Dual Rail PSU and O/C, more confused than ever!

[Shibby]

I'm reading on some forums about the supposed crappiness of dual rail PSU's for OC, especially if you are maxing a system out. Now I'm really nervous as to whether the PSU I'm getting is going to hold up to my components, and some O/C, help me out here! I'm essentially getting this PSU because I can get it for really cheap, please let me know if it will be sufficient!

PSU: Enermax G495P-VE SFMA 485W, 18A on each 12V rail
CPU: Athlon 64 3200+ (Venice)
Video Card: MSI NX6800GT
MOBO: DFI LANPARTY nF4 Ultra-D
HDD: currently just my 120 gb WD, will add another one (probably a raptor)
Optical Drives: Probably just stick to one DVD-RW drive
Case fans: 2x12cm to start, see what else I have to do once I start with O/Cing

Thanks a bunch

Greg

 

[Todd0]

Why do they say dual rail PSU's are crap? Im no expert on PSU's but i did look into them just recently, as im am building a new computer soon,
485w will easily power your system, you probably only need around 350w, if thats what you were worried about, or if it was quality your were worried about, everyone recomended Thermaltake.

 

[desiboi]

Antec, go with it, you'll love it.

 

[Shibby]

Crap is maybe a strong word, but the reason that some people apparently don't like them (especially for O/C) is that if you are maxing out the amperage on one rail, it can't pull more from the other. That is, in this case, you are looking at a maximum of 18A/rail.

I'm pretty sure that I'm okay, any way I look at it, there should be enough power for anything I want to do. I just want to be sure that I'm not missing anything, so that in a month's time, when I'm buying some more fans, o/c-ing, and adding another HDD, that I'm not running out of power.

Desiboi, which Antec are you referrring to?

 

[desiboi]

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103925

 

[Chankama]

Meh.. I think all these good brands are "good enough".. Just my opinion. As long as they are reputable and have a good track record, all of them should be good. I'd be more concerned with the model # as opposed to the company name - as long as they are not "generic" PSU companies.

Corvette, Ferrari, Jag, Beamer.. I'd take any of em ..

 

[desiboi]

Corvettes have cheap plastic components and BMWs have understeering problems. Ferrari has horrible mileage, Jaguar is made by Ford, which, like you all should know, is very poor quality.

 

[Chankama]

lol.. Yeah well. All of them will do what they are meant to do.... Which is to turn heads and draw in chicks. Am I not right? .. After all, who'd drive a Farrari to go grocery shopping or on a road trip to the other side of the country.

Similarly, for providing quality power, I think all those PSU companies do what they are supposed to do - Thermaltake, OCZ, Antec, Enermax, etc. As long as the name is one of those companies, I'd just stick to worrying about the actual "specs" of the PSU model.. 12 V rail amps, life time rating, Wattage, price etc.

EDIT:

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Prod...N82E16817103925

And I would never spend $160 USD on a 350 W PSU!!.. When there are cheaper and almost equivalent PSUs from other companies. And that thing only has 3 stars anyways.

 

[HAVOC]

PC POWER & COOLING makes the best PSU's in the industry. You'll pay a hefty price for it, but rest assured it comes with a 5 year FULL warranty. Not a limited piece of crap...

As far a Dual Rails go... depending on the brand, they aren't crap. Dual Rails or 2 individual Rails divide the components to provide a unflutuating supply of wattage.

Example: Rail 12v1 = Provides wattage to CPU/MOBO
Rail 12v2 = Provides wattage to Drives/AGP/PCIx/PCI cards

 

[Shibby]

I drive my Ferrari to the grocery store all the time.

Seriously though, why do I want a $172CDN Antec 350W power supply instead of a $80 485W Enermax?