• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Antec True power

E

eli

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Messages
1,648
I am building a computer for my dad. I am going to be using the Antec Sonata case, and I was wondering if the included 380 watt power supply would be sufficient for these specs:


1 WD Raptor
1 120GIG 7200RPM
3 drives
radeon 9800 pro
1-2 case fans
nforce 2 motherboard, and barton 2500+ CPU
Sound blaster 2, and possibly some other PCI devices.


From what I know, I think I am cutting it a little close here. Should I get one of antecs larger power supplies? I really dont want to have this computer fail.


info is much appreciated:)
 
It would be overkill, if anything. That setup would probably run fine on a 300W or 350W PSU.
 
Every Antec True Power I have had, Including the 550 I have now, i do not like...

I am going to get a good enermax next
 
yep bill, i have a 300w ps, and look what i am running
i have 2 cdrw/dvd drives, 2 hds,2sticks of ram,modem, 2 case fans, 1 heatsink fan,. yep i overloaded this son ofva bitch
 
Originally posted by USMC2Hard4U
Every Antec True Power I have had, Including the 550 I have now, i do not like...

I am going to get a good enermax next
Click to expand...

May i ask why you don't like the Antec True Power? I was considering one for my next purchase, but have never dealt with them before.

I have an Enermax 350w that i love, never had any problems with it, but it's just a little overloaded with all the things i have running in my machine. 4x120GB hard drives, P4 2.8c @3.6, Radeon 8500, 1 gig ram (2x512) and 3 optical drives. I want to upgrade to about a 450 or so and was looking at some other brands. Maybe i should just stick w/ enermax ;)
 
I am curious as to why you dont like your Antec TP's, also. I have used Antec for my past few builds and have had no problems what-so-ever.
 
Antec powersupplies are nice, but I have prefered my current fortron over it. Both psu's are as steady for voltages, but the fortron is alot more silent, and has pots for adjusting the voltage inside the psu. I would never even consider an enermax, they are loud and overpriced...
 
Newegg specs list Antec True Power PSUs as having 20,000 less usage hours than the Enermax ones.
 
Newegg specs list Antec True Power PSUs as having 20,000 less usage hours than the Enermax ones.

Can MTBF specs really be trusted, especially when they're probably not based on actual testing but on calculations?

Could somebody explain to me what in the Enermaxes would lead to longer life than the TruePowers? Do the Enermaxes keep their components cooler? Are they made with better components?

Are the MTBF numbers specified, measured, or calculated by different standards? I've seen some PSUs specified at 100% power, others at 70%, some at 25C surrounding temperature, others at 40C, and somebody mentioned buying a 400W NMB or Lite-On PSU for $10 that the manufacturer's data sheet rated at 100% power @ 55C.

What would make an Enermax last longer than an Antec? My 300W Antec seems to be built of higher capacity components than my 350W Enermax, which has the smallest main transformer of any of my 300W PSUs.
 
Enermax has a higher effeciency of its power over Antec, something i didnt look at 2 yrs ago when i bought this...

Plus if you compare specs, the Enermax has a higher ampage
 
I didn't mean to start an Enermax Vs. Antec war here, I just wanted to know if my Antec True Power 380 watt would handle my parts.
 
Originally posted by eli
I didn't mean to start an Enermax Vs. Antec war here, I just wanted to know if my Antec True Power 380 watt would handle my parts.
Click to expand...

As has been stated (opined?) several times, Antec makes awesome PSUs and Enermax makes pretty good PSUs, and the one in your setup will be FINE. I also believe the one used in the Sonata is a quit[er] version than the regular 380W although I may be wrong.
 
As has been stated (opined?) several times, Antec makes awesome PSUs and Enermax makes pretty good PSUs, and the one in your setup will be FINE. I also believe the one used in the Sonata is a quit[er] version than the regular 380W although I may be wrong.
Click to expand...

Oh no, I know the answer to the question, its just I didn't mean to start a fight, thats all I was stating.
 
Originally posted by USMC2Hard4U
Enermax has a higher effeciency of its power over Antec, something i didnt look at 2 yrs ago when i bought this...

Plus if you compare specs, the Enermax has a higher ampage
Click to expand...
It might have a higher efficiency but look at the what it does with all that efficiency (not in english but graphs speak for themselves):
http://terasan.okiraku-pc.net/dengen/tester/index.html
http://terasan.okiraku-pc.net/dengen/tester2/index.html

It causes all those wavy lines on that graph that damages ram, HD's and other components. While enermax obviously fares better than most, nothing comes close to PCP&C or Antec true for very clean power (low fluctuation).

Once again credit is given to Ice Czar and his informative thread
 
Enermax is a good name brand PSU but they are definately not better then the others from Antec, Fortron, Sparkle, PCP&C and a few others.

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1841&p=20

Enermax PSU advertised at 550w puts out an actual 200 watts combined on the 3.3v and 5v lines.

Sparkel 350w puts out 220w combines.

Antec True Powers dont have a combined 3.3v and 5v limit. The Antec 430w puts out a total 410w.

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1841&p=22

Notice the heat over time. Enermax up to 45C while Antec stays around 33.5C.

The efficiency rating for the Enermax PSU's is 70% min and the Antec's are >68%. Not much difference.
 
I run Antec True Powers in all of my systems that I build...Never had a problem ever...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top