Why Antec now but Enermax before?

[TonyB]

About a year ago, people were praising Enermax brand power supplies. But now the last 2 Power supply threads Ive read it seems like everyones swearing by Antec now. Whats the deal? Does Enermax suck now? Ive have the Enermax 461W model and I think its rather cool with the extra long power lines and Mylex thingy. Ive heard of issues with Enermax and epox motherboards but luckily for me I use my enermax with the ASus P4T-E and have no problems. Whats up?

 

[Derango]

No, because technology advances in a year, and sometimes (gasp) someone comes out with somthing better! Antec did that..although from all reports, the two are very close in quality.

 

[kgraeme]

Memetic transfer. Word of mouth. Buzz.

Different names for the same thing. You get enough people talking about something and it becomes "the thing" to have. The Enermax PSU hype of last year is an excellent example. Panaflo fans are another. There are many excellent fans out there, but Panaflo is the one with the buzz.

Fads are a specific type of buzz. Take casemodding (please) and watercooling. Two years ago the Cases and Cooling forum was hopping with threads about this. Sure there are still people doing it, but it's not quite the wacky thing it was back then.

When the Athlon was released and some PSUs fell short of making the AMD Approved list, the community began a crazy hunt for "the best" PSU. Hardware review sites began looking for ways to differentiate the PSUs and the PSU manufacturers pandered to this craze. Part of AMD's recommendations for PSUs was that they include two fans, one on the bottom for intake and one in the back for exhaust. Enermax stepped up and made a few models and threw in some extra features like longer cables. This made the PSUs nicer than others and gave the review sites something to latch on to. Most review sites are run by students with busy schedules. Looking around at their competitor's sites they see Enermax being reviewed so they feel they must also review it. Then the forums start talking about it, linking to all the review sites. Pretty soon it's "the one". Buzz at its best.

The thing is, many of us know that Antec PSUs were always good, even the previous generation. They were quieter than the Enermax too since they worked fine but didn't include the extra fan. Now Antec has a new PSU and people are talking about it. Five years ago Sparkle PSUs were the best to buy. These things happen.

The video card wars were an extreme example of this. Sure there was tech involved, but there were also market forces due to hype.

 

[St3v3]

I liked my Enermax a lot ... but had to move on from it, getting an EpoX board... Don't feel like running into the problems most people are having, so I decided to get the Antec 1040B with 400w Antec P/S

Personally I think that Enermax is better (For the other boards), but EpoX is really popular for OC'ers

 

[kgraeme]

Don't forget the hype of the Delta screamers. Now it's all about building a quiet system.

 

[SuperSix]

I prefer Antec as they have a longer warranty, and the reports I have seen of people contacting Antec and Enermax, Enermax leaves something to be desired as far as support and warranty service goes.

These manufacturers need to realize that service is a lot more inmportant than they think.

 

[cbuchach]

Yeah, I second the "Quiet PC" craze/fad. I myself have been trying to make my system more quiet as a result of spending way too much time on AT forums and other hardware sites.

But I think this may go beoynd just a buzz type of thing as some of the major players in computer industry are working on how to make computer noise acceptable in the face of ever increasing speed with ever increasing heat production.

 

[rarotonga]

Hey Tony,

Antec & Enermax have done a great job of marketing the "lonely ol' power supply". Dual fans, whisper quiet, gold plated connectors, etc, etc.

I sell these two brands as well as Sparkle and Dynapower (they make many of the Antec supplies). Cross-branding is widely performed in the PS industry. My bet still goes with the Sparkle or any supply with the following first three letters in its name FSP300-60gt for example. The FSP is an indication that it's made by Fortron/Source Group and Sparkle in particular. The Sparkle's have the weight of a brick with huge heat-sinks, capacitors, etc. This fill most of the inside cavity of the PS leaving no room for a second fan. Contrast that with Enermax or Antec and you will find a much lighter weight supply and room for that second fan. Weight/quality is directly correlated with a PS.

They DO NOT look very cool as they lack the mostly cosmetic add-ons found with Antec & Enermax. By all means stay away from any supply with the DEER or ALLIED labels as these have a persistent capacitor leakage problem and when compared to the above brands are a real joke in quality both inside and out!

For P4 with GeForece4 ti 4400, 4600 then go for a 400w Sparkle PS

 

[BuckNaked]

The only drawback about the Sparkle 400 Watt PSU is the noise... By far the noisiest PS I have ever used, replacing the fan on this is almost mandatory...

Dave

 

[pukemon]

I agree about the hype and buzz regarding PSUs these days. That said, Antec, Enermax, FSP-group, they all make excellent PSUs today as they did in the past.

Are Sparkle PSU fans still as noisy as they were in 1999? One of the reasons I went with an Antec was because the PP-303XP is a whole lot quieter than my old Sparkle FSP-300GT and because that's what was included with my SX830 case.

 

[marylandnorthwoodclock]

<< Memetic transfer. Word of mouth. Buzz.

Different names for the same thing. You get enough people talking about something and it becomes "the thing" to have. The Enermax PSU hype of last year is an excellent example. Panaflo fans are another. There are many excellent fans out there, but Panaflo is the one with the buzz.

Fads are a specific type of buzz. Take casemodding (please) and watercooling. Two years ago the Cases and Cooling forum was hopping with threads about this. Sure there are still people doing it, but it's not quite the wacky thing it was back then.

When the Athlon was released and some PSUs fell short of making the AMD Approved list, the community began a crazy hunt for "the best" PSU. Hardware review sites began looking for ways to differentiate the PSUs and the PSU manufacturers pandered to this craze. Part of AMD's recommendations for PSUs was that they include two fans, one on the bottom for intake and one in the back for exhaust. Enermax stepped up and made a few models and threw in some extra features like longer cables. This made the PSUs nicer than others and gave the review sites something to latch on to. Most review sites are run by students with busy schedules. Looking around at their competitor's sites they see Enermax being reviewed so they feel they must also review it. Then the forums start talking about it, linking to all the review sites. Pretty soon it's "the one". Buzz at its best.

The thing is, many of us know that Antec PSUs were always good, even the previous generation. They were quieter than the Enermax too since they worked fine but didn't include the extra fan. Now Antec has a new PSU and people are talking about it. Five years ago Sparkle PSUs were the best to buy. These things happen.

The video card wars were an extreme example of this. Sure there was tech involved, but there were also market forces due to hype. >>



Thank-you. That had to be one of the more calm, direct, insighful, without "sarcasm" posts I've read in quite sometime. The forums live.