I've tried searching a little bit both here and on other forums, and if I missed something, my apologies. I did not see a thread like the one I need.

I work with repairing/servicing HP's all day, and have really no experience with building my own PC, other than what friends and coworkers have suggested. I'm doing my first major computer build, and I have selected the Antec P182 case. That deal at zipzoomfly is too hard to pass up.

Anyway, I plan on getting the one of the new quad-core Yorkfields when they come out in a month or so, and additionally plan to get the 9800GX2.

I had a question concerning the power supply. Really my entire post comes down to a few simple questions.

1) The P182 has a compartmentalized power supply area. Many of the people on this board have power supplies with fans mounted either on the top or the bottom. Would it be preferable to get a power supply with a fan directly on the back?

2) If time permits, could someone recommend me a power supply that would suit the above needs, and be at a reasonable price? Preferably modular. I've been looking at the Ultra X2 750w supply (seen here http://tinyurl.com/2k6swr), but since the fan is not on the outside of the unit, I am skeptical about using it in this case.

Thanks guys. Help is always appreciated.

Check out http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088
The Ultra X2 is Tier 4, not reccommended! Also $80 for a 750W PSU is too cheap. Unless you are going SLI, a GOOD 550/600W should be fine. Cheap PSUs can struggle to give 75% of rated output for any good length of time. Just about all PSUs have fan in bottom, they are illustrated upside down for presentation purposes. It doesn't matter where the fan is mounted, it will still move air through the PSU!

Mike.

Wow, good to know.

Thanks for the help.

I still may look for a rear mounted fan, but that link sure helps.

So. . . Zipzoomfly has the Ultra X3 600w and 800w for ~$105 and ~$140 (w/ rebate) respectively.

Think it's worth the extra $30 for 200 watts? I may not even be using them, but I guess it couldn't hurt for potential future expansion.

Thoughts? Again, thanks.

If you're willing to invest a little time reading up, go read the PSU reviews at jonnyguru.com. It always gets me when people point at the silly tier rankings, as opposed to data on how the power supply performs in various test conditions. The Ultra X3 is a great power supply (not the X2, about which I know nothing!), and will work fine for your setup.

Also, there's about a half an inch gap above and below the power supply in the P182, so you can have the fan facing up or down, really your choice. In my rig, I have it facing down, on the theory that hot air rises, thus the cool air is on the bottom of the case. Silly, I know, but I wanted something more substantial than flipping a coin.

Antec's 850W TruePower Quattro is a very nice PSU with the fan in back. I am not sure if it will fit, but being an Antec PSU you shouldn't have a problem putting it into an Antec PC case. This sucker is reviewed at jonnyguru.com also.



By systemlord at 2008-01-27

The Ultra X3 is Tier 2, which is fine. The 600W is fine, unless you go SLI. If you buy too high power rating, a PSU running at only 50% is less efficient than a PSU running at 75%, so as well as the extra purchase price, you will also waste more power in use. The best PSUs can hit 85% efficiency, the worst can struggle to reach 70%.

Mike.

1) The P182 has a compartmentalized power supply area. Many of the people on this board have power supplies with fans mounted either on the top or the bottom. Would it be preferable to get a power supply with a fan directly on the back?


The ANTEC NEOs fit and vent from the back.

As I said earlier......

Mike.

I wouldn't worry about the orientation of the fan on the psu. The case comes with an Antec tricool fan mounted in the lower compartment. This will give you plenty of cooling for the psu. Definitely look over the lists of different tier psus and pick good one. Don't skimp on it.

One thing to keep in mind: if you get a power supply that's longer than the standard ATX form factor, you're going to have trouble installing it if you plan on keeping the 120mm fan at the bottom of the P182. It is possible, but it's just very difficult. I'm guessing most people with extended power supplies take the fan out. I managed to keep it in there with some cables pressing on one of the fan grills, but hey.. it still works.

The P182 needs a PSU with longer cables than average. All things considered, I recommend the Corsair 620HX.

Most people who care about system noise take it out, regardless of PSU length. That fan, if you listen to it, has a much more noticeable noise signature than the other two fans in the case (which I replaced with better fans anyway, but that's immaterial). The PSU doesn't need additional cooling, even if you put a couple hard drives down there.