Hello

 

What would be a good power supply, but without breaking the bank!!!

I plan to use 6 disks MAX

 

Thanks

The Corsair CX400W is a good PSU for an affordable price.

Is a monorail power supply really necessary?

What if I balance my drives on 2 rails?

Is a monorail power supply really necessary?

What if I balance my drives on 2 rails?

 

yes, as long as you know what you are doing and had done your calculation such that

you don't overload any rail.

 

single rail PSU is just for simple guy like me. 

Is a monorail power supply really necessary?

What if I balance my drives on 2 rails?

 

Almost impossible -- as I understand it, with most dual rail PSUs, one rail is for the CPU/motherboard, the other is for the other 12v devices.

 

I have a 500W PSU that can't handle more than 10 drives because it's not single rail. I've hacked in a tiny 300W PSU as a second PSU because it has an 18A single rail -- plenty enough current to handle powering 6 drives.

Is a monorail power supply really necessary?

What if I balance my drives on 2 rails?

Sometimes you can, but often the manufacturer makes it nearly impossible as the rails are split with one for the motherboard, one for the PCI based video cards, and only one rail feeds all the molex and sata power connectors.

 

See this thread for an example of a OCZ 550 Watt 4-rail  supply I purchased for powering one half of the drives in a system I'm re-building. Only 1 of the 4 rails is available for powering the disks, and it is rated at 18 Amps, with over-current shutdown at 22 Amps, and that same rail also powers the motherboard 20/24 pin connector.  I'm guessing that I actually have about 15 Amp capacity available for the disks (180 Watts), (The server I'm rebuilding has TWO power supplies, the other 300 Watt supply is powering the other half of the disks.)   See this thread: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=6879.msg66778#msg66778

 

Many manufacturers do not tell you how they split the multiple rails.  This makes the task of balancing the load very difficult.   Many will reserve one rail for power hungry PCI-e video cards (A much bigger market than those of us with large number of hard-disks) It is very common for one rail to feed all the SATA and MOLEX connectors.  (and, in the case of the OCZ supply I purchased, that same rail ALSO powers the motherboard!)

 

Joe L.

So basically monorail is the only viable option?

I found a good price for the Corsair CX400W, but I want to make sure it will fit with my motherbooard

My mobo is an Elite AMD690G, and requires 1x24 pin connector and 1x4 pin connector

I also want to make sure that the length of the power wires (from power supply case to those connector) is long enough, because I've installed my motherboard (mATX) into a ATX case and my current "old" PSU has a cord that is too short.....(30cm, I would need something like 40cm to be safe)

Who knows the length on the Corsair?

So basically monorail is the only viable option?

I found a good price for the Corsair CX400W, but I want to make sure it will fit with my motherbooard

My mobo is an Elite AMD690G, and requires 1x24 pin connector and 1x4 pin connector

I also want to make sure that the length of the power wires (from power supply case to those connector) is long enough, because I've installed my motherboard (mATX) into a ATX case and my current "old" PSU has a cord that is too short.....(30cm, I would need something like 40cm to be safe)

Who knows the length on the Corsair?

 

if you don't want too much headache, the answer is yes.

I had this CX400 in a Antec 300 case which is also a ATX case, those Molex & SATA cables are long enough to connect to any devices in this machine. besides, you can use extension cord if necessary.

 

6 drives I would think you are unlikely to have a problem.

6 drives I would think you are unlikely to have a problem.

True,

 

We've lost sight of the fact you said 6 drives MAX in your original post.  For that you need at least 12 Amps capacity to handle spin-up surges.

 

Joe L.

So basically monorail is the only viable option?

 

So for 6 drives max, a good 2 rails power supply should be OK?

 

I would say so yes, just don't buy the cheapest 250w PSU you can find .  As Joe said, you need 2 amps per disk.

 

I'm running 10 disks without any issues on a 450w PSU that cost about €15

Ok,i'll shop for a new psu tomorrow

1 more question about CPU:will I see a big difference between a sempron LE-1100 and a XII-250?

thanks

Ok,i'll shop for a new psu tomorrow

1 more question about CPU:will I see a big difference between a sempron LE-1100 and a XII-250?

thanks

CPU doesn't make much difference,  if you have one of them already use that,  if you are buying and they are similar price get the LE-1100 as its 45w and will use less power.  (unless you intend using some CPU intensive add-on?)

Hello all

About the PSU, I just found a BFG 450 Watts power supply for $30.00, with 2 x 12V rails rated at 18A each

1) Is BFG a good brand?

2) Will I be OK with the 2 x 18A knowing I should have 6 disks MAXIMUM?

 

Thanks

Hello all

About the PSU, I just found a BFG 450 Watts power supply for $30.00, with 2 x 12V rails rated at 18A each

1) Is BFG a good brand?

2) Will I be OK with the 2 x 18A knowing I should have 6 disks MAXIMUM?

 

Thanks

You should be fine.  One of the rails is likely dedicated to the motherboard connector, the other feeds all the disks.

6 disks will need roughly 12 Amps on the 12 volt rail when spinning up.  They should work well with the 18A capacity of the supply.

AVOID.

 

BFG is a dead company. There are no warranty on the items. [ http://hardwareaware.com/news/bfg-tech-liquidating/ ]

 

BFG Technologies, Inc.  is winding down and liquidating its business.  Unfortunately our major supplier would not support our business.  As a result we are returning your graphics card without being able to repair it.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

 

 

Wow...not cool

However, I'm going to leave the country (unfortunately) and even if it was needed, I won't be able to use the waranty

I will have to take the risk. But I hope a brnad new BFG power supply will work fine for a while

 

 

(Somewhat OT) I really liked BFG and at one point had an nVidia based board of theirs (a 6800 I think).  They had positive word of mouth at the time and their support was excellent.  But I noticed this particular card had noise at times on just one of the two DVI ports, which an in-depth Google search pointed generally to a sign of a bad (or cheap) subcomponents (resistors or capacitors, I forget which).  

 

(Somewhat more on topic) Over a year ago, I bought a BFG power supply and it's the only time I've had a PS that was basically DoA, sparking and dying the first time I turned it on.  Although their tech support was friendly and quick to respond and offer a RMA, it was cheaper for me to get my money back from Amazon.  I'm just glad it didn't damage any equipment and now I make it a point to test any power supply before hooking it up.

 

After that, I went to Corsair single-rail power supplies... I have four of them and I'm plenty happy.

 

Wow...not cool

However, I'm going to leave the country (unfortunately) and even if it was needed, I won't be able to use the waranty

I will have to take the risk. But I hope a brnad new BFG power supply will work fine for a while

 

Investing that $30 now Plus and additional amount will be $30 you save in the future when you have to buy a new power supply.

 

It does not make sense to buy something you are taking a risk on replacing later.

Especially if you know that a corsar CMPSU-400CX will service you now and much later in the future if your unraid grows past 15 drives.

 

Watch the rebates and see if you can score something at a good value.

A power supply is not something to cheap out on, considering a failing supply could damage other components on it's way out.

 

The Corsair 400W supply is well worth the little extra money.

 

Peter

a failing supply could damage other components on it's way out.

 

I have had this happen.  Lost everything except the CPU and the Hard Drive.

Thanks to your feedbacks, i just ordered a CORSAIR CX400W, and i will return the BFG

With the rebate, it will be the exact same price (~$32.00)

I think it's a good deal, and according to your comments a much safer solution

Thanks again

Thanks to your feedbacks, i just ordered a CORSAIR CX400W, and i will return the BFG

With the rebate, it will be the exact same price (~$32.00)

I think it's a good deal, and according to your comments a much safer solution

Thanks again

 

I'm actually relieved to read that.