PC P&C Turbo 1K Failed Trying To Power SLi 8800's

[Philly_Boy]

My PC P&C Turbo 1K failed while trying to power two 8800GTX cards in an SLi set up. When I called PC P&C they told me that my psu was the "original" design and wasn't made to handle the 18+ amps that the G80 cards draw on each of the two PCIe power cables. Now I have to ship it back ($40) and pay $60 for them to mod it to have 4 PCie power cables.

DO NOT TRY TO POWER TWO G80 CARDS WITH THIS PSU!!

If you try to use the PCIe Y adaptor cables then each leg is at the max current the G80 cards draw at stock speeds. Each leg of the PSU is only capable of 18A max. Once you attempt an overclock the psu will fail.

When my unit failed it took out my DFI Expert board and on of my 8800GTX's. So this is like $1600 worth of damage. I am rma'ing the Expert board and the 8800GTX, but it sux to not be able to gather data for these reviews.

[Omastar]

Haha, why the hell don't they just send you a new PSU? Is it not still under warranty? Morons. Modding a PSU to handle higher amperages INSTEAD OF SENDING A NEWER REVISION? Man, that's so much easier. Great job, PC P&C.

[INJViper]

Yeah I would expect for the amount of money you put out for that Psu that they would at least cross ship you a newer revision.. Do the newer revisions have to be modded to handle dual 8800GTX's?

[Oklahoma Wolf]

When I called PC P&C they told me that my psu was the "original" design and wasn't made to handle the 18+ amps that the G80 cards draw on each of the two PCIe power cables.

Completely absurd - they don't draw that much power. The PSU simply failed.

[K404]

Yea I was gonna say...18A per PCI-E plug on a GTX????


216W per plug? yea right

Or...216W between the 2 is still "a bit on the high side"...especially for stock

[dave_graham]

actually, those cards do draw a spectacular load.

the new 1Kw-SR is designed with 4 x PCIe cables for this reason.

granted, dunno why they're taking this tact....

dave

[Oklahoma Wolf]

actually, those cards do draw a spectacular load.

Yep, but not 18A. More like 12-14A at most

[jonnyGURU]

When my unit failed it took out my DFI Expert board and on of my 8800GTX's. So this is like $1600 worth of damage. I am rma'ing the Expert board and the 8800GTX, but it sux to not be able to gather data for these reviews.

Did you guys catch this part?

Assuming the 8800GTX cards did pull more than the 18A each rail is set to deliver,what ANY power supply is SUPPOSED TO DO is just trip a "breaker", called an OCP, that's between the main source of the power and the connectors. When this "trips" the PSU is supposed to shut down.

So the typical scenario should be: power exceeds rail's OCP, PSU shuts down, no components harmed, you're staring at a blank screen.

So this is OBVIOUSLY not an issue with the PCP&C 1kW having multiple +12V rails, each limited to 18A. This is PCP&C feeding on your ignorance so they can avoid responsiblilty for a faulty unit blowing up your stuff.

Cheers!

[dave_graham]

Yep, but not 18A. More like 12-14A at most

you seen the power specs on the cards?

i've not spent much time there, but....it does appear to be somewhat substantial under full load.

dave

[JPeitzman]

Not likely that it draws 18A per plug, that would be 216watt per plug like K404 said, 432watts total... I can see combined maybe 18A max, but still.

We are however overlooking what JG hinted at and what is the big issue. The PSU failed and took parts with it, it wasn't overdrawn. Like JG said if the rail was overdrawn then the over current protection circuit would kick in and your system would shut down. In this case the PSU just fell flat on its face and took your parts with it. Again like JG said PCP&C is hiding behind their name and the fact that they THINK you are uninformed. They don't want to tarnish their god-like name by saying that their unit failed, nor do they want to lose a customer

[Philly_Boy]

According to PC P&C the 8800GTX's do draw 18 amps for each card. . .not each connector. They no longer make the "original" Turbo 1K or the original mutli rail design with quad PCIe cables. They only make the SR single rail version now. So there are no more new multi rail Turbo 1K's. I am going to call them to see if I can just upgrade to the SR version. Then I should be set for at least one more generation of GPU cards.

EDIT: After calling them, they will at least do the mod for free. . . and the tech is checking to see if a free upgrade to the SR is possible.

[guess2098]

well my old old 1st edition 1KW doesn't give me any problem to push two cards...
but i do use 2 Y-connector for one card and 2 6pin for another card

[kiwi]

Strange. Seasonic 650 has four 12V lines with 18A each and it could handle 8800gtx SLI. At least on with overclocked conroe and cards on air.

[Oklahoma Wolf]

According to PC P&C the 8800GTX's do draw 18 amps for each card

They are not correct. Yes, they draw a lot of power, but not that much. The most recent figures I've seen are around 145W, or almost 13A. Overclocking will increase that somewhat, but not by nearly enough to get it to 18A.

[uOpt]

The old 3-rail design of the PCP&C 1 KW gave some trouble in situations like these. It couldn't power up my K8QC8 either.

PCP&C changed the design to eliminate the problem and they offer existing customers to have theirs changed for $60.

I think that is overall pretty reasonable considering it was the first common 1 KW PSU.

[dinos22]

looks like they are telling you fibs from collective posts here

i'm surprised really that this CPU would not be able to handle it...wow

[jonnyGURU]

According to PC P&C the 8800GTX's do draw 18 amps for each card. . .not each connector. They don't make the "original" Turbo 1K or the original mutli rail design with quad PCIe cables. They only make the SR single rail version now. No more new multi rail Turbo 1K's. I am going to call them to see if I can just upgrade to the SR version. Then I should be set for at least one more generation of GPU cards.

EDIT: After calling them, they will at least do the mod for free. . . and the tech is checking to see if a free upgrade to the SR is possible.

Again... You could have 20 +12V rails rated at 10A each and try to run four 8800GTX's and a properly functioning PSU STILL isn't going to "blow up" or "fail" or "take out components." The OCP would trip and the PC should shut down.

They're LYING to you. An overloaded virtual rail does NOT blow up a properly functioning power supply or the parts connectred to it.

The way rails work: There is only one or two +12V sources. These sources are divided up into separate circuits called "rails." These rails have OCP's on them that prevent more than a pre-determined amount of current to go through the circuit. IF THE CIRCUIT IS OVERLOADED THE OCP IS PROGRAMMED TO SHUT DOWN THE PSU.

Assuming the OCP COMPLETELY FAILED and wasn't able to shut down the PSU at ANY load. The source of that voltage is STILL capable of more than 72A. That's a number that's about TWICE what your computer would need even under load. The power supply was not overloaded. The rails were not overloaded. The power supply FAILED.

But that's neither hear nor there. HOW the PSU failed doesn't help you at all, because the warranty paper for PCP&C power supplies states that they are not responsible for ANY incidental damages.

And that's fine.

It just sucks that they feel the need to LIE TO YOU and ask you for MORE MONEY when it's obvious their product DIED!

[JPeitzman]

^^^^ 100%. You didn't overdraw, it failed like JG said.

They should send a 1Kwatt SR for free since yours FAILED.

[s1rrah]

My PC P&C Turbo 1K failed while trying to power two 8800GTX cards in an SLi set up. When I called PC P&C they told me that my psu was the "original" design and wasn't made to handle the 18+ amps that the G80 cards draw on each of the two PCIe power cables. Now I have to ship it back ($40) and pay $60 for them to mod it to have 4 PCie power cables.

DO NOT TRY TO POWER TWO G80 CARDS WITH THIS PSU!!

so what PSU are you looking at now? reviews are showing the new mushkin PSU's to be pretty good ...

[K404]

Are the power ratings being posted the PCI-E plug draws, or PCI-E plug and PCI-E Slot combined?

If so (combined), total power draw through the PCI-E plugs is gonna be more like 12-14?A

Technically irrelevant given the situation but anyway...

[Philly_Boy]

^^^^ 100%. You didn't overdraw, it failed like JG said.

They should send a 1Kwatt SR for free since yours FAILED.

Looks like they are going to do just that.

so what PSU are you looking at now? reviews are showing the new mushkin PSU's to be pretty good ...

I will be receiving a review sample of that Mushkin psu in a few weeks time. I will let everyone know what I find.

[s1rrah]

I will be receiving a review sample of that Mushkin psu in a few weeks time. I will let everyone know what I find.

looking forward to your review ...

[Stelios]

According to PC P&C the 8800GTX's do draw 18 amps for each card. . .not each connector. They no longer make the "original" Turbo 1K or the original mutli rail design with quad PCIe cables. They only make the SR single rail version now. So there are no more new multi rail Turbo 1K's. I am going to call them to see if I can just upgrade to the SR version. Then I should be set for at least one more generation of GPU cards.

EDIT: After calling them, they will at least do the mod for free. . . and the tech is checking to see if a free upgrade to the SR is possible.

Can you give us an update regarding the upgrade ???

I would like to upgrade my PSU to the SR also ...

[perkam]

Silverstone OP1000/Enermax Galaxy 1000 ... FTW !!! :p

Perkam

[serialk11r]

Wait a moment, 18A? That's hard to believe, some people have dual 8800gtx, kentsfield all overclocked on 700W PSUs and they're fine. Let see, 12X36=432 (even more after OC), the kentsfield draws how much overclocked? Okay now what about the hard drives, fans, etc.