AcBel PSUs and Coolermaster 690

Lethoric · Post by **Lethoric** » 21 Jul 2008, 10:50

Hi guys!

Does anyone know how these PSUs perform (stability) and are they worth the money? I'm gonna upgrade to a Radeon HD4870 in two or three weeks and need a new PSU, and saw the AcBel M8 Power 750 Power Supply at Sybaritic for about a thousand, which I think isn't too bad and will be able to keep the 4870 happy (but I may be wrong lol). They also apparently have a 5 year warranty. I'm hoping it will be enough power for when I upgrade again sometime, maybe end of next year.

Also looking at a new case and saw the Coolermaster CM 690 at Prophecy. Are these cases the best in their price range? Or can I find better at the given price?

Any comments would be appreciated!!

Frozenfireside · Post by **Frozenfireside** » 21 Jul 2008, 10:58

Some PSU reviews
Ok they are not 450 watts but it can show you what brand makes a decent PSU.

Personally I want the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 650W:
Stability 55/55 100%
Features 20/25 80%
Value 16/20 80%

5 year warranty is pretty decent so it should be good. You will probably need a bigger PSU by the end of 5 years anyway. Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade.

Lethoric · Post by **Lethoric** » 21 Jul 2008, 11:07

Where can I buy Be Quiet! PSUs here in S.A? From that review it looks very interesting, and it is certified by AMD/ATI for the 4870

Charger14 · Post by **Charger14** » 21 Jul 2008, 11:09

Well I've got the CM690 and I'm extremely happy with it, cable management was easy as you can get with the only issue being if you have an ide port that faces to the side of the board instead of the normal straight up you need to remove one of the holders for your cables and a bit more planning.

I got the one with the window though from Landmark but there's no difference besides the window and one less fan[/url]

Lethoric · Post by **Lethoric** » 21 Jul 2008, 11:14

Oh I found this on the M8 750 AcBel (for those interested):

http://www.hardwarezone.com.au/news/vie ... =3&id=9592

but no real reviews, maybe I suck at finding them. lol

Any other PSUs that are good, but at a modest price? (R1000 or lower)

Frozenfireside · Post by **Frozenfireside** » 21 Jul 2008, 11:22

Aopen made a 700watt PSU that many people used and loved for less then R1000. Can't remember the exact price but it was about R900 I think.
They don't make the 700watt PSU any more but there is a similar 850watt coming and it just might be in your price bracket.

Just trying to get reviews for both PSUs.

Frozenfireside · Post by **Frozenfireside** » 21 Jul 2008, 11:28

AOpen AO700 Power Supply - 700W
R1,143.00

Toms does a PSU round up here

warmachine · Post by **warmachine** » 21 Jul 2008, 13:38

I have the cm690 and i think its great. even if you have a sidewayspainintheasside connector on your board it should be fine. mine does and i dont have to take anything out. just some criticisms.

cable management system is a bit of an overstatement. its just plastic clips that hardly work, but its fine if you have cableties.

try get sata cables with right angle connectors on them cos itll be easier to neaten things up and close the case on the right side

the window version is FTL. just buy the normal one and mod it yourself (if thats your thing

other than that its badass and built like a tank

Lethoric · Post by **Lethoric** » 22 Jul 2008, 12:34

Think I'm gonna stick with my choice of case then, Coolermaster does produce nice cases. (would like a Cosmos but its too expensive damn

)

Thanks for your input warmachine, on the case. Was hoping I would find someone with the 690, and I did! Lol.

I'm still looking for the right PSU though. The reviews you guys provided are making this decision more tough, but also wiser I believe... Can anyone tell me what they mean when they say your 12v rail or line, should be able to carry/have 30 plus Amps? Because in one review of the new radeons i read that you need 30A or more on the 12V. I know its the current, but is it for ONE 12v rail that you need 30A? Or do you need 30A in total on all your 12V rails(if you have lets say a quad 12V rail PSU)?

warmachine · Post by **warmachine** » 22 Jul 2008, 13:22

No problems dude. if you want some photos of the case in action and the points of advice let me know. its no sweat.

Id also like to know the answers to those PSU questions cos i have no idea what they are talking about

HuDiNi · Post by **HuDiNi** » 22 Jul 2008, 13:53

I also have a 690. Excellent case for the price.

warmachine · Post by **warmachine** » 22 Jul 2008, 16:14

high 5!

Lethoric · Post by **Lethoric** » 24 Jul 2008, 06:41

Yay! I got quoted for R3000 for a Sapphire 4870. Seems like ill be getting my new system way sooner. Maybe by end of next week!!

But I still have had no answer on my PSU question. Any help? Anyone? I need to place an order for a PSU too...

And thanks warmachine. Will definitely come ask you if I have any questions when assembling my 690!

Dust · Post by **Dust** » 24 Jul 2008, 07:10

Ok. Let me take a stab at it here.

For instance, if it says your PSU has 30A 12v Rail it means that in total it has 30A. My psu has two 18A which means it's rated at 36A. So, if a card needs 28A it doesn't mean that my psu will need 28A per rail.

That's what I understand, feel free to correct me.

Frozenfireside · Post by **Frozenfireside** » 24 Jul 2008, 08:19

Lethoric wrote:Yay! I got quoted for R3000 for a Sapphire 4870. Seems like ill be getting my new system way sooner. Maybe by end of next week!!

But I still have had no answer on my PSU question. Any help? Anyone? I need to place an order for a PSU too...

And thanks warmachine. Will definitely come ask you if I have any questions when assembling my 690!

Prophecy.co.za has some very nice PSUs.
I saw this-gaming on a budget.

Dust · Post by **Dust** » 24 Jul 2008, 08:43

Now that's a nice psu.

Good ratings too. 20A per rail, nice.

Frozenfireside · Post by **Frozenfireside** » 24 Jul 2008, 09:32

That and it's good value, but mainly it will last a few years being 700watts.

Welshman · Post by **Welshman** » 24 Jul 2008, 10:18

Have a look at the PSU reviews over at HardwareSecrets. From what i've seen, they have the most in-depth reviews and always test the PSU to it's full potential. All their testing is done with a room temperature of at least 45º C. And they always test to see how much a PSU can output above it's stipulated wattage. The even got the Corsair VX450W to output 570W. Now that's serious testing.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/page/power[/url]

Lethoric · Post by **Lethoric** » 24 Jul 2008, 10:27

Thanks for the many replies today. I will go check out Hardwaresecrets in a bit, just wondering about that Raidmax PSU. I read in another forum, while looking for a PSU that the ripple on that specific raidmax is way too high. On the 3.3V and 5V rails... Apparently the ATX 2.2 OR 2.3 specification states it should be lower. But I have no clue whether this is true.. Anyone?

Welshman · Post by **Welshman** » 24 Jul 2008, 10:55

Well the question is are there are any reviews of the Raidmax. And whether those reviews actually test it properly. A lot of sites don't do a comprehensive test. They simply plug in the hardware, test the voltage, and then give it their recommendation.

Frozenfireside · Post by **Frozenfireside** » 24 Jul 2008, 12:31

Thanks for the HardwareSecrets reference-it's really good and since toms isn't what it was, I needed a new source for decent reviews.

Welshman · Post by **Welshman** » 24 Jul 2008, 13:34

Frozenfireside wrote:Thanks for the HardwareSecrets reference-it's really good and since toms isn't what it was, I needed a new source for decent reviews.

No problem

i came across it yesterday and i was really impressed by their reviews.

abs · Post by **abs** » 24 Jul 2008, 14:06

I remember getting an Acbel 300w psu with my case that i bought 3 years ago, the psu only lasted 6 months. After that 2 Aopen 350w psu's died both the same problem, intermittent shutdowns so I got myself a coolermaster extreme 550w no problems thus far.

WAJeff · Post by **WAJeff** » 24 Jul 2008, 14:37

I got my CM690 yesterday.. dunno if you have one already... Im too lazy to go read the first post

You know that the PSU mounts at the bottom of the chassis hey, so you need to make sure that the connector to the CPU is pretty long

Welshman · Post by **Welshman** » 24 Jul 2008, 15:29

abs wrote:I remember getting an Acbel 300w psu with my case that i bought 3 years ago, the psu only lasted 6 months. After that 2 Aopen 350w psu's died both the same problem, intermittent shutdowns so I got myself a coolermaster extreme 550w no problems thus far.

Basing the quality of Acbel's PSUs on generic PSUs that they've provided for cheap cases isn't justified. Afterall, i had an old case that came with a Seasonic PSU, and that PSU was the same as any other cheap PSU. And yet Seasonic make some of the best PSUs around. In case you didn't know, they are the manufacturers of Corsair PSUs. And there's not many that would call them bad.

Rofl and btw, Acbel actually manufactures the Cooler Master Extreme Power power supplies.