Antec smartpower 500W.....any good?

[manly]

Originally posted by: akshayt
Antec Smart Power 500 is crap.
it offers a max of 25A @ 12va lines @ 25C!
Get a better psu, something which offers atleast 35A @ 50C, the NeoHE 500 offers 38A continuously at 50C.

Can someone translate this into layman's terms?

 

[Sandan]

Young gun21, I looked at the xclio 500w and looks pretty good. Did some google searches and found a number of people who like it...along with a review that rates it high. Might be a possibility. It is cheap....I hope not too cheap. Thanks.

 

[DrMrLordX]

As I recall, Xclio is (or was) using units from the same source as Antec. So if you buy an Xclio, what you're getting is an Antec without the extra cost associated with the Antec name.

 

[maluckey]

Teapo do quite well in a reasonably cooled PSU

GalvanizedYankee is generally right on this one. My old Abit KR7A-133 has Teapos and Nichicons on it, and is still fine. It was a 133 Mhz FSB stocker, but has run as high as 173 Mhz for extended running (see older posts on AT). There is no PCI or AGP lock. It has always been cooled well. I guess Abit agrees that smaller valued Teapo in moderate environments are fine.

 

[andyandyandy]

Antec's are decent, ive had 3 antecs so far, one for 4 years, one for 1 year, and my last 1 which is a antec smartpower 500w for about 6 months. All work perfect as new. Not one hiccup

 

[eastvillager]

If you have to get an Antec ps, go with the truepower line. The smartpower is anything but smart.

 

[maluckey]

Before buying ANY PSU look at how they rate their PSU. Antec uses 25C for their ratings.

25C used for rating

I have to point out for those saying "So what!" that this means that the life expectancy is going to be far and away lower with "real world" temps of about 40C-45C inside your PSU (which is average).

 

[orangat]

Originally posted by: maluckey
Before buying ANY PSU look at how they rate their PSU. Antec uses 25C for their ratings.

25C used for rating

I have to point out for those saying "So what!" that this means that the life expectancy is going to be far and away lower with "real world" temps of about 40C-45C inside your PSU (which is average).

Eh? So does Enhance, Seasonic, Fortron FSP, Silverstone etc. They all rate mtbf at 25C.

Some psu manufacturers like pcpower rate their products wattage at 50C so end users don't think about the derating curve. But many cheaper manufacturers rate psu at 25C.

 

[maluckey]

orangat

The point was/is that 25C is unreasonable, and even then, Most all Antecs are 20,000 hours short of most FSP units lifespan. That alone on a apple to apple comparison tells much about quality and warranty.

I also tend to check the operating temperatures (manufacturer specs) of the prospective units. Some FSP are rated at 30C while others up to 50C for normal range. Same for Antec.

 

[orangat]

Which FSP unit is only rated up to 30C for operating temp?

 

[maluckey]

Which FSP unit is only rated up to 30C for operating temp?

Strangely enough, the FSP version of the FSP550-PLN.

Odd ... though it's what they listed.

Also ..........Another FSP server unit ...........it's only listed as 25C!!!!!

Granted, these units are geared towards industries that MUST follow manufacturers guidance as far as operating specs, or won't get the warranties. Wal-Mart Corporation keeps it's server, raised floors at or below 74 degrees at all times (normally 72f-74f). If the vendors note the temperature above that, they log it and pass it to Wal-Mart, and their own higher-ups for review.

Lower temps listed allow for use of cheaper less temerature tolerant caps, and a slightly larger profit.

Perhaps each company should build just one...uncompromised unit and charge cost plus a 2 percent just for bragging rights. At least we all would know that it is intended for enthusiasts, and abuse be damned!! Their best should handle abuse like nothings going on at all.

Jst a thought of three