Before Making a Thread About Buying a PSU....

computerpro3 · Oct 30, 2004

The PSU Thread

Heh, I posted this at [H] but I saw a couple posts about power supply related overclocking difficulties here and I just slapped myself upside the head and wondered why I forgot to post it here. So Here it is. Please don't skin me alive if I made a little mistake, just let me know. The power supplies on the good list have mostly been reviewed by REAL reviews, such as mike chin and lee garbutt, not some chinsy software monitoring review. Those that haven't, I've chosen with the help from Ice Czar (VERY intelligent and knowledeable psu forum moderator @ H), my personal experience with many, many of them, and the community from here, anandtech, hardforums, and ocforums.

********************************************************

Hello everyone. This thread is meant to be an informative guideline about the purchase of your power supply, more specifically, what are some good companies to give your business to, and perhaps more importantly, which ones to avoid. It will be updated regularly. This is still under construction, and I will be remodeling it in the coming days, so if there is a broken link, or a psu that is now off the market, or something of the like, PLEASE bring it to my attention via a pm.

Now, for the companies that it would be wise to avoid, I want to make it clear that not every single one of their supplies will fail. It's more like every 8 out of 10. There are two types of company on this list. The first one is the type of company that for the most part are known to manufactur very low quality psu's that often have not met basic UL spec or compliances (or perhaps the bare minumim to allow them for sale). Some of the psu's manufactured by the following companies have even been outlawed in various countries for their tendency to cause fires. The other type is the company that buys those psu's and rebadges them as their own. Often these psu's are offered along with computer cases, or sold for amazingly low prices. If there is a company on there that you do not think should be, don't skin me alive, just pm me with your evidence and I will take a look at it.

You may see a power supply that has great specs on paper, for a good price. I am sorry, but that just doesn't happen. While there are some very good vaules in the industry, such as those manufactured by the FSP group, you are not going to get a 600w psu with 35 amps on the 12v line, chrome case, windowed, with modular cables for $75. It's just not happening. I am hard pressed to think of another industry where the axiom "you get what you pay for" rings more true.

The bottom line, is that it can be tricky to tell a good psu from a bad one by looking at the specs sometimes, as the VAST majority of psu manufacturers (there are only 2 or 3 exceptions that I can think of off the top of my head) flat out lie, or practice some other form of disinformation. For example, there is no industry standard for psu rating temperature; so the vast majority of manufacturers take the liberty of assuming 20C internal operating temperature under full load. How many of you out there even have room temperature as cool as 20C? The real internal operating temperature of the psu is close to 40C or 50C during peak load. And since the output of the psu goes down te hotter it gets, these "600w" psu's can only really put out around 200w if it's generic, and around 300w if it's a better brand like an antec or enermax. So when looking at the specs of a psu, apply a "de-rating" curve to it, and deduct about 30% off of amps and wattage. In most cases it will be more, but you won't be running at peak load 24/7, so 30% is a good compromise. The only manufacturers at present that you don't need to do this to is Zippy/Emacs, Pc Power and Cooling, and Fortron (in Fortron's case, add 30% because they underrate themselves).

So I am NOT joking around when I ask you to stay away from the psu's listed on the Do Not Buy list below, as the best case scenerio will be you having an underpowered rig with instability problems, while the worst case scenario is it blowing up, and burning down computer as well as your house.

I can not stress this enough: your computer is an investment, protect it. You spent thousands on your computers, some of you, and you want to put a $60 power supply in it. Don't let a $60 supply kill your $3000 computer. You wouldn't want your investment to go by something you were warned about and could have prevented by shelling out another $60.

So without Further ado, I present to you the list of Un-reccomended and Unscrupulous Power Supply Companies

Achieve
Aerocool
Allied
Aspire
Codegen
Coolmax
Demon
Deer
Devanni.
Dynapower
Eagle
E-power (except Tagan series)
InWin
JustPC
Kingwin
L&C
Linkworld
MGE,
PCMICS
Power-Man
Powmax
Power-Up
Raidmax
Thermaltakes (low end ones, butterflies are fine, and some enlight models, the TT category depends)
Turbo
Ultra-X (yes, the pretty looking ones, they are made by a low-quality Chinese company that starts with "Young". Can't get much more generic than that!!!)
X-superalien
X-treme

While you REALLY should think twice before buying from those companies, the list below are some alternatives that have been proven time and time again to be solid, reliable alternatives, at all price ranges, performance levels, and noise levels.

Also please check out the Ultra-Quiet and Fanless section at the end for some more GREAT supplies in all price ranges. Please note that by adding that section, I am not saying that the other psu's are not quiet, just that the particular ones I have listed are particularly endeared to silent computer enthusiats (who demand levels of quiet that are total overkill for the lot of us).

Super-Budget Range = Under $30

While I wouldn't put one of these psu's in a high end rig, those of you looking int this category won't have one . These are solid, reliable, mostly quiet psu's that will run most machines very stably. No, they're not flash, no they don't light up UV colors, but at least they won't catch on fire.

Fortron 300w PSU w/120mm fan = $26
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-979&depa=0

Sparkle 300w PSU (18amps on 12v line, not bad at all for this price point) = $28
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-485&depa=0

Budget = Under $65

Now we are beginning to get into the range where the real psu's start. If you are looking at the super-budget range, I would advise you to skip lunch or something for a couple of days and get something from this category.

***

Larva said:
It's an all Fortron show at the $65 and under level

***
something to keep in mind

Coolermaster Real Power 450w (this does not have APFC, it won't blow up your rig but I would spring for the one that does have it) = $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-171-005&depa=0

Fortron 350w PSU w/ 120mm fan = $39
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-966&depa=0

Sparkle 350w ATXv2.0 psu = $51
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-499&depa=0

Fortron 400w PSU w/120mm fan = $65
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-962&depa=0

Antec Tru380 single fan version (hard pressed on 12v line) = $45 shipped
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/Antec_True380S.html?id=zkvooazm

Antec Tru380 (hard pressed on 12v line NOT ANYMORE: they updated it to 24amps. Great deal now.) = $59
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-907&depa=0

Antec Tru430 = $65
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-908&depa=0

Enermax 350w PSU (26amps 12line

)= $85
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-443&depa=0

Pc Power and Cooling 410 Silencer = $85
http://pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/ultra_quiet/silencers/index.htm

OCZ Powerstream 420w PSU = $85
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-150&depa=0

Seasonic 400w PSU = $86
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-018&depa=0

Antec Tru480 = $87
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-909&depa=0

Vantec 520W PSU = $96
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-473&depa=0

High End = $100-$199

I do feel obligated to say that although I listed the Zippy series, Fortron 530 and Sparkle 530w PSU's (same ones) in the last category, I did that soley because of price. They will outperform almost every psu in this category despite their price tags. UPDATE: With the addition of the Zippy/Emacs psu's, they don't outperform almost every single psu in this category, but they are still excellent, excellent psu's.

Antec Trupower 2.0 Trucontrol II-550 550w = $119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103933

Coolermaster Real Power RS-550 550w = $129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817171006

Seasonic s12 600w PSU = $161
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151025

Seasonic s12 500w psu = $129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024

Seasonic s12 430w psu = $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151023

Antec EPS12v 550w PSU = $130
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-918&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 485w = $115
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-457&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 470w = $115
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-451&depa=0

OCZ Powerstream 470w = $136
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-151&depa=0

Enermax Coolergiant 480w = $142
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-495&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 600w psu = $192
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-497&depa=0

Sparkle 550w = $106
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-478&depa=0

OCZ Powerstream 520w PSU = $125
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-152&depa=0

Pc Power and Cooling 425w Deluxe = $150
http://pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/highperformance/turbocools/425/index.htm

Zippy/Emacs 460w Psu = $106
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-707&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 500w psu = $122
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-708&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 550w psu = $180
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-709&depa=0

Antec TruControl 550w PSU = $103
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-922&depa=0

Antec Tru550w PSU = $107
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-910&depa=0

Antec NeoPower 480w PSU with APFC = $126
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-924&depa=0

Enermax 550w PSU = $162
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-437&depa=0

Enermax 550w PSU with APFC = $192
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-447&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 600w = $161
'http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194001

Silverstone Zeus 650w = $176
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817163108

Ultra Budget Be Damned Best PSU Out There

Pc Power and Cooling 850w SSI = $469 (quite simply, the best consumer grade psu in the world.)
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=T85SSI

Pc Power and Cooling Turbocool 510 Deluxe (and SLI edition) = $219 Base Price, if you get any options you're probably looking @ $270-320ish
http://pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/highperformance/turbocools/510/index.htm

Zippy/Emacs 600w psu = $256
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-711&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 650w psu = $271 (this one's comparable to the pcp&c 510 deluxe guys, its a serious psu)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-712&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 700w psu = $281
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-713&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 700w psu (45 amps on 12v line, yes thats almost twice the antec 550!!!) = $306
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-714&depa=0

Enermax 660w psu = $257
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-438&depa=0

OCZ 600w Powerstream = $210 (IMHO, you're not thinking straight if you buy this over the pcp&c for the same price. If it was $150, it would be a killer deal. But not $210. I'll include it anyway though now that the recall issues seem to be fixed)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-153&depa=0

Ultra-Quiet and Fanless Supplies

Antec 350w Phantom fanless psu (0db list)= $172
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-925&depa=0

Silenx Luxare 340w Fanless PSU (0db list) = $199
http://www.silenx.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_Z.asp?idCategory=20

Silenx Luxare 400w Fanless PSU (0db list) = $239
http://www.silenx.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_Z.asp?idCategory=20

Silenx Luxare 460w Fanless PSU (0db list) = $279
http://www.silenx.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_Z.asp?idCategory=20

Seasonic Super Silencer 300w PSU (22db list) = $59
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/seasonic-super-silencer-300-watt-ss-300agx.html

Seasonic Super Silencer 400w PSU (22db list) = $99
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/seasonicsupersilencer400watt.html

Zalman ZM300B-APS 300w PSU with APFC (20-25db when under 55C) = $59
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/zalman-zm300b-aps.html

Zalman ZM400B-APS 400w PSU with APFC (20-25db when under 55C) = $89
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/zalman-zm400b-aps.html

Seasonic Super Silencer 460w PSU (22db list) = $119
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/seasonic-super-silencer-460-watt-ss-460agx.html

Seasonic S12 Series ATX12V 2.0 430W (12b list) = $99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-023&depa=0

Seasonic S12 Series ATX12V 2.0 500W Power Supply, PCI Express Ready (12db list) = $139
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-024&depa=0

For ALL the SilenX Iextrema's, which are all excellent, excellent psu's,
http://www.silenx.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_Z.asp?idCategory=18

Official Nvidia SLI Approved Power Supplies

All these supplies are the ONLY ones currently officially certified by Nvidia for use in SLI

1. Pc Power and cooling 850 SSI
2. Pc Power and Cooling 510 Deluxe
3. Enermax Noisetaker 600w
4. Silverstone Zeus 650w

PSU's That I Would Trust With SLI

Some of these are officially certified, some are not, all have been proven at one point or another to be (mostly) reliable choices to power your SLI system. I quite simply wouldn't dream of putting anything else in my machine. Keep in mind, this section is for 2x 6800 models, not the 6600's which most any good psu will handle (like Antec Neopower, ocz 520, etc). I'm also assuming you have 2x hard drives, 1GB ram, and something like an AMD 3200 or an intel 3.2ghz at least (since SLI is so expensive, you should be running that).

1. Pc Power and Cooling 850 SSI
2. Pc Power and cooling 510 Deluxe SLI edition
3.. Zippy/Emacs 550-700w models
4.. OCZ 600w (personally I would never put this in my system but it has been proven @ xtremesystems to handle SLI rigs, so I'll be fair...)
5.. Possibly a 600w Silenx iExtrema, but since it would be in SLI the fan would spin up all the time, and because it is geared for the silent crowd, you probably wouldn't like that very much. Silent and SLI is difficult to achieve.
6. Enermax 600w+ noisetakers
7. Seasonic S12 series (550w+)

That's about it. Something to keep in mind also; the Pc Power and Cooling is the ONLY SLI certified power supply by Nvidia. Also keep in mind that the PCP&C is the only one that has 2x PCI-e connectors I THINK; I could be wrong on this. Please let me know if I am. If that is true, you will have to use a 2x molex adapter. The OCZ might; but the pics I was looking at weren't really clear.

Hope that helps some of you

If any of you guys have any more REPUTABLE, SOLID psu's that I missed feel free to post a link and I'll add it! If we get a lot of psu's listed here for all categories maybe we'll cut down on a lot of duplicate threads...

UPDATED 10-21-04: added all zippy/emacs supplies Newegg carries
UPDATED 10-29-04: major additions, went through all newegg supplies and added every reputable new one
UPDATED 11-7-04: ocz 600w added, Ultra-X added to stay away from list
UPDATED 11-18-04: removed OCZ 600w (recall due to dead video cards being attributed to it)
UPDATED 1-6-05: re-did intro section, I'm going to add the Coolermaster supplies shortly.
UPDATED 3-15-05: added Coolermaster supplies, Silenx iExtrema's, Seasonic s12 series, some enermax's, updated info with new specs for a couple antecs, and I think i also added all the psu's that people told me to put in that I checked out. ALso added SLI section.
UPDATED: 5-30-05: added Antec Trupower, control, and blue 2.0 series, a new ocolermaster supply, some Enermax's, silverstone s12's, pc power and cooling 850w, added officially approved SLI section, elaborated on psu's that I would trust with SLI section

Tony Carr · Oct 30, 2004

Not so fast my friend ...

I take exception to at least a couple of the psu's you listed as "bad" ...

The Antec SL-450 is imo the best value in a psu out there ( ~ $56 ) +3.3V & +5V combined of 250 watts , I have three of them and have used them for years in my main rigs , with never a problem OC'ing or other wise .

I and others I know , have used Allied psu's ( 400 or more watts ) without issue , I would recommend Allied for budget non-OC'ed rigs .

There may be others but the above mentioned , I have used without problems .

Interesting thread though , thanks for posting it .

TazExtreme3 · Oct 30, 2004

I'd never put anything named Zippy or emac in my computer

, I'll stick with my Fortron 530, But nice thread, Lots of good power supplies.

mattspalace · Oct 30, 2004

For what Zippy is charging, they will need to start sleeving their PSU's if they hope to sell many.

I wouldn't put the SL line on the 'do not buy' list, but there are certainly better choices for the same money.

Oklahoma Wolf · Oct 30, 2004

Good job computerpro3

Zippy/Emacs has a great reputation in the workstation and server markets - I like their build quality. Some pics of them can be found here, including two 600w units: http://terasan.okiraku-pc.net/dengen/no99/index.html

I and others I know , have used Allied psu's ( 400 or more watts ) without issue , I would recommend Allied for budget non-OC'ed rigs.

I'd keep Allied out of the recommended areas - no Deer made PSU I've seen yet has shown build quality improvements enough to make me think their reliability has changed enough to recommend them.

Powerman has used Fortron in the past - models with FSP in the model number should be ok to use. Another good source of Fortron besides Sparkle is Aopen - IIRC all current Aopen models are Fortron.

Gautam · Oct 30, 2004

Sitcky vote, except rename the "High end" category to the "rip-off" category and I'll be happy.

larrymoencurly · Oct 30, 2004

Why are Vantecs OK but Aspires bad? Aren't they made by the same company, Topower? Granted, Aspires don't have jumbo heatsinks like the Topower Tagans, but they're not as puny as those on some Thermaltakes. I realize that big heatsinks don't guarantee quality, but they usually when a company bothers with them they also bother with other quality measures.

Linkworld seems to vary a lot in build quality, from rotten to not too awful. For example the 350W model I saw at Fry's actually looked pretty good, with decent-sized heatsinks and power transformer, and the only giveaway that it was a cheapo were its puny 470uF high voltage capacitors (normally 50-100% larger in quality PSUs).

My 300W Antec SmartPower was able to put out 380W for ten minutes (limit of my test) without excessive droop, but my 300W Fortron/Sparkle and Delta drooped less. This was the older model SmartPower, rated for only 15A @ +12V, not 19A like the current ones. Also I recently found some bad low voltage capacitors in it (probably part of the Taiwan capacitor scandal of a few years ago), and I don't know if they affected the test results. This PSU was built by Channel Well Technology, and when Tom's Tested their third-rate line, the ATX suffix series, a 300W model met its rated power. Considering that SmartPower (is Channel Well Bxx series) is supposed to be a better line, I'd expect them to do better.

Hawk2k2 · Oct 30, 2004

what about antec trueblue 480W?

Firah · Oct 30, 2004

isnt it the same as truepower except with blue leds?

jamie_bkc · Oct 30, 2004

you failed to put q-tec in the "bad" list, any 550w psu that costs only £30 can't be good.

computerpro3 · Oct 30, 2004

thanks for the responses guys

Tony Car: the reason I listed smartpowers in the stay away from list isn't because they will likely blow up, but because their voltage regulation and amperage leave a lot to be desired. For $56 you can have a much better psu. Also, I believe that some allied's are manufactured by Deer, who is generally acknowledged as the worst psu manufacturer around.

Taz: zippy/emacs have one of the best reps in the biz

mattspalace: if there are better choices for the money, why would you buy it?

oklahomawolf: I've had a powerman blow on me before, dunno if it was a fortron one or not. If you're a noob, you prolly don't wanna be messing with label numbers and playing the lottery with your psu's. I'd stick to soemthing that you know is going to perform. I wasn't aware about Aopen though, if thats true about them all being fortrons (I guess I'll have to go do some googling) then I'll remove them from the list. You learn something new everyday

larrymoencurly: I also wasn't aware about Aspire and Vantec. I have heard nothing but praise for the vantec series of psu's over @ xtreme and hardforums, while hearing very mixed comments about Aspire. I think it may be a case of "psu grading" kind of like antec's trupower and smartpower series if they are made by the same company. Topower: again, hit or miss. DO they actually make their psu's? Some that I have seen look incredible (there was a 500watter @ hardforums that had huge anadized heatsinks and looked jam packed) but one that I have opened in person after it blew (granted, lower wattage models) had odd looking thin heatsinks with like oval shaped holes in them....plus, it blew.....About the antec smartpower; the older lines were generally regarded as excellent psu's, but recently (perhaps inspired by the capacitor "scandal") their smartpowers have apparantly taken a turn for the worse. Or so the buzz is anyway. Just curious, how did you test the maximum output of the psu's in your test? That would be a pretty cool thing to do, round up as many psu's as possible and rate them and make a chart or something.....BTW CWT makes all antec's, correct?

hawk: same as trupower 480. redundant to add both

jamie: well I havent heard anything good or bad about q-tec, nor have any experience with them, so I'll reserve judgement until I hear a horror story. After all the fortron 530 costs $75 shipped and is an excellent psu

Thanks for the comments guys

computerpro3 · Oct 30, 2004

Gautam said:
Sitcky vote, except rename the "High end" category to the "rip-off" category and I'll be happy.

ahhh a satisfied fortron user

Can't beat em for bang for the buck.

J So · Oct 31, 2004

So I've been looking at three different supplies and maybe I can get some guidance here.

First off my system

A64 3000+, 1 gig PQI turbo ram, 6800 GT OC, DFI Lanparty, DVD-R CD-R and 3 120mm fans

What I have now.. Thermatake 480 :-/

What I am looking at

Fortran 530… The 12v looks low to me… 16 amps? Is this right? Everyone loves it thou but based on specs I would not buy.. $75.00

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 470 12v looks sick @ 26a.. and not too shabby for $100.00 but the next one has me wondering..

OCZ 410.. Okay I admit the bling is sweet. The 30A on the 12v brings a tear of joy to my eye. Is 410 watts enough? It’s probably smoking what I’m using right now thou huh.. A mere $86.00

So what do you think.. What's your take on it?

wpmegee · Oct 31, 2004

Do I smell sticky?

Oklahoma Wolf · Oct 31, 2004

larrymoencurly said:
Why are Vantecs OK but Aspires bad? Aren't they made by the same company, Topower?

I've seen some evidence to the contrary, but not sure I remember what the Vantecs I saw turned out to be. Could have been Macron, but I'll be keeping my eyes open for more info on that.

cp3, most Antecs are CWT made, especially recent models, but some have been HEC/Heroichi/Compucase in the days of the old pp Smartpower line. Not sure if CWT has anything to do with the new Phantoms, but the Neopowers, Trues, and SL's are all Channel Well Tech. CWT has a pretty good rep at the moment for build quality, but is really hard to find under their own name. You pretty much have to buy Antec to get CWT these days in North America.

All Allieds I have seen are Deer... IIRC it's even listed as a Deer brand on the website: www.deer-group.com

Topower does make their own units, and is the OEM supplier for several companies including OCZ and Tagan. Their build quality has improved recently (though I don't remember them ever being that bad to begin with), but I'm still not sure by how much - the new models haven't caught on well enough yet to get an idea how they'll do over time. Those OCZ units are getting real popular now though - should get some idea soon

larva · Oct 31, 2004

Several comments here.

First is the Antec SL series are not bad. Maybe overpriced a tad, but if that was a factor at all the PC Power Cooling units would have to fall from recommendation too...

Second is more substantial. The TP330 is not a good supply, and fails a lot. Both it and the TP380 to my mind aren't beefy enough for modern systems. I'd ax them from the recommended $65 and down group. The TP430 is a good unit and a top value in this price range.

Other than the TP430, it's an all-Fortron show at a $65 cut-off. I wouldn't recommend Enermax (no matter how large of numbers they may paste in strategic locations on the side) considering the TP430 and Fortron alternatives, and the Zalman is just another Fortron. And the Tagan? Well, I'd just get an Enlight if Topower was my thing, but no matter what name you call them by at $45 they aren't the shadow of $40 Fortron.

In your third group, you've got the $62 Fortron. Prob should go in the previous $65 group. And again in this group I would omit the Enermax and Vantec. Perhaps the Tagan and OCZs at this price point are enough improved over the topower norm to recommend due to features.

So I guess what I am looking for is a consistancy to the list. There's nothing wrong with an SL Antec, other than being a tad mediocre. But stuff like the Vantec or a TP330 is the very definition of mediocrity. This is certainly a tremendous collection of links, but the editorial content and exact recommendation list could stand with some revision if it is to lead the prospective buyer to the real values.

docinthebox · Oct 31, 2004

I'd add the Antec True550EPS12V to the High End $100-$199 group. With 36A on the 12V rail, this is probably the top performing PSU from Antec.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-918&depa=0

jamie_bkc · Oct 31, 2004

Taken from the overclocking.com forums

"I heard the Q-tec 550w is good."

"yea thats what i tought till the fking thing blew up this morning T_T there was a weird smell in my room and tought wtf is it next thing that happend was my comp went off LOL anyway i am running on a 300W psu now Sad and isn't it a little weird it blew up the +12 thing only was at 13.124 or something."

computerpro3 · Oct 31, 2004

larva said:
Several comments here.

First is the Antec SL series are not bad. Maybe overpriced a tad, but if that was a factor at all the PC Power Cooling units would have to fall from recommendation too...

Second is more substantial. The TP330 is not a good supply, and fails a lot. Both it and the TP380 to my mind aren't beefy enough for modern systems. I'd ax them from the recommended $65 and down group. The TP430 is a good unit and a top value in this price range.

Other than the TP430, it's an all-Fortron show at a $65 cut-off. I wouldn't recommend Enermax (no matter how large of numbers they may paste in strategic locations on the side) considering the TP430 and Fortron alternatives, and the Zalman is just another Fortron. And the Tagan? Well, I'd just get an Enlight if Topower was my thing, but no matter what name you call them by at $45 they aren't the shadow of $40 Fortron.

In your third group, you've got the $62 Fortron. Prob should go in the previous $65 group. And again in this group I would omit the Enermax and Vantec. Perhaps the Tagan and OCZs at this price point are enough improved over the topower norm to recommend due to features.

So I guess what I am looking for is a consistancy to the list. There's nothing wrong with an SL Antec, other than being a tad mediocre. But stuff like the Vantec or a TP330 is the very definition of mediocrity. This is certainly a tremendous collection of links, but the editorial content and exact recommendation list could stand with some revision if it is to lead the prospective buyer to the real values.

would you rather have an antec smartpower 450 for $68 or a tru430 for $75? They arent going to blow up, but they really shouldn't be used to run top end machines. Hell, my trupower 430 folded when I overclocked to 4ghz and upped the volts on my 9700 pro.

For the $65 cutoff, the enermax's arent bad. Right now I'm on a machine with a 3.4ghz 2.4c, AIW radeon 9700 pro, 1GB ram, 2 7200 rpm hard drives, and I'm running it off the enermax 350 listed there. As for the antec 330true, your probably right about it not being enough to run a modern machine. However I think a true 380 would be able to run the machine I'm on now, which is modern, if my enermax 350 can. SO I'll axe the 330.

Thanks for catching the slipup with my pricing; I'll move the fortron too. I meant to put it in the other group. The tagan and OCZ supplies have proven to be very stable @ xtremesystems and silentpcreview, which are known to do exellent psu reviews (one of the few that can do a credible job to save their lives).

Heres a link for vantec, I'm sure you've heard of silentpcreview's testing before, he runs everything with scopes, dedicated load testing, everything. The vantec was rather impressive aside from being noisy

http://silentpcreview.com/article43-page1.html

And for the OCZ

http://silentpcreview.com/article173-page5.html

Both should stay on the list imho. They are not the very definition of mediocrity. Let me know what you think.

edit: tell you what, I'll remove antec SL from the do not buy list, but I won't reccomend them either. Fair?

larva · Oct 31, 2004

It's your list, do what you want. But to really make it anything special you need to move beyond a compilation of the conclusions of (by you own admission) the rarely adequate testing that appears on the web and move some knowledge into the equation.

I do not knock the TP330 because the spec sheet numbers don't conform to a rule of thumb, I condemn them because I've used them. They blow up. Nothing to recommend there. TP380s don't blow up, but are hard pressed on the 12V line by modern systems.

TP430s are a great power supply, and are only $65 these days (by your link). And no, you can't run 4GHz with them, and I'm guessing you couldn't run 5GHz either. You have to correctly apply a supply before you can knock it for failing. The extra oomph of a TP480 or 550 is recommended, but the 430 is still a useful supply and a great value. A TP430 will smoke a 350 Fortron, no lie.

Again, you knock the Antec SL for value reasons. That alone isn't a good reason. Lots of power supplies are overpriced, but Antec SLs are recommendation worthy should the price be palatable to the prospective buyer.

As far as the Vantec being noisy, they are often noisy in the regulation too. They are simply not designed and built as well as the Antec or (especially Fortron) alternatives, and do not perform as well. If you can in any way knock a SL antec because of the alternatives there is no case for a Vantec, even if they appear passable in a (isolated) review.

Before Making a Thread About Buying a PSU....

Member

Member

Member

I been Dolk'ed Senior

Senior Warranty Validity Sealed Stick Remover

Senior Benchmark Addict

Member

Registered

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Senior Warranty Validity Sealed Stick Remover

Inactive Moderator

Member

Member

Member

Inactive Moderator

Similar threads