• 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.

Help me decide which PSU

C

cmge

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Messages
258
im planning to set up a new rig and i need some suggestions on these PSU's

Fortron AX500-A 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104934

Thermaltake W0073RU 520W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153025

OCZ Modstream OCZ52012U 520W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104155

bang for the buck and performance wise which of the 3 is better... as u can c id like to have the cables sleeved to increase air flow.. having it modular is nice as well... any suggestions is highly appreciated.. thanks in advance
 
normally id have Enermax and Antec amongst my picks but they dont really offer sleeved PSU... Antec has modular PSU but its quite $$$... i would prefer a sleeved PSU over a modular one.... ive tried to sleeve my own PSU b4 but it ended up in utter failure... :(
 
not really but id like to have my PSU sleeved... if i can get the Enermax sleeved then id get it... btw do u know any place that offers PSU sleeving at a good price??... i saw one at frozen-cpu.com but its too much .. -_-
 
cmge said:
normally id have Enermax and Antec amongst my picks but they dont really offer sleeved PSU... Antec has modular PSU but its quite $$$... i would prefer a sleeved PSU over a modular one.... ive tried to sleeve my own PSU b4 but it ended up in utter failure... :(
Click to expand...

What about Enermax Liberty then?
 
_Durandal_ said:
Antec NeoPower 550W (SLI Certified) & Sleeved It's really not that much more than the OCZ listed above.

Alternatively, Antec NeoPower 480W is also sleeved and modular too. I'm not sure how much $ you want to spend, or what type of rig you're building, but the two above seem to meet your criteria.

I'd recommend this: PC Power & Cooling, but you said that it had to be somewhat economical :D.
Click to expand...
im willing to spend up to $120 for a PSU... heres the rig im planning on building

A64 3500+ Venice
x850xt pe pci-e
2x1GB OCZ DDR400
2x250GB Western Digital HD PATA
1x74GB Raptor SATA
DVD Burner
Sapphire Theatrix 550
Audigy 2 ZS

and probably some fans in the case (2x120mm or 4x80mm)

so something along those lines that would have enough connectors to feed them... ive seen my friends modstream and it seems inadequete if he plans to put more (i.e fans, optical drive, case lights)

and preferale sleeved... i really liked the sleeved stuff... modular would be nice but sleeved is more preferable.. :) .. any help would be greatly appreciated... thanks again
 
Enermax Liberty 400W: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=PS-E400AWT

Even though I don't think you need it:

Enermax Liberty 500W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194003

An X-Finity 500w is a good PSU for people concerned with pretty cables: http://www.directron.com/ult31844.html

The flat FlexForce cables can be routed around things really easily and they're UV reactive.

And a surprise guest....

Aerocool Turbine 550W: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=372085&affiliate=yahoo

Same OEM as Hiper (Andyson.) Not as cool of a modular interface, but it's quiet, solid at least up to 500W (I've begun testing one, but haven't had a chance to finish with the holidays) and the cables are sleeved with a UV reactive rubber simiar to the old X-Connect.
 
the aerocool looks nice and i think im gonna stay away from Ultra products... :) ... does it also matter if i leave my comp on 24/7?
 
cmge said:
the aerocool looks nice and i think im gonna stay away from Ultra products... :) ... does it also matter if i leave my comp on 24/7?
Click to expand...

The Aerocool does look nice. I was surprised it performed well. I was under the impression that something that "blingy" couldn't perform well. As for the Ultra: That's cool... Although I've got to tell you that the X-Finity 500W is what I'm using in my PC right now (OC'd 3200+ w/ 2 6600GT's) and the PC I just built (DFI w/ FX-57 and 7800GTX) but to each their own. I feel the same way about Antec. ;)

All that really matters when considering leaving your PC on 24/7 is that contined brown outs and bad mains in general can slowly kill your PSU. So do make sure you get a UPS with AVR. Also you take life away from the fans when they spin 24/7. But in general, it really makes no difference if you leave a PC on vs. turning it on when you need it, because you easily make up for the life you take away from your components by leaving them on, by straining the motors of the fans and hard drives on power up and from the wear and tear of materials expanding and contracting from heat up and cooll down cycles.
 
jonnyGURU said:
Also you take life away from the fans when they spin 24/7.
Click to expand...
Sleeve-bearing fans will die sooner if they're subjected to more start-stop cycles.
 
jonnyGURU said:
The Aerocool does look nice. I was surprised it performed well. I was under the impression that something that "blingy" couldn't perform well. As for the Ultra: That's cool... Although I've got to tell you that the X-Finity 500W is what I'm using in my PC right now (OC'd 3200+ w/ 2 6600GT's) and the PC I just built (DFI w/ FX-57 and 7800GTX) but to each their own. I feel the same way about Antec. ;)
Click to expand...
wow the X-finity can handle that?.. im guessing its big improvement from its predecessor the X-conect?

i was reading a review on the X-finity here and the reviewer was complaining about "a loud, high pitched whine"... did u ever come across that by any chance...

and i think im starting to finalize on my PSU purchase.. altho more inputs would be appreciated.. :)
 
_Korruption_ said:
Sleeve-bearing fans will die sooner if they're subjected to more start-stop cycles.
Click to expand...

Excellent point. But come to think of it... with a MTBF of more than 5 years on the fans, ball bearing or sleeve, I don't think it really matters in the grand scheme.

cmge said:
wow the X-finity can handle that?.. im guessing its big improvement from its predecessor the X-conect?
Click to expand...

X-Finity's were always made in a different factory then the X-Connects. Even the new X2's are made in a different factory.

cmge said:
i was reading a review on the X-finity here and the reviewer was complaining about "a loud, high pitched whine"... did u ever come across that by any chance...

and i think im starting to finalize on my PSU purchase.. altho more inputs would be appreciated.. :)
Click to expand...

I get that with a lot of power supplies. It's the windings on the main transformer vibrating. It's not a big deal. It's like the Enermax Liberty makes a loud arcing noise (Caaa-rack!) when you turn it on. Scares the hell out of you, but they ALL do it (not an exaggeration. They ALL do it,) so it can't be a big deal.

The only noise that really freaked me out (other than a PSU just plain blowing up on me) was an AC Ryan I had that actually made a loud arcing (zappity zappity zappity) the more I loaded it up. I actually turned my head away from the test bench as I cranked up the 12V rail because the arcing noise just got louder and louder. :D
 
thanks for all the input jonnyGURU ... i think my new list is narrowed down to

Ultra X-Finity 500W
Aerocool Turbine 550W
Enermax Liberty ELT500AWT
Antec SmartPower 500W

i think u have me sold to the X-finity's.. :) .. im still gonna do more reading on them... any suggestions (bang for buck and performance) on those jonnyGURU?
 
cmge said:
thanks for all the input jonnyGURU ... i think my new list is narrowed down to

Ultra X-Finity 500W
Aerocool Turbine 550W
Enermax Liberty ELT500AWT
Antec SmartPower 500W

i think u have me sold to the X-finity's.. :) .. im still gonna do more reading on them... any suggestions (bang for buck and performance) on those jonnyGURU?
Click to expand...

Well, my suggestions are based on the fact that you wanted nice cables and have a certain budget. I never considered the Antec cables particularly nice. The Enermax doesn't have really nice cables either (their "ok") but the Enermax is a better power supply. So between those two, I'd pick the Enermax.

But trying to pick a power supply for someone based on appearance is hard since aesthetics is a personal preference thing. Just don't make a mistake like the Powmax Assassin. The cables on the Powmax are actually sleeved nicer than most power supplies three times the price, but the damn thing can't do more than 300W without blowing up. :p
 
i did say nice cables but i would value a PSU based on performance rather than looks... the reason i wanted one based on aesthetics is that i wanted to make a nice clean case... heck if i have enough courage to sleeve my own PSU i would... but last time i did that it went kaput... :(

by any chance do u a place that does PSU sleeving??..
 
Performance-PC's, but you'll end up spending over your budget to have a decent PSU sleeved. So maybe stick with what I recommended or anything else that looks good that's a good performer out of the box. ;)
 
personal opinion here
but spend slightly more than you can afford on the best quality supply available
meaning electrical charateristics
and if you dont like the way it looks or the way the cables are done, do it yourself
you can actually do better than what most manufacturers offer in the regard of wire, pins, connectors and shielding and cable coverings
the one place they do better is consistant crimps

an investment in the tools to repin a supply and make your own custom length harnesses will likely pay off in the long run
 
Ice Czar said:
personal opinion here
but spend slightly more than you can afford on the best quality supply available
meaning electrical charateristics
and if you dont like the way it looks or the way the cables are done, do it yourself
you can actually do better than what most manufacturers offer in the regard of wire, pins, connectors and shielding and cable coverings
the one place they do better is consistant crimps

an investment in the tools to repin a supply and make your own custom length harnesses will likely pay off in the long run
Click to expand...


Proper tools or not... I seem to suck at crimping the tips. :(
 
The Enermax is SLI ready for cheaper than the Fortron. I'm not bad mouthing the Fortron (I have one) but you can get better things now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top