I've never used anything but generic PSU's

[schismspeak]

Usually if you're spending $150 on a PSU you're ****ing money away. Usually. It seems people around here love to blow money on name brand products (any component) in the name of stability or reliability. I won't say it does or doesn't help, but just keep in mind how people can get carried away. Marketing and good words of others take their toll on even the most frugal buyers.

There are two or three people here that swear by fortron that actually know what they are talking about(they have opened them up, to see what quality they are, and then experience with the product compared to others.) and no form of marketing or good words about a product effects their decisions on what is the best for the buck(Fortron), and just the best.(PCP&C, Zippy)
If those name brands mentioned above start slipping in quality, that is when they will stop recommending them, I gaurantee it.

 

[Streifenkarl]

Don't confuse a lack of real vendors in your area with some kind of shortcoming in the properties of Fortron power supplies. Fortron is inherently the least expensive quality supply there is, so if the pricing isn't attractive you are perhaps shopping in the wrong place.

Thats BS. I checked every major store in this country and they sell them for prices like any other quality PSU. Nothing special at all plus they arent available in masses. Maybe Fortron isnt that big on the European market because of too many good competitors.

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Maybe Fortron isnt that big on the European market because of too many good competitors.

Or maybe Nexus and other resellers are buying enough of them they don't see a need for a strong market presence. Could be they also have an exclusivity agreement with Fortron. Topower P6 units are impossible to find in the States, but you won't hear owners of OCZ Powerstreams complaining

Lack of vendors selling OEM FSP in Germany does not equate to bad quality. If Fortron were bad quality, I would not be recommending them nor would I have bought one last year.

 

[Streifenkarl]

I didnt say they were bad quality, never did. All I'm saying is that Fortron doesnt have the best value and that alot of other companies do have similar offers when it comes to price/quality. Actually Antecs and BeQuiet PSUs are just as "cheap" as Fortron and offer a 3 year warranty. BUT, just to make sure you get my point: Fortron isnt bad, not at all. They're just not better or cheaper than other High End PSUs.

http://www2.alternate.de/html/shop/productDetails.html?showTechData=true&artno=TN4F02&#tecData

 

[Susquehannock]

I think the main thing about Fortron/Sparkle PSU is the continued positive comments from
users across the OCing forums. That and it's well known they are capable of putting out
more than what's listed on the label. Most PSU have a hard time living up to
the label. Often the FSP exceed it.

FYI .... FSP Group has been supplying power units for medical & scientific equipment for
many years. If they're stable and durable enough for those applications they should be fine
for my PC.

Oh, I am one of those who opened their Fortron PSU and compared the guts to others.
In fact, I have bought cheap generic so called "high watt" PSU just to run comparrisons.
As a result I saw both model 300w Fortron outperform cheesy 550w PSU. = 2% vs. 6-7% in the exact same set up.
Yeah ... that's a 15a rail beating a 45a rail, with less heat!. Spells it all out right there.

Why does my OCing rig have PCP&C you ask. Because I like the complete FIVE
year warranty. That and the superior design of the 425 Turbo Cool. Better hold
time & ripple specs. Which is likely why I got 10-15 Mhz more than
with the 400w Fortron even though they held very similar ranges on the DMM.

In my opinion - PCP&C if you want the very best.
Fortron/Sparkle if you want quality and don't have a lot of cake to spend.

 

[Enablingwolf]

I always believed the PSU is the heart of any eletrical unit. I was a user of Allied for many years. I never had a compliant, then as I started to upgrade to higher quality components. I had more invested into the parts that drew alot more power. I had a 400 watt cheap unit that performed fine in my T-bird 900Mhz. When I upgraded to a 2400+ rig I noticed my power was fluctuating and was not getting my investment return. I went looking to see waht the issue was. It turned out the 3.3 volt rail was really low. I am glad there was no fire or it didn't blow up and take something expensive with it. That same PSU is still bieng used BTW, but in a unit that will not draw the wattage of a modern rig. Getting a good PSU now can save moeny when you upgrade your parts. So in the long run in system planning you save money. Even THG gave a glowing review for FPS.

 

[Susquehannock]

Yeah, the THG review where the 300w Fortron put out 390w sustained was
why I went to Fortron in my first build. Glad I did as it solved all of my random
shut-down issues. Stupid "Selection" PSU.

That same 300w Fortron is still powering my sister's rig years later. And that is after
I ran the crap out of it in my OCing rig. And a year of constant use in a dedicated
gaming rig too. Might be the best $30 I've spent on a computer part.

 

[FarzBar]

Oh, I am one of those who opened their Fortron PSU and compared the guts to others.
In fact, I have bought cheap generic so called "high watt" PSU just to run comparrisons.
As a result I saw both model 300w Fortron outperform cheesy 550w PSU. = 2% vs. 6-7% in the exact same set up.
Yeah ... that's a 15a rail beating a 45a rail, with less heat!. Spells it all out right there.

hello susquehannok .

Umm..dont know where to start. ok, obviously I'm a noob. So plz don't take what I say too seriously, just trying to figure things out and justify me buying a more expensive psu than the cheaper one.(plus might help clarify not only for me but others on this thread). Now my quandry. I found this psu (cx-550b) that has a 35a on the 12v. When I go and read other oc forums and silent forums, anyone who owns the coolmax series over 500w (including the cx-550) raves about them. They love how it cools their system, how extremely quiet they are, and even how it easily handles their system. most are oced systems. many of the oced systems are 64 systems with 6800. One was even dual 6800's oced. One of the guys I don't remember if he had one or two graphic cards measured his lines and they were very impressive. In fact one of the oc forums had put it as the best bang for the buck for a while. Now I don't doubt the fortron or ocz or pcpc are superior. I'm a noob, don't know about these things. and I'm sure there are alot of other decent psu's besides one I'm looking at. There is even a thread (maybe this one) that ppl are talking bout the hawk. What I would Like to know is why I should pay $100 or $150 or $200 when i can get something that will fill all my ocing needs for around $50?? In your post you compared a cheesy vs. fortron. The coolmax is supposed to be decent not cheesy. Probably not good or excellent like fortron,pcpc,ocz, but if it gets the job done for much less , why not?? Now if it doesn't plz explain, if there are situations where it could cause problems plz explain. Would much appreciate it .

And I know how debates sometimes can get a little heated. Plz don't take offense to what I said above. I just want to know some things and if it helps clear things up for others, what the better . Its so confusing when you read ppl saying they love it, then others saying don't do it. Both sides have tons more experience than me. I'm left here scratching my head .

one last thing. Majority of people say don't do it. However, these ppl don't say they had one and had bad experience with it. the ones that do speak up are the ones that have it and say good things.(However since wolf spoke up and said he knows the manufacturer made me think he knows them and must have some kind xp with them. which makes this even more confusing). Hence my dilemma. Not to mention this thread that (I hope i'm typing in right thread) have lots of xped people debating the merits of cheaper vs. more xpensive brands. I'm Ill take a venture that ppl are talking about not totally cheesy brands, but decent vs. good brands .

Yikes, I just wrote a whole bunch of nonsense. haha. WEll, would much appreciate the clarifications and reasons behind them.

I need to take a english class .

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

A generic PSU is okay for you"generic" system, say an AMD 2600+ , 1 HD a cdrom and maybe some 32-64mb cheap video card - but once you start spending money on high end parts - your PSU should be #1 in quality as your components need good clean stable power.

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

However since wolf spoke up and said he knows the manufacturer made me think he knows them and must have some kind xp with them. which makes this even more confusing).

Actually I don't have experience with them, which makes me a little reluctant to start trumpeting their praises unless a lot of other people have had experience with them, the OEM has a history of good units, and I've had the opportunity to at least examine online pics of the innards.

In ATNG/Coolmax's case, I've only had access to the pictures to form an opinion based on my electronics repair experience. They're reasonably well built, not to the point I want to run around praising them as being at the top of the game, but enough to know I wouldn't go around telling people they're bad units. At this juncture, I would probably put them somewhere between Thermaltake/Sirtec on the low end, and Enermax on the high end. Maybe 3 on a scale of 5 if that helps any.

In Fortron's case, they are #2 on my recommendations list (Zippy's been #1 for a couple months now). I usually look at build quality, OEM reputation, user satisfaction, price, and features in that order to determine where in my list to put them. It usually takes me a few months to make up my mind before adding an OEM to that list. Fortron is usually the first name I recommend due to the simple fact they are most of the time more reliable and affordable than most. Cheaper units than Fortron's best values tend to be not as good quality, and more expensive ones are infrequently what I would call better from a design standpoint.

 

[FarzBar]

Thx guvernment . I understand . Its just I found this one that has all the features that I want and its much cheaper. I havn't heard anything bad about them yet. Hard to let go .

Thx wolf . That definitely helps out alot. So I guess that unit could be perfect for me, but would be a risk as not tried and true(as much at least). where as the fortron is tried and true(by a whole bunch more). I guess the rest would be my call and my risk. thx .

 

[Susquehannock]

hi FarzBar ... your english isn't that bad.

Not sure what to add to OK Wolf's post except that everyone must weigh their options.
I know that Fortron will power all my non-OCing rigs ... and PCP&C in the OCers.

Unfortunately the amperage specs don't really tell us anything unless they are accompanied by other specs.
At what temp for starters. Some cheap PSU will put out 550w at room temp but drop
well below 200w when they reach actual operating temp.

There are other specs to consider as well.
This PCP&C 425 deluxe has excellent hold time rating. Even better than the
popular 510w deluxe.
Which means it is able to hold the rated current longer without dropping.
And then there is ripple - the reading of how much signal noise
bleeds through from the AC input to DC supplying your components.

These aren't near as important if you are just building an every day system.
However, if you want a top OC, and want to squeeze every possible Mhz from
your rig, a quality PSU is essentail.

Think about it this way ... "You are what you eat." ... applies to us, and to the
computer. Can't feed your system a fluctuating current and expect it
to perform optimally.

JMhO as always -

 

[FarzBar]

thx susquehannok for the compliment and explaination .

I was wondering if fluctations (even if small) made a difference in ocing power. I guess that answered my question. In that case I can see the benefits of buying something more expensive.

I'm gonna assume pcpc is not silent oriented (although i've seen they got silent oriented psu's they don't seem as powerful).

That would leave ocz (assuming they are quiet based on forum member here comments), unless there is a silent 550w fortron.

Now comes the other part. Now in another forum they claim that ocz is really good regulations, they measured to 1% or less. They even say it performs as well as the pcpc. (well some do). You have any xp in that area. is that true?

(I'm still gonna give that other psu a try. the line measurements that guy gave was really impressive-assuming he measured them correctly. Its only $50, and I can do my own measurements. if it turns out not to be good, not much of a loss, I can then go after something more xpensive. hence reason for my question. thx by the way )

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Now comes the other part. Now in another forum they claim that ocz is really good regulations, they measured to 1% or less. They even say it performs as well as the pcpc. (well some do). You have any xp in that area. is that true?

The OCZ units have been accurately measured by Xbit labs to show fluctuation as high as 4% - this is more in keeping with Topower's own ratings on the P6 units on which the OCZ units are based. The 1% is likely at a certain power level, where many good PSU's will show 1% or better (like my Fortron 530w and the CWT 420w it replaced).

 

[Enablingwolf]

One thing I consider what makes a good PSU over a lesser brand, is the power protection it offers. If it does up and die I know it will be just it dead. Not a costly investment along with it. Like my home or parts within the system.

 

[Susquehannock]

The OCZ units have been accurately measured by Xbit labs to show fluctuation as high as 4% - this is more in keeping with Topower's own ratings on the P6 units on which the OCZ units are based. The 1% is likely at a certain power level, where many good PSU's will show 1% or better (like my Fortron 530w and the CWT 420w it replaced).

4%? ... is that OCZ units in general or just the modstreams? Would be surprising
if the Powerstream were 4% given their supposed 1% rating.

One thing I consider what makes a good PSU over a lesser brand, is the power protection it offers. If it does up and die I know it will be just it dead. Not a costly investment along with it. Like my home or parts within the system.

Oh yeah! Always good to have a quality UPS that will filter the AC line too.

That complete five year warranty is nothing to sneeze at either. If my
PSU fails four years from now PCP&C will cover it. And anything that
was burned as a result of the failure.
Piece of mind is worth a lot in my book. Especially since I'm pushing my
system so far beyond stock.

 

[FarzBar]

thx wolf .
thx enabling wolf .

I'm hoping that this unit is gonna be decent enough where it won't fry anything when it decides to go to psu heaven.

 

[FarzBar]

That complete five year warranty is nothing to sneeze at either. If my
PSU fails four years from now PCP&C will cover it. And anything that
was burned as a result of the failure.
Piece of mind is worth a lot in my book. Especially since I'm pushing my
system so far beyond stock.

Wow, nice I didn't know that. Does that 3 year unlimited warranty from ocz also gaurantee to replace anything that gets fried??

 

[Oklahoma Wolf]

4%? ... is that OCZ units in general or just the modstreams? Would be surprising
if the Powerstream were 4% given their supposed 1% rating.

Powerstreams. Topower rates the P6 line at 3%, and for the most part this is exactly what Xbit found in their review. Sometimes certain rails did 1%, other times they did 4%. Based on their results, I would not call them true 1% units between min and max load (and I have a suspicion PC P&C plays that same numbers game - rating at a certain load level - would like to see theirs put through the wringer too).

Here's the review: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/powerful-psu.html

 

[Susquehannock]

Nice review. Gonna have to give it a read here shortly. Hadn't seen that one yet.
Then again I don't have near the time to cruise the PC tech & news sytes as I used to.