Antec TruePower 2.0 series

[Algere]

Originally posted by: rise4310

Do you have a proof to back it up?

of course not

or excpect a link to the ocforums thread by larva. or "just what i've seen, many reports of problems"

Well...

Antec is a very popular PSU brand and being just that, there are bound to be more reports of Antec PSU failure than that of lesser known PSU brands. If anything, I would look more into the failure rate of a given PSU brand/product line, type of circuit protection it posseses, & the warranty length first over anonymous online reports.

 

[Merovingian]

I agree, I like the quiet of the seasonic but I have a 2.0 and it's fine. Although, even with the 7800GTX installed on a 3000+ OC@2.943/raptor/seagate 400GB/Audigy4, my watt meter I have the machine it plugs into never breaks 250W no matter what I do to it so maybe that's not a great test. In other news seasonic makes a "power angel" and for 32 bones it well test any thing you plug into it for power consuption. =)

Still I love antec but seasonic reports the same solid voltages according to spcr and it's much, much more quiet. According to my power tests, a 430W should be fine except for a setup with a high end SLI setup and then I just don't know.

If you like quiet, I would go Antec Phantom 500W no matter how much power you need the efficiency is there to take care of the most powerful game systems so long as they don't double as massive file servers. =)

 

[S Random]

Originally posted by: Algere

Originally posted by: S Random
larva and wolf are two people id bet my rig on when it comes to PSUs they know what they are talking about, the TPII is flawed and cant compete. there is overwhelming acceptence that my above listed companies are a better bet. for a mid range system i would say that a seasonic or forton blue strom would treat you well. but if you want a power hungry SLi rig then you'd be better off with a PCP&C or a Powerstream 520 (not 600 since those a dual rail)

antec imho is as of now not as great of a company as its repution brings it out to be, both in cases and in PSU i think that they are a mid range product priced as a high end.

Bold statement considering that most of the PSUs on nVidia's SLI certified list are dual railed.

the reason i dont like the the dual railed for a SLi rig is because then the rig is asking for alot of power out of the PSU, and if one rail is insufficiant then the whole thing goes to hell. maybe dual rail would be better under very low load, but once you get to high loads i wouldnt trust it.

 

[milleron]

Originally posted by: TheMerovingian
Still I love antec but seasonic reports the same solid voltages according to spcr and it's much, much more quiet. According to my power tests, a 430W should be fine except for a setup with a high end SLI setup and then I just don't know.

Well, I beg your pardon, but that's just a gross exaggeration. I can't even hear my TP II 550 from more than a foot away. How in the world could anything be much quieter than that, let alone "much, much more quiet??" Sharing opinions is what we're here for, but please try to keep them realistic.

 

[Bad Dude]

Originally posted by: milleron

Originally posted by: TheMerovingian
Still I love antec but seasonic reports the same solid voltages according to spcr and it's much, much more quiet. According to my power tests, a 430W should be fine except for a setup with a high end SLI setup and then I just don't know.

Well, I beg your pardon, but that's just a gross exaggeration. I can't even hear my TP II 550 from more than a foot away. How in the world could anything be much quieter than that, let alone "much, much more quiet??" Sharing opinions is what we're here for, but please try to keep them realistic.

I would agree b/c my 550W TP2 are just dawn quiet. I can barely hear it. The only thing I hear now is my CPU fan, but only when I crank it up during games.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Antec is still more solid in voltage regulation than Seasonic. Seasonic is not bad, it's great +/- 2% vs Antec's +/- 1%.

But I just JUMPED on a Seasonic 600W deal for $106 =)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

One thing I don't like about Seasonic is its rather low amp ratings for its 12V rails. You get 18 amps on Antec's 480 TP2.0 while only 18 on the 600W Seasonic.... ehhh

Dual rail is FINE for graphics card. You should be more worried about dual rail for CPUs. If you only have 13 - 14 amps on the rail, an overclocked X2 wont survive long. You need at least 16 amps.

 

[Merovingian]

I agree that if you using alot of noisy fans, the TPII is no biggie on noise, but the system I have running the TPII only has the MSI NB fan and three slow spinning 120mm fans over a radiator for the watercooling that is away from the computer itself, so I can certainly hear my psu fan. I wish I had bought the antec phantom or the seasonic 430W.

This whole dual rail issue looks a little misunderstood. Here is a little more info...
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=23916

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: S Random
larva and wolf are two people id bet my rig on when it comes to PSUs they know what they are talking about, the TPII is flawed and cant compete. there is overwhelming acceptence that my above listed companies are a better bet. for a mid range system i would say that a seasonic or forton blue strom would treat you well. but if you want a power hungry SLi rig then you'd be better off with a PCP&C or a Powerstream 520 (not 600 since those a dual rail)

antec imho is as of now not as great of a company as its repution brings it out to be, both in cases and in PSU i think that they are a mid range product priced as a high end.

see my point is, the thread asks "do you have any experience?" and your answer would be "no, but i heard from two people on another forum that the antecs are flawed"

i don't understand people stating their "imo" when they have no basis for such.

"ovewhelming acceptance" lol good stuff. perhaps qualify that with "the two people i have never met but "would bet my rig on" have agreed that a pcp&c is a better bet" i've seen wolf recommend the antec neo over an ocz modstream so don't tell me its ocz being better than antec in their hallowed opinions.

i respect both of them as i do most posters, especially those who speak from experience. i've read larvas review a number of times and i have stated before and will again- i have no idea how he got his rpms at 1800 on the tpII. i have two of them and have never seen them spin above 1100rpm. there are many reviews showing that yes, this psu not only competes but excels. i have measured the rails myself, loaded unloaded, cold, at the end of a 24 hour prime run, in the middle of heatwaves, in 3 different cases, side on, side off, whatever.

i'm not an antec fanboy, in fact these are the first two antec supplies i've owned. it just strikes me as ridiculous how people go around making recommendations or non-recommendations when they in fact have no experience with said product. or better yet, statements like "the TPII is flawed and cant compete." lmao, never mind the thousands of people who are using these in their rigs or the dozen or so stellar reviews, these two guys said so.

i like to think i'm as impartial as the next guy, larva included. i tell people how i've faired with particular hardware. do a search of my posts and you'll see i post in threads that pretty much match what you'll see in my system specs.

but you're going around saying "the TPII is flawed and cant compete." and you've never even used one. :roll:

 

[Merovingian]

I agree. I have had nothing but solid experiance with TP and TPII. I just wish it were a little more quiet but it is by no means loud. I find that (and I don't have one) a antec phantom 500 would be my first choice and a 430W seasonic my next. Even though I love the TP, I'm trying to go silent.

 

[rise]

yeah, i have 4 case fans so i wouldn't notice it even if it was loud. i wonder if those are really that much more quiet. i know the reviews rave about them but you are so near silence anyway it seems any fan would be noticeable?

edit- how fast is your fan spinning anyway?

 

[Merovingian]

All your bases are belong to us!

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: S Random

Originally posted by: Algere

Originally posted by: S Random
larva and wolf are two people id bet my rig on when it comes to PSUs they know what they are talking about, the TPII is flawed and cant compete. there is overwhelming acceptence that my above listed companies are a better bet. for a mid range system i would say that a seasonic or forton blue strom would treat you well. but if you want a power hungry SLi rig then you'd be better off with a PCP&C or a Powerstream 520 (not 600 since those a dual rail)

antec imho is as of now not as great of a company as its repution brings it out to be, both in cases and in PSU i think that they are a mid range product priced as a high end.

Bold statement considering that most of the PSUs on nVidia's SLI certified list are dual railed.

the reason i dont like the the dual railed for a SLi rig is because then the rig is asking for alot of power out of the PSU, and if one rail is insufficiant then the whole thing goes to hell. maybe dual rail would be better under very low load, but once you get to high loads i wouldnt trust it.

1. Hence why it's important to research the PSU before putting it up for the intended task [SLI]. Not all dual railed PSUs are designed for SLI nor do all of them claim to be. For example, if you take a look here you'd see that the PSU wiring designs listed 4th & 5th down on the list are better designed for possible heavier/future video card power loads, while the others are more geared towards possible higher/future CPU power loads.

2. IMO "very low load" would be an exaggeration & pretty much any modern PSU works well under light power loads.

nVidia certifies [tested] certain dual railed PSUs (that includes Antec's Truepower 2.0 550W) for SLI use. Based on that alone, I wouldn't say SLI falls under the low load category. I would personally go as far as to say that multi-rail (includes dual) PSUs shine @ higher system loads under certain aspects. However if you believe that any of the dual railed PSUs on nVidia's list isn't capable of handling a SLI based rig, I'd be interested if you can provide a link to a valid & reputable source stating such as to discredit nVidia's SLI certification program.

 

[rise]

i'm really not sure what to make of nv's "sli certification" i guess there must be some sort of minimum specifications floating around to get that certification.

but the two you listed would seem less capable of maintaining an sli'd rig to me. why would running all three of the most power hungry components off the same rail be better?

to me it makes more sense to do it as antec has, with the 12v1 handling everything but the cpu which is done by the 12v2.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Originally posted by: S Random

Originally posted by: Algere

Originally posted by: S Random
larva and wolf are two people id bet my rig on when it comes to PSUs they know what they are talking about, the TPII is flawed and cant compete. there is overwhelming acceptence that my above listed companies are a better bet. for a mid range system i would say that a seasonic or forton blue strom would treat you well. but if you want a power hungry SLi rig then you'd be better off with a PCP&C or a Powerstream 520 (not 600 since those a dual rail)

antec imho is as of now not as great of a company as its repution brings it out to be, both in cases and in PSU i think that they are a mid range product priced as a high end.

Bold statement considering that most of the PSUs on nVidia's SLI certified list are dual railed.

i put my rig in the hands of IceCzar and JohnnyGuru from HardOCP. they are the wise men of psus in my opinion

the reason i dont like the the dual railed for a SLi rig is because then the rig is asking for alot of power out of the PSU, and if one rail is insufficiant then the whole thing goes to hell. maybe dual rail would be better under very low load, but once you get to high loads i wouldnt trust it.

 

[Fallengod]

How is the antec 500watt smart power 2.0. Are those any good? They are like $30 cheaper than true power. Is there any reason not to get those? I can get them at staples for like $65 after tax.

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: rise4310
i'm really not sure what to make of nv's "sli certification" i guess there must be some sort of minimum specifications floating around to get that certification.

but the two you listed would seem less capable of maintaining an sli'd rig to me. why would running all three of the most power hungry components off the same rail be better?

to me it makes more sense to do it as antec has, with the 12v1 handling everything but the cpu which is done by the 12v2.

I said the wiring design, not the PSUs themselves. Perhaps I should've clarified that a bit more?

For example, dual core AMD CPUs are rated at a maximum TDP of 110W/9.1A for the highest performing CPU they'll ever release for this generation. SLI'd cards are rated to use 2.1A/25W per slot in 8X PCIe mode on the 12V line. In addition we also have to add in the power used by the 1X PCIe slots as well which are rated at 0.5A. Add another amp for fan headers & see what tallys up.

12V2
9.1A + 2.1A + 2.1A + 0.5A + 0.5A + 0.5A + 1A = 15.8A (actual system amperage on 12V2 will likely be lower)

15.8A isn't gonna increase on the 12V2 rail regardles of increasing video card power requirements cause the motherboard/PCIe slots will limit that due to specs. Therefore any increases in power that is required by PCIe video cards [SLI] will be acquired from the other 12V rail via PCIe power connectors, since that rail is only powering fans, drives, etc. (not much power hungry components on there IMO). More than likely there will be an ample supply of "amps" on that rail for PCIe video card use.

EDIT: Unless you're talking about the wiring designs, therefore misunderstanding what you said.

 

[rise]

i was talking about the wiring too. the way you break it down makes sense though. i wasn't thinking that the pci-e slots would still be limited to drawing 2.1a each.

so its not huge either way i guess. although when you oc the cpu it may lead to problems, no? depending on the size of the psu and the strength of the rails of course.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

See I have been calculating.

If you look at XBitlabs, they have true CPU power usage measurements. Anand just measures the system, which to me is kinda lame. If you have any other graphs to show me, please do paste them here because I always rely on Xbit for power info.

Anyways, they show the 4800+ using about 95 W on load?

If you overclock to 2.8 and jack your voltage to 1.7, then....

Needed power = Old Power * (New freq/old freq) * (new voltage/old voltage)^2

95 * (2800/2400) * (1.7 / 1.35)^2

You're at 175.75 watts. Divide that by 12 and you get 14.64 Amps. That is INSUFFICIENT if you have a 15 amp 12V rail. The Seasonic 430 for example only has 14A/15A on the two 12V rails. Antec has 18 amps on each rail for their 480W, and Seasonic only has 18 amps for their 600W PSU.

Do the calculations before you buy. Is this PSU going to be enough? I got myself a Seasonic 600W, so I'm confident with overclocking. It's 12V rails may not be the most powerful, but I like silence.

Remember, if you want the tightest voltage regulation, go with Antec TP2.0.

Someone please tell me why Antec is iffy.

We debated this at some other forum where someone linked to another forum. I think you shouuld read that forum carefully. Only 1 guy bashes Antec and says the PSU is iffy. Everyone else throws out praises. I don't know what to say.

Fortron is loud. Go to SCPR. The fact that the fan breaks 30dB at 200W load is pathetic. It goes like full speed by the time you pass 250. It may be decent at low wattage, but the fact that there's poor ramping is disappointing. As for voltage regulation, it comes NOWHERE near Antec or Seasonic.

OCZ is ok. It's voltage regulation is decent, its ramping of fan speeds is better than Fortron. But I'm sure its worse than Antec. The fan also has noises w/ the ball bearing.

 

[rise]

hows about some of thos links delirium?

i was truying to do some rough guestimates myself. as i reall, i saw some graph showing 3700 sandys pulling 130w under load. i know i always figure +30% for oc'ing. but if you have some handy dandy links that will make my life simpler i'd appreciate it

 

[Dadofamunky]

Originally posted by: rise4310
i jusy got the tpII 550 and i'm liking it. quiet and the rails are dead on. the 12 never leaves 11.99/11.98 on a multi, oc'd mildy, idle or under load.

Good news, given that I just ordered one from Newegg to replace my POS UltraConnect 500

Also good to know that

a) It's certified for SLI by NVidia
b) It's reasonably quiet

I OC pretty seriously on air and I need reliable 12V rails. I also have three case fans and a 92mm CPU fan so noise is an issue but at this point I just want a stable PSU without spending $400. The overall trend of opinion appears to be quite favorable.

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: rise4310
i was talking about the wiring too. the way you break it down makes sense though. i wasn't thinking that the pci-e slots would still be limited to drawing 2.1a each.

so its not huge either way i guess. although when you oc the cpu it may lead to problems, no? depending on the size of the psu and the strength of the rails of course.

For single core A64s, not so much per TheMerovingian's system test results (several posts above).

250W AC draw
200W DC draw after factoring possible 80% efficiency of TP 2.0 (~75% per THG, although at full PSU load)
130W after taking possible 70W power draw from 7800 GTX per X-bit
106W after taking out a possible power draw from 2 hard drives, fans, & likely a CD drive; 24W/2A.

106W/8.83~A on the 12V rail, actually less since I didn't take wattage #'s from the 3.3V, 5V, etc. lines out of the equation.

So for a highly OC'd single core A64, <8.83~A doesn't seem much. All guesstimated & based on TheMerovingian's results. Other than that, there's this.

As for the difference between power consumption between single & dual core. Hope this helps



On the Pentium-D side, assuming it's necessary that's where my post about the PSUs other than the 4th & 5th down on that list comes into play.

Quick OT question: Anyone know if AnandTech was loading both cores or one. Seems like one but not quite sure.

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: rise4310
hows about some of thos links delirium?

i was truying to do some rough guestimates myself. as i reall, i saw some graph showing 3700 sandys pulling 130w under load. i know i always figure +30% for oc'ing. but if you have some handy dandy links that will make my life simpler i'd appreciate it

Sure you weren't looking at graphs that were displaying total system load?

 

[rise]

cool, i had seen the AT power comparison but the other links are helpful.

i know i've seen the system comparison but i was pretty sure i'd seen another with just the cpu. no biggie, i'll see if i stumble across it and let you know.

my very unscientific but similar power draw results would be based on what my ups says its providing. so forgetting efficiency for now, using cool n quiet
idle is 186w
folding - 246w
folding/prime - 252w
folding/prime/rthdribl - 294w

i know i used to get 330ish combined but i'm not sure how i managed that.

none of that is to refute what you say, just kind of me thinking out loud

edit--and now as i think more, with a 75% efficiency, we're right back near theMeros wattage.

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: rise4310
cool, i had seen the AT power comparison but the other links are helpful.

i know i've seen the system comparison but i was pretty sure i'd seen another with just the cpu. no biggie, i'll see if i stumble across it and let you know.

my very unscientific but similar power draw results would be based on what my ups says its providing. so forgetting efficiency for now, using cool n quiet
idle is 186w
folding - 246w
folding/prime - 252w
folding/prime/rthdribl - 294w

i know i used to get 330ish combined but i'm not sure how i managed that.

none of that is to refute what you say, just kind of me thinking out loud

edit--and now as i think more, with a 75% efficiency, we're right back near theMeros wattage.

Cool & I assume the only thing connected to your UPS is your PSU.

P.S. Refute away, If I'm wrong better to know now than later.

 

[rise]

actually, no, i'll do it again tomorrow with just my psu on it. right now it has my lcd, modem and maybe my printer