Which power supply should I get?

[kent_b29]

I going to be building a comp sometime here and plan to be overclocking it. Here is what will be in it.

Processor -AMD 2400+
Hard Drive – Western Digital 80 gig special edition drive WD800JB
Video Card- MSI Geforce 4 Ti4200 128mb
Heatink- Thermalright sk-7
Heatsink Fan- Vantec Tornado
Floppy- teac
CD-RW- Lite-on 48x12x48
Monitor- NEC Fe700+
Case Fans- 4 panaflo 42 cfm fans
Motherboard- Abit Nforce 2 model
Case- Chieftec Matrix mid tower
Ram- Corsair XMS 3200 cas2 2x256mb
Rheobus- pcmods.com rheobus v. 2.0
Hard drive cooler- Vantec aluminum hard drive cooler

So what power supply should I get? I can't afford pc power and cooling. I want something with good bang for the buck. Probably at least 400 watts right? So what would you reccomend? What have you had good or bad expierences with? What have you heard good or bad things about?

thanks,
Kent

 

[ronin1967]

At the top of list is PC Power and Cooling, two models depending on your needs Silencer 400ATX or the Turbo-Cool 425ATX, here is link to their site http://www.pcpowercooling.com/home.htm these are the best of the best but 3 times as expensive as the rest.

Next choice would be Sparkle's FSP400-GN, check Newegg they had a deal going, and here is link http://www.sparklepower.com/prodatx.htm#12v

Finally Antec's True430, one of the most popular PSU's around, and once again a link http://www.antec-inc.com/p_true480.html

 

[nikhsub1]

At the top of list is PC Power and Cooling, two models depending on your needs Silencer 400ATX or the Turbo-Cool 425ATX, here is link to their site http://www.pcpowercooling.com/home.htm these are the best of the best but 3 times as expensive as the rest.

Next choice would be Sparkle's FSP400-GN, check Newegg they had a deal going, and here is link http://www.sparklepower.com/prodatx.htm#12v

Finally Antec's True430, one of the most popular PSU's around, and once again a link http://www.antec-inc.com/p_true480.html

If I were grading your advice, I'd give you an A+

 

[obliv]

i wouldnt, didnt even mention the amazing vantec stealth psu.

 

[Skiing Squirrel]

I have a 40 watt allied psu in my rig, and everything is pretty good. I bought mine at newegg for around 30 bucks, and it hasnt failed me yet. Also, pretty good voltages for the price.

 

[SmellyDraws]

40 watts eh? What are you running? A Gameboy?

 

[spazzkid]

lol

 

[Sonny]

Vantec 520W for $130 - $160 & TTGi520cc EPS for $80 - $88 are great units. They have more power than those 400ATX & 425ATX PCP&C units & has the same 1% voltage regulation.

 

[acesea]

So those PC Power & Cooling ps's are that good eh?
How do they differ so much from say an enermax or vantec? Is the price worth it? Is there anything I should look out for when it says AMD recommended, P4 ready if i am planning on going intel? Does it matter at all? Thanks guys.

Also, can someone please explain the difference between all these ps variations by each manufacturer. Say enermax in the 400w region you have-
Enermax Whisper 431W EG465P-VE(FC) Switching Computer Power Supply =$78
&
Enermax 430W EG465P-VE(FCA) Whisper Adjustable Fan Speed Power Supply, Dual fan, P4 Ready =$94

What the heck is the difference between the two. I even checked out the enermax www and couldnt figure it out.

TIA

 

[obliv]

vantec's are just as good, emermex's have problems, and u can find a vantec for like $120 these days @ 520 watts, great psu, id recommend it over the pcpc

 

[BaldHeadedDork]

I disagree with obliv. The Vantec Stealth series is guaranteed for no more than five percent variance in output and fluxuation. That's the specs you can get on a generic PSU. The bargain PCP&C models guaranteed to three percent, and the professional models like the 400 Silencer and 425 Turbo Cool are guaranteed to be within one percent of the specs.

The Vantec site is dubiously missing a detailed spec sheet and even a statement of their warranty coverage. But PCP&C has a five year warranty and 100,000 hour MTBF rating. Both are nearly twice the industry standard.

The price for a PCP&C is higher, but not by much. Last month I bought a Silencer 400 for a new rig I'm building and the delivered price was $147. That's hardly outrageous for what you get.

Finally, read this forum for a month or two. I guarantee you will see owners of Antec, Vantec, Enermax and just about every other PSU complaining about having problems. But in ten years of screwing around with PC's and being online, I don't think I've ever seen a post like that from a PC Power and Cooling customer. They may not be perfect, but they're very close.


BHD

 

[Sonny]

BaldHeadedDork,

That's incorrect. Vantec is so new that there are few owners here that have one much less one of them to say they are unhappy with them. How about a link to those threads concerning Vantec.

They also have a PDF that shows 1% fluctuation at load which I found at the Vantec website. Also look at THIS THREAD were it shows people have misread the spec sheet which you claim, at least I think you do since you say it with so much conviction, shows 5% regualtion but have yet to find it so I'm a bit confused were you got your information.

I agree that PCP&C is a great PSU but with models like yours not having more that40A on the 5V Rail is reason enough not to get it. The only model from them that has more that 45A on the 5V Rail costs no less than 2X of what you have.

Here news for everyone else. These problems with voltage fluctuation & Enermax bashing, in the AMD crowd, came with the mobos from KT266A - KT333. Hoot also did a great service to all of you by showing that the problem is largely in part of the motherboards. Why is it that the new KT400 chipsets dont have this problem, my board tested by another member which is currently in transit to me, but showed repeated problems when the same PSU connected to a KT333 chipset?

Buying the best is nice but getting the performance from something half the price, Vantec, or even a third of the price, TTGi, is even better. Just like with overclocking we root for the underdog.

 

[obliv]

amen, my vantec doesnt even fluctuate, and thats a guarantee from www.vantecusa.com