Help Choosing Power Supply

[aevm]

Funny tho.. it's hard for me to picture exactly what 40 vs 44 dB sounds like. Do you have a silencer? Is it ever noisy?

I got this list from a Google search. I've seen it often, it's a classic.

rustling leaves: 20 dB
whispers: 30 dB
quiet home: 40 dB
quiet street: 50 dB
conversation: 60-70 dB
telephone dial tone: 80 dB
car in traffic: 85 dB
possible hearing damage over a long time: 90-95 dB
average Walkman settings: 94 dB
diesel truck: 100 dB
power saw: 110 dB
normal amplified music: 120 dB
point of pain and hearing damage: 125 dB
jet engine at 100 ft.: 135 dB
loudest rock music: 150 dB
loudest possible noise: 194 dB

 

[uwstonedprophet]

Sounds like there's not too much difference between these two.. leaning now towards the PC&C because of the air flow, as you mentioned. Might just flip a coin tho at this point. lol

 

[uwstonedprophet]

ha that's a great list. thank u

one question. what makes a "loudest possible noise"?

 

[aevm]

Yeah, how did they they produce and measure that? Even my cat when he's hungry cannot produce that much noise.

 

[uwstonedprophet]

Haha. Hey so I heard back from newegg. Asked if they could verify the Q9550 would have the newer E0 stepping, but they said they could not. Is it safe to expect it will? Or should I try to get a confirmation from some other company?

 

[aevm]

LOL, that's a huge topic. Read this thread if you have the patience.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1340014

Newegg does not guarantee steppings. I've seen that myself in 2007 when the G0 stepping of the Q6600 was released. People were still getting B3 steppings of that CPU even 3 months after the G0 had been released. That's normal, IMO, because the retailers want to get rid of the older versions too. I think the technical term is "flush the inventory from the channel"

Anyway, no worries, it's not important for the Q9550.

 

[xthekidx]

If you wanted to guarantee E0 stepping, you could look at the Q9650. Comes in a combo with the HAF 932 for $30 off, which is an awesome case. Just a thought
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.160671

 

[Akebono 98]

Between Corsair and PCP&C, it's no big deal, really. They're the best ones and it's just personal preference. And it's no big deal to mount it "upside-down", the label just looks funny, that's all. And don't worry about the noise thing either--you won't even get close to the 80% mark until you add your second 4870, if at all.

For the amount of time that's passed since the release, odds are that you'll get the E0 stepping. However, if you can live with 0.5 less multiplier and 6 MB less cache, then there's always the Q9400 at R0 stepping, if you're really hung up about stepping.

Good luck with your build; we're all glad to help if you have any wrinkles later.