Sparkle Power "Power Q" 350W, any good?

Beavis · Feb 20, 2004

Is this a real Sparkle power supply, I need something cheap for my parents computer, it only has basic hardware with a Duron 950. Price seems pretty good.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-103-484&catalog=58&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

Gautam · Feb 20, 2004

The Power Q's don't seem to be FSP-built. You'd be better off with this, IMHO, but neither should give any problems. The latter is far more reputable, though.

Beavis · Feb 20, 2004

Cool, thanks. So the Sparkle 250 watt will get the job done? Basically I want the cheapest PSU from Newegg that will get the job done and last years. I need to keep the cost down, I'm broke. Just wondering, will the Sparkle 250w power a Thoroughbred in case I decide sometime in the future to upgrade it?

wannaoc · Feb 20, 2004

250 is pretty small. I would stick with at least the 350w versions. The Fortron ones are only $30.00 or so if I remember right.

dalilman52 · Feb 20, 2004

the 300w models should be fine, just as long as it says fortron or sparkle, any one of em should do fine, they are good psu's and durons dont draw much power, so the psu i just mentioned will be perfect

Gautam · Feb 20, 2004

I run a stock 2000+ and GF4MX420 on a 200W Fortron.

I run the system in my sig on a 300W Fortron.

250W will more than suffice. I'd go so far as to say that 300W is overkill for a system like that.

Beavis · Feb 21, 2004

I'm going to get this one, thanks for the advice!

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-428&catalog=58&depa=1

larrymoencurly · Feb 21, 2004

I think that the only major difference between PowerQ and Hi-Q and other Fortron/Sparkle PSUs is in the fans -- theirs use sleeve bearings instead of ball bearings.

AFAIK, Fortron-made PSUs are sold under these brands: Fortron, Sparkle, Powrman, PowerQ, Powertech (not to be confused with Powertek), Trend, Hi-Q, Aopen. Their model numbers usually start with "FSP" (Fortron-Source Power), but some start with "ATX" (I have a Sparkle ATX-300GU).

Beavis · Feb 21, 2004

The item number of the Power Q I was looking at is ATX-350GU, so it is a real Sparkle then. So do you think I should go for it? If it is a real Sparkle 350 watt for $24.50 shipped, that would be too good of a deal.

Speed_Mechanic2 · Feb 21, 2004

The ATX-350GU is a FSP-Group built PSU. Whether that makes it a "real" Sparkle (or Fortron-Source, or AOpen) PSU is up to ?

Gautam · Feb 21, 2004

I had always thought that only FSPxxx's were FSP-group built?

Speed_Mechanic2 · Feb 21, 2004

Gautam said:
I had always thought that only FSPxxx's were FSP-group built?

The FSP's and the ATX-250-GU, ATX-300-GU, and ATX-350-GU.

Susquehannock · Feb 22, 2004

Gautam said:
The Power Q's don't seem to be FSP-built. You'd be better off with this, IMHO, but neither should give any problems. The latter is far more reputable, though.

Agreement here.

Seems I read somewhere "FSP" means they are powered
by "FSP Group" components.

FSP Group has been making high quality power supplies for
medical and scientific research equipment for over a decade and have
a great reputation.

Those "GU" models are known to be less sturdy
(more rail fluctuation) under heavy load than the "FSP" units.
There's a very good reason the FSP are a bit more expensive.

If you want a cheap PSU with stable rails try this* 300w unit.
Look at my sig. These "fsp300-60atv" are incredible for the
price. = $30 w/ship

RCtruckguy · Feb 22, 2004

justget the 250w, thats what i have in my sys in my sig. with a few fans an all, great rails. and for $15 u cant go wrong. ive had several (diffrent sys's) 250'ws and they are great

~Alex

Susquehannock · Feb 22, 2004

As you know, Fortron = Sparkle ...

RCtruckguy said:
justget the 250w, thats what i have in my sys in my sig. with a few fans an all, great rails. and for $15 u cant go wrong. ive had several (diffrent sys's) 250'ws and they are great

~Alex

IMhO, the 300w "fsp300-60atv" for $30 shipped would be a
better deal as Beavis wanted the PSU to "> ... last years".

The 250w Sparkle is $21 with shipping at NewEgg, and the
250w Fortron is cheaper at $19.50. (13.50 + $6 ship)
Not only that, the 300w Sparkle "High Q" (aka "GU") are also
$15 (+ $6ship) If they are the same price why not get the 300w instead?
But why not spend the extra $9 and get a 300w
Fortron brand "fsp" unit which are known to be more sturdy
under heavy load?

Unless of course you know of a vendor which sells the 250w
"High Q" ("GU") for $15 shipped. Even so I'd rather get an "fsp" unit.

As always ... just my humble opinions.

larrymoencurly · Feb 23, 2004

Both my Sparkle ATX-300GU and Sparkle FSP-350xx look almost identical inside - same little vertical circuit boards for the +3.3V and the Fairchild KA3511 regulator chip, same PWM fan controller attached to the heatsink, and same transformer labelled SPI xxxx (SPI = Sparkle Power International, also found on Fortron brand models). Only the high voltage capacitors and heatsink are smaller on the 300W (heatsink cut out make room for a PFC coil)

Susquehannock · Feb 23, 2004

Smaller capacitors & heatsinks could have an effect
on performance, don't you think?

Anyway, just going by what I've read around the forums.
Maybe I could buy one of the $21 300w "High Q/GU" units
and compare it to these "fsp300-60atv".

larrymoencurly · Feb 24, 2004

But the smaller capacitors and heatsink are in the Fortron/Sparkle having the lower power rating, and they're still bigger than those in my 350W Enermax.

Sparkle Power "Power Q" 350W, any good?

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