Fortron 530 vs. Antec TP 550---1st Round Test

[cmcquistion]

Very good work, dustybyrd.

 

[donny_paycheck]

This would make a good submission for the front page. If you could type it up in MSWord and save it as .doc, email it to Ed or Joe. They'll probably be happy to put it up. If you're interested and have any questions, you can PM me.

 

[zachj]

I was so gonna' say that . . . Another vote for a front page article! Nice job, by the way.

Now I have greater faith in Fortron. Everyone recomends them, but nobody's done a review (that I've seen) to back up the claim. Now if I ever get off my wallet D ) and make a dual Xeon, that's what I'll get, methinks.

Z

 

[ww2717]

I liked to see a comparison of the Antec 550W against the PC Power and Cooling 510W Deluxe psu. Liked to see how they stack up against one another.

 

[dustybyrd]

Thanks for reading the review and thanks for the praise.

I should also add something that I have learned about the Antec power supply since writing the review.

The Antec TP 550 also conveniently has 2 Fan Only Molexes that can be used on fans to allow the thermal sensors in the Antec power supply to adjust the fan speed. I have not used them (because the 80mm Panaflo's that I use are very quiet and low RPM already), but they could be useful for someone who has higher speed, noisier fans.

Also, I will try to send the review to Ed for the front page of Overclockers. Thanks for the suggestion.

Most of what I have learned about fine tuning and extracting maximum performance of my PC's has been right in these forums. And, most of what I have learned on my own reading came from suggestions in these forums. So, this is merely some of the results of those experiences.

 

[Susquehannock]

Very nice job on the review dustybyrd.
ThanX for taking the time to share your results in such detail.

One thing though ... if the two units are that similar
why not get the Fortron for $30 less?


Fortron =

 

[blkgti]

One thing though ... if the two units are that similar
why not get the Fortron for $30 less?

I bought an Antec TC550 instead of the Fortron. $30 isn't that much money - it's the price of a modest dinner for two - and it was well worth it for me to get fully adjustable voltage control with the Antec.

 

[dustybyrd]

One thing though ... if the two units are that similar
why not get the Fortron for $30 less?


Fortron = [/B]

thanks for the compliments...

for $30 and the antec tp 550 you do get a longer warranty (3 years), a quieter fan under very high room temperatures (>85F room temp)...and power supply determined case fan speed monitoring...

so it's up to what you want

 

[Lithan]

Fortron has fully adjustable, if slightly confusing voltage control.

 

[blkgti]

Fortron has fully adjustable, if slightly confusing voltage control.

Which model has it? Can it be accessed without breaking the warranty and can it be tweaked on-the-fly like the Antec's?

 

[dustybyrd]

Which model has it? Can it be accessed without breaking the warranty and can it be tweaked on-the-fly like the Antec's? [/B]

for the 530...you don't void the warranty by opening up the psu and changing them....i don't know about on the fly however...you are referring to the antec true control 550?

 

[blkgti]

...you are referring to the antec true control 550?

Yes, I am. AFAIK, it's the only PSU that offers that feature.

 

[Susquehannock]

Re: adjustable rails ...

IMhO ... if there is need to adjust the rails something's wrong.


BTW ..... just ordered another 300w Fortron for
another system I'm building.
For $32 delivered you can't beat the quality of the
300w P300XFPN.

 

[blkgti]

Re: Re: adjustable rails ...

IMhO ... if there is need to adjust the rails something's wrong.

I'm not sure if I understand, as I've yet to come across a PSU with perfectly adjusted rails right out of the box. If you meant adjusting the rails all the time, then I'd agree with you, but adjusting the 12v rail (for example) to deliver 12v and not 11.85v isn't unreasonable.

 

[Susquehannock]

Re: Re: Re: adjustable rails ...

I'm not sure if I understand, as I've yet to come across a PSU with perfectly adjusted rails right out of the box. If you meant adjusting the rails all the time, then I'd agree with you, but adjusting the 12v rail (for example) to deliver 12v and not 11.85v isn't unreasonable.

The performance gain from that extra 0.15v will not
make enough difference to make the effort worth while IMhO.
Especially if you have to void your warranty to get inside.

Now, if your rails are having trouble remaining within
5% of standard, then adjusting them is a good choice.

 

[Susquehannock]

Re: Re: adjustable rails ...

BTW ..... just ordered another 300w Fortron for
another system I'm building.
For $32 delivered you can't beat the quality of the
300w P300XFPN.

Fortron update: ..............
The 120mm fan model listed above isn't what I thought
it was going to be.
For one, it's more noisy than the 300w 80mm back fan model.
(fsp300-60atv)
But according to my DMM both PSU perform exactly the same
in my system. Not only that, the fsp300-60atv gives me
lower system temps as well. At least in my case.

Lower temps & and noise with the same stable rails?
Guess which I'll be buying next time.

 

[cmcquistion]

Re: Re: Re: adjustable rails ...

Fortron update: ..............
The 120mm fan model listed above isn't what I thought
it was going to be.
For one, it's more noisy than the 300w 80mm back fan model.
(fsp300-60atv)
But according to my DMM both PSU perform exactly the same
in my system. Not only that, the fsp300-60atv gives me
lower system temps as well. At least in my case.

Lower temps & and noise with the same stable rails?
Guess which I'll be buying next time.

If you don't mind modding, that PSU is easy to mod for low noise. I've modded five of them like this... disconnect the fan from the temp control circuit and hook it up, directly to the 5V line. Let it run 5V all the time and your case airflow will still be good, but the noise will stay very low.

 

[Susquehannock]

Re: Re: Re: Re: adjustable rails ...

If you don't mind modding, that PSU is easy to mod for low noise. I've modded five of them like this... disconnect the fan from the temp control circuit and hook it up, directly to the 5V line. Let it run 5V all the time and your case airflow will still be good, but the noise will stay very low.

Appreciate the suggestion.
I ended up putting the fsp300-60atv back in
and using the 120mm fan unit for the rig I built for
my sister. It's not OCed and doesn't require the
higher fan speeds.

Another thing which made the 120mm fan frustrating was how
the fan grill interfered with the PSU shelf in both my cases.
Had to do some cutting to get it to fit.

 

[cmcquistion]

You can take the grill off, completely, or just take it off the outside and mount it, inside.