Stable, Long Term - PSU & Fan recommendations?

[Maverick2002]

I've been put in charge of deciding on a new brand of PSUs and quiet 80/120mm fans to get for the office from now on. We've had quite a few Antec PSUs give out (never get one .. of the ones I had all but 2 have gone bad, and those would too I'm sure if I had them long enough) and the fans are also Antec ones that either break and/or are thermally controlled so they constantly rev up and down.

We don't need anything super high performance, just something that's quiet, mid-range, and doesn't constantly break.

For fans I was thinking of Delta.

For power supplies I'm not sure, Thermaltake maybe? How are Ultra PSUs?

Wattage we'll be fine with 500watts.

Any suggestions? Need something that'll last a few years...

 

[MarcVenice]

Hehe, I'd say try to get a bunch of Antec Earthwatts 430/500w units. What specific Antec units gave you trouble btw ? There can be quite a big difference between different series of the same brand. The Earthwatts units for example are all Seasonic OEM psu's. Corsair 450vx should do the trick too. But these are allready somewhat 'higher' qaulity units, I bet you can easily get some FSP group PSU's that will do just fine as well, but I don't know exactly which one. What's the budget anyways ? What will the PSU's be powering, often 500w is overkill for ordinary workstations, without high-end videocards.

 

[Maverick2002]

We need high quality. There really isn't a set budget. We're currently running Quad core machines, ~3GB RAM, Geforce 7900-8600s.

~500watts to be on the safe side for upgrades.

So Seasonic or Corsair?



Edit: I've personally had trouble with every Antec for the past 7 years, even the ones that used CWT components.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
Edit: I've personally had trouble with every Antec for the past 7 years, even the ones that used CWT components.

But, have you used a recent Antec made by Seasonic? BTW, Corsairs are also made by Seasonic.

It's kind of tough to recommend a PSU for the long term because most of the "good" PSUs on the market haven't been around long enough for anyone to really know. The ones that have been around a while are typically older and less desirable designs, such as having lower efficiency or very light on the +12v power. I think the best you can do right now is to go with something known (at least short term) to be of good quality, and that has a long warranty (3-5 years) to back it up.

Fans may be even more difficult to decide on, since the quiet ones typically have sleeve bearings which are more susceptible to dying/seizing up from heat or dust contamination. I guess the best bet would be something that is not sleeve bearing, and then use a fan controller to bring it down to a low noise level.

Alternately, use cheap and quiet sleeve bearing fans and then make replacing fans a part of normal PC maintenance. Some people are good about running virus scans and checking the hard drive for errors, but ignore the actual hardware inside the box. Periodically open them up and blow out the dust using compressed air. Also, perhaps make it a point to replace the fans every year. Think of it as changing the oil and air filters in your car. Sure, you can try driving forever without doing those things, but eventually they're not going to be effective anymore which will lead to problems and failures.

 

[MarcVenice]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817151032 or the 430w version for 90$. Corsair 450vx's can be had for 60-70$ though, and are basicaly Seasonic S12 II PSU's.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
We need high quality.

Then you don't want Ultra or Thermaltake in your price range.

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
Edit: I've personally had trouble with every Antec for the past 7 years, even the ones that used CWT components.

Right... but it's the CWT built Antec's that are problematic. The Seasonic built Antecs are "cheap" but they're still better than the old CWT built ones.

Seasonic is a good low price choice, but I would stick with the Seasonic branded or Corsair branded units if you want something that lasts long term. The Antec units are known to use cheaper parts on single layer PCB. Everyone's positive impression is short term, as it was with the CWT built Antecs when they first came out.

 

[Fallen Kell]

A quiet Delta Fan? Such a thing exists? If you are screaming "yes" at me, I am sorry because I can't hear you over the racket that the Delta is making in my memory just thinking about another Delta....

 

[olmer]

Any Seasonic-made. With 5 years warranty is an obvious choice. Stay away from Ultras unless you buying Andyson?s made X3s rest is overrated and unreliable.

Deltas are good performers and quite durable but far from quiet. The most durable and best performing products with reasonable noise are from Nidec. Consumer-level ? Panaflo (call me old fashioned).

For simple 25mm fans you cannot get better value for money than with Yate Loon (Nexus) products.

 

[rich168]

can you specify which antec model gave out on your system?

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Probably some truepower trio or something...

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
Probably some truepower trio or something...

Actually a TruePower Trio would be a better Antec to get. My guess is it's a SmartPower ot TruePower II.