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Is this a decent PSU?

defiant said:
this is the only branded psu available to me.
Click to expand...

someone holding a gun to your head?
its a reasonably good PSU, but without knowing anything else about your system its impossible to tell
 
Ice Czar said:
someone holding a gun to your head?
its a reasonably good PSU, but without knowing anything else about your system its impossible to tell
Click to expand...

not quite.....I get all my computer equipment through my brother who has his own business building computers on the side while he studies computer science at uni. So basically if I want to get stuff at whole sale prices Im pretty much limited to what he is able to get from his suppliers. It seems that the only branded psu he can get is thermal take.

In terms of my system, here are my specs currently:

Abit IC-7 board
Intel P4 2.4C@3.0 (stock voltages)
2x256 Hyper X DDR 400
80gb WD HDD 7200 rpm
Liteon 52x burner
Liteon DVD rom
Leadtek GF4 4400

In terms of what i am interested in upgrading to
6800 Ultra (havent decided which brand yet)
another 2x256 Hyper X DDR 400
pioneer dual layer dvd burner (will replace the DVD Rom)
Thermaltake Tsunami case (3 case fans)
Thermalright XP-120 HSF as soon as theyre available so i can pump more voltage into the cpu
maybe another 80 or 120 gig hdd (either ATA or SATA)
 
I have the same power supply in my machine and have never had any problems with it.
Very decent P/S for the money.
I've had it in my machine for over a year.
 
well basically you add up the rails and compare
http://takaman.jp/D/index.html?english
then you build in a safety margin of from 1\2 to 1\3rd
by deducting 1\2 to 1\3 the value of the PSU's rated amps and see if it still fits
it actually varies with the distribution ratios your likely to need more +12V than +3.3V or +5V
(CPUs now being powered by the +12V primarily)
possibly more if it a long term infrastructure investment and there is growth built in
most 250 or 300 watt PSUs will actually run most configs, but stability has become an increasing concern with the tighter tolerances onboard (FSB)

There is decrease in total capacity with the rise in temperature , which reduces your amps, the rated amp values are at the low end of 25C your likely operating temperature will be 40C (especially if the PSU is in the top of the case exhausting the CPU HSF)

That is offset by the additive nature of the calculator, employing all tha maximum draw figures for the assorted components, something that will never occur

However it gets even more complicated if you have alot of drives and fans, those are typically given a "run time" draw value in a calculator, there "spinup" draw can be 4 to 5 times as much and they greatly contribute to transient response overshoot and undershoot in some supplies at startup if there isnt enough +12V

The way you toture a power supply is to give it a fluctuating AC feed to deal with (from surge to brownout), at the same time you ask it to deal with a really dynamic internal load change (like spinning up alot of drives) while still keeping the rails stable enough for the onboard voltage regulation components of unknown quality :p

Failure anywhere along the chain from too big a spike at the source to too long or high an overshoot or undershoot to the mobo, with too much ripple or noise for the onboard regulator to deal with and RAM or other components can go bye bye, ideally the power supply will trip off and protect your components, the operable range it has is largely what the difference in one PSU to another is about. And when it comes to a comparision of a flyweight generic, the whole protection scheme of shutting down it time really comes into question.

Thermaltake is a pretty good supply, but I havent seen much in the way of independent tests, but to give you just a single comparitive factory spec
my PCP&P Turbo Cool 510 has an AC Ripple of > +3.3V, +5V, +12V = 10mV, +5VSB = 20mV
while the Thermaltake is at > +3.3V, +5V, = 50mV, +12V = 120mv, +5VSB = 50mV

both of those are "in spec" one is just alot tighter than the other
would it reliably power your rig today and in the near future, yes it probably would
(provided you match up the amp distribution described above)
will it be up to the task next year and some point beyond, trickier question

so ask yourself if its going to be a true infrastructure investment
in the past that was typically true, now it a little tougher with more power hungry devices
PCI Express, video cards ect.

They recently added 4 more pins to the main connector from 20 to 24, and an additional 4 pin +12V auxillary power connector, and the spec keep jumping the total amps on the +12V rail, actually the are now two +12V rails and Ive seen power supplies that have Quad rails

that supply you linked is a ATX12V v1.1 (ATX 2.03 standard) 20 pin PSU with a 4 pin +12V connector I gather

if your considering a long term ivestment the most important thing for you to determine is the number of pins the mobo connector has, and get a ATX12V v2.2 compliant power supply, and if you have a 20 pin connector see if it can be attached directly with a 24 pin PSU or if an adapter is needed (cap clearence)

;)
 
ok, done a bit more searching and have found a place that sells antec psu's failry cheap, so now my options are the above thermaltake psu, as well as these antec ones:

Antec TRUE480
480 Watt ATX12V

http://www.antec.com/us/pro_details_powerSupply.php?ProdID=20480

TrueBlue 480 Watt PSU
480 Watt ATX12V Illuminated

http://www.antec.com/us/pro_details_powerSupply.php?ProdID=20481

im sure theyre basically the same except for the blue LED, so the question stands....should i get one of these or the thermaltake? :confused:
 
The Antec True480 is def a higher quality psu, not sure if it's "more reliable" but is def a good choice.

The psu most have been recommending lately are the 530 watt Fortron's $81 shipped, I'd go as far recommending its twin sister the: Sparkle 530w for $76.
 
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