"Server grade" PSUs.

[DezGalbie]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at options to expand my home media server at the moment. A new PSU is potentially something which will be needed some time soon.

I've noticed that some of the retailers who sell server gear have PSUs which are referred to as "server grade", such as this one.

My question - does this reference to a PSU as being "server grade" actually mean anything important? Or is this just a marketing buzzword, like when a PC case is referred to as a "gaming PC case"?

Are "server grade" PSUs guaranteed (or even likely) to be any more reliable or suited to the job than any other PSU?

[PeterBocan]

"Server grade" to me seems like a marketing trick. Like there's no other certification or authority that would specify what 'server grade' means, however it may mean that the manufacturer makes server PSUs also. As I look around the site there's no mention of the brand that makes those PSUs.

[DezGalbie]

3 minutes ago, PeterBocan said:

"Server grade" to me seems like a marketing trick. Like there's no other certification or authority that would specify what 'server grade' means, however it may mean that the manufacturer makes server PSUs also. As I look around the site there's no mention of the brand that makes those PSUs.

Yeah, it certainly seems like just a marketing thing as far as I can tell. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything before I go and buy parts.

[LukeSavenije]

just get a good psu

 

and be done

 

that's about it

[DezGalbie]

8 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

just get a good psu

 

and be done

 

that's about it

Cost is always the killer! Lol.

I've got an interview tomorrow for a higher paid job. If I get that then I'll treat myself to a decent PSU with my first wage.

I'm thinking about a Silverstone Nightjar. Seems like a reasonable quality while not being ridiculously expensive. Plus the silent operation would be nice to help keep the noise down.

[LukeSavenije]

44 minutes ago, DezGalbie said:

I'm thinking about a Silverstone Nightjar

good, but nothing special

[DezGalbie]

Just now, LukeSavenije said:

good, but nothing special

Yeah, like I say, seems to be reasonable quality while not being ridiculously priced. That's pretty much what I'm aiming for. Can't really afford the absolute best.

[LukeSavenije]

Just now, DezGalbie said:

Yeah, like I say, seems to be reasonable quality while not being ridiculously priced. That's pretty much what I'm aiming for. Can't really afford the absolute best.

i mean, i and the psu tier list are always there to help. but i certainly won't stop you from this one

[DezGalbie]

4 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

i mean, i and the psu tier list are always there to help. but i certainly won't stop you from this one

Well if you have any suggestions for a better option then I'm definitely open to that.

To give you a bit more info - my server at the moment is running on a Ryzen 3 2200G (no graphics card), an SSD, 5 HDDs (and 7 case fans).

My future plans for expansion would be to replace the 2200G with a Ryzen 7 CPU (possibly 1st gen), add a 1050ti, an LSI SAS controller card, and an additional 10 HDDs (adding them gradually, but that's the point I would like to get to eventually).

Would you recommend a different PSU in the same price range as the Nightjar (upto to a maximum of about £150) which would handle this?

[LukeSavenije]

1 hour ago, DezGalbie said:

ould you recommend a different PSU in the same price range as the Nightjar (upto to a maximum of about £150) which would handle this?

just to give a couple random examples:

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/x4s8TW/be-quiet-power-supply-bn250

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/LkM323/corsair-hx-platinum-750w-80-platinum-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020137-na

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/kVwqqs/be-quiet-power-supply-bn251

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/pHFXsY/seasonic-prime-platinum-650w-80-platinum-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-650pd

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/BJFPxr/corsair-power-supply-cp9020072

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/nQJkcf/corsair-hx-platinum-1000w-80-platinum-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020139-na

those can all be had for your budget and are probably better than the nightjar.

 

but for reasonable pricing:

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/qpvbt6/be-quiet-pure-power-11-cm-500-w-80-gold-certified-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-bn297

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/y4TPxr/be-quiet-pure-power-11-700-w-80-gold-certified-atx-power-supply-bn295

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/bqVD4D/corsair-rmx-2018-550w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020177-na

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/zBfmP6/bitfenix-formula-gold-550w-80-gold-certified-atx-power-supply-bp-fm550ulag-7r

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/CZvZxr/bitfenix-whisper-m-550w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-bp-wg550umag-7fm

 

[Spotty]

1 hour ago, DezGalbie said:

To give you a bit more info - my server at the moment is running on a Ryzen 3 2200G (no graphics card), an SSD, 5 HDDs (and 7 case fans).

My future plans for expansion would be to replace the 2200G with a Ryzen 7 CPU (possibly 1st gen), add a 1050ti, an LSI SAS controller card, and an additional 10 HDDs (adding them gradually, but that's the point I would like to get to eventually).

Bitfenix Whisper 450W. $70, 80+ Gold efficiency, quiet fan (good if it's a media server or something), comes with two 4x SATA cables in the box. On the PSU side it has 4 SATA/molex cable connectors, so you can buy additional two x4 SATA cables for a total of 16 (4x4) SATA connectors.

[Stefan Payne]

4 hours ago, DezGalbie said:

I'm thinking about a Silverstone Nightjar. Seems like a reasonable quality while not being ridiculously expensive.

Wait, what?!
Nightjar not rediculously expesive???

Ähh...

 

The 520W is 150€ or so. A 550W Platinum Silverstone is around 105€ or so.

And personally, I'd prefer the normal Strider Platinum over the Nightjar.

 

What's it firing and what do you want to pay??

[DezGalbie]

2 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Wait, what?!
Nightjar not rediculously expesive???

Ähh...

 

The 520W is 150€ or so. A 550W Platinum Silverstone is around 105€ or so.

And personally, I'd prefer the normal Strider Platinum over the Nightjar.

 

What's it firing and what do you want to pay??

 

3 hours ago, DezGalbie said:

To give you a bit more info - my server at the moment is running on a Ryzen 3 2200G (no graphics card), an SSD, 5 HDDs (and 7 case fans).

My future plans for expansion would be to replace the 2200G with a Ryzen 7 CPU (possibly 1st gen), add a 1050ti, an LSI SAS controller card, and an additional 10 HDDs (adding them gradually, but that's the point I would like to get to eventually).

Would you recommend a different PSU in the same price range as the Nightjar (upto to a maximum of about £150) which would handle this?

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, DezGalbie said:

Yeah, it certainly seems like just a marketing thing as far as I can tell. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything before I go and buy parts.

It's not.

 

A server PSU is going to use all minimum 105°C capacitors and will be capable of 100% output at 50°C or higher temperatures.

 

Thing is, most high end desktop PSUs leverage these same features.  The one thing you will likely get with a server PSU is that the fan is usually NOT noise oriented.  The fans are engineered to move as much air as possible in order to prolong life.  See the 80mm fan in the OP's linked PSU?  That's the most efficient way too cool a PSU... but it's loud AF.

[Stefan Payne]

Just now, jonnyGURU said:

A server PSU is going to use all minimum 105°C capacitors

Öhm, no.

You'd consider a double PCB NMB PSU Server Grade, do you?

That one has an 85°C Primary (and aPFC), made back in the early 2000s...

 

 

[Stefan Payne]

6 minutes ago, DezGalbie said:

 

 

OK, first off, why 1050ti?? That one is more expensive or the same as an RX570 but way slower.

Ryzen CPU: for Power Efficiency, there is no better alternative to Ryzen APU, its a fraction of what my Ryzen CPU consumes (without GPU!) And even with VEGA64, my Ryzen APU System is at 40W Idle - wich is still double of the Ryzen APU System w/o GPU.

 

Buttom Line:
It looks weird.

What is the system really for?

And I do not recommend to combine a gaming PC and a file server into one. They should be seperae especially because of transiens of modern components and efficiency...

[DezGalbie]

9 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

OK, first off, why 1050ti?? That one is more expensive or the same as an RX570 but way slower.

Ryzen CPU: for Power Efficiency, there is no better alternative to Ryzen APU, its a fraction of what my Ryzen CPU consumes (without GPU!) And even with VEGA64, my Ryzen APU System is at 40W Idle - wich is still double of the Ryzen APU System w/o GPU.

 

Buttom Line:
It looks weird.

What is the system really for?

And I do not recommend to combine a gaming PC and a file server into one. They should be seperae especially because of transiens of modern components and efficiency...

What is the system "really for"?

 

It's a media server, as I said. I already have a separate system for gaming with a Ryzen 5 1500X and a 1060 6gb.

 

The 1050ti is to be able to handle a lot more transcoded streams through Plex for friends and family than can be achieved through CPU horsepower alone. I don't know a lot about the performance of an RX570 in this kind of task, but I do know that with the right drivers for a 1050ti you can use the card to power quite a few streams and achieve the kind of performance you would expect from a more expensive quadro card. By default, without the correct drivers, you would be limited to 2 streams on a non-quadro Nvidia card (as far as I'm aware).

 

Why would I lie about what it's for?

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Öhm, no.

You'd consider a double PCB NMB PSU Server Grade, do you?

That one has an 85°C Primary (and aPFC), made back in the early 2000s...

 

 

Since I have no idea what unit you're talking about.... Can't say.

[Ankerson]

37 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

 

Thing is, most high end desktop PSUs leverage these same features.  The one thing you will likely get with a server PSU is that the fan is usually NOT noise oriented.  The fans are engineered to move as much air as possible in order to prolong life.  See the 80mm fan in the OP's linked PSU?  That's the most efficient way too cool a PSU... but it's loud AF.

 

Oh yeah, extremely loud, like hearing it two rooms over loud like the old PSU's used to be, I hated how loud the PC's used to be.

 

LOUD doesn't even cover it!!!

 

Some of them hurt my ears back in the day, had to wear ear protection.

 

I can't stand that kind of noise and it's most of the reason why I only build very quiet systems these days.

 

 

 

 

[Dedayog]

34 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Öhm, no.

You'd consider a double PCB NMB PSU Server Grade, do you?

That one has an 85°C Primary (and aPFC), made back in the early 2000s...

 

 

You always manage to go one step too far   I was learning right up til then.

[Stefan Payne]

15 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Since I have no idea what unit you're talking about.... Can't say.

This baby. 

Have still no idea where the Transformer is but looks like 4 smaller ones and controlled by a PIC 16. 
Datecodes show something around 2003 or so. Its a WTX PSU.

[Guest]

That bulk cap is in wide open space in direct airflow from that fan.  Probably doesn't need higher than 85C.  That PSU is an exception, not the norm.  I can't even tell what form factor that thing is.

[Stefan Payne]

58 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

That bulk cap is in wide open space in direct airflow from that fan.  Probably doesn't need higher than 85C.  That PSU is an exception, not the norm.  I can't even tell what form factor that thing is.

Formfactor is standard PS/2 though 180mm Long.

 

Connectors however are "WTX", not ATX.