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The BEST power supply

PC power and cooling is the BEST. be prepared to pay for it though
 
why over 500 watt? you will never need a power supply that outputs 500w. if you demand high power than get a 420 watt or something like that from antec truepowe. forton/sparkle, pc power and cooling, thermaltake, i hear vantec is alright. generally (but not always) the higher the dollar/watt ratio is the better ps u get.
 
Unless your running a big server or some sort of cooling off your power supply you definatley dont need anything over 500w.

High end systems like mine with 4+ hard drives and 4 optical drives dont need any more then 300w of quality power to run but its best to buy safe and get a 350w-450w. I would recommend ither a Fortron 400w, Antec True Power 430w, or something from Enermax. PC Power and Cooling is probably the best but they are also the most expensive and unless you've got money to burn these other power supplies will work just as good.
 
Another vote for PC Power & Cooling. I have a 2 year old Antec standard 400w my next PSU will be a PCP&C. They are a little pricey though. From their specs though, it sounds like it is worth it.
 
Yeah, for the absolute best, PC Power and Cooling's PSUs. They can cost well over twice as much as another power supply.

Otherwise, Antecs are very good too.
 
PC Power & Cooling is the best.

Antec is the best "affordable" power supply. My new build is using a True480.
 
Comparing my cousins PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cooled-350 ATX with 1 exhaust fan for $71.00 to my Antec True-430 with dual fans for $71.00...i would chose the Antec True-430 because even with dual fans...its a lot more quiet then the PC Power & Cooling...the Silent PC Power & Cooling costs much more then the Turbo Cooled ones...i've noticed the rails on both PSU are stable..luckily i went with Antec becuase i can't stand the noise...espicially it being in my room...but the Antec fans do spin slower than the PC Power & Cooling exhaust fan...and the main motherboard cable is sleeved...also came with fan connectors..sweetness:D
 
Q for OP: What are you going to be using it for? It's hard to recommend a best when you don't know the intended use.
 
I'd go for a Zalman 400 watt power supply. They have very high efficiency and they are most likely the quietest power supplies you're going to find.
 
I love Antec TruePower although as has been said several times already, PCPower&Cooling will get you the *best* PSU. However the *best* requires $$$.
 
I got an Espire 500w and not only does it look sick but its been running really smooth for the 6 months with my oc 2500 AMD
 
Originally posted by burningrave101
Unless your running a big server or some sort of cooling off your power supply you definatley dont need anything over 500w.

High end systems like mine with 4+ hard drives and 4 optical drives dont need any more then 300w of quality power to run but its best to buy safe and get a 350w-450w. I would recommend ither a Fortron 400w, Antec True Power 430w, or something from Enermax. PC Power and Cooling is probably the best but they are also the most expensive and unless you've got money to burn these other power supplies will work just as good.
Click to expand...

Antec's TP 430 can be maxxed very easily with 4 hard drives and 4 optical drives, along with the rest of the systems components.

Throw in a VapoChill and the 430 quickly becomes too small. Even the 550W had troubles, but not nearly as bad as the 430.

PC Power & Cooling if you want the ultimate in PSU's.
Antec/Enermax/Vantec for quality PSU's are a decent price.
 
I would recommend what I have, which is the Vantec Stealth 520W, but I guess noone else likes it...

/IoWnZa
 
Originally posted by Prajch
I'd go for a Zalman 400 watt power supply. They have very high efficiency and they are most likely the quietest power supplies you're going to find.
Click to expand...

Ditto, chalk one more for the Zalman, strong lines across the board and very quiet. Black too, what else can you ask for? Btw, you can mod another fan into it if you want but it is fine just the way it is.
 
Originally posted by Prajch
I'd go for a Zalman 400 watt power supply. They have very high efficiency and they are most likely the quietest power supplies you're going to find.
Click to expand...

The Zalman is a painted Fortron/Source with a different sticker on it.

The Vantec 520w's are rather nice (props to you, Iowanza)

However, the true control 550 from antec pwns all.

that is all.
 
Here's my general PS rule of thumb:

1. If you have the money, get PC Power & Cooling,
2. If you have a full-tower case, then get Enermax (longer leads),
3. If you don't have either, then get an Antec.

There are some brands cheaper than Antec that might work as well like some of the ones mentioned in this thread, but I've never owned one.
 
Well I had a little differrent situation. Even though 300 watts is enough power for the average user, if you have a lot off hardware that requires extensive power then maybe you need something a little bigger. Like for instance currently this is my sys specs:

Athlon 3200XP (400 FSB)
A7N8X Deluxe (400 FSB)
1 GB Corsair XMS PC3200 (400) dual channel
ATI 9800XT
And a couple of case fans.

Obviously with this setup besides a generic 300 watt power supply not even a decent 300 watt(Antec, Enermax, etc.) would be enough for this computer. Especially if you plan to overclock. In time it would burn up.

I leraned this the hard way. I had a generic 300 watt and it burned up. So here I was without a computer. Luckily I had a rich friend that, for Christmas, bought me an Antec 550watt Truepower PS. And here I am. But since we all don't have rich friends and also the 550 is a bit of an overkill I would suggest you to get a decent 380 or 400 watt power supply. WHat would be perfect for you probably would be an Antec 380 Truepower.
Anyways, Good luck.
 
Originally posted by VideoTech
Well I had a little differrent situation. Even though 300 watts is enough power for the average user, if you have a lot off hardware that requires extensive power then maybe you need something a little bigger. Like for instance currently this is my sys specs:

Athlon 3200XP (400 FSB)
A7N8X Deluxe (400 FSB)
1 GB Corsair XMS PC3200 (400) dual channel
ATI 9800XT
And a couple of case fans.

Obviously with this setup besides a generic 300 watt power supply not even a decent 300 watt(Antec, Enermax, etc.) would be enough for this computer. Especially if you plan to overclock. In time it would burn up.

I leraned this the hard way. I had a generic 300 watt and it burned up. So here I was without a computer. Luckily I had a rich friend that, for Christmas, bought me an Antec 550watt Truepower PS. And here I am. But since we all don't have rich friends and also the 550 is a bit of an overkill I would suggest you to get a decent 380 or 400 watt power supply. WHat would be perfect for you probably would be an Antec 380 Truepower.
Anyways, Good luck.
Click to expand...

Dude people are running setups like that in Shuttle cases with 240w PSU's and the PSU's aren't even as high of quality of Antec and Enermax lol.

I've built alot of systems for people and if you know anyone that builds them for a living they are going to tell you anything over 400w is major overkill. If you have something like Vapochill then maybe you need more power but the wattage rating doesn't mean anything. You have to look at the total allowed amps for each line. For all PSU's other then the true powers the 3.3v and 5v lines are combined so there is a set limit of how much pull can be on both lines at the same time. It doesn't matter if you have a 550w supply and you have 200w on the 3.3v and 200w on the 5v, if the combined total is 300w then thats all you get, not 400w.

I can tell you from experience you dont need nothing over 400w for 4 hard drives and 4 optical drives. If you do you have a bad power supply and need to RMA.
 
another vote for PC Power and Cooling.. Just got my 510 Turbo Deluxe the other day and it simply kicks ass..

but, it will set you back 197.10 US (and that's it's sale price right now)

but, it's the last PSU you need to buy until they replace the ATX standard..

Now, it is not a silent PSU, but it's far from being what I'd call loud and obnoxious. (Unlike the Sparkle 400 watt I replaced)

It simply oozes with quality, all the cables are sleeved, has 2 native SATA connectors, no more gimpy P2 connector (that's the 6 pin flat connector that always has to get tied up somewhere)..

Now, some will say it's overkill, but why skimp on the most important aspect of your computer.. I simply love how ppl will buy all the latest hardware, and expect a $70 PSU to be able to supply good clean, stable power... It's just not going to happen...


Oh, and the most important aspect of it all.. PCP&C rates their wattages at REAL temps, not low ass temps as everyone else does.. Sure, your TruPower 480 might be able to push that much IF it's running at 25 C... yea, that's happening... typical PSU temps are more like 40 C... PCP&C, however, rates their PSU's at 40 C.. What's the mean to you? Your cheapo 480 Watt PSU, is really more like a 300 watt PSU at best..

Don't be a cheap bastard.. Get the best.. :D
 
Originally posted by Prajch
I'd go for a Zalman 400 watt power supply. They have very high efficiency and they are most likely the quietest power supplies you're going to find.
Click to expand...

seconded, its very nice and hardly any noise on the rails.

PC power and cooling is probably better, but for the mid range i would get that one.
 
Look at it this way. If you get a 500W+ PS today, it may also work in the BTX cases......at least that's what I've heard.
 
Originally posted by Barnaby
another vote for PC Power and Cooling.. Just got my 510 Turbo Deluxe the other day and it simply kicks ass..

but, it will set you back 197.10 US (and that's it's sale price right now)

but, it's the last PSU you need to buy until they replace the ATX standard..

Now, it is not a silent PSU, but it's far from being what I'd call loud and obnoxious. (Unlike the Sparkle 400 watt I replaced)

It simply oozes with quality, all the cables are sleeved, has 2 native SATA connectors, no more gimpy P2 connector (that's the 6 pin flat connector that always has to get tied up somewhere)..

Now, some will say it's overkill, but why skimp on the most important aspect of your computer.. I simply love how ppl will buy all the latest hardware, and expect a $70 PSU to be able to supply good clean, stable power... It's just not going to happen...


Oh, and the most important aspect of it all.. PCP&C rates their wattages at REAL temps, not low ass temps as everyone else does.. Sure, your TruPower 480 might be able to push that much IF it's running at 25 C... yea, that's happening... typical PSU temps are more like 40 C... PCP&C, however, rates their PSU's at 40 C.. What's the mean to you? Your cheapo 480 Watt PSU, is really more like a 300 watt PSU at best..

Don't be a cheap bastard.. Get the best.. :D
Click to expand...

Well actually 400w is overkill for most every single uniprocessor system you could put togethor in a normal mid-full tower case. Only if your running something extreme like a cooling system and such off the power supply do you ever need to worry about needing more then 400w. If you get into dual processors then you would consider more or possibly two power supplies. For the most part a person would be hard pressed to get enough in their rig to draw more then 350w at the very most and full peaks at that. A $70 PSU will more then supply good clean power. The Fortron and Antec power supplies are among the best there is. The PC Power and Cooling are slightly better yes but at an extreme price and their much louder at 44db. Buying a PC Power and Cooling 550w PSU is like buying a P4EE. If you have the money go ahead and spend it if you wanna but your system will never pull anything near that.

Wattage rating doesn't mean squat. Everyone gets wrapped up in the wattage ratings. The only thing you need to look at is the PSU's efficiency rating and its voltages for each line and add up how much your going to need all togethor.

I was looking at some tests on Anandtech a minute ago and it showed the PC Power and Cooling running at around 26c or a little higher after 20 minutes and the Antec's run around 33c. It would take EXTREMELY high temps to make a 480w PSU only put out 300w. Thats 180 wattage loss. Smaller PSU's run around the same temps and some even higher. That would mean a 300w could only put out 120w and yet a 300w will run 95% of the pc's people on this forum have.

Slight overkill is a good thing because it gives you headroom and your PSU doesn't heat up as much because its not running at full capacity so its lifespan will be extended. 400w is definately enough to give that headroom. 550w is just too much for current hardware. Some of the hardware coming out in the next 1-2 years may set a new standard for wattage requirements though. Especially since high end Prescotts and Teja's could be using 150w on the 12v line.

Also current power supplies WILL NOT work in the new BTX cases because they will require new BTX power supplies with a 24-pin connector.
 
The power supply appears to have decent specs when I gave it a onceover- no real complaints except for the absoulte lie about active PFC and how it can save your power bill. Realistically, it will do nothing for you, absolutly nothing- you can get wisdom here --> http://www.dansdata.com/gz028.htm

The other thing to be wary of is the reviews on this particular supplies- while they give the supply good marks, etc etc, the testing methods are absolutly horrible- they seem to have just plugged it into their systems, took a few benchies, and called it an article- it is especially bad when you rely on software to check voltages of the PSU- a good multimeter is required for that.....
 
I'm running two opitcal drives & 8 hds on an abit kr7-raid 2000+ xp with most of the pci slots filled and a radeon 9700. My Enermax 430 just hums along.
 
Originally posted by burningrave101
Well actually 400w is overkill for most every single uniprocessor system you could put togethor in a normal mid-full tower case. Only if your running something extreme like a cooling system and such off the power supply do you ever need to worry about needing more then 400w. If you get into dual processors then you would consider more or possibly two power supplies. For the most part a person would be hard pressed to get enough in their rig to draw more then 350w at the very most and full peaks at that. A $70 PSU will more then supply good clean power. The Fortron and Antec power supplies are among the best there is. The PC Power and Cooling are slightly better yes but at an extreme price and their much louder at 44db. Buying a PC Power and Cooling 550w PSU is like buying a P4EE. If you have the money go ahead and spend it if you wanna but your system will never pull anything near that.

Wattage rating doesn't mean squat. Everyone gets wrapped up in the wattage ratings. The only thing you need to look at is the PSU's efficiency rating and its voltages for each line and add up how much your going to need all togethor.

I was looking at some tests on Anandtech a minute ago and it showed the PC Power and Cooling running at around 26c or a little higher after 20 minutes and the Antec's run around 33c. It would take EXTREMELY high temps to make a 480w PSU only put out 300w. Thats 180 wattage loss. Smaller PSU's run around the same temps and some even higher. That would mean a 300w could only put out 120w and yet a 300w will run 95% of the pc's people on this forum have.

Slight overkill is a good thing because it gives you headroom and your PSU doesn't heat up as much because its not running at full capacity so its lifespan will be extended. 400w is definately enough to give that headroom. 550w is just too much for current hardware. Some of the hardware coming out in the next 1-2 years may set a new standard for wattage requirements though. Especially since high end Prescotts and Teja's could be using 150w on the 12v line.

Also current power supplies WILL NOT work in the new BTX cases because they will require new BTX power supplies with a 24-pin connector.
Click to expand...


I have to go against this.. Sure, by looking from a wattage comparison, 510 is overkill, but even you said there is more to wattage.. And pretty much $70 PSU's aren't cutting it.. here, check out this article:

http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=270

good read to be sure, and really shows what kind of quality power is comming out of everything... as you can see, Antec TruPower 480 is putting out alot of noise on the lines...


Besides, the title of this article is The BEST psu.. not what's decent for cheap... if he wants the best, he's going to have to get the 510 deluxe.. ;)
 
I managed to load a 400W Antec (Not TP though... came w/ an Antec case) up enough that the 5V rail dropped low enough to set off the alarm in the bios. So I got a TP550.

At the time...
2x P3-1.0
512MB PC133
3x SCSI drive
2x SCDI Optical
Parhelia
GF2MX200 PCI
Tekram SCSI card
SB Live
Leadtek TV2000XP
3Com 10/100 nic

I'm thinking maybe the P3s were running off the 5V. Taking out the GF2MX was enough to stop the alarm, so I just took it out & ran on 2 screens until I got the 550.
 
yea, I managed to load my Sparkle 400 watt, with my current rig, and that's only a uniprocessor setup... Guess it didn't like my lighting in the case, as my 12v dropped pretty badly when I had the light's on
 
Originally posted by Barnaby
I have to go against this.. Sure, by looking from a wattage comparison, 510 is overkill, but even you said there is more to wattage.. And pretty much $70 PSU's aren't cutting it.. here, check out this article:

http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=270

good read to be sure, and really shows what kind of quality power is comming out of everything... as you can see, Antec TruPower 480 is putting out alot of noise on the lines...


Besides, the title of this article is The BEST psu.. not what's decent for cheap... if he wants the best, he's going to have to get the 510 deluxe.. ;)
Click to expand...

This has all been discussed thorougly before. Me just recommending a 400w PSU seemed to be real overkill according to several in the thread while 500w would be nearing insanity. I've done several tests since then and read alot of information on power supplies and all i can say to prove my point is to go out and buy yourself a multimeter and test your 20-pin connector thats running into your motherboard.

Lots of information in this thread -

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=703824

A little headroom is a good thing with PSU's. 500w PSU's aren't as efficient as 400w PSU's. The PC Power and Cooling 510w is 82.2% while Antec 480w is 85.8%. The Antec 480w also only put out less then 35dba while the PC Power and Cooling was near 45dba which is nearing to the point of being far too loud especially if you want a quiet case.

http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=270&PageID=17

Yes PC Power and Cooling are the best but their internal parts are made by the FSP group which is Fortron. PC Power and Cooling mainly just add better cooling.

All the $70 PSU's i've used and have put in other people cases have been uber quality, especially Antec and Fortron. PC Power and Cooling is expensive and very few use them.

If he's set on a PC Power and Cooling supply i would go with the PC Power and Cooling Silencer 400w. Its more then big enough and it has a better efficiency rating.
 
it's really not that loud of a fan... most of the time is pretty quiet... Not silent, but definately not that loud at all... and when I am doing somehthing that makes the fan on the 510 D spin full, I have my 6 other case fans on full, and I have the sound cranked up, cuz I'm gaming... On idle, it's running at around 34 DB.. hardly what I call loud... but to each it's own... ppl seem to forget of the great invention of thermo controlled fans...

you should've heard my Sparkle 400.. damn, that bitch was loud... think now that I've replaced it, I'll go ahead and mod it with a panaflo, and shove it in my server...
 
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