Power supply rebranding

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: LifeStealer
Its the other way around.

PCP&C - Seasonic or Zippy(Emacs)
Antec - They're rebranded to but I forget who makes them originally
Tt PSUs - Depends on the model, not worth buying though
Coolermaster - Fortron I think
Ultra-X - Powmax

Can't remember who makes OCZ right now but its not just a rebrand, they actually make them specifically for OCZ. Maybe seasonic.

Antec and Enermax both come from Channel Well
Zalman uses Forton
OZC and Tagan use Topower
I forget who makes TT but like LifeStealer said they aren't worth it.

I think the Tt's are made by Enlight

 

[jonnyGURU]

Wow! If TT is made by Enlight, then TT wouldn't be worth it. Not that Enlight makes a bad PSU. I've had great luck with them, but you can get an Enlight with the same specs as a Thermaltake for $50 instead of $60. What do you get with the Thermaltake? A paint job?

If that's true.. Does Enlight make TT's cases too?

 

[Slaimus]

Enlight PSs are pretty much stock Channelwell units. Of course Channelwell makes some of the best and worst PSs, so it is not exactly conclusive. It is up to each company to decide how to equip and test them.

 

[Rogue 2]

I dunno, I have two TT 420W PS as seen here:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-153-006&DEPA=0
and they've both worked flawlessly with solid rails for months. And they're both on just about all the time. And considering I got them for $36 each w/ free shipping at the time, hey, I consider them a steal.
TT's good in my book. Or I suppose Enlight really is... Either way, I don't care, I think it's a great PS and it hasn't let me down.

 

[Slaimus]

Check out this review of the OCZ. It looks like both Raidmax and OCZ use Topower. OCZ just uses a much better 12V regulator.

 

[slash196]

Why can't companies make their own freaking products? Is there a SINGLE PSU company that actually owns a factory and makes PSUs, and sells them under the same name? I mean, when you go to the store, you don't think, "Hey, there's Praerie Farms cheese, it's just rebranded Kraft, so its crap. Oh, look, Big K soda. The 12 packs are Pepsi, but the 24 packs are made by Tab."

 

[imported_marcosv]

Originally posted by: slash196
Why can't companies make their own freaking products? Is there a SINGLE PSU company that actually owns a factory and makes PSUs, and sells them under the same name? I mean, when you go to the store, you don't think, "Hey, there's Praerie Farms cheese, it's just rebranded Kraft, so its crap. Oh, look, Big K soda. The 12 packs are Pepsi, but the 24 packs are made by Tab."

I guess in this world, it's pretty rare for a company to use its own factories and not just rebrand something. Intel comes to mind and that's just for its CPUs and maybe hard drive manufacturers.

To me, a brand name with a great reputation means consistancy in quality and customer service. And I'm looking for every company to mess up at which point I'll stop using their products for a while. If the company is good, I expect them to detect the problem and switch their suppliers before the problem reaches my computer.

That's why I decided I'm not going to play the game of trying to save $50 by guessing which factory makes the guts in which brand named power supply. Maybe that factory has two levels of quality: the higher quality stuff they ship to their big name customers and the junk they send elsewhere. I've seen that for myself during the brief time I worked in a Japanese factory in Japan.

To me, what's worse than a power supply that craps out when I first install it, is one that fails prematurely six months later.

 

[charlietee]

"Why can't companies make their own freaking products? Is there a SINGLE PSU company that actually owns a factory and makes PSUs, and sells them under the same name? "

That is the main reason I like Fortron power supply's so much...For the money they are easily the best "bang for the buck" supply's out there...And they manufacturer their own stuff.

I really would not recommend ThermalTake or Enermax supply's...This opinion is formed from experience...I have had bad luck and "crispy" hardware from both brands.

I love PC Power & Cooling but their prices are just off the hook in my personal opinion.

Fortron in my humble opinion have been the best power supply's for the money for a long time...As far as "bang for the buck" second place is way...And I mean way back there compared to Fortron supply's.

 

[Slaimus]

I have always thought best bang for the buck has been SuperFlower PSs. They do not include useless features that drive the prices up, while keeping up the quality of components. They get their components from Topower like many other higher quality PS makers.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Slaimus
Check out this review of the OCZ. It looks like both Raidmax and OCZ use Topower. OCZ just uses a much better 12V regulator.

Yep. Take them both apart and you'll find the EXACT SAME Topower 520W inside.

It's funny really. They have the same PCB with all of the same components with the same part numbers, the same fans, the same cables.. even the labels on the outside of the housing are the same! Flat black spec label and same serial number label. In a blind taste test, 99% of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference!

Like you said, the difference is that the OCZ has the bulk of it's power on the 12V rail and the RAID MAX has the bulk of it's power on the 5V.

RAID MAX is another brand people keep saying is made by Powmax. What's the reasoning behind this? They both have the word "MAX" in them?

 

[Slaimus]

This is my mini compilation:

ChannelWell: Antec, Lead Power, Turbolink
Sirtec: Chieftec, Enlight, High Power
Topower: OCZ, EPower/Tagan, Raidmax(XP series), TTGI(older ones), Vantec
Youngyear: Aspire, Logisys, MGE, Ultra X-Finity
FSP Group: Fortron, Sparkle, Zalman, XClio
Wintech: Ultra X-Connect

 

[jonnyGURU]

Only older Antec's are Channelwell? Hmm.. What are the newer ones? I thought they were still using Channelwell.

Also, Chieftec and Enlight have no relation. You want to take that slash out of there.

And you put Topower as making TTGI (older ones.) I'm pretty sure TTGI still, and probably always will, use Topower.

And have we decided who makes Enermax? I just took a look inside one and it looks A LOT like a Wintech (component layout, size and shape of heat sinks, etc.), bu the components don't have the "WIN" part numbers on them. Perhaps Wintech simply liked Enermax's design and just copied it.

 

[Agamar]

So, does anybody know who makes this A+GPB/Athena PS?

I ordered one the other day since my Antec 350 only has 16amps on the 12V rail and I got one of those BFG Ultra OC's in now...Getting pauses in half life (like 2-4 sec).

 

[shira]

Would it be possible for someone who really knows this area to put together a summary table, indicating the current mapping from source to branding?

 

[jonnyGURU]

No. Because do you really think that someone that knows this area would spend their time here?

Really, this would be a good thread if we could keep people that can only assume who makes what power supplies out of the thread.

 

[Nessism]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
No. Because do you really think that someone that knows this area would spend their time here?

Really, this would be a good thread if we could keep people that can only assume who makes what power supplies out of the thread.

I nominate Jonny to put something together You seem to have a good clue regarding what's going on and should be able to summarize without burning a ton of time. :beer:

Ed

 

[jonnyGURU]

I decline.

I only have access to so much product.

I nominate everyone that's willing to open up their power supplies to take pictures of them and post them and the we can figure out who makes what.

 

[Slaimus]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
Only older Antec's are Channelwell? Hmm.. What are the newer ones? I thought they were still using Channelwell.

Also, Chieftec and Enlight have no relation. You want to take that slash out of there.

And you put Topower as making TTGI (older ones.) I'm pretty sure TTGI still, and probably always will, use Topower.

And have we decided who makes Enermax? I just took a look inside one and it looks A LOT like a Wintech (component layout, size and shape of heat sinks, etc.), bu the components don't have the "WIN" part numbers on them. Perhaps Wintech simply liked Enermax's design and just copied it.

I have not seen any definitive proof that the newer Antecs are from CWT.
Enlight and Chieftec suppplies are EXACTLY the same. For example, the 360W Chieftec: http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/directron_1832_31933635 and 360W Enlight: http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/17-103-605-06.JPG
The newer TTGIs look very different on the inside than the older Topower ones from the reviews I've seen. I have a hunch that they are actually made by Youngyear as the labels look suspiciously like Logisys ones: http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/17-101-612-03.JPG and http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/17-170-007-03.JPG
Enermax, like Antec seems to be both extremely tight lipped as they do not want to be lumped with cheaper brands. They put in extras that you cannot really see such as lower gauge cabling.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Slaimus

I have not seen any definitive proof that the newer Antecs are from CWT.

All of my Antecs are at least two years old, so I can't verify that. But I'm getting a Neopower this week, so I'll take it apart and post the results. Should tell us something, unless Antec decided to go with yet another company to do their modular PSU. :roll:

Enlight and Chieftec suppplies are EXACTLY the same. For example, the 360W Chieftec: http://us.st7.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/directron_1832_31933635 and 360W Enlight: http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/17-103-605-06.JPG

I didn't say they weren't made by the same company, but why does Leadpower and Turbolink get divided by commas and Enlight and Cheiftec get divided by a slash as if you imply they're the same company? Yes, the labels even look similar, but they're not the same company. Asus, Enlight and ASI have more than a relationship (those in the industry know what I'm talking about there) than Chieftec and Enlight. I'm just saying the slash needs to be a comma to remove the misconception. Because knowing the people on this forum, the next thing that's going to happen is people are going to say Enlight cases are made by Chen Ming because that's who makes Chieftec cases, yadda yadda yadda.

The newer TTGIs look very different on the inside than the older Topower ones from the reviews I've seen. I have a hunch that they are actually made by Youngyear as the labels look suspiciously like Logisys ones: http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/17-101-612-03.JPG and http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/17-170-007-03.JPG

I know what you mean about the label. It's not "flat black," but back when SuperFlower first came out and our cases would sometimes come in with Topower PSU's in them (they weren't even labeled Super Flower or TTGI back then) they had the same finish and label as the one in that Newegg picture.

I tried to find one of these reviews that show the inside, but can't. Do you have a link to one?

Enermax, like Antec seems to be both extremely tight lipped as they do not want to be lumped with cheaper brands. They put in extras that you cannot really see such as lower gauge cabling.

True. The're starting to make it harder to figure out with custom labeling, but if you can get down to the PCB, you can usually figure it out. It doesn't cost much to make little labels to put over the components inside, but a company rarely has a custom PCB printed up for their power supply. Unfortunately, I just threw away my last two Enermax power supplies and didn't get curious enough to open them up.

 

[Slaimus]

Here is a new gen TTGI review: http://www.ksbrainstorms.com/index.php?pagename=TTGI_USA_14cm_PSU_TT-450TS

I really wish they sell active PFC PowerStreams here in the US. Not as much for PFC, but for better input buffering. If you check out reviews of the PowerStream from European sites, they report less voltage fluctuation.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Huh... That does look a lot like a Youngyear in there. The heatsinks. The layout. The housing looks totally Powmax. Sorry TTGI. I know it's not Powmax as Powmax never made a decent power supply, but the swiss cheese housing and 120MM fan makes me think of the Powmax Demon. Sorry. You can shoot me now.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: thomrk
Channel Well makes Antecs except for models starting with PP-, which are HECs. here

Incorrect. I have a PP-300 I traded from a friend because he needed an ATX12V PSU and I had what he needed. It is clearly a Channelwell as it is marked with CWT in several places.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Sorry. dp.

 

[Slaimus]

Made a mistake in my list, Enlight and Chieftec are made by Sirtec, fixed now.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
That's a good deal. I just saw that at Directron ($29.95, actually. Never saw it for $25.)

A deal at $29.95. Directron actually had them at $19.95 or so at one time for a one day sale.