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In that part you quoted they write that they were impressed by the low noise from the PSU. It still has a fan that makes some sort of grinding noise and the electronics also are never silent, but those noises are at the same level as what you get on the higher priced BeQuiet and Enermax PSUs as long as you don't use more than 250 W power with this PSU.
They like the PSU a lot. They write it only has issues for the 3.3V rail, but I don't even know what parts use that kind of voltage. CPU and graphics card should use 12V. About what uses 5V, I know my board uses that to supply power to the RAM. The 12V and 5V of this PSU are fine.
Those two pictures they have at the end, that's "silence = good" and "value for money = very good" (that's grades like in school and for France that might perhaps mean something like good = 13-15, very good = 16+... not sure).
You have to be careful with the cables it has. It's mentioned on this page here:
http://www.tech-review.de/include.php?path=content/articles.php&contentid=16157&page=2
If you click on that picture of that table, where there's an "X", those cables are missing on the 300W model. It has no PCI-E power cables.
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You really went into detail right there, thanks, that was very helpful.
A quick glance at be quiet!'s page shows that it does have 2 molex connectors, those can be converted into a 6 pin PCIE connector. Or you can buy the 350W version that has a 6+2 PCIE connector.
http://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/325
Overall this looks like a solid budget PSU, I think you can use these for office / HTPC builds or light gaming rigs that use i3 / GM107 maxwell cards. I've finally found a PSU that should be used whenever people want to buy CX430s. :D
E: You could maybe push to i3 + R7 260X with the 350W version.
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Low-end Be Quiet System Power S7 is a pretty basic two-transistor-forward, group regulated, 80 plus bronze build from FSP with a Yate Loon sleeve-bearing fan, second-tier caps, etc. In a lot of ways it's like CWT DSAII Bronze used for Corsair CX. At the same price I'd take the Be Quiet just because the history of standby rail coil whine on the DSAII, but it's not that much different. DSAII gets a bit better electrical performance.
VRMs for RAM still take +3.3V input (unless that's changed...), as do some auxiliary chips here and there on the mobo and elsewhere.
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It's kind of more like the CX is sometimes unfairly maligned and isn't a bad option. In some parts of Europe, XFX Core (Pro / whatever they call it these days) is the budget champ. Like the others mentioned, it's a basic two-transistor forward, group regulated, 80 plus bronze design, this time by Seasonic, but it's equipped with a ball-bearing fan and better capacitors.
I'd take fan noise into consideration, but I don't really know what the curves look like. Corsair GS was prior to Corsair really caring about noise levels, in any case, and everybody's "gamer" units are louder (especially Be Quiet's—see the Power Zone). That said, the later-revision GS did have the fanless mode at low loads. Under load, I'd suspect the SP S7 to be quieter than the CX, though, but it actually is using the same fan as the Corsair CX.
Doesn't look like Super Flower Golden Green (HX being cost-down version and also a thing) is available at decent prices there.
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That makes sense to me. The biggest problem with the CX430 and other budget units isn't that they're bad per se, it's that sometimes competition is priced better and sometimes it's just not a good idea to be using such a platform (when powering an i5 / power hungrier GPU). I think that's a better way of viewing things other than just thinking that "this psu is bad". The same things could probably be said for the SP S7, though the price of that unit is just very attractive either way. Thanks :D
For the record, the GS600 I have right now is fanless at low loads; though under load (when the fan turns on) it becomes audible. Not unbearably so, but you still hear it. Interestingly apparently has a ball-bearing fan.
http://www.legitreviews.com/7-way-550-600-watt-power-supply-roundup-review_2205/4
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Hey guys! I'm looking to buy a system for my mom. I'm considering getting a Celeron N2820 based NUC with 4Gb of RAM and 60Gb SSD. I think that for her needs, i.e. Internet browsing and skyping, this is quite adequate. I plan to hook the NUC up to her TV set via HDMI (I'm not certain about the resolution but it's a fairly old and budgety TV so not very high, I imagine) and running Ubuntu on it. I am, however, uncertain about the processor as there is some bad rap about it on the net. Not sure if I should really buy into it so I wanted a few extra opinions with regard for intended use and all. Thanks.
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On September 30 2014 14:48 Chaomantic wrote:
Hey guys! I'm looking to buy a system for my mom. I'm considering getting a Celeron N2820 based NUC with 4Gb of RAM and 60Gb SSD. I think that for her needs, i.e. Internet browsing and skyping, this is quite adequate. I plan to hook the NUC up to her TV set via HDMI (I'm not certain about the resolution but it's a fairly old and budgety TV so not very high, I imagine) and running Ubuntu on it. I am, however, uncertain about the processor as there is some bad rap about it on the net. Not sure if I should really buy into it so I wanted a few extra opinions with regard for intended use and all. Thanks.
It's a Bay Trail Atom dual core, the kind of thing you find in a low-cost tablet, well below laptop processor performance. That said, that's still enough for what you listed. That said, I'd try to get something better. Even the low-end last-gen Celeron 1007U at 1.5 GHz is a nontrivial amount better.
Unless you need an actual NUC, note that other vendors sell somewhat similar kits and systems in small form factors too. Unless you're getting it on a good sale, most NUC kits are mot expensive than what you can get elsewhere.
Even sticking with the small form factor and case/mobo/CPU bundles, there's Asus VivoPC, Gigabyte BRIX, Zotac Zbox, etc. to name some branding and options. Some do come with an OS and hard drive, though. Others are just barebones sets.
A similar config, it sounds like, with 500 GB hard drive and Win 8.1 comes in at $240, for example:
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-VivoPC-VM40B-02-ASUS-Desktop/dp/B00KU54KPQ
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I also forgot to mention that she'll be watching movies on a rather large screen. Is CPU relevant here at all? I'm guessing it is, since it's also the GPU for the system.
Thanks for the pointers. Alas, this is the cheapest option I could find so far but I'll check out other set ups.
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On September 30 2014 15:30 Myrmidon wrote:Show nested quote +On September 30 2014 14:48 Chaomantic wrote:
Hey guys! I'm looking to buy a system for my mom. I'm considering getting a Celeron N2820 based NUC with 4Gb of RAM and 60Gb SSD. I think that for her needs, i.e. Internet browsing and skyping, this is quite adequate. I plan to hook the NUC up to her TV set via HDMI (I'm not certain about the resolution but it's a fairly old and budgety TV so not very high, I imagine) and running Ubuntu on it. I am, however, uncertain about the processor as there is some bad rap about it on the net. Not sure if I should really buy into it so I wanted a few extra opinions with regard for intended use and all. Thanks. It's a Bay Trail Atom dual core, the kind of thing you find in a low-cost tablet, well below laptop processor performance. That said, that's still enough for what you listed. That said, I'd try to get something better. Even the low-end last-gen Celeron 1007U at 1.5 GHz is a nontrivial amount better. Unless you need an actual NUC, note that other vendors sell somewhat similar kits and systems in small form factors too. Unless you're getting it on a good sale, most NUC kits are mot expensive than what you can get elsewhere. Even sticking with the small form factor and case/mobo/CPU bundles, there's Asus VivoPC, Gigabyte BRIX, Zotac Zbox, etc. to name some branding and options. Some do come with an OS and hard drive, though. Others are just barebones sets. A similar config, it sounds like, with 500 GB hard drive and Win 8.1 comes in at $240, for example: http://www.amazon.com/Asus-VivoPC-VM40B-02-ASUS-Desktop/dp/B00KU54KPQ
that's kind of impressive. I'm guessing the Intel HD graphics are more than enough to power desktop applications and windows. It probably can't play games or anything but that's not the point at this price point? Can it do 1080p video? I know that when I try to run 1080p youtube or stream on my old compaq laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo with 945 something integrated graphics), the processor will heat up to 65°C. This is much newer architecture, so it probably should easily.
I'm guessing you can't add in an SSD with the HDD though.
E: If it comes without windows it really sucks though. Just like in France; I have no idea why the version the USA gets a copy of windows with it while the French one does not.
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The hard drive in the VivoPC looks like a desktop 3.5" drive (that seemingly takes up most of the internal volume  ). I don't know if 2.5" is supported, but you can always remove the drive and use a 2.5" -> 3.5" adapter if you wanted to add a 2.5" drive and then get an external enclosure for the 3.5" drive. But it's available in barebones configs without RAM, hard drive, and OS.
Ivy Bridge integrated graphics is enough for general use, even if power limited like that. It was just an example of what's out there, really. Anyway, Ivy Bridge at 1.5 GHz is about like Core 2 Duo somewhere around 2.1 GHz or so at most things, a midrange 35-45W TDP part from 2008 or so. That's just to give you an idea that the latest Atom processors are still worse than this level, so I'd avoid them if possible unless you're sure the usage pattern will be light.
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So I just got my BenQ XL2411Z and am loving it, just have one issue. While I was configuring the monitor, my (now 2nd) monitor, a 24'' 1920x1080 Ilyama, decided to stop working. (PLugged in, monitor lights up, tells me ''no signal.'' Cyro said this had to do with my graphics card not accepting both HDMI and DVI-D at the same time on my current card. I'm upgrading to a GTX 970 this week, and none of my monitors have displayport inputs, but the gigabyte card that I'll get will have 3 DP ports. Should I buy something like http://www.hardwareversand.de/en/DisplayPort/36171/Hama Adapter Mini-Displayport auf HDMI.article ? I've been using an HDMI cable on my 2nd monitor for a very long time. Would it 100% work? I'm a bit confused.
Thanks in advance :D
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The 970 should have HDMI and DVI-D. Just use those two and skip the displayports. DVI-D for your 120hz, and HDMI for your 60hz.
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What are USB 3.0 ports used for over 2.0 other than transferring files? Is having 2 3.0 ports and the rest 2.0 ports enough?
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On October 01 2014 03:38 Firkraag8 wrote:
The 970 should have HDMI and DVI-D. Just use those two and skip the displayports. DVI-D for your 120hz, and HDMI for your 60hz.
This card does too, but it doesn't seem to work. It's acting really weird. The monitor gets recognised, but isnt displaying anything at all, I can ''virtually'' move my cursor over there. Only plugging in the HDMI also doesn't work, can a certain port just be broken?
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On October 01 2014 03:41 hydrogg wrote:
What are USB 3.0 ports used for over 2.0 other than transferring files? Is having 2 3.0 ports and the rest 2.0 ports enough?
What do you mean by transferring files? What kind of data counts as files for you? External storage like a hard drive?
Network adapters, video capture cards, cameras, cell phones and tablets, and some other types of devices requiring high transfer rates or maybe using it in the future may benefit. If you had to ask, I'd guess you don't use USB 3 for anything like this.
If you have a spare PCIe slot, you can add an expansion card to offer more USB 3 ports if you really need to.
On October 01 2014 03:53 Thalandros wrote:Show nested quote +On October 01 2014 03:38 Firkraag8 wrote:
The 970 should have HDMI and DVI-D. Just use those two and skip the displayports. DVI-D for your 120hz, and HDMI for your 60hz. This card does too, but it doesn't seem to work. It's acting really weird. The monitor gets recognised, but isnt displaying anything at all, I can ''virtually'' move my cursor over there. Only plugging in the HDMI also doesn't work, can a certain port just be broken?
Which card? I'd expect the 970 to work, anyhow.
Also, unless you found a different model Gigabyte GTX 970 than I did, the DisplayPorts are full size, not Mini DisplayPort (like on the adapter you linked).
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
Cyro said this had to do with my graphics card not accepting both HDMI and DVI-D at the same time on my current card
the extent of my knowledge is that not all outputs on all graphics cards work simultaneously
Don't make me look bad
it might just work when you get giga 970 anyway, if not you can troubleshoot with that card. Is it possible to test with other display outputs or run second screen from iGPU meanwhile? You can force it on in the bios, it'll be on auto by default which sometimes disables it when you're running a GPU(?)
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I just ordered an MSI 970, £280 shipped next day delivery (which means ordering at 8:02pm on a tuesday will probably arrive friday because i'm not in england..) - giga seems better, but it's ultimately a budget card, not a flagship (not even 980 qualifies there) so it doesn't seem worth waiting until somebody finally has it back in stock and then paying ~10-15% extra for between additional cost and having to pay for shipping. The main benefits are VRM temperatures (which seem to be bad on all but the giga card) and the highest power limit settable, which potentially impacts the MSI card a little bit but highly limits some of the other gm204 cards. It's set in bios by EVGA, MSI, Giga etc
on my "to order before next shipping deadline" list is 3x front case fans, an extra ty-147 and that USB 2.0 header to output thing if i read up a little more and think it might actually give me some kind of benefit
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Just gonna wait for the 970 to arrive, yeah. 20€ for an adapter's a bit much, the HDMI port might just finally be faulty.
Myrmidon, I have an old Sapphire HD 6950 2GB. It has 2 Mini-DP ports, 1HDMI and 1 DVI.
My iGPU only has a DVI port so I could try putting my main screen on that I suppose.
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United Kingdom20322 Posts
On October 01 2014 06:38 Thalandros wrote:
Just gonna wait for the 970 to arrive, yeah. 20€ for an adapter's a bit much, the HDMI port might just finally be faulty.
Myrmidon, I have an old Sapphire HD 6950 2GB. It has 2 Mini-DP ports, 1HDMI and 1 DVI.
My iGPU only has a DVI port so I could try putting my main screen on that I suppose.
Your iGPU can't render CSGO at 1920x1080 and 300fps :D
I think that's how it works, anyway.
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heya, all. I just changed my PSU from Super Flower 450XE to GX550, I could be paranoid, but it really feels like the CPU fan is now much more aggressive. HWmonitor reading is constantly hiting 2700rpm and it's quite noisy. I refreshed motherboard BIOS before the swap and did some cleaning inside the case, did remember to leave CPU and heatsink alone in purpose for they will be uninstalled soon anyway. Well now the temp of CPU is lower than before, but this noise is really making me worry.
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EPT
