old December 10th 18, 04:20 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

According to the reviews it sounds
exactly like what I'm looking for.

That is if it meets my wattage etc.
which I know nothing about and if it
fits.

Also I'm not a gamer. So I don't care
about that stuff but I want quiet,
quality and reliability.

Robert
  #12  
Old December 10th 18, 10:06 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:



The APC surge arrestor won't stop the "electrician
wiring problem" you had, where 220V was applied to
110V circuits.


Boy that was something wasn't it! It fried allot of
things. All the more reason to buy backup HD, and PSU's.
I still have to send my tuner our for repair but will be doing
that soon. The guy got fired as a result.

I've had a mini-split system installed with two (12,000
btu ducts)one in the living room and one in the bedroom
at opposite end. So they cleaned all the wiring up in the
outside box and running 110V. They also tested the 220V
as bad and left it disconnected.

https://www.heatandcool.com/12-000-b...l-bracket.html

Robert


  #13  
Old December 11th 18, 02:26 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

For some reason I selected the wrong PSU link.

This is the PSU I was looking at:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...88&ignorebbr=1

I did look at some of your examples
but this has 753 reviews and most seem
to think its good. As far as wattage etc
I don't know anything about that.

If this is too much wattage or whatever
maybe we should stay with the original
selection?

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...82E16817151096

Thoughts/Suggestions?
Robert
  #14  
Old December 11th 18, 02:30 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

Hmmmm I just saw that the one I was looking
at was 650W while the other was 620W so there's
not allot of difference but the reviews of
the one I was looking act were impressive.

Robert
  #15  
Old December 11th 18, 02:39 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default O.T. HD, PSU review:

Question; even if I open up both the 8500 and 780
computers to get the PSU measurements,I don't see
any online measurements for the PSU?

So how do I know if they'll fit? Also how do I verify
cable length online other than comments?

Robert
 




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