PSU

[Gamingphreek]

Can someone recommend a very good PSU. I want it to be very quite and have decent voltages. I dont really care about the wattage but i would like it to be around 400 watt. I am willing to spend around $70.

-Kevin

 

[Zepper]

sparkle/fortron FSP400-60PNU-R1 or Silverstone SST-ST400 (If my memory is still working, they're made by Enhance - good PSUs that are seldom sold separately). You might want to choose the one with active PFC (SST-ST40F) - Enhance's top of the line!
.bh.

 

[wkwong]

antec true430, i've been using for about a year now, never had any problems, quiet, i love it!

 

[Corporate Thug]

some reliable brands: antec, enermax, fortron, vantec, thermaltake, zalman, pc power and cooling

 

[ColossusX]

I second the Antec True430

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: shady06
some reliable brands: antec, enermax, fortron, vantec, thermaltake, zalman, pc power and cooling

Also Sparkle.

 

[Gamingphreek]

What does Active PFC do?
Also i was leaning towards antec in the first place but ive read up and oither brands are better in some areas. If active PFC is good can someone recommend a decent PSU with it.

-Kevin

 

[screw3d]

Personally I think the Antec True Power 430 is overrated acoustic-wise. They have solid voltage rails, but the fans still emit an audible, medium-pitched hum which I can hear over all my other components

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

Acitve PFC makes the supply use less "apparent power".

Because of the reactive loads in the power supply (inductors 'n stuff), the current and voltage become out of phase which makes it seem as though the supply is using more power. Active PFC compensates for this. In every case it will clean up the power lines a bit (probably useful if you have a bunch of stuff connected to the same circuit at home). For companies that get billed by Power Factor it will reduce electrical bills, but for homes billed by Killowatt hours it won't make a difference. Someone posted a very good link to a "real" description, but I don't remember where. I do remember that it went to the AMD website or forums where they were describing power supply testing.

If I were to buy a powersupply now, I'd get one with PFC just because. I currently like the Seasonic SuperTornado 400W supply as well as that Silverstone one mentioned above. I like the ones with a single 120mm fan instead of multiple smaller fans.

-D'oh!

 

[Gamingphreek]

How does this one look. Am i right in assuming that the 120mm fan is the most quiet per se (most unnoticable) If not can someone recommend me 2 really good ones with active PFC.

-Kevin

 

[Zepper]

The Silverstone is the only one with Active PFC and 120mm fan I've seen for less than $70. You can see it on newegg.com. And as I said above, you seldom see their PSUs available separately any more. They mainly do OEM.
.bh.

 

[essasin]

another vote for antech true 430 and the rails are consistant and never loose power

 

[wampa]

Originally posted by: essasin
another vote for antech true 430 and the rails are consistant and never loose power

I also got a true 430. As you can see in my sig I got several devices running off of it(6 HD and 2 opticals plus I overclock) and the rails are very stable. As someone mentioned before this PSU is near silent. Because I can still hear the rushing of air from it.

 

[l31itz]

I wish I could say the same for the Antec TruePower 430. I just got mine and it still drops to 11.4 Volts on the 12V rail when under load. It hovers at 11.67 when idle. Should I send it in for RMA??

 

[Gamingphreek]

Well obviously i have narrowed it down to these 2 PSU's. However will PFC be a very good thing to have? And which PSU is quieter.

-Kevin

 

[KyFan]

Originally posted by: l31itz
I wish I could say the same for the Antec TruePower 430. I just got mine and it still drops to 11.4 Volts on the 12V rail when under load. It hovers at 11.67 when idle. Should I send it in for RMA??

RMA it. I just got mine back from Antec. They replaced the PSU with a new one, True 430. Same problem, Low power spikes is what they call it.
I hope you have a back up computer or extra power supply. Mine took a while to get back, like two and half weeks after they received it. Make sure YOU have a tracking number when you ship it back to them.

 

[KyFan]

Posted twice, same thing

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Zepper
sparkle/fortron FSP400-60PNU-R1 or Silverstone SST-ST400 (If my memory is still working, they're made by Enhance - good PSUs that are seldom sold separately). You might want to choose the one with active PFC (SST-ST40F) - Enhance's top of the line!
.bh.

Ah...I wondered why Enhance had gradually been removed from Newegg's line-up. I'll check specs a bit later. If they are Enhance, great supplies.

 

[yourdeardaniel]

Originally posted by: KyFan

Originally posted by: l31itz
I wish I could say the same for the Antec TruePower 430. I just got mine and it still drops to 11.4 Volts on the 12V rail when under load. It hovers at 11.67 when idle. Should I send it in for RMA??

RMA it. I just got mine back from Antec. They replaced the PSU with a new one, True 430. Same problem, Low power spikes is what they call it.
I hope you have a back up computer or extra power supply. Mine took a while to get back, like two and half weeks after they received it. Make sure YOU have a tracking number when you ship it back to them.

i have the same problem with my Antec TruePower 480, the 12v rail keeps fluctuating to like 11.78. I'm thinking of getting an Enermax 550w or 470w, those seem to have more stable rails.

 

[jhurst]

I had an Antec and the +12V rail ALWAYS fluctuated betwen 11.72-11.78. Upgraded (and I do mean upgraded) to an Enermax 460W.....12V stays FIXED on 12.04 with a pretty big overclock. Enermax ROCKS!

 

[Cerb]

Enermax has been shown to have good, clean power. in AT's testing, they had fewer RAM errors by a good margin (1:4, IIRC), and in the past, when mobo FSBs were often real OCing limits, Enermax PSUs could always get a few MHz higher stable than the competition.
The downside is they give out just a wee bit after their rating wattage is pulled, which was shown by more than one set of reviews (I don't feel like googling it right now, or I'd find the links).
Personally, I've not heard of of any more Enermax horror stories than any other of the good brands, and my dad is still running his 300w unit from '01, still running fine, on its third motherboard, in a very bad environment (hot, humid, dusty, w/ four other PCs inside of a 6x6ft cubby hole, no case fans), which likely killed the mobos.

However, any non-generic should be perfectly fine.

 

[GnomeCop]

I think my system needs a new power supply. Sometimes when I power up the system, fans/hds etc will spin up but the screen will remain black.
Powering it off and then on again will let it boot normally wothout any subsequent problems. Recently, the power seems to have been fluctuating and the computer has actually been acting weird during use.

I have 4 80gb HDs (2 sata, 2 IDE)
2 optical drives
875P mobo
3.06ghz p4
1gb ram (2x512 sticks)
Radeon 9800Pro AIW
Matrox G450 PCI video card
SB Audigy 2
Floppy
Card reader
2 80mm fans and 1 92mm fans

ALL this is running on a Zalman 400w

80mmm case fan, peltier cooler and 70mm peltier fan (all on its own power supply)

I'm looking for a 500w+ psu.
I was thinking about getting the Silverstone 460w... but it will just be annother quick fix solution that will leave me looking for more power as soon as I upgrade my video card...

Any recommendations on 500w+ higher models?

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: GnomeCop
I think my system needs a new power supply. Sometimes when I power up the system, fans/hds etc will spin up but the screen will remain black.
Powering it off and then on again will let it boot normally wothout any subsequent problems. Recently, the power seems to have been fluctuating and the computer has actually been acting weird during use.

I have 4 80gb HDs (2 sata, 2 IDE)
2 optical drives
875P mobo
3.06ghz p4
1gb ram (2x512 sticks)
Radeon 9800Pro AIW
Matrox G450 PCI video card
SB Audigy 2
Floppy
Card reader
2 80mm fans and 1 92mm fans

ALL this is running on a Zalman 400w

80mmm case fan, peltier cooler and 70mm peltier fan (all on its own power supply)

I'm looking for a 500w+ psu.
I was thinking about getting the Silverstone 460w... but it will just be annother quick fix solution that will leave me looking for more power as soon as I upgrade my video card...

Any recommendations on 500w+ higher models?

pc power and cooling 510!
one of the best PSU's money can buy.
it can probably run the entire house

 

[Cerb]

500w? A good 350w will take all of that and give you ample room to grow.

 

[hifisoftware]

I have Enermax 470 (quite one). I like it. The only way to choose good one is too look at the reviews.