Antec Died- Fortron Sparkle Replacement Question

[itshondo]

My Antec True Control 550w PSU (New) just crapped the bed- random reboots, wouldn't restart, ect- I've lost confidence in this unit-

I'm now looking at a RMA replacement (Newegg) -

Sparkle Power 550W Power Supply, MODEL "FSP550-60PLG"

LINK - http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-478&depa=0

Newegg is showing 12v rails at 36A, just what I need for all of my fans-

Opinions on this PSU would be greatly appreciated-

Thanks

[docinthebox]

I have this PSU powering a P4 2.8c system (see rig description in my signature), with 6 IDE drives, 3 ATAPI devices, and a 15k rpm SCSI drive. Very satisfied with its performance.

Advantages:

1. Very solid rails with esp. beefy 12V rail (36A as you mentioned). With my large rig, Abit EQ shows:
+3.3V: 3.26
+5V: 5.03
+12V: 12.10

2. Good price. $96 shipped at newegg includes a 24pin to 20pin adapter (for converting eps12V to atx12v.)

Downsides:

1. There was a post mentioning a high-pitched sound coming from this PSU, like what you get when you turn on the TV. Frankly, I hadn't noticed this sound until I read the post. But I do notice this sound now. If a TV that's turned on doesn't bother you, this may not be a problem.

2. The official spec mentions that the +3.3V and +5V rails combined have a rating of 150W. This may not seem high but then, if your CPU draws power from the 12V rail, there's really not much power need on the +3.3V and +5V rails. Besides, Fortron/Sparkle is known for their conservative specs. You can probably expect about 15% leeway making it capable of about 170W.

Overall, I think this is a very solid PSU and a great buy. But then, I notice most people on this forum seem to much prefer the FSP530-60GNA to this PSU, even though the 12V rail of the 530 is only rated officially at 18A, whereas the FSP550-60PLG is rated officially at 36A.

Other PSUs you should consider are:

1. Antec Truepower 550 EPS12V: this also has a 36A 12V rail, with beefier 3.3V and 5V rails than the FSP550-60PLG, at least by official specs. This sells for $109 shipped at Newegg. You need to spend another $6.50 to buy a 24pin to 20pin adapter at ajump.com if you intend to use it on an ATX12V motherboard.

2. PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 ATX/ATX12V. This sells for $189 and is a great PSU, with 1% voltage regulation on the different rails. If you're willing to shell out this much dough, this is the PSU you should get. For more details, read the "pc p&c Convince me!" thread.

[itshondo]

Thanks for the info! I think that I'll get the 550-PLG for the 36A capacity of the 12v rail, lots of room for expansion.

Here's a question for you - does this PSU have a 4 pin 12v connector? I can't find anything at the Sparkle website or any reviews. Also, did yours come with a 24-20 pinn atx adapter?

As far as the True Power 550W PSU, I'm still a little gun shy on this one- my new 550W True Control PSU is bad and I'm sure it's in the control/overload circuity which I think the regular Antec 550W PSU shares. I may have got a rare bad one but I don't want to rewire (I'm big on cable/wire management) my rig again.