Exclusive Interview with PC Power & Cooling Founder
by Christoph Katzer on February 11, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Not long ago we had a long talk with PC Power & Cooling founder Doug Dodson about power supplies and the question came up why there aren't lower wattage power supplies with enough PEG connectors to support higher end graphics card setups. The reason why will be answered shortly but Doug also agreed to build us a custom power supply based on the newly introduced Turbo Cool 860. The article about that power supply is already online, and as a follow-up we wanted to post this interview.
For the curious, that's Christoph on the left and Doug on the right…
We met Doug and the PC Power / OCZ crew at this year's CES show in Las Vegas, and he took the time to answer a few questions we had. We have three topics to cover: Technology, Markets, and Work. These will concentrate respectively on the technology offered by PC Power & Cooling, the newly extended markets created by the acquisition from OCZ, and how the work changed during this time until today.
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fausto412 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
That guy he interview was very good at answering the questions. i hope we get more inteviews like this one posted. i actually feel like my next power supply should be pc power and cooling branded.Bozo Galora - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Well gee, maybe when they get around to selling this thing or its offspring to the public at large, it will be able to compete with Nehalem?Oh golly, an ES STOCK 2.66 non overclocked Nehsalem does an 8 second 1M super pi.
http://infomars.fr/forum/index.php?showtopic=1524">http://infomars.fr/forum/index.php?showtopic=1524
Hmmmmmmmmm.
Bozo Galora - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Oooops.Somehow clicked the wrong article - heh
tynopik - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
PS: that report has been debunked, it's not trueRocket321 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
According to Newegg, the Antec NeoPower NeoHE 380 power supply is SLI certified. 380 watts.According to Antec this PS can also run at 100% load 24x7 guaranteed and comes with a 5 year warrenty.
I bought this PS because after looking at AnandTech's power draw on several systems showing quad core, 8800gtx, very high end usually pulling less that 300 watts.
No I'm not going to be able to run "tri-fire" but c'mon..lol
Then again I don't drive a SUV so maybe I don't fully comprehend the American need for excess quantities.
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
You have a good point but that 100% load rating may be at a lower ambient temp than yours sees. If the ambient is higher than the context it's rated under then the total output has to be derated to account for this.It wouldn't be hard to derate a 380W PSU below 300W simply by using it in a typical case with components using 300W.
bob4432 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
for ~98% of the desktop pcs, a quality 400W unit is more than enough. why continue to make these higher W units when really very few people need them?pretty interesting business model when you are counting on ignorance as one of your income arenas...
then again i don't suffer from other inadequacies others might and am happy running my rigs w/ a antec EA 380 or 430....
mindless1 - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
Why make them is easy. The goal is NOT to try to buy barely enough PSu for your needs. When you buy a car if you intend to drive 65MPH on the expressway do you select one that can barely go 70?If you plan on having 4 cubic feet of food in the freezer do you want exactly 4 cubic foot capacity?
The wattage rating on a PSU is it's sustainable upper limit, not a lower limit nor average to match against system consumption. As the interview onlined, there are significant benefits choosing a PSU rated for more than the system will use. It's only extreme penny pinchers who tend to end up with less desirable results that try to cut every last cost.
Consider another example, OEMs who use median to higher quality PSU but are often bashed by gamers for including a 300-350W PSU in a system they hoped to do a video card upgrade on. To some extent, the PSU should be matched to the reasonable expansion capabilities of the case and buyer, not just what is plugged in the very first time. A good PSU may last for multiple system upgrades or entire system replacements if you're the type that won't use the same CPU, video, etc for more than 3 years or so.
Olaf van der Spek - Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - link
So if you buy a 3 ghz CPU, you're going to run it at 2.4 ghz?PSUs should be rated at sustainable output at good efficiency, like other components.
Not rated for some fantasy conditions.
Olaf van der Spek - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
> pretty interesting business model when you are counting on ignorance as one of your income arenas...Doesn't that always apply to quality and brand names?