PSU holding the OC back...

[computerpro3]

ahhhhh that explains it. I never understood everyone saying how noisy it was until last night: i moved my pc downstairs and there is a heating vent right under the desk's pc holder unfortunatley. Well, I'm watching tv, the heat goes on, and the fan spins up a few minutes later. DAMN it's loud when its at full blast. Thankfully it is always at its lowest setting when it's in my room.

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

okay, so now im looking for the fortron 530 and i see the 500 "blue storm" version, fully sleeved, dual +12 rails, nice color...but will it hold up to high stress like the famed 530? i need opinions on the 500W "blue storm" model.

 

[computerpro3]

yup, it's a great psu.

 

[situman]

i read a few reviews and some are favorable. Its better if u search for reviews first.

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

good point but i wanted to see if someone with experience with the 'blue storm' can gimme an unbiased opinion...y'know...

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

i cant seem to find any direct reviews, but that dual +12 rail and the sleeving now looks mighty tempting

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

The Blue Storm AX-500 is a 460w PSU - not sure why Fortron chose to overrate them like that, unless they're more underrated than usual (hope that makes sense), but my intuition at the moment is that the 530w will turn out to be slightly the more powerful of the two.

Hard to ignore the benefits of the 120mm fan though - should be quieter than the 530w and will probably run the system just as well. The dual 12v rail should make at least the 12v capacity similar to the 530's underrated single rail. Not that there's much to compare yet - the AX-500 is too new to know how good a unit it is.

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

hmm, i dont care much about noise, my tt480 apparently is a loud psu, and i barely notice it, and if it's an overrated 460...i think ill get the 530 then

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

okay, i found a fortron 235 on ebay, i was thinking i could get it and use it as a dedicated supply for my motherboard (ATX / 12v connector), and keep the 480 for everything else...would that work?

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Not sure I'd recommend that approach... the low watt Fortrons can be real powerhouses, but I'm not sure they're up to powering a heavy 12v draw.

The AX-500 is really too new to tell how accurate Fortron's spec sheets are - given Fortron's history of excellent build quality it will probably hold the rails more stable than the Sirtec made Thermaltake 480w. It will also most likely be more powerful and reliable all things considered.

About the only advantage the 530w will offer is more power on the 5v and 3.3v rails... the AX-500 should be able to keep up to it on the 12v despite being essentially a lower watt unit. The next step up for a 12v oriented system would ideally be the 550w EPS units with single 12v 36a line or double 18a lines.

 

[Aphex_Tom_9]

okay, i think im just gonna go for the 530, maybe sleeve it too..