The Power Supply Thread

[prostuff1]

That is a very beefy looking supply for sure.  Looks like a good choice if you are going to go with that many drives.

 

From the quick specs lookup I did it has a single 12V rail with 83 Amps so you should be good to go there.

 

figure 2 amps per green drive and 3 amps per 7200RPM drive and you should be around the amps you need for only the drives.

 

 

If you need more modular connectors I suggest getting in contact with OCZ, sometimes the company will send you more of a particular connector at little or no cost.  I have had corsair send me extra connectors before and they did not even charge me for them.

[JustinAiken]

So my Seasonic 650 watt that I'm going to use to replace the Corsiar 850W in my unRaid arrived, but the Nexus in my desktop died so it ended up in there instead...

 

Balls.

[c3]

See good deal forum for Corsair sale currently

[spl147]

i am using a chenbro 21312 chassis...i am looking for a good 2u power supply....

 

my system is:

Supermicro X7SPA-HF

4gb ram

3x 80mm fans

Supermicro saslp-mv8

11x WD30EURS

1x WD 500gb green drive(cache)

 

 

so far i have narrowed down to this.....

 

http://www.dynapowerusa.com/dyna/ASP/SureStar2_SS-2U50ES.asp

 

i was looking at the seasonic ss-400l2u but cannot find it for sale anywhere.....

 

http://www.seasonicusa.com/PDF/Catalog/NEW/Bulk/IPC/2U/SS-400-500L2U-APFC.pdf

[publicENEMY]

Thanks rajahal for the information you provied in this thread.

[Rajahal]

You are quite welcome.

[dikkiedirk]

Is this ok for 10 drives initially but with room for growth? Sorry, it's a Dutch site.

 

https://maxict.nl/product/3326779/seasonic-netzteil-atx-850w-seasonic-80plus-bronze-m12ii-850am?ics=ls

 

 

[Rajahal]

Is this ok for 10 drives initially but with room for growth? Sorry, it's a Dutch site.

 

https://maxict.nl/product/3326779/seasonic-netzteil-atx-850w-seasonic-80plus-bronze-m12ii-850am?ics=ls

 

That PSU has 70A on a single +12V rail.  It is way more than you need for just 10 drives.  Factor in 2A for each green drive and 3A for each 7200 RPM drive, then leave 3-5A for the motherboard and fans.  That PSU can support up to 21 7200 RPM drives, or up to 32 green drives.  Talk about overkill!

[dikkiedirk]

Is this ok for 10 drives initially but with room for growth? Sorry, it's a Dutch site.

 

https://maxict.nl/product/3326779/seasonic-netzteil-atx-850w-seasonic-80plus-bronze-m12ii-850am?ics=ls

 

That PSU has 70A on a single +12V rail.  It is way more than you need for just 10 drives.  Factor in 2A for each green drive and 3A for each 7200 RPM drive, then leave 3-5A for the motherboard and fans.  That PSU can support up to 21 7200 RPM drives, or up to 32 green drives.  Talk about overkill!

 

Yes, you are right. But I can have it here in Holland cheaper then the Seasonic X-760 or X-850. So, what makes the X-series so special? Is it just 80plus Gold vs. Bronze?

 

Besides I also want room to grow.

70x12=840W for a 850W PSU? And what about the 3.3V, 5V and -12V lines?

[Rajahal]

The bronze vs gold rating is certainly part of it.  The X series PSUs also spin down their fan completely when under a 25% or smaller load.

[jbuszkie]

What is the lowest you guys have seen the SeaSonic X 650 PSU go for?

 

I having some issues with my rig (That's a seperate thread!) and I'm trying to see how much it would cost me to eliminate my PSU as the issue.  Right now the x650 is ~$140 w/FS

 

Does is go much lower than that?

 

Raj, Maybe we need a dedicated PSU good deals thread like the ram and others!

 

Jim

[PeterB]

The bronze vs gold rating is certainly part of it.

 

Indeed, the Gold-rated device is 5% more efficient than the Bronze - eg at 50% load the Bronze is 85% and the Gold is 90%.

 

The X series PSUs also spin down their fan completely when under a 25% or smaller load.

 

This is true, and in the case of an unRAID server, where the PSU has to be rated for simultaneous spin up of all drives, the fan will seldom, if ever, be running.  That certainly contributes to the silence of my server.

[Rajahal]

What is the lowest you guys have seen the SeaSonic X 650 PSU go for?

 

I having some issues with my rig (That's a seperate thread!) and I'm trying to see how much it would cost me to eliminate my PSU as the issue.  Right now the x650 is ~$140 w/FS

 

Does is go much lower than that?

 

Raj, Maybe we need a dedicated PSU good deals thread like the ram and others!

 

Jim

 

I've seen that PSU as low as $100, but that's once in a blue moon.  I'll create a PSU good deals thread once another good deal on a PSU comes up!

[jbuszkie]

What is the lowest you guys have seen the SeaSonic X 650 PSU go for?

 

I having some issues with my rig (That's a seperate thread!) and I'm trying to see how much it would cost me to eliminate my PSU as the issue.  Right now the x650 is ~$140 w/FS

 

Does is go much lower than that?

 

Raj, Maybe we need a dedicated PSU good deals thread like the ram and others!

 

Jim

 

I've seen that PSU as low as $100, but that's once in a blue moon.  I'll create a PSU good deals thread once another good deal on a PSU comes up!

I think it's a blue moon!! 

SeaSonic X650 for $99!!!

 

Even though I don't believe my issue is the PSU..  I might be tempted to get this BMW of PSUs!

[Frozone]

Hello,

 

I am building buy first unraid Server. Starting with 8 HDDs and want to be able to upgrade to 15HDDs.

I will use ASUS M4A78LT-M with an X2 240E. I read that the Corsair Netzteil 500 CX V2 is good for 15HDDs. https://www.digitec.ch/ProdukteDetails2.aspx?Reiter=Details&Artikel=219296

But I want to use 3TB and in the future 4TB drives. Will the PSU still be enough, or should I go for a bigger one?

 

THX

 

Edit: I think I will go with the 600CX V2 which has 40A, just to be safe.

[Rajahal]

As long as you are using green drives, the 500W will be enough.  If you want to use 7200 RPM drives, the 650W will be better.  The 600W will work for a mix of the two.

[emorydively]

For smaller builds, would anyone recommend going smaller than 400w? Running an Atom or low power AMD system with green drives (3-5?)  surely must be able to get by with less?

[opentoe]

I have a 14 disk unraid server all with 7200 rpm drives. I only use a Seasonic X660 which is perfectly fine and using a meter on it I idle around 135W. I think in normal use (copying/streaming) it only pulls down 230+W. I love the Seasonic power supplies and the only thing is I wish they would drop the fancy packaging and lower their prices. Once you install the power supply in the case what are you going to do with that felt bag?

 

 

[Rajahal]

For smaller builds, would anyone recommend going smaller than 400w? Running an Atom or low power AMD system with green drives (3-5?)  surely must be able to get by with less?

 

As long as your power supply is powerful enough to handle the spike of power needed whenever you boot or power down your server, then it will be fine.  Figuring out what that spike of power amounts to can be tricky.  You can use a Kill-a-watt or similar power meter to figure out the wattage, just like opentoe did.  You then need to find a power supply that has at least that much wattage plus a single +12V rail with enough amps to handle all of your drives, motherboard, and fans.  Figuring all of that out may cost more time and money than you would save by buying a smaller power supply, so the 400W option may end up being the best investment.

 

If you do care to go forward with this testing, then you can take advantage of Newegg's generous return policy.  Buy a 400W PSU up front and build your server.  Run the tests and figure out the smallest PSU that you can use.  Then return the 400W PSU and buy the new one.

[wirenut]

Looking for some input. My issue is with my power supply and I hope I have posted in the appropriate thread.

Is there any know incompatibility issues with Seasonic X series PSU's and Supermicro motherboards?

 

Back ground to my inquiry:

I am an unRaid newbee and have had my server together for about four weeks now. I researched for several weeks prior to parts purchase, assembly and use of unraid and decided it best for my needs and thought i used all proven known good hardware. I followed the 20 drive beast tower build as a guide. I changed the psu thinking it was an upgrade in reliability and performance. I went with a SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply from the egg. My board is the SUPERMICRO MBD-X8SIL-F-O with 8GB of Kingston Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9SK2/8G. I currently have 3 Norco cages with a total of 14 drives mixed green and 7200 rpm [1 x parity, 1 x cache, 12 x data] for a total of 15TB storage.

1st boot - got the 1 second blast of power enough to move the fans then nothing. Went thru all connections tried again an she started right up.

Over the course of the three weeks I built up my sever copying data, preclearing and adding discs to array repeat until I got to where I am now. After no longer adding drives and wires  realized the power up problem was not going away. If i powered down and later tried to restart i would get the one second burst and nothing. I would have to flip to PSU power button off [MB lights no longer on] four or five times to get it to boot so I contacted customer support at seasonic and they immediately processed an RMA and shipped me a replacement. Well I received it yesterday and promptly hooked it up. Now I have quite the opposite problem, it wont shut down. Using the powerdown button on the web gui it goes through the motions and proper shutdown sequence and the sever powers off - for 3 seconds - and then automatically reboots. Very frustrating. Repeated three attempts with no change, removed UPS as source power, no change and plugged directly into wall socket same thing. Contacted support again this morning and received this response:

Dear customer,

 

Thanks for your prompt response.

It seems like there is an compatibility issue between the motherboard and psu.

However, we'll send you another psu for testing.

 

I replied asking if it was possible to send along new wiring harnesses to eliminate the potential of one being bad and received this response:

Dear customer,

 

Thanks for your prompt response.

I also re-checked your RMA request form, I saw super micro MBD-X8SIL-F-O.

Their motherboards are known for most of psu not compatible recently, because they carry their own brand psu.

 

I promptly replied that I have tried 2 known working psu's and have no trouble along with some other comments.

Currently awaiting a response.

 

I thought Seasonic was the best...Did I choose an incompatible PSU?

If you've read this far thank you. I needed to vent.  Any comments, criticisms, or sympathy's accepted.

 

 

[Alecthar]

Looking for some input. My issue is with my power supply and I hope I have posted in the appropriate thread.

Is there any know incompatibility issues with Seasonic X series PSU's and Supermicro motherboards?

 

Back ground to my inquiry:

I am an unRaid newbee and have had my server together for about four weeks now. I researched for several weeks prior to parts purchase, assembly and use of unraid and decided it best for my needs and thought i used all proven known good hardware. I followed the 20 drive beast tower build as a guide. I changed the psu thinking it was an upgrade in reliability and performance. I went with a SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply from the egg. My board is the SUPERMICRO MBD-X8SIL-F-O with 8GB of Kingston Server Memory Model KVR1333D3E9SK2/8G. I currently have 3 Norco cages with a total of 14 drives mixed green and 7200 rpm [1 x parity, 1 x cache, 12 x data] for a total of 15TB storage.

1st boot - got the 1 second blast of power enough to move the fans then nothing. Went thru all connections tried again an she started right up.

Over the course of the three weeks I built up my sever copying data, preclearing and adding discs to array repeat until I got to where I am now. After no longer adding drives and wires  realized the power up problem was not going away. If i powered down and later tried to restart i would get the one second burst and nothing. I would have to flip to PSU power button off [MB lights no longer on] four or five times to get it to boot so I contacted customer support at seasonic and they immediately processed an RMA and shipped me a replacement. Well I received it yesterday and promptly hooked it up. Now I have quite the opposite problem, it wont shut down. Using the powerdown button on the web gui it goes through the motions and proper shutdown sequence and the sever powers off - for 3 seconds - and then automatically reboots. Very frustrating. Repeated three attempts with no change, removed UPS as source power, no change and plugged directly into wall socket same thing. Contacted support again this morning and received this response:

Dear customer,

 

Thanks for your prompt response.

It seems like there is an compatibility issue between the motherboard and psu.

However, we'll send you another psu for testing.

 

I replied asking if it was possible to send along new wiring harnesses to eliminate the potential of one being bad and received this response:

Dear customer,

 

Thanks for your prompt response.

I also re-checked your RMA request form, I saw super micro MBD-X8SIL-F-O.

Their motherboards are known for most of psu not compatible recently, because they carry their own brand psu.

 

I promptly replied that I have tried 2 known working psu's and have no trouble along with some other comments.

Currently awaiting a response.

 

I thought Seasonic was the best...Did I choose an incompatible PSU?

If you've read this far thank you. I needed to vent.  Any comments, criticisms, or sympathy's accepted.

 

I've honestly never heard of an "incompatible PSU".  All PSUs use standardized sets of pins and cabling.  The internals may differ, but one quality PSU should behave much the same as any other, as far as startup procedure goes.  The motherboard actually handles the signaling of the PSU to send power.  If the system is actually booting up rather than just fans spinning up and the like, with no system activity occuring, then the likely culprit is your motherboard.  Sending power to the motherboard wouldn't cause the system to start up, even if the PSU were "sticking" on and still sending power, the most it would do is power components that don't rely on information from the motherboard to startup (fans, water cooling equipment or the like).  My assumption is that there's a power-related function on the SuperMicro boards that's designed to signal server PSUs, but for some reason is triggering something unique in the X series PSUs that causes the issues, maybe the PWM circuitry that manages the fan (it's different from most other PSUs).

 

Seasonic is a sterling PSU maker, though.  You shouldn't let this issue dissuade you from purchasing their supplies in the future.  This is literally the only time I've ever heard of something like this.

[wirenut]

Looking for some input. My issue is with my power supply and I hope I have posted in the appropriate thread.

Is there any know incompatibility issues with Seasonic X series PSU's and Supermicro motherboards?

 

 

I've honestly never heard of an "incompatible PSU".  All PSUs use standardized sets of pins and cabling.  The internals may differ, but one quality PSU should behave much the same as any other, as far as startup procedure goes.  The motherboard actually handles the signaling of the PSU to send power.  If the system is actually booting up rather than just fans spinning up and the like, with no system activity occuring, then the likely culprit is your motherboard.  Sending power to the motherboard wouldn't cause the system to start up, even if the PSU were "sticking" on and still sending power, the most it would do is power components that don't rely on information from the motherboard to startup (fans, water cooling equipment or the like).  My assumption is that there's a power-related function on the SuperMicro boards that's designed to signal server PSUs, but for some reason is triggering something unique in the X series PSUs that causes the issues, maybe the PWM circuitry that manages the fan (it's different from most other PSUs).

 

Seasonic is a sterling PSU maker, though.  You shouldn't let this issue dissuade you from purchasing their supplies in the future.  This is literally the only time I've ever heard of something like this.

 

I thought the same for PSU construction that a standard spec is used to build and should just "work" and Seasonic is supposed to be the undisputed "best". I would be inclined to think it was the MB if I had not tried a corsair from buddies willing to help trouble shoot and they worked as expected. I still have one in my rig as my friend is waiting for a replacement video card. Seasonic has contacted me and stated they are sending me an X760 today as a replacement. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

[bman]

I have use a couple of Seasonic X650 supplies on a few different Supermicro motherboards, all without problems as yet.

 

Having said that, this thought train piques my interest because I am also soon to be a (hopefully proud) owner of an X8SIL-F-O motherboard.

 

Crossing my fingers that no issues rear up and bite me.

[Alecthar]

Looking for some input. My issue is with my power supply and I hope I have posted in the appropriate thread.

Is there any know incompatibility issues with Seasonic X series PSU's and Supermicro motherboards?

 

 

I've honestly never heard of an "incompatible PSU".  All PSUs use standardized sets of pins and cabling.  The internals may differ, but one quality PSU should behave much the same as any other, as far as startup procedure goes.  The motherboard actually handles the signaling of the PSU to send power.  If the system is actually booting up rather than just fans spinning up and the like, with no system activity occuring, then the likely culprit is your motherboard.  Sending power to the motherboard wouldn't cause the system to start up, even if the PSU were "sticking" on and still sending power, the most it would do is power components that don't rely on information from the motherboard to startup (fans, water cooling equipment or the like).  My assumption is that there's a power-related function on the SuperMicro boards that's designed to signal server PSUs, but for some reason is triggering something unique in the X series PSUs that causes the issues, maybe the PWM circuitry that manages the fan (it's different from most other PSUs).

 

Seasonic is a sterling PSU maker, though.  You shouldn't let this issue dissuade you from purchasing their supplies in the future.  This is literally the only time I've ever heard of something like this.

 

I thought the same for PSU construction that a standard spec is used to build and should just "work" and Seasonic is supposed to be the undisputed "best". I would be inclined to think it was the MB if I had not tried a corsair from buddies willing to help trouble shoot and they worked as expected. I still have one in my rig as my friend is waiting for a replacement video card. Seasonic has contacted me and stated they are sending me an X760 today as a replacement. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

 

Calling Seasonic the undisputed best would be overselling it, probably vastly so, but they do make a lot of very nice supplies.

 

What kind of Corsair unit did you test?  Many Corsair units are internally identical to certain Seasonic counterparts, so it's more than a little likely that you used a Seasonic-built supply to troubleshoot.  Given that both of your Seasonic supplies exhibited different undesirable behaviors, it's certainly possible you got a pair of bum supplies.

[CDLehner]

I posted this in its own topic, but it was suggested I look here. I have just pulled the trigger on an RPC-2212. Most of my parts will port from my current 4u build (ARK 4u-500 case, Corsair TX-650, and iStar BPU-350 5-in-3 hot-swap cage...which I will have to let go of)...but of course the PSU will not. So I need some advice on that. I'm looking at this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817338060 ; any thoughts? Should 400w do me, for 12 drives?

 

Then it was suggested that this cheap-ish PSU will likely not offer enough amperage for 12-drives and associated parts. I clearly don't know that much about what's suitable for a build of this size. This was offered as an alternative http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817338074. The port to this RPC-2212 is totally "unnecessary"; I just wanted to do it...lol. So the $250 for the case was one thing; another $150 for a PSU...when I have a perfectly good Corsair TX-650, is another.

 

Any suggestions on a cheaper, suitable PSU...or am I going to have to bite the bullet on this one?

 

Thanks,

CD