Recommended PowerSupply

[trippin]

Im in need of a really beefy power supply. What is the best one to get. Price/Power ratio.

Im looking in the 500watt range.

[Enverex]

Well, lately I have found that all the big name power supplies are actually crap, and that the cheap 200w's you get with cases are actually amazing, that or Enermaxs' just suck REALLY badly, so, don't buy an Enermax.

I believe Antec are one of the best PSU makers.

NS

[trippin]

Yes i was looking @ the antec true 550, it looks like one nice powersupply, although its a tad expensive! $120ish

[Tex]

I think the best deal is the friggin 600 watt Robantons we are getting off eBay for 30 to 35 bucks adn have 10 bucks to ship.

Best for the money you can get anyway.

PC power and cooling is the best you can buy with money no object

Tex

[Clutch]

yea, pcpc is the best, but price will get you. I myself would reccomend the Antec true power series, might be a little high, but you can count on a quality psu.

[Flintstone]

We need Omega to post a link to the Robantons. It used to be in his sig.....They are great as I have one pushing my dualie right now and the guy selling them on Ebay is a very honorable dude.

Flint

I found the guy...Email him and see if he's got any 600's left. He's a good guy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3418496215&category=3670

[karatekid]

Well I will give Antec a good vote too. I have had this 430W true power for awhile, and it is very nice.

[danball1976]

Check my sig, its the Enermax EG-365P-VE(FC) 350W PSU.

[Geeky1]

I'd recommend the Antec... Enermaxs are known to have problems with AMD systems, and I won't use one of those Leadman/Raidmax/etc. PSs until I can find a site that tells me what the ripple and the regulation on the lines are... the amperages look great, but if the power isn't clean, it doesn't really matter...

//Digression//
Welcome back guys! The site looks great!

[danball1976]

Originally posted by Geeky1
I'd recommend the Antec... Enermaxs are known to have problems with AMD systems, and I won't use one of those Leadman/Raidmax/etc. PSs until I can find a site that tells me what the ripple and the regulation on the lines are... the amperages look great, but if the power isn't clean, it doesn't really matter...

//Digression//
Welcome back guys! The site looks great!

Really. I've been using my Enermax with no problems for the last 3 years with no problems on an AMD system

[Geeky1]

Supposedly Enermax PSs can't always handle the AMD CPUs... why, I don't remember, but that's what I've heard...

[danball1976]

Well, they're wrong. I've ran it on my AMD Thunderbird 1.4GHz, AMD Athlon XP2000 1.67GHz, and AMD Athlon XP2600+ 2.08GHz, overclocked to 2.25GHz.

The Enermax has something like 32A on the 5v line

[Geeky1]

I configured either 2, 3, or 4 identical CAD/CAM systems for my dad for my grandfather's company (my dad is the admin. for my grandfather's business) a few years back with A7M-266s, 1.4GHz TBirds, GF3s, 512MB Samsung PC2100, 40gb HDDs, CDs, a few case fans, and 350w Enermax PSs and they've been running fine, but I've heard things to the contrary, so I figured I'd throw it out there... personally, I have nothing against Enermax, altho I do prefer Antec & PC Power & Cooling (altho I've never actually had a PC Power & Cooling PS- they're waaay too expensive...)

[Paul]

Originally posted by Tex
I think the best deal is the friggin 600 watt Robantons we are getting off eBay for 30 to 35 bucks adn have 10 bucks to ship.

Best for the money you can get anyway.

PC power and cooling is the best you can buy with money no object

Tex

There's none of them on Ebay right now, but I've seen them before. I think the 500w aren't as good on the voltages, and that's why I want the 600w model :(

Any place on the intarweb you can snatch them?

[Omega65]

Originally posted by Flintstone
We need Omega to post a link to the Robantons. It used to be in his sig.....They are great as I have one pushing my dualie right now and the guy selling them on Ebay is a very honorable dude.

Flint

I found the guy...Email him and see if he's got any 600's left. He's a good guy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3418496215&category=3670

I think Robanton has dissappeared. their website has been down for weeks now. In their place on Ebay is a brand called PowerTek. The power supply looks exactly like the Robanton (Leadman OEM) units we bought a couple of months ago and has similar power ratings.

You can find the 600w PSU with this Ebay link (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=600w&categoryid=&ht=1&st=2&category3=42017&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&BasicSearch=&from=R2&catref=C3)

[Flintstone]

I knew you'd come through, Omega!

[hpr]

heh, my generic POS PSU has been powering my AMD system for a couple years now. Its only 300 or 350 watts too... :D

/me would personally go for the antec even if it is pricey :x

[PyobliE]

Anyone used Qtec PSU's? They cheap, I dont really wanna spend much money on a PSU, needs to be silent too....

[mgreene]

I suggest antec

[Clutch]

Never uses a Qtec psu before, if they are cheap then I wouldn't bother with it. When it comes to a powersupply, get a good quality one so you won't have to worry about any problems with it down the road, better to be safe than sorry. A good rule of thumb to go when buying a psu also is to pick it up, if it's heavy then it should be good to go. I've heard that a lot of the cheaper models don't use big capacitors and all, so the life span isn't that great.

[Enisada]

I'm using Antec 2x480Blue and 580Watt one. I'm lovin' the nice clean power. I have had no issues with them so far. I would have to recommend them....

Enisada

[Omega65]

Personally I still recommend the Powmax series of PSUs. I run all my systems with Powmax 400w and Robanton 600w PSUs.

www.dealsonic.com has the Powmax PSLP-8800D 400w for $16 with free (or cheap) shipping (Do Not get the 7700C 400w version)

One of my Powmax 400w ran a K7D dual 1700+ system for a month before I swapped in a 600watt PSU. They can do the job.

[Matt]

i use an antec 400watt and iv never had a problem with it

[Coaster]

Originally posted by danball1976
Check my sig, its the Enermax EG-365P-VE(FC) 350W PSU.

No problem with mine either, for three years.

[Tmod]

I would suggest PC Power & Cooling if price is no object.

If you are on a budget I would suggest either a Fortron/Source or a Sparkle.

Fortron/Source makes the PSU for PC Power & Cooling as well as the Sparkle line. If you see a PSU number start with FSP then it was made by Fortron/Source.

I bought my Fortron/Source unit for $65.00 and it is a 400 watt unit that when you actually figure the output is 472 watts.

[Enverex]

I ran my system on a 200w No name PSU for a few months. It goes to show what a well made PSU can do, so save those crappy PSU's you get with your Cases, they arnt all that bad.

NS

[Enisada]

But it is amazing what a quality PSU can do for your system, stability wise. Mmmm clean power, I don't like dirty power...

[dydx]

I Have an Antec TP430, a pretty decent PSU.

Don't let high wattages fool you though. There are other factors at play.

Look at the power supplys in the Shuttle XPCs

My mate has an axp 2800, Radeon 9800 etc running fine off the minute power supply in the Shuttle.

[trippin]

Ive got 3 80gig wd hdd two 2400+'s a gf4 ti4600 some pci cards and a cd a dvd and a burner all going on a 300, and i know somethings gonna blow...
That is why im ordering the powersupply tomarrow first thing.

[Pooface]

any1 hear of this mobo? Seems liek it has some nice power

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3421806564&category=42021

[Ageek]

Sparkles are reasonably decent economy power supplies. More recently, the Sparkle logo is used by CodeGen and the PSUs are coming labelled as CodeGens.

See if the PSU is rated ATX 2.03. If still in doubt, get into AMD's products area on their website and look withint the config info on the part of products that deals with your CPU series. Then look st brand names and LeadTek is one and Antec is anohter and PC P&C is another that pops up. Codegens have the 2.03 rating, and if you look at the details of the specs on CodeGen's website you will see that they have decent amperage specs for each leg (voltage level they output) and you will see that they are decent at not shifting voltages badly under load if you have used them. The 400 Watt and 500 Watt PSUs are better quality in terms of RMAs than the 350's or down as they (bigger ones) were designed for high-end workstations and servers and thus make great OC and gamer box PSUs and half load to 3\4 rated max can run all day with no hassles. Load them to the point that they draw 90% of load adn booting will become a problem-- you see, when a computer is booting it can pull 1.2 to 1.8 times the load it normally runs with, as CD-ROM and HDs and DVD and other things all activate at once from an at rest state. Once running, these things might not need as much power all at the same time-- and usually you do not get them all having to start at once while running the box.

You ever heard the idea that flourescent lights take 10 times as energy to turn on as to run??? This actually has some truth. The BALLASTs in Flourescent fixures act similarly to wet cell batteries except they lose charge when electricity is NOT present. Computer power supplies have what are called Capacitors in them. When the computer starts the PSU is trying to charge the capacitors (which drain when grounded and not fed electricity actively and in this one way behave like Ballasts exccept they charge and release energy dioferent so they do not take as much juice as flourescent ballasts do to charge) AND feed all kinds of voltages in large amounts (watts) all at once. If a PSU booted you box and now doesn't and someone who is good with computers says it is damaged, it probably is-- it is just not completely broken yet but is not cheap enough to repair that you would want to-- so you might as well replace it with one that provides 1.7 times the wattage your parts say they need or figure on doign it again every 6-18 months until you do get a bigger one. Also, buy a 400 Watt if you have a big case, or even a 500 if can afford , it will save you buying a bigger one when you upgrade if you get a good ATX 2.03 at 500 watts now.

John Danielson.

[Tex]

Have you guys seen the new Antec series called "True Control" and not True Power?

They have adjustable (exteranlly} pots for each voltage ... 3, 5, and 12 volt line... Wish they were not so pricey.

Tex

[Mt_Goat]

Originally posted by Tex
Have you guys seen the new Antec series called "True Control" and not True Power?

They have adjustable (exteranlly} pots for each voltage ... 3, 5, and 12 volt line... Wish they were not so pricey.

Tex
Sure go ahead and ask here while I'm still waiting for replies to my post down below. :D

http://www.icronticforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1135

[Cool Canuck]

Originally posted by mtgoat

Sure go ahead and ask here while I'm still waiting for replies to my post down below. :D

http://www.icronticforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1135
:D :D :D

[Tex]

Originally posted by mtgoat

Sure go ahead and ask here while I'm still waiting for replies to my post down below. :D

http://www.icronticforums.com/showthread.php?
s=&threadid=1135

I lust for one but... expensive.

I just watched a 550 watt true control sell on ebay for 69 bucks though. That hurt.

Tex

[Mt_Goat]

That makes a few of us I'm sure! ;) Better go now as I think I'm getting a little damp. :p

[leishi85]

i was also lookig at the lead tek PSU on the ebay page, anyone want to share some information, that is if i can find a robanton ant all, i will go for this.

[Pooface]

I was just about the order a sparkle psu cuz of the great reviews on newegg and i also heard good things about them in forums, but after looking at this spec sheet the 12v ral seems kinda low. http://www.sparklepower.com/pdf/FSP400-60PFN.pdf

Do you think this would be suffient?


After i get this im gonna switch some old parts into this comp and build a new comp out of the newer parts, so it wont be running the exact system i have now (i have a 2500 barton and 8rda3+ waiting for my robanton)

The sparkle(if i get it ) would be powering my xp 1600 w/166fsb, geforce3 ti200, 256mb samsung ram, msi kt3ultra2, only my maxtor Hd from sig (the wd goes into my new comp), a philips acoustic edge, floppy drive, realtek ehternet card, and my lite on drive from sig. So should the 12v rail hold up?

[Ageek]

Actually, plenty big for most machines I build. IF you were to run 2 DVDs, 4 120GB or bigger HDs, 5-7 FANS, all together plus normal power system, you wuld want a Sparkle 600. IF at all worried, look at a Sparkle(CodeGen) 500Watt(the one of that rating I keep around for small server emergencies has an 18 Amp capacity 12 Volt rail). Also, look for brand name CodeGen PSUs. Same thing.

Most newer stuff, other than laserdrives (DVDs, CD-RWs) and big things that need big roational motors (big HDs,16XDVDs, fast burners), is lower voltage rail load(3 something or 5 something) or is alower voltagebroken outside the PSU into smaller voltages(the step is not form 12 volt and has not been for a long time, AGP gets 3.3 leg chopped to a bit under half except for fans plugged intomain harness for most modern boxes, CPU can have same leg chopped or have 5 volt chopped down to size) . I have run basic modern boxes on a 10 Amp capacity 12 volt rail\leg, that is typical for a 325 Watt.

As the machines get more modern, folks are using lower voltage designs in part to keep heat down. high voltage rails are getting same or lesser laod, lower voltages MORE amperage draws.

IF you are goping to make a server out of THIS box you are building, and know it, get a 500 Watt Sparkle or Codegen. It will last longer as it will be less stressed out at boot time. Otherwise a 400 is plenty. If overclocking RADICALLY and know how, you might get a server-grade PSU capacity but if minorly then a 400 Sparkle is enough unless you have a DVD or HD farm runnning off the PSU.

John Danielson.