Before Making a Thread About Buying a PSU....

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computerpro3

LightningRod
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Mar 29, 2003
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Hello everyone. This thread is meant to be an informative guideline about the purchase of your power supply, more specifically, what are some good companies to give your business to, and perhaps more importantly, which ones to avoid. It will be updated regularly. This is still under construction, and I will be remodeling it in the coming days, so if there is a broken link, or a psu that is now off the market, or something of the like, PLEASE bring it to my attention via a pm.

Now so you understand what exactly this list is, from Ice Czar:

computerpro3 maintains it and it was last edited 03-15-2005

its an "unofficial" ranking \ recommendations
based on empirical evidence as interpreted by computerpro3
as such its sort of our lighting rod, and sparks debate quite often

an "official" list would require definitive testing of each and every supply
Oleg Artamonov is slowly building such a database at Xbit but its currently quite limited
hopefully others will adopt the same procedure

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/ot...ethodology.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/ot...werful-psu.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/ot...ay/atx-psu.html

other relevant reviewers (but lacking full crossload charts and in some cases traces)
http://www.slcentral.com/raidmax-rx-520xp-psu/page4.php
http://www.silentpcreview.com/section4.html
http://www.leesspace.com/Published_reviews.htm


Now, for the companies that it would be wise to avoid, I want to make it clear that not every single one of their supplies will fail. It's more like every 8 out of 10. There are two types of company on this list. The first one is the type of company that for the most part are known to manufacture very low quality psu's that often have not met basic UL spec or compliances (or perhaps the bare minimum to allow them for sale). Some of the psu's manufactured by the following companies have even been outlawed in various countries for their tendency to cause fires. The other type is the company that buys those psu's and rebadges them as their own. Often these psu's are offered along with computer cases, or sold for amazingly low prices. If there is a company on there that you do not think should be, don't skin me alive, just pm me with your evidence and I will take a look at it.

You may see a power supply that has great specs on paper, for a good
price. I am sorry, but that just doesn't happen. While there are some
very good values in the industry, such as those manufactured by the FSP group, you are not going to get a 600w psu with 35 amps on the 12v
line, chrome case, windowed, with modular cables for $75. It's just
not happening. I am hard pressed to think of another industry where
the axiom "you get what you pay for" rings more true.

The bottom line, is that it can be tricky to tell a good psu from a bad
one by looking at the specs sometimes, as the VAST majority of psu
manufacturers (there are only 2 or 3 exceptions that I can think of off the top of my head) flat out lie, or practice some other form of disinformation. For example, there is no industry standard for psu rating temperature; so the vast majority of manufacturers take the liberty of assuming 20C internal operating temperature under full load. How many of you out there even have room temperature as cool as 20C? The real internal operating temperature of the psu is close to 40C or 50C during peak load. And since the output of the psu goes down the hotter it gets, these "600w" psu's can only really put out around 200w if it's generic, and around 300w if it's a better brand like an antec or Enermax. So when looking at the specs of a psu, apply a "de-rating" curve to it, and deduct about 30% off of amps and wattage. In most
cases it will be more, but you won't be running at peak load 24/7, so 30% is a good compromise. The only manufacturers at present that you don't need to do this to is Zippy/Emacs, Pc Power and Cooling, and Fortron (in Fortron's case, add 30% because they underrate themselves).

So I am NOT joking around when I ask you to stay away from the psu's
listed on the Do Not Buy list below, as the best case scenario will be
you having an underpowered rig with instability problems, while the worst case scenario is it blowing up, and burning down computer as well as your house.

I can not stress this enough: your computer is an investment, protect
it. You spent thousands on your computers, some of you, and you want to put a $60 power supply in it. Don't let a $60 supply kill your $3000 computer. You wouldn't want your investment to go by something you were warned about and could have prevented by shelling out another $60.

So without Further ado, I present to you the list of Un-reccomended and

Unscrupulous Power Supply Companies

Achieve
Aerocool
Allied
Aspire
Codegen
Coolmax
Demon
Deer
Devanni.
Dynapower
Eagle
InWin
JustPC
Kingwin
L&C
Linkworld
MGE,
Power-Man
Powmax
Power-Up
Raidmax
Thermaltakes (I’m gonna quote Johnny guru here, but personally I would NEVER put another one in my machine)
I think for this crowd, if you recommend any of the Thermaltake ATX12V models, but none of the TruePower 480W PSU's, you wouldn't be doing anyone any disservice
Turbo
Ultra (yes, the pretty looking ones, they are made by a low-quality Chinese company that starts with "Young". Can't get much more generic than that!!!)
X-superalien
X-treme



While you REALLY should think twice before buying from those companies, the list below are some alternatives that have been proven time and time again to be solid, reliable alternatives, at all price ranges, performance levels, and noise levels.

Also please check out the Ultra-Quiet and Fanless section at the end for some more GREAT supplies in all price ranges. Please note that by adding that section, I am not saying that the other psu's are not quiet, just that the particular ones I have listed are particularly endeared to silent computer enthusiats (who demand levels of quiet that are total overkill for the lot of us).

Super-Budget Range = Under $30

While I wouldn't put one of these psu's in a high end rig, those of you looking in this category won't have one . These are solid, reliable, mostly quiet psu's that will run most machines very stably. No, they're not flashy no they don't light up UV colors, but at least they won't catch on fire.

Fortron 300w PSU w/120mm fan = $26
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-9 79&depa=0

Sparkle 300w PSU (18amps on 12v line, not bad at all for this price

point) = $28
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 85&depa=0


Budget = Under $65

Now we are beginning to get into the range where the real psu's start. If you are looking at the super-budget range, I would advise you to skip lunch or something for a couple of days and get something from this category.

***
Larva said:
It's an all Fortron show at the $65 and under level
***something to keep in mind

Coolermaster Real Power 450w (this does not have APFC, it won't blow up

your rig but I would spring for the one that does have it) = $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-171-0 05&depa=0

Fortron 350w PSU w/ 120mm fan = $39
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-9 66&depa=0

Sparkle 350w ATXv2.0 psu = $51
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 99&depa=0


Fortron 400w PSU w/120mm fan = $65
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-9 62&depa=0

Antec Tru380 single fan version (hard pressed on 12v line) = $45

shipped
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/Antec_True380S.html?id=zkvooaz m

Antec Tru380 (hard pressed on 12v line NOT ANYMORE: they updated it to

24amps. Great deal now.) = $59
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-9 07&depa=0

Antec Tru430 = $65
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-9 08&depa=0

Enermax 350w PSU (26amps 12line :cool: ) = $53
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 39&depa=0

Enermax Noistaker 320w PSU = $65
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 50&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 370w psu = $61
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 44&depa=0

Zalman 3002 Noise Free psu = $62
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-2 12&depa=0


Tagan 380w = $45
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-101-5 08&depa=0

Mid-High End = Under$100

These are generally the minumum PSU's that I reccomend to people. You

are very unlikely to need more than this to power your rig.

Antec Trupower II 430w = $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103928

Antec Trupower II "Trublue 2" 480w = $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103930

Antec Trupower II 480w = $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103929


Seasonic s12 380w psu = $77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151022
Zippy/Emacs 300w psu = $76 (22@ on 12v line for 300w psu is astounding, performance is comparable if not better than pcp&c. Prohibitivley xpensive however)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 04&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 420w ATX12v 2.1 = $75
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 9&depa=1

Coolermaster Real Power 450w with APFC = $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-171-0 01&depa=0

Fortron 350w ATX12v2.0 psu = $62
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-9 36&depa=0


Zippy/Emacs 350w psu = $83 (26@ on 12v line is better than antec 550,

performance is comparable if not better than pcp&c. Prohibitivley

expensive however)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 05&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 400w psu = $95 (30amps 12v line )
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 06&depa=0

Sparkle 530w PSU = $74
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 89&depa=0

Fortron 530w PSU = $75
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-9 68&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 420w PSU = $78
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 45&depa=0

Vantec 420w psu = $81
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 71&depa=0

Fortron Blue Storm ATX12v2.0 500w psu = $92
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-9 34&depa=0

Zalman Noise Free 400w psu APFC = $95
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-2 13&depa=0

Tagan 480w PSU = $79
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-101-5 09&depa=0

Vantec 520w psu = $99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 73&depa=0

Enermax 460w PSU (33amps on 12v line :cool: )= $85
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 43&depa=0

Pc Power and Cooling 410 Silencer = $85
http://pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/ultra_quiet/s ilencers/index.htm

OCZ Powerstream 420w PSU = $85
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-1 50&depa=0

Seasonic 400w PSU = $86
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-0 18&depa=0

Antec Tru480 = $87
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-9 09&depa=0

Vantec 520W PSU = $96
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 73&depa=0



High End = $100-$199

I do feel obligated to say that although I listed the Zippy series, Fortron 530 and Sparkle 530w PSU's (same ones) in the last category, I did that soley because of price. They will outperform almost every psu in this category despite their price tags. UPDATE: With the addition of the Zippy/Emacs psu's, they don't outperform almost every single psu
in this category, but they are still excellent, excellent psu's.


Antec Trupower 2.0 Trucontrol II-550 550w = $119
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103933

Coolermaster Real Power RS-550 550w = $129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817171006

Seasonic s12 600w PSU = $161
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151025

Seasonic s12 500w psu = $129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024

Seasonic s12 430w psu = $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151023

Antec EPS12v 550w PSU = $130
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-9 18&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 485w = $115
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 57&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 470w = $115
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 51&depa=0

OCZ Powerstream 470w = $136
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-1 51&depa=0

Enermax Coolergiant 480w = $142
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 95&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 600w psu = $192
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 97&depa=0

Sparkle 550w = $106
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 78&depa=0

OCZ Powerstream 520w PSU = $125
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-1 52&depa=0

Pc Power and Cooling 425w Deluxe = $150
http://pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/highperforman ce/turbocools/425/index.htm

Zippy/Emacs 460w Psu = $106
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 07&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 500w psu = $122
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 08&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 550w psu = $180
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 09&depa=0

Antec TruControl 550w PSU = $103
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-9 22&depa=0

Antec Tru550w PSU = $107
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-9 10&depa=0

Antec NeoPower 480w PSU with APFC = $126
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-9 24&depa=0

Enermax 550w PSU = $162
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 37&depa=0

Enermax 550w PSU with APFC = $192
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 47&depa=0

Enermax Noisetaker 600w = $161
'http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194001


Silverstone Zeus 650w = $176
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817163108



Ultra Budget Be Damned Best PSU Out There

Pc Power and Cooling 850w SSI = $469 (quite simply, the best consumer

grade psu in the world.)
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/viewproduct.php?show=T85SSI

Pc Power and Cooling Turbocool 510 Deluxe (and SLI edition) = $219 Base

Price, if you get any options you're probably looking @ $270-320ish
http://pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/highperforman ce/turbocools/510/index.htm

Zippy/Emacs 600w psu = $256
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 11&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 650w psu = $271 (this one's comparable to the pcp&c 510

deluxe guys, its a serious psu)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 12&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 700w psu = $281
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 13&depa=0

Zippy/Emacs 700w psu (45 amps on 12v line, yes thats almost twice the

antec 550!!!) = $306
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-7 14&depa=0

Enermax 660w psu = $257
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-4 38&depa=0

OCZ 600w Powerstream = $210 (IMHO, you're not thinking straight if you

buy this over the pcp&c for the same price. If it was $150, it would

be a killer deal. But not $210. I'll include it anyway though now

that the recall issues seem to be fixed)
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-1 53&depa=0

Ultra-Quiet and Fanless Supplies

Antec 350w Phantom fanless psu (0db list)= $172
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-9 25&depa=0

Silenx Luxare 340w Fanless PSU (0db list) = $199
http://www.silenx.com/productcart/p...ic-super-silencer-300-watt-s s-300agx.html

Seasonic Super Silencer 400w PSU (22db list) = $99
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/sea...w.siliconacoustics.com/zalman-zm300b-aps.html

Zalman ZM400B-APS 400w PSU with APFC (20-25db when under 55C) = $89
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/zalman-zm400b-aps.html

Seasonic Super Silencer 460w PSU (22db list) = $119
http://www.siliconacoustics.com/seasonic-super-silencer-460-watt-s s-460agx.html

Seasonic S12 Series ATX12V 2.0 430W (12b list) = $99
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-0 23&depa=0

Seasonic S12 Series ATX12V 2.0 500W Power Supply, PCI Express Ready

(12db list) = $139
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-151-0 24&depa=0

For ALL the SilenX Iextrema's, which are all excellent, excellent

psu's,
http://www.silenx.com/productcart/p...ax Noisetaker 600w 4. Silverstone Zeus 650w
 
New "Pulls" Antec True 380S single fan for $45 shipped

Directron often has sales on brand name psu's so be sure to cross check prices with Newegg before purchasing. The TTGI units often go on sale for insanely low prices and they're a good middle-of-the-road psu imho.
 
From your sig: Kingwin

Did you have a bad experience with them? I was thinking about buying a watercooling solution from them. Should I reconsider?
 
philodox said:
From your sig: Kingwin

Did you have a bad experience with them? I was thinking about buying a watercooling solution from them. Should I reconsider?
The Kingwin's that are TTGI oem's aren't bad, although i would dare say there are probably better ones to choose from.
(how much are you paying for it and what size?)

Edit: NM, i didn't notice you were talking about water cooling equipment.
 
i was comparing the sparkle 550 to my antec 430, what i find interesting, is my antec 430 puts out more power on the 3.3 and 5 volt lines than the sparkle 550 does. It only beats it at the 12V line. But i dont have 4 HDDs and 10 case fans, so this isnt a problem. My 12 volt line hovers around 12.06-12.1 volts. Well within spec. My 5 and 3.3 r right on the money as well, i think this system can handle an amd 64 with no trouble.
 
wilson502 said:
i was comparing the sparkle 550 to my antec 430, what i find interesting, is my antec 430 puts out more power on the 3.3 and 5 volt lines than the sparkle 550 does. It only beats it at the 12V line. But i dont have 4 HDDs and 10 case fans, so this isnt a problem. My 12 volt line hovers around 12.06-12.1 volts. Well within spec. My 5 and 3.3 r right on the money as well, i think this system can handle an amd 64 with no trouble.
Sparkle/Fortron FSP typically underrates their psu's around 20-25% and might even use "different math" than antec. So tack on about that much % to sparkles numbers to get a more accurate picture.
 
like i said even with my 6800gt in there, my rails r still solid, sometimes it varies around 12.06-12.1 volts. Doesnt get much better than that. Actually the PCI slot, agp slot run off the 5 volt line and 3.3, not 12 volt. Hard drives, fans, cd-rom drives all run off the 12 volt lines. Check out this link, it shows the voltages used for devices in a system
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/articles/guides/Power_Supply_Guide_2.html
 
philodox said:
From your sig: Kingwin

Did you have a bad experience with them? I was thinking about buying a watercooling solution from them. Should I reconsider?

well performance wise I wouldn't buy a watercooling "system" from anyone....

but their cases are top-notch, I know that. Their psu's are manufactured by a variety of oem's, the TTGI ones aren't bad as said but I'm not sure which ones are and aren't TTGI so I figure its better just to get a real TTGI. You don't want to end up with some psu manufactured by 2 guys in a garage in Japan.
 
im also seeing discrepiences on sparkle's website, bout the 400W and 530W units. Like their 400W and 530W have the exact same ratings. And only pulls 18A on the 12 volt line. Their EPS series pulls more, but only 150W combined on 3.3 and 5V? But the 460W pulls more on the 3.3 and 5V? weird.
 
I'm confused by your naming Enlight and Thermaltake PSU's as a "don't buy". I've probably screwed together a hundred and fifty Enlight 7237 cases over the last three years, containing a mix of their (as I recall) 300, 350, and 360 watt supplies. These machines get used in our hardware lab at work. They get their ass kicked; Vcc's shorted together, shorted to ground, etc.

I think I've replaced one supply that I can remember.

Also, Thermaltake (OEM'd by Enlight as I've been told) supplies, like the one in this system, looked decent and the dual thermo controlled fans are nice and quiet. I've installed a dozen or so, with no fires. Vcc's measure right on the money when tested with my trusty Fluke.

....just my experience, FWIW.

Regards - B.B.S.
 
I ran my old Pally system:

A7V rev1.02
Palomino 1250 (12.5 x 100FSB) @ 1.75Vcore
8500 (was a G400 for 2.5 of those years).
4 Case fans + loud as hell Volcano 6cu
2 WD's + Liteon CDRW

>> Enlight 250W PSU.

That's ALL on a puny Enlight 250W. For 4 years to boot :) Lotta people on nForcers (before my switch to my A7N8X) kept on tellingme how crazy I was. Though, i'm taking it safe from now on haha...
 
BlindedByScience said:
I'm confused by your naming Enlight and Thermaltake PSU's as a "don't buy". I've probably screwed together a hundred and fifty Enlight 7237 cases over the last three years, containing a mix of their (as I recall) 300, 350, and 360 watt supplies. These machines get used in our hardware lab at work. They get their ass kicked; Vcc's shorted together, shorted to ground, etc.

I think I've replaced one supply that I can remember.

Also, Thermaltake (OEM'd by Enlight as I've been told) supplies, like the one in this system, looked decent and the dual thermo controlled fans are nice and quiet. I've installed a dozen or so, with no fires. Vcc's measure right on the money when tested with my trusty Fluke.

....just my experience, FWIW.

Regards - B.B.S.

This is odd, that is the exact opposite of my experiences with them. I had a Thermaltake 480w psu that my friend GAVE to me after upgrading to an antec 550w. He told me to try to sell it on the forums for $15 shipped....no one would take it so I held on to it. I tried it in my system when my antec 430 got overwhelmed and it was pure crap. The molex connectors fell out all the time (they literally fell off the pins) and the voltages were very unstable (in both directions; droops and spikes). It also had cold boot issues as it took a few seconds for the voltages to "spin up" i guess you could say (like upon turning on the pc the 12v line would read 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12). I guess I could have gotten a dud, but I didn't think so because the quality was so poor, and OBVIOUSLY poor, that I was convinced it was a Deer relabled. I eventually sold it for $15 shipped.

The Enlight 300w seemed solid, but blew out after being in use on a normal p2 600mhz system after around a year. If it can't power a 600mhz system it ain't going in my p4 system.

However if a lot of people continue to complain about enlight on the list, I will remove it.
 
This should be stickied. I would love to refer that list to many of my future builds and I'm VERY sure others would appreciate that list. Perhaps you won't see as many repeated questions on this after it is stickied.

And I think a 'beware of the following PSU companies known to have issues" list should be added (much like computerpro3's signature-- but more revised and truthful [I'm not saying it is a lie -- just that some other people deem some of the companies in the list more acceptable than others]).

A vote for sticky and people may voice out on new power supplies or whatnot to update the list and price as of date.

Anyone for sticky?

-J.
 
computerpro3 said:
I do feel obligated to say that although I listed the Fortron 530 and Sparkle 530w PSU's (same ones) in the last category, I did that soley because of price. They will outperform almost every psu in this category despite their mid $70 price tag.
wow... these look like the one to buy then :eek:

how quiet do they run?
 
Vertigo Acid said:
What happened to our mod around here ?! ;)
...in this forum, I'm just a normal bithead like everyone else (well, "normal" is debatable, but you get the idea.. :D ).

If you'd like this thread stickied, you should PM the forum mod (listed at the bottom of the page) - looks like that would be the IceMan, IceCzar.

Cheers - B.B.S.
 
computerpro3 said:
However if a lot of people continue to complain about enlight on the list, I will remove it.
My two units are nice'n stable, i've read of others besides blindedbyscience using enlight case/psu bundles in their oem builds because they never got any returns on them. No biggie, Enlight may have purchased psu's of varying degrees of quality.

You may end up knocking the Inwin off your sig. Inwin is manufactured by Sparkle and is a part of the FSP group. At least their 250/300/430 watt units are anyways ;). The 300 watter i have is strikingly similar to the FSP 300 watters ive seen.

If i can find the several inwin sources i've stumbled across i'll pm you the link(s). One was a hardware review site, another was a merchant or mfr of some sort and heresay on psu forums.
 
Yeah, this thread really helped me out...Please make it sticky :)

Without it I would have purchased a very crappy PSU...instead I have a kickass Fortron 530w on it's way from newegg :D
 
What about chieftec? I've seen a lot of recomendations for HPC 360-202 as a cheap and still good PSU?

And one more question should i go with Antec case with 430W true power psu (PLUSVIEW 1080AMG)
or Chieftec dragon series case with PSU upgraded to HPC 420-302-DF or Tagan 380 or 480W psu?

Tagan 480W + chieftec case will cost me about 210$ (living in Eastern Europe sucks when it comes to hardware prices) and from the reding first post in this thread it seems to be best option.
Antec case with 430 True Power = 200$
Tagan 380 + chieftec case = 180$
HPC420 + case= 150$

I'm planing to run geforce 6800GT (Gainward golden sample @ ultra speeds) plus a64 3500/3800+ and 2-3 hard drives and 2 optical drives in the future on it.
 
I didn't see a Delta Powersupply on the list of Powersupplies, how do they stack up against the other manufactures?

The reason I ask, I am currently in the works of building up a Server, I will be getting a Delta Power assembly delivered to my house Monday. My Motherboard which is a Intel SRKA4 that has the motherboard connectors of 20pin, 24pin and a 14pin Aux connector.
Is there anything better than Delta that offers the same thing in motherboard connectors, or am I just stuck with this brand of Powersupply for this machine?
 
Vertigo Acid said:
Yeah that's what i'm saying! Until earlier today, he hadn't posted for quite a while

:rolleyes:
Ive been experiencing technical difficulties
1st I thought its was an exploit that got through my security (and there is some evidence to support that so it could be a compounding factor) but then I still had intermittent connectivity\bandwidth, took me quite awhile to figure it out, my microwave sightline was partially obscured between my dish and the tower (on a mountain about 10 miles away)
by new construction behind my house, so my connection would degrade with atmospheric conditions, normally its has to be one hell of a heavy downpour between me and the tower to degrade it, but with the townhome so close to the sightline that altered to cloudcover on the mountain, light drizzel ect :p and it had to be a very clear day to get through, a vicisous cycle since on those days I was generally working on some masonry for my sister
hense my very spotty attendence

Luckily (in retrospect) I had a tree grow out last year and cause somewhat similar problems till I trimmed it (it was very close to the dish) sorry it took me so long to relocate the dish (dont tell Sprint ) there is still one lot that might impact my reception, so hopefully my next "computer mod" wont be building a radio tower :p

This is now sticky till I can coordinate with computerpro3 about reworking it into a "clean" FAQ
 
heh, that definitly sucks. When the wireless that i'm "borrowing" from my neighbors goes out, all I have to do is use the dial-up! :p

Nice seeing you back around, and again great post computerpro3
 
"InWin" PSU's that are branded with a "Power Man" name (a little dude grabbing a lightning bolt) they are just rebranded Fortron PSU's which are pretty nice IMO...

you can tell by the model number starts with FSP or something like that... plus they are exactly the same on the inside and outside

also the fortron 550 watt PSU is an excellent PSU for the price, wired for EPS, and has seperate +12 lines from CPU and I/O...
 
FLECOM said:
also the fortron 550 watt PSU is an excellent PSU for the price, wired for EPS, and has seperate +12 lines from CPU and I/O...

dual or tri +12V rails?

EPS12V compliant being either tri (common plane) or quad (split plane)
 
AFAIK it has dual rails... which is ok for me since ATX-GES uses dual rails anyway
 
there is an epidemic of compatible vs compliant claims goin round right now :p
 
couldent care less really ;)

im sure a "compliant" or whatever would be more expensive than the $90some dollars i paid for the fortron 550 :D

i know its not a PCP&C, but im a poor bastard :(
 
ya i was looking though some of those... but im not actually using the proliant, im just using the case ;)

the two (GIANT) psu's that came in it dont seem to work, dunno... didnt really bother to troubleshoot the machine...
 
PCP&C are just compatible as well :p (to EPS12V or ATX12V) unless specifically ordered compliant
the cost of which Ive yet to hear back on

there would be a point with a heavilly loaded system that the seperate rails would be a good idea, regardless of how tight the transient response of the supply

EPS12V Table 6: 12V Rail Summary
........................................................................................................................................................................................
Common Plane System........................................................Split Plane System
+12V1........Processors.........................................................+12V1........Processor 1
+12V2........Baseboard components other than processors.......+12V2........Processor 2
+12V3........Drives and peripherals..........................................+12V3........Baseboards and components other than processors
...........................................................................................+12V4........Drives and peripherals

a ATX12V v1.6 > v2.0 supply having dual rails
but manuy of those listed as ATX12V again just being compatible not compliant
employing a single rail or in some instances only a token amperage on the 2nd +12V
 
Oh your taking a Proliant case and modding with it, I have already done that to my two Tower model Proliants. Took an dual Pentium 3 socket 370MB and took the case of a Proliant 1500, then modded the case. I took the Proliant 5000 case frame and doing the same thing to it. If anyone wants to see pictures, I can see what I can come up with.
Oh here is what I am getting monday:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5713978025&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

Of course this is not the person I bought it from though.
I don't think this is EPS12v
 
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Thought I would post my words of wisom here, as well as why everyone should rush out and get a PCP&C PSU...

I decided i was gunna put mine to the test today, so I took every hard drive in my house and crammed them onto my 450W Turbocool. I had 12 hard drives, two opticle drives, and the usual slew of fans and lights all running on this thing today (and, I there is enough molex on this bugger I did it all without splitters :D ) Booted into windows just fine, my rails all showed normal in MBM5. I decided I would really but it to the test by loading up some burn in software and simulataniosnly run it on all the hard drives and opticle drives... with that the rails started to fluxuate a bit, but nothing that would case alarm, it stayed 100% stable like that for atleast a half hour before I had to take it all down, the HDs were heating up my case to quickly. Bottem line is, this is an amazing freakin PSU. THey do not make the 450W Turbocool anymore I dont think, got replaced with the 510, but I still reccomend it to anyone out tehre with high power demands, expecially those of you running large RAID arrays.

BTW...just for shits, its worth mentioning with all those drives hooked up I have close to 1.5 TB...WHOOOO! If it werent for the heat issue, and the fact that none of the other comptuers in my house had a hard drive, I would keep it this way....
 
wow, I feel so screwed...

I just ordered a Thermaltake PSU(This One) to power an a64 3500+, 6800GT, 2x160gig SATA HDs, 1gig corsair ram, and a dvd burner.

will it hold up? i havn't even recieved the parts yet, and I can't be shipping things back and forth because of a time constraint - i have to leave for school soon.

has anyone heard good things or had good experiences with Thermaltake PSUs?
 
chaosan said:
wow, I feel so screwed...

I just ordered a Thermaltake PSU(This One) to power an a64 3500+, 6800GT, 2x160gig SATA HDs, 1gig corsair ram, and a dvd burner.

will it hold up? i havn't even recieved the parts yet, and I can't be shipping things back and forth because of a time constraint - i have to leave for school soon.

has anyone heard good things or had good experiences with Thermaltake PSUs?

Well, to be honest, I dont know a damn thing about TT PSU's. I know thermtak is a huge company, and as such would assume they know what there doing, but who knows. I should think its a decent PSU, good enough to hold up that rig you got, but dont hold me to it, one of these guys is gunna show up adn tell you your PSU is junk...mark my words
 
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