Good Non-Mainstream/Exotic PSU Database (Poll included) [Archive]

Super Nade

07-05-06, 11:06 AM

Well folks,

Post your experience with your non-mainstream PSU. These days we see a lot of power hungry rigs and people are opting for non-mainstream PSU's, mostly from the server side of things. It is not uncommon to chance across 2U server supplies in everyday gaming rigs. Most of these units offer an excellent value for money. The emphasis is on reliable performance as opposed to asthetics. It does not matter what non-mainstream unit you have, please post !

Mainstream units: OCZ, Fortron Epsilon and Bluestorm series, Thermaltake, Antec, Mushkin.

The poll reflects the finished product only, not the company who actually make the unit. In your replies, please use the following format.
Seller:
Actual manufacturer (if known):
Electrical specs:
12V (list all rails)
5V
3.3V
Active PFC (Y/N?)
Regulation (%)
Cost and place I bought the unit (link please):
Experience:If you can, please void your warranty and post pics of the innards. :D

The poll is multiple-choice, but the poll is useless if not accompanied by a write-up. :)

Super Nade

07-05-06, 11:16 AM

Seller: Supermicro Ablecom
Actual manufacturer (if known): Lite-On
Electrical specs:
12V : 46A
5V : 4A
3.3V: 30A
Active PFC (Y/N?): No (AFAIK)
Regulation (%): Unknown
Cost and place I bought the unit : It was purchased at wiredzone.com FOR $136 SHIPPED, an authorized reseller listed on Supermicro's website. I had a lot of difficulty finding a vendor as this unit was out of stock at most resellers.
Experience: Here (http://www.overclockers.com/articles1353)

Gautam

07-05-06, 11:34 AM

Hrmm...I thought we were talking about NON exotic units here? :p

Super Nade

07-05-06, 11:47 AM

Hrmm...I thought we were talking about NON exotic units here? :p
Well, exotic, relative to folks like us, not guys like you with a 200 stage cascade and 20 x90000xt pe's in CF. :p

Gautam

07-05-06, 12:00 PM

LOL...you forgot about my Athlon256 dodeca core ES. ;) Uhh...you did not just read that.

I got all confused by the thread title. :p I thought you meant NON-exotic...but actually you meant non-mainstream and exotic. Time for some coffee.

In that case, my Zippy 6701P is a lovely unit. I've literally cradled it in my arms on many occasions. Its hard to resist doing so though its one heavy sucker. 52A peak +12v rail, 700W. So far it handles everything without a hitch, and I mean it. Other units might do real well too, but the line regulation on the Zippy is incredible. I have never seen the +12v drop more than .01v under load (0.083% regulation :eek:) and this is shoved to the wall with fully volted X1900's and Conroe. Almost unbelieveable if you sit and think about it. There are cons though. It was extremely expensive at a bit over $300 shipped. Very hard to bring myself to spending that much. I was hoping to get away with a dual PSU setup which would've been about a third of the price, but it was a no-go. :-/ It's very large as well. I have yet to mount it in a case but am planning on simply letting it stick out an inch and a half in the back since no one ever looks there anyways. The fans are very loud and annoying and I will switch them as soon as I get time. Hopefully with them switched out it can maintain its stability and gain some practicality.

Oklahoma Wolf

07-05-06, 12:42 PM

I voted Etasis even though it has a Silverstone sticker on the side. The actual Etasis model number is EPAP-560, as evidenced by the sticker on one of the primary caps.

Don't have any pics, as I still lack a digital camera, but this monster was worth trading the FSP 600W for. Capacitor compliment consists of Teapo, Nichicon, and Rubycon. Maybe a Sanyo or two. It's heavier than my FSP530-60GNA, not to mention far more powerful. It's running my XP rig at the moment.

synthetic_fenix

07-05-06, 04:42 PM

Server Zero-one (home fileserver / LAN Party Game server)

* Seller: Supermicro/Ablecom
* Actual manufacturer (if known): unknown (came with my supermicro servercase)
* Electrical specs: 650Watt
o 12V - 46A
o 5V - 30A
o 3.3V - 30A
o Active PFC (Y/N?) According to Newegg Yes.
o Regulation (%) Again Unknown
* Cost and place I bought the unit (link please): Came with Servercase, Bought it for $299, Got it from Newegg but they no longer carry the exact model but this one is close http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811152061 atleast it has the same PSU
* Experience: Works Well, Powers my Dual Athlon MP system with 7 Hard drives rather well. Generates alot of heat but What PSUs dont when under load.

Server Denali (Personal Webserver hosted at my work)

* Seller: Don't Remember was a PSU i had laying around
* Actual manufacturer (if known): Enermax?
* Electrical specs: 350Watt
o 12V - 26A
o 5V - 32A
o 3.3V - 32A
o Active PFC (Y/N?) Doubt It
o Regulation (%) Again Unknown
# Cost and place I bought the unit (link please): Unknown
# Experience: Powers my Dual PIII 550 System with 3 Scsi 50Gig hard drives with out a hitch. Been running with that rig for over a year, i think its doing pretty good for just a PSU i had laying around.

Server Olympus (Personal Webconnected Gameserver Hosted at my work)

* Seller: Ebay store that sell rack mount supplies
* Actual manufacturer (if known): unknown
* Electrical specs: 400Watt
o 12V - 16A
o 5V - 28
o 3.3V - 15
o Active PFC (Y/N?) No
o Regulation (%) not sure
* Cost and place I bought the unit (link please): Link No longer up, Either out of business or broke away from being an e-bay store.
* Experience: Upgrading it to a Fortron 400 once i get it from the classies, its currently powering my Game server at work which is an Athlon XP Mobile running at 2.2Ghz, with 1 Gig of ram and 3 hard drives. I monitored my voltage rails the other day in linux and the 5V rail is running low along with the 12v rail runing at 11.5 so its a craptacular powersupply.

Super Nade

07-05-06, 04:54 PM

Gautam,
Lets see some pics of it sticking out of the case when you get to it. :)

Wolf,
I saw your post on badcaps.net, the giant 12V ones were Rubycon's right? Where are the Teapo's located? Everybody says Teap's are crap, do you have first hand experience with a failure on a PSU?

synthetic,
The Supermicro-Ablecom should be a very good unit (see my sig). AFAIK, stand alone units ship directly from Supermicro. That case combo you linked to must be worth every penny. :thup:
Thank you for providing detailed information. :beer:

synthetic_fenix

07-05-06, 05:01 PM

Yeah $299 for a 4U servercase / Tower with 7xSata Hotswap Drive cage, 650Watt PSU, Sanyo Denki 120MM exaust Fan, Nidec 92MM intake fans (pulling air through the drive cage). I love it, only problem is its heavy.

Rattle

07-05-06, 05:34 PM

isnt my powerstream actually a tagan ?

if so TAGAN but I didnt vote lol

Oklahoma Wolf

07-05-06, 06:57 PM

Lite-On is the OEM for Supermicro/Ablecom - right up there with Zippy, Etasis, and Win-Tact for build quality.

I saw your post on badcaps.net, the giant 12V ones were Rubycon's right? Where are the Teapo's located? Everybody says Teap's are crap, do you have first hand experience with a failure on a PSU?

I only saw one Rubycon, and man is it ever huge. Not to say there aren't more in there, it was just too cramped to tell. The Teapos are on the secondary, likely on the 3.3v and 5v rails. I don't consider Teapo to be crap anymore... certainly they've been known to fail on a mainboard or two, but I have yet to see a bad Teapo in a computer PSU. I opened up my FSP 530W again yesterday... every last Teapo in there is still good after two years of 24/7. Even the 5 monster 6800uf Teapos are still good.

I figure if Etasis is willing to put their reputation on the line and use Teapo side by side with Rubycon and Nichicon, that's good enough for me ;)

Also, we mustn't forget that Win-Tact has been using exclusively Teapo for years in the PC P&C Turbocools... failures in these are still quite rare.

isnt my powerstream actually a tagan ?

Close - Topower.

LutaWicasa

07-05-06, 07:02 PM

I'll be postin' in here after I use this PSU a little...just got a PCP&C 1 Kw Turbo-Cool :)

Gautam

07-05-06, 07:39 PM

:drool:

Super Nade

07-07-06, 12:29 AM

I'll be postin' in here after I use this PSU a little...just got a PCP&C 1 Kw Turbo-Cool :)

Please open it up. I have never seen a kW rated unit before. I wonder how many input Caps are in it and who makes them?

LutaWicasa

07-07-06, 06:45 AM

Please open it up. I have never seen a kW rated unit before. I wonder how many input Caps are in it and who makes them?

Gotta admit, I'm somewhat hesitant about voiding the warranty on a $400 ($370 actually) unit...but, then again...I ain't the sharpest tool in the box ;)

Super Nade

07-07-06, 09:06 AM

Gotta admit, I'm somewhat hesitant about voiding the warranty on a $400 ($370 actually) unit...but, then again...I ain't the sharpest tool in the box ;)

Come now! I'm sure PCP&C wouldn't mind one bit if you pointed them to this thread and blame me for it ;)

Oklahoma Wolf

07-07-06, 09:31 AM

Please open it up. I have never seen a kW rated unit before. I wonder how many input Caps are in it and who makes them?

I've seen good pics of the innards, though I can't recall where. Caps seemed to be mostly Teapo, like every other Win-Tact I've seen. Input caps IIRC were Hitachi, and there were several of them due to the modular design.

Gautam

07-07-06, 10:57 AM

Any idea of the OEM on that unit?

Super Nade

07-07-06, 11:11 AM

Any idea of the OEM on that unit?
Win-Tact. The lower wattage ones are Seasonic, right wolf?
If PCP&C are ok with Teapo's, there should be no reason to bad-mouth them, right?

Gautam

07-07-06, 11:31 AM

It does rhyme with "cheapo." :shrug: :p

johan851

07-07-06, 12:20 PM

Seasonic S12 600w.

Three Year Warranty, rails are spot on when checked with a multimeter, low-ripple supply, 3% tolerance, extremely quiet, extremely efficient, runs very cool - all in all a fantastic supply that's done a great job for the year+ that I've had it.

Oklahoma Wolf

07-07-06, 03:52 PM

Win-Tact. The lower wattage ones are Seasonic, right wolf?

The Silencers are Seasonic. But yep, the 1kW is Win-Tact, I have absolutely no doubt. Their logo was all over the innards in the pics I mentioned but can't find now.

Not only is Win-Tact okay with using Teapo, so are Topower, Enhance, Fortron, and Etasis. I think they're safe. Best caps around? Nope. But safe :)

Captain Slug

07-07-06, 03:54 PM

I <3 Tagan
I'm really impressed with their current offering and I'm using one in my current rig to replace a defunct unit and will eventually move it to my new machine.

I have also had wonderful experiences with TTGI power supplies.

Elif Tymes

07-07-06, 04:24 PM

Total Non-Senior/White/Admin posts in this thread so far? 4

What is it with the big shots and PSUs ;)

Gautam

07-07-06, 04:36 PM

lol...Super Nade by himself has nearly 1/3rd of the posts in this thread...perhaps that partially explains it. :p

johan851

07-07-06, 05:05 PM

Total Non-Senior/White/Admin posts in this thread so far? 4

What is it with the big shots and PSUs
Whoa...did you call me a big shot?

Hey guys! Guys! I'm a big shot now! Woohoo! :cool:

cozmo_d

07-07-06, 05:36 PM

Sparkle

* Seller:
* Actual manufacturer= Fortron:
* Electrical specs: ATX-350GU
o +12V@16A
o +5V@32/28.8A
o +3.3V@15.15/20A
o Active PFC (Y/N?)
o Efficiency = 65%
* Cost and place I bought the unit: here at OC.com classies
* Experience:Bult several rigs with Sparkle, Have one here at the house running 1.8mhz, 768mbddr2100, 9800Pro, 2x20gig hd's, 1xcdrw, 4 fans, flawless. I realy thought I might have to get a 400w but so far Sparkle churning out the power, Voltage fluctuation is very minimal to non exzistant.

Super Nade

07-07-06, 05:51 PM

lol...Super Nade by himself has nearly 1/3rd of the posts in this thread...perhaps that partially explains it. :p
Looks like I'm talking to myself, right? :)

Slug, I think Topower make Tagan units as well (looks like they are a big time OEM along with FSP and Etasis).

Elif, I may be a bit-short when it comes to PSU stuff, so don't call me a big-shot! (Damn I should have been a poet laureate!) :D

Cozmo, how long have you owned that unit?
Wolf, why does Cozmo's unit have only 65% efficiency? Was this pre-ATX 2.x ?

bobthemoo

07-07-06, 06:33 PM

i have a seasonic 2-12 600w. i didnt look at the specs, i just got it becasue it was an sli one :P

LutaWicasa

07-08-06, 05:59 AM

Come now! I'm sure PCP&C wouldn't mind one bit if you pointed them to this thread and blame me for it ;)

I opened'er up...realized you'd not be able to see anything beyond what is seen here (http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=TC1KW&view=photos) without my tearin'er down quite a bit more.

synthetic_fenix

07-08-06, 07:10 AM

I opened'er up...realized you'd not be able to see anything beyond what is seen here (http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=TC1KW&view=photos) without my tearin'er down quite a bit more.

:drool: :eek: thats a lot of powersupply. come one Tear'er down some more, you know you want to :D

Super Nade

07-08-06, 02:32 PM

I opened'er up...realized you'd not be able to see anything beyond what is seen here (http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=TC1KW&view=photos) without my tearin'er down quite a bit more.

Close up's man..close up's! I wanted to see what caps they were using. Wolf said Teapo, this would be solid proof that it is indeed Teapo.

Oklahoma Wolf

07-08-06, 04:19 PM

Still looking for the pics of the 1kW, but here's the 850W in all its Teaporrificness...

http://www.pureoverclock.com/article18-4.html

Super Nade

07-09-06, 12:38 PM

Nice pictures. I love the layout. :thup:

However, I'm a bit confused by this:-
For each of the three parallel circuits, current is stored in pre-FET capacitors, which are the large black MOSFETS with the white stripes.

Those look like cpas and not MOSFET's. I'm not sure if MOSFET's are used in such high current circuits. That would be a power transistor, Class B or C maybe ?

Captain Slug

07-09-06, 12:41 PM

Slug, I think Topower make Tagan units as well (looks like they are a big time OEM along with FSP and Etasis).
No you're thinking of Epower.

Oklahoma Wolf

07-09-06, 12:46 PM

Topower is both Epower and Tagan, along with about a dozen others... they're one huge OEM, that's for sure.

Dan0512

07-31-06, 02:45 PM

*Seller: Seasonic
*Actual manufacturer: Will check
*Electrical specs: 300W
*12V - 15A
*5V - Need to check (coming)
*3.3V - Need to check (coming)
*Active PFC (Y/N?) Yes
*Regulation - What's this?
*Cost and place I bought the unit: Freebie, found in Electronics graveyard without the cover. The cover was also buried in there
*Experience:I like it a lot. It is very quiet, and only gets warm in full load. Pics to come once I receive my RMA camera. It has been working well for ~3 months.

dan

Gautam

08-21-06, 12:16 PM

S_N, I opened up my PSU this weekend for a fan swap, a took a pic, but unfortunately it isn't very detailed. :-/

http://mysite.verizon.net/gautamb/psu.JPG

jaymz9350

08-22-06, 05:06 AM

* Seller:Tagan
* Actual manufacturer (if known):topower
* Electrical specs:
o 12V (list all rails)12v1 20a 12v2a if rails are combined then 30a
o 5V 48a
o 3.3V 28a
o Active PFC (Y/N?)Y
o Regulation (%)?
* Cost and place I bought the unit (link please):$90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817101516
* Experience:been great through 2 rigs, an xp-m 2400 with an 800xl and this one never had a problem with rails fluxuating and has all the connectors i need and then some

Super Nade

08-22-06, 07:04 AM

Gautam, what caps are being used? I don't see vibration damping goo on it. It must be built like a tank to completely avoid the vibration damping stuff. Looks like they have not skimped on the cooling with the Primariy caps beeing directly cooled by the fan and the fins. :)

ww2717

08-22-06, 01:41 PM

2 Zippy 6850's running.

hainer36

08-22-06, 01:48 PM

got a ocz powerstream, but a zippy isnt far away

http://www.hltechnology.com/one_prod.php?pid=2771
or
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20060&vpn=PSL-6850P&manufacture=Others

cant justify the money for #2 however

Aslan

08-27-06, 09:23 PM

Main Rig:
* Seller: Sparkle
* Actual manufacturer: Fortron
* Electrical specs: 350W
o 12V: 15A
o 5V: 32A
o 3.3V: 28A
o Active PFC (Y/N?) Doubt it
o Efficiency (%) around 65%
o Regulation (%) Unknown
* Cost and place I bought the unit (link please): $50 @ www.vibecomputers.com I purchased this PSU approximately 3 years ago.
* Experience: It ran a NF7-S V2.0, 2600+ XP-M @ 2500mhz, 9800 Pro @ stock, Torin Blower, Lite-On 48x CD-RW and a pair of HDD's with no problems, although the OC did push it a little. Also it saved my system once when I was screwing around and unplugged the CD-RW while the system was on, and even still, continues running perfectly to this da.y

Server:
* Seller: TTGI
* Actual manufacturer: SuperFlower (I think)
* Electrical specs: 600W
o 12V: 30A
o 5V: 53A
o 3.3V: 35A
o Active PFC (Y/N?) Unsure, the website lists both passive and active as options.
o Efficiency ≧70﹪ (according to Superflower)
o Regulation (%) Unknown
* Cost and place I bought the unit (link please): $10 at Ebay :rolleyes:
* Experience: Well, it runs my Dual Opteron 240's with 3gb of ECC Reg PC3200, 300 gig Seagate Sata2 HDD, and X600SE without any problems, so I can't complain. All of the rails are running fine and I haven't had any problems so far. The only problem is that it has 4 fans, and that makes it a bit noisy, although there is a quiet fan setting that reduces the noise a bit. I'll try and get a pic up soon as I was planning to open it up anyhow.

damarble

08-27-06, 09:52 PM

* Seller: Seasonic S12-500
* Actual manufacturer (if known): N/A
* Electrical specs:
o 12V (list all rails) 16a, 17a
o 5V 30a
o 3.3V 30a
o Active PFC (Y/N?) Y
o Regulation (%) >80%
* Cost and place I bought the unit (link please): $117 shipped www.case-mod.com
* Experience: very quiet and very stable rails, have had it less than a week so far

jonnyGURU

08-27-06, 09:59 PM

Who started this thread??? :p

Seventeam and Andyson and they're not even in the poll!!! :D

jcw122

08-29-06, 12:30 AM

Sparke-Forton FTW. JK I know their not THE BEST, but it's what I have.

Super Nade

08-29-06, 03:16 PM

Who started this thread??? :p

Seventeam and Andyson and they're not even in the poll!!! :D

Well, lets leave those out. The operational word is GOOD. :D

jonnyGURU

08-29-06, 09:00 PM

Well, lets leave those out. The operational word is GOOD. :D

Hahaha!!!

What in the world are you talking about?!?!

Andyson is better than half the brands on your list and Seventeam is probably only trumped by Etasis and Zippy.... maybe.

Oklahoma Wolf

08-29-06, 09:24 PM

The operational word is GOOD.

They both are, though one (Seventeam) is the better of the two :p

I don't see Seventeam as competition for Zippy or Etasis myself, but they belong up there on my list somewhere. I'm thinking somewhere between FSP and Win-Tact, though that really doesn't narrow it down much ;)

Andyson I'm not sure about. I know they have a good engineering team, but JG's recent pics of a Hiper with Fuhjyyu caps makes me a bit uncertain as to where I'll finally decide to put them on my own list. Fuhjyyu caps aren't an indicator by themselves of poor quality, sometimes they do last, but I do see them as an indication of cost savings.

Super Nade

08-29-06, 09:29 PM

Is Andyson the same as Deer/LC and Seventeam the same as Rhycon/Rhycom? Maybe you can tell us all why the units you mentioned are so good? Do these guys make units for the US market or is it Asia only?

Oklahoma Wolf

08-29-06, 09:37 PM

Andyson OEM's for Sunbeam, AC Ryan, and Hiper - no affiliation with Deer. Rhycom looks to have Powmax fingerprints all over theirs... not sure about that one.

Seventeam is pretty much an unknown in North America except for the odd unit here and there. One Thermaltake unit is one of theirs, as are a few MGE's.

Edit - maybe not AC Ryan for Andyson... my memory is working through a huge headache. I'm sure JG will be around to correct me by and by ;)

Super Nade

08-29-06, 09:42 PM

Anything that sets them above WinTact, Lite-ON etc?

Oklahoma Wolf

08-29-06, 09:47 PM

I'm still in my observation and research phase with them both, but I'd have to say no to Win-Tact and maybe to Lite-On, at least for Seventeam. Though I'm still uncertain about Andyson, I will put them ahead of Topower/Tagan and Enermax for sure.

jonnyGURU

08-30-06, 04:44 PM

Andyson is "affordable" without crapping out on performance. Although we have seen a few instances of Andyson's using Fuhjyyu's, I've also seen them use all Teapos. Clearly a "build to order" company.

Seventeam makes lots of different PSU's for lots of different people. Not Thermaltake. ;) The Cooler Master 700W eXtreme Power is a Seventeam. Then Nextherm Sytrin 460W is a Seventeam as is the XG line from MGE which includes the Duro 900W (which is actually only 750W @ 115V input) and the external 600W (which is actually a 500W.)

The Seventeams that MGE uses are top notch. That's what I actually use for my main machine. Not the XG branded one, but the Seventeam external 500W I reviewed. I kept it for myself. I mean, these guys used skivved copper heatsinks for goodness sake! All Rubycon too. I know someone once pointed out in a review that there was no thermal compound on their heatsinks (discussed at Bad Caps), but when I took mine apart, there was thermal compound on the sinks.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/PSU/ST-500EAZ/

Oklahoma Wolf

08-30-06, 05:01 PM

Seventeam makes lots of different PSU's for lots of different people. Not Thermaltake.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/thermaltake-psu-roundup_7.html ;)

Adragontattoo

08-30-06, 05:40 PM

I had never heard of XG PSU's until I was in Microcenter the other day.

Now I see mention of them in this post. They a niche market or something?

jonnyGURU

08-30-06, 05:52 PM

Well I'll be damned! SevenTeam is everywhere! Old model, but SevenTeam none the less.

You know I have issues with that round up, right?

Why do a round up of 14 OLD Thermaltake PSU's. Oh wait.. sorry.. one of the PSU's he tested is still currently available.

And then he judges them as if you can/would buy the product today and put it in a modern machine. States that the product wouldn't be a "good value" because it doesn't meet current ATX12V specs. You can't even BUY most of those power supplies anymore! Most of them are well over a year old!

That round-up, to me, was just Oleg grinding an axe with Thermaltake. Why wouldn't he round up current models instead of those old ATX and ATX12V1.3 models?

EDIT: Uh oh! Case-Mod actually has the 560W for $98.95! Look out! ;)