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Which PSU unit would you prefer?

K

KingPariah777

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 18, 2003
Messages
1,903
Would you prefer THIS ONE , which seems to be a cheap brand, but is a 500 watt PSU, or one that is a higher quality but lower wattage (like an Antec True 350 watt PSU)?

The machine it will be going in is overclocked and has a lot of power draining components, including a Radeon 9700, many fans (with and without leds) and a lit, high RPM hsf.
 
ohh geez. I fear tiger direct...but anyways

high quality antec or fortron/fsp/sparkle 300+ watt. The antec true series is espiecally good. PC power and Cooling are supposed to be the best but there mighty pricey.
 
Originally posted by rally9x
ohh geez. I fear tiger direct...but anyways

high quality antec or fortron/fsp/sparkle 300+ watt. The antec true series is espiecally good. PC power and Cooling are supposed to be the best but there mighty pricey.
Click to expand...

So a 350 watt antec is better than a 500 watt generic?

PS...The TigerDirect warehouse is 15 minutes from my house. If any of their product is bad I can go there personally and yell at the pimply teenager behind the counter. Their service may suck on the internet, but the service at the warehouse store is tops. The prices still often times suck, but when buying things such as monitors it is great to save on shipping.
 
I really don't trust a 500 watter for $40. I recommend an Antec if you can, or a Forton if you need to go cheaper. Cheaper PSUs can cause you a lot of headaches, go with quality over reported wattage.

Antec, Fortron, Sparkle.
 
Antec, hands down.

Code: 
                          3.3v    5v      12v
-------------------------------------------------
ANTEC 350 (model SL350)   28A     35A    16A
ULTRA 500                 15A     40A    19A
ANTEC 450 (model SL450)   28A     40A    20A

And the "500" watter doesn't mention the wattage across the combo lines, like the antec does ( +5V and +3.3V combined output: 230Watts max. +5V, +3.3V and +12V combined output: 330Watts max for the 350 . Makes me suspicious.

BB
 
This 500W unit has 19A on the +12V line, where my TruePower430 has 20A on the +12V...
 
I always check the +12v amperage to determine if a powersupply is worth a shit or not. You'll notice a high quality powersupply of 350w will put out 18amp or something and that a 500w *INSERT CRAP HERE* puts out the same amount of amps. It is kinda like buying speakers at best buy, the wattage quoted isn't right because they used a different set of frequencies for testing (a different set than what you'll be using them for).
 
Originally posted by KingPariah777
Would you prefer THIS ONE , which seems to be a cheap brand, but is a 500 watt PSU, or one that is a higher quality but lower wattage (like an Antec True 350 watt PSU)?

The machine it will be going in is overclocked and has a lot of power draining components, including a Radeon 9700, many fans (with and without leds) and a lit, high RPM hsf.
Click to expand...

There are good PSs out there for under $40. The one you pointed to is a little low on the rail amps.

One that I highly recommend (have them in 3 different systems for over a year, running perfectly), that cost less than that one, also has dual fans and pushes a lot of air out of the case, is an Achieve 500w dual fan PS.

http://www.techimo.com/articles/i145.html

and can be gotten here:

http://store.yahoo.com/akidacomputer/acpowsup50du.html
 
You only want to buy cheaper PSU's when you know who make them. If they are made by the FSP group then they are good. The only power supplies that i can recommend are Antec, Fortron, Enermax, and PCP&C. There are a few other good ones but those are the best. Its never worth it to save a few dollars on cheaper ones even if they got a good review. The majority of PC failure is attributed to the power supply. I dont like to risk my PSU undervolting and overvolting my hardware.

An Antec 350w will be more then big enough to run your system from the info you have provided. If you want a little larger i would get an Antec True Power 430w or Fortron 400w.

The efficiency rating is one of the most important aspects of a PSU. If its its not around 70% dont buy it. If it doesn't list it, dont buy it.
 
Ok...final question...

HERE is an Antec SmartBlue 350 watt...it ISN'T an Antec TruePower, but it IS an Antec...

my choice is between that and the 330 watt TruePower Antec PSU...

Does anyone have any recommendations between the two?

Edit: The "SmartPower" supply doesn't have an efficiency rating on the Antec website...the "TruePower 330" does.

Would I be smart to get the TruePower with slightly lower wattage based alone on the fact that the "SmartPower" doesn't have an efficiency rating?
 
I think for $5 more you can get the Antec 400w from Newegg (an excellent powersupply).
 
Yea i would get the Antec 430w True Power for like $70. Its a little more but it will be worth it cause it will last you a little longer without having to upgrade the PSU.

True Powers have the 3.3v and 5v lines combined so they dont have a limit for those two lines combined. The overall output limit on the 430w is 410w. You can usually figure the actually output limit by subtracting 20w from what its rated.
 
My brother decided to go and get the Antec SmartBlue 350 watt PSU.

We haven't hooked it up yet, but I hope it works. The other one he had was made by...Turbolink. Know anything about them?

I would think an Antec SmartBlue 350 would be better than a Turbolink 350, right?
 
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