EnerMax Or Antec?

[VegetaQ]

Hello everyone.
I come from yonder in the Cooling forums. But I got gutsy one day and thought I would venture to other portions of the website. Oh and I had a question.

No im not sure if this has ever come up before, But I need a new power supply. My 5vRail is not cutting it and its stopping me from getting the OC my 1.2 desires. So I figured I would invest in a new power supply. Now I had always thought Enermax was the way to go( they looked so nice with gold contacts. and that intake fan looks like it serves a good purpose as well) But since Ive been reading the forums Ive found some people have problems with these and prefer Antec. Another good manufactuer. So im kinda Torn.

I was looking at this Enermax
ENERMAX EG465P-VE (FM). 431W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4. At newegg its only 81 Bucks

Also I have found this Antec
http://www.antec-inc.com/product/powers/pp403x.htm
Antec suggests around 100 dollars for it. But no bottom Fan.

I am open to suggestions. I just want to make sure if im spending 75-100 dollars I get the one that will give me optimal performance. Thanks!

[Jon]

Get the Sparkle 400W then. My opinion, it's better than both of them.

[ButcherUK]

Don't buy enermax, they wouldn't know how to regulate 5V sensibly if you smacked them about with a regulator.

[VegetaQ]

Wow, I just looked at the 400W sparkle on Newegg. They have every wire for every application invented! lol. Ive never heard of it though. Have you had good expearences with it?

[klosters64a]

Personally, I lean away from Enermax PS's. I only have hand's-on with PC Power&Cooling and Sparkle PS's. I wanted a 350W Turbo-Cool, or better yet a Silencer 400 from PC P&C, but want and wallet ain't always the same.

The Sparkle 350W I've had for ~1 month is working well. It's power regulation is good. It's not from the Rolls-Royce of PS maker's, but if wishes were horses...

[VegetaQ]

They sound ok too ill look into them. All im intrested in is the Best 400-450 watt power supply I can get for around 75-100 bucks. I don't want to spend like 400 bucks on one. But like i said If the diffrence is 25 bucks more for stability ill gladly spend it.

[VegetaQ]

Just a little Bump. Tiny one? I just want to be sure I don't spend a lot thats going to keep limiting my OC. Im leaning towards a sparkle right now since cost as much as Antec and Jon says its better.

[DodgeViper]

I just purchase a new SX1040 Antec case. It came with their 400w P/S. The 5v rail is solid at 5.03. If your going to spend that much money go with the SX1040, get a new case and P/S for about $27.00 more than your going to spend on a Sparkle.

[Sonny]

I'm pretty happy with my Enermax 431W. With any of the "High Quality" brands I do urge you to bring your rig to test it out if you cant do that have the store set up a similar system, mobo & CPU, for you to test it out. Use a voltmeter to monitor the voltages. Take a look at my voltages;

[earthdick]

IMHO, I used to have an Enermax pws but I always had problems with the +5v rail. I was unable to overclock my 1.2 Athlon at all. I changed it to an Antec pp412x and haven't had a problem since. The pp412x does have the adjustable pot, if you are so inclined to crank the +5v line higher than spec. Right now I am running my 1.2 at 1.33 and my +5v line is at 4.91v without adjusting the pot. It doesn't move much between 4.90 and 4.95. I had heard that Enermax fixed the +5v line problem in the newer pws, but I don't have any experience with them.

[Sonny]

Originally posted by earthdick
I had heard that Enermax fixed the +5v line problem in the newer pws, but I don't have any experience with them. This is not the case. I have mentioned this quite often;

Enermax did not fix the "Problem". The production tolerances are ±.25V so if it tests at 4.75V it will be inside the specification.

[earthdick]

Originally posted by sonny
This is not the case. I have mentioned this quite often;

Enermax did not fix the "Problem". The production tolerances are ±.25V so if it tests at 4.75V it will be inside the specification.

I searched in the forum posts for my specs when I had the enermax psu. The results were at full load the +5v rail was between 4.41v to 4.52v. So in my case it was a problem and it was out of spec as you pointed out.

[Sonny]

Originally posted by earthdick
I searched in the forum posts for my specs when I had the enermax psu. The results were at full load the +5v rail was between 4.41v to 4.52v. So in my case it was a problem and it was out of spec as you pointed out. True enough, that is totally out of spec:beer: Did you persue your warranty?

[earthdick]

Originally posted by sonny
True enough, that is totally out of spec:beer: Did you persue your warranty?

I tried the email/phone route for an RMA. Enermax said it was the responsibility of the vendor, the vendor said it was the responsibility of the manufacturer. Ugh! I gave up, I just didn't have the time to argue anymore.

[William]

Sparkles and Antecs for me. Enermax is overhyped.

[wild_andy_c]

My opinion follows which others may not agree with :

Enermax, Macron, Advance, Enhance, Enlight, Codegen, Antec - all crap.

Sparkle, CWT, DEER, DEEP, Delta - they are the daddies !

[Sonny]

Originally posted by earthdick
I tried the email/phone route for an RMA. Enermax said it was the responsibility of the vendor, the vendor said it was the responsibility of the manufacturer. Ugh! I gave up, I just didn't have the time to argue anymore. Damn! I showed a copy of the email from Enermax to the store I bought mine from & they called their supplier if they would fix it & the reply I got was that they would replace it within a year of purchase so I got it. Just to make sure I did have the store manager make a note of it on my reciept. If you want a volt mod for it I have one if it's not too late;)

[wild_andy_c]

Originally posted by earthdick


I tried the email/phone route for an RMA. Enermax said it was the responsibility of the vendor, the vendor said it was the responsibility of the manufacturer. Ugh! I gave up, I just didn't have the time to argue anymore.

In any case like this your warranty is with the store, the store's with the distie and the distie's with the manufacturer.

The store has a responsibility towards you.

[XprincoX]

Originally posted by sonny
This is not the case. I have mentioned this quite often;

Enermax did not fix the "Problem". The production tolerances are ±.25V so if it tests at 4.75V it will be inside the specification.

you sure they didn't fix the conflict? I had the original 330w that had this conflict with my epox. But when i changed to the new whisper 431w the problems was totally resolved. And my 5v are always 5v+ now

[Sonny]

Originally posted by Xprincox
you sure they didn't fix the conflict? I had the original 330w that had this conflict with my epox. But when i changed to the new whisper 431w the problems was totally resolved. And my 5v are always 5v+ now No they didnt according to Enermax. This is the reason why I always tell people to test it before they buy it. I guess now you got a healthy one;)

[XprincoX]

Or actually do there research on the different models... old ones practally have the exact same model number as the newer one!! :(

[Sonny]

Originally posted by Xprincox
Or actually do there research on the different models... old ones practally have the exact same model number as the newer one!! :( HUH?:eh?:

[XprincoX]

Lets just say do your research b4 buying..... esp if you have a epox mobo. :D

[Sonny]

Yup. That's the best thing to do:beer:

[one4u2nb]

I have the 300W model not the whisper series and my +5 is at 5.04 stable no problems with my enermax here...

[DodgeViper]

I just purchased the 431w Enermax for a friend and its 5v rail in the same motherboard I have is 4.87 idled. It had a manufactures date of Nov. 2001. So I do not think Enermax has address this problem.

[Amair_sc]

My stupid 431 watt Enermax's +5v line also loves to hang around 4.877.


I wonder if I can exchange it...

[Maximus Nickus]

What is the average 5V line for a Sparkle PSU???

[VegetaQ]

I just went out and by chance I fell upon a 350 watt Antec. I bought it and it works Really well..

I feel kinda weird since that one guy says Deer is a good brand. And a Deer is what I took out of my system. Oh well. I have to give good applause to Antec. It doesnt run at the full 5V line. But i get High high 4's always .

[wild_andy_c]

It's not so much the voltage as the stability of current - although the level of voltage can go some way to indicating this.

Sparkle PSU's have very stable current regulation - that is very important. I might buy a 350W Sparkle for my no. 3 box

[GoldenTiger]

I'd go for an Antec. Enermaxes have been known to have problems with their 5v and 12v rail voltages, and aren't as quiet as the Antecs.

[DodgeViper]

My vote is for the Antec as well. I received a Enermax 350w today bundled with a Enermax case. It will be a few days before I get a chance to build this computer. I will post what kind out output the PS has.

[BigRed]

i dont know why you people dislike enermax so much but mine works perfectly. i have an enermax 550w
http://members.acer-access.com/bigred@acer-access.com/Computer%20Pictures/Voltages.JPG
all flat lines :)

[wild_andy_c]

Just built a P4 system (4SDA) with a HEC 300W sypply - this board has a SCSI card, NIC, Firewire card, Sonic Fury, Matrox G200, 2 HD's, 1 x DVD, 1 x SCSI CDRW, 512Mb DDR and a 0.18 2.0GHz processor and is as stable as a rock. Now that's a high quality PSU.

[f155mph]

VegetaQ,

How much is your Antec 350? I saw an open box one for $34. Is that a good price if it works?:D

[Breadfan]

Originally posted by wild_andy_c
Just built a P4 system (4SDA) with a HEC 300W sypply - this board has a SCSI card, NIC, Firewire card, Sonic Fury, Matrox G200, 2 HD's, 1 x DVD, 1 x SCSI CDRW, 512Mb DDR and a 0.18 2.0GHz processor and is as stable as a rock. Now that's a high quality PSU.

I like the HEC's...been using their 350watt units (dual fan) for the last few systems I've done here at work...all of them have been over 5v (using Abit KG7's at the time). Only like $42 bucks too!

Mike

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by f155mph
VegetaQ,

How much is your Antec 350? I saw an open box one for $34. Is that a good price if it works?:D

Probably not too bad. I got mine Retail 70 bucks cause I was impatent. I probably could have got the 400watt for 100 online. but Is figured I have a 300 watt Deer than I can add in if I need the extra power.

[f155mph]

VegetaQ,

Did you get the one with two clear fans?

[EclipseJP]

I got an enermax 431 and i have a pretty good mostly stable 5.02
and fluctuates to 4.99 volts. Thats good right?

[DodgeViper]

Just finished building the computer with the Enermax case/power supply. This was the case that is the same as the Antec SX1000 series. The Enermax P/S was a dual fan 350w model. The reported 5v rail on Enermax is a rock solid 5.05v. Not a bad buy case and p/s for $99.00

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by f155mph
VegetaQ,

Did you get the one with two clear fans?

Yeppers. Only reason I got it on such a snap decision.

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by DodgeViper
Just finished building the computer with the Enermax case/power supply. This was the case that is the same as the Antec SX1000 series. The Enermax P/S was a dual fan 350w model. The reported 5v rail on Enermax is a rock solid 5.05v. Not a bad buy for $99.00

Its good that it works. But you can get the 350 Watt version on Newegg.com for 53 bucks. and the 431 Watt for as little (depending on the version. ) for 81 bucks.

[DodgeViper]

Its good that it works. But you can get the 350 Watt version on Newegg.com for 53 bucks. and the 431 Watt for as little (depending on the version. ) for 81 bucks.

VegetaQ, I did not pay $99.00 for the P/S. I paid $99.00 for the P/S and a Enermax case. The 350w P/S is plenty for the computer that was built. You can buy this setup at NewEgg for $99.00.

Enermax, FS-710. Beige/White, 10-Bay, Enermax 330W P-4 PS, Server Tower Case ATX. 4 X 5.25" Bays, 2 X 3.5" Bays, 4 X 3.5" Hidden. Enermax EG351P VE(2 BB Fans)(AMD Recommended power supply.) power supply. 3 Fans. Dimensions: W205*D473*H522 (mm).

[VegetaQ]

Oh cool.

Super then! Im still saving my pennies for a nice Lian li aluminum ful tower..

[Sonny]

Originally posted by VegetaQ
Im still saving my pennies for a nice Lian li aluminum ful tower.. You will be extremely happy with it:D