Best PSU Brands discussion thread

ViCiOuSViCiOuS Singapore
edited March 2005 in Hardware
Hi, just wan to know wat u guys think is a good brand of psu?
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Comments

  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    There are only two really outstanding ones, IMO:
    Antec
    PC Power & Cooling

    Other decent ones:
    Enermax
    Enlight
    Powerman/Leadman
    Delta
    Zalman
    Vantec
    Thermaltake
    Allied
  • DanGDanG I AM CANADIAN Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    antec is good, enermax is good.
  • ViCiOuSViCiOuS Singapore
    edited October 2003
    Wow... Thats fast reply... Thx guys... One more thing, how mani watts is good enough for a P4 2.6 or 2.8?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    Will you be overclocking? If not, or if only mild overclocks, in my opinion, any of the above-named brands would serve you well. With a 2.4 or 2.6, I'd play it safe and get a PSU rated for more than 350 watts, preferably minimum of 400 watts. If you will be overclocking, I'd say minimum should be 430watts. That's just based on my experience. Others might disagree.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    PC Power & cooling is without a doubt the best money can buy.

    Their 425 is at a reasonable price right now: http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/highperformance/turbocools/index_hp_atx.htm

    The 510 deluxe is a dream psu with turnable pots for all rails. The Antec also have that but nowhere near as effective as PC Power and the Antec fluctuate a lot more. 5 year warranty doesn´t hurt either.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    Depends on what else is in the system. A GOOD 350w (read: Antec or PC Power & Cooling, maybe Enermax... nothing else) should be fine for most systems, but I'd recommend 400w to be on the safe side. 450w is more than enough, unless you're running 3+ HDDs, a high end video card, etc.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    Mack, $135 is "reasonable"?? :eek::eek2:

    I paid less than that for my 550w Antec TrueControl. Admittedly, the PC Power & Cooling PS is better, but they're soo expensive...
  • ViCiOuSViCiOuS Singapore
    edited October 2003
    Thats great. :D Thx so much for all ur answar and views. :thumbsup: But dont stop here let's keep it going...

    Maybe more pple can share wat they think is good and maybe the pro's can con's of the PSU. :D
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    Mack, $135 is "reasonable"?? :eek::eek2:

    I paid less than that for my 550w Antec TrueControl. Admittedly, the PC Power & Cooling PS is better, but they're soo expensive...

    For what you get it´s VERY reasonable. That psu will last for the rest of your life, even if you are a hardcore overclocker. It´s the heart of the dang puter dadgummit. And the truecontrol is nowhere near the same q as the PC & Power. In fact, ANtec has slipped a lot since the good old Antec 412 Psu which was one of the best and cheapest psu´s you could get. Still runs in my system and i do some mild overclocking 24/7.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    Mac, if he isn't going to do cutting edge overclocking, there is no reason to spend that much money on a PSU. For someone looking to best the competition - sure, why not.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    Leonardo had this to say
    Mac, if he isn't going to do cutting edge overclocking, there is no reason to spend that much money on a PSU. For someone looking to best the competition - sure, why not.

    This is an investment for life, not a year. A top-of-the-line cpu or videocard lasts about 2 year before it´s almost obsolete and it´ll cost you $200. I know, i took it a little long but you get the idea. If those where available, i wouldn´t think twice before buying one. As a matter of fact, there is a swede going to Detroit early January, maybe he is getting one there. :D
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited October 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    Mack, $135 is "reasonable"?? :eek::eek2:

    I paid less than that for my 550w Antec TrueControl. Admittedly, the PC Power & Cooling PS is better, but they're soo expensive...

    PC Power & Cooling charges $335.00 CDN for the TurboCool 510W! :)

    That's more expensive than a Radeon 9800! :)

    They may be great power supplies, but at that price, I wonder how they stay in business... :)
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    The same way Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley, Panoz, etc. do- low volume, high price.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    This is an investment for life, not a year.

    Whoa there, friend. That's making a lot of assumptions about technology. Let's say that five years ago you had purchased the top of the line PSU (at whatever price). Would it still be useful for a new, top of the line PC now? Doubtful. For instance, five years ago PSUs didn't even have the secondary motherboard plug (what's it called). If top of the line for ALL components is your modus operandus, sure, why not.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    Antec 412 was released 4 or 5 years ago and it will go on for another 10 or 15 as long as the upcoming mobos support the connector. PC and Power has 5 years warranty and the EOL (end of life) is expected to 100,000 hours i believe.

    That extra connector has been on mainboards for a long time, but not on mainstream so you are correct. But it´s not necessary, you can still run your Nforce 2 without it.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    I just would not place bets on technology five years out from now, that's all.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    I understand your point and i do agree that it is a whooping price. A psu isn´t really technology in my eyes and it doesn´t get old as quick as most of the other parts of the system.

    The one i have, have gone through 5 mobos with 4 different chipsets in just over 2 years and i hope and believe it will go through as many more. Great discussion i must say. It´s not often a psu have so much discussion.

    Thanks :)
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited October 2003
    http://www.dealsonic.com/pow40sinfana.html

    Less than $16 shipped.

    I have been thinking about buying 2 today. No way I am going to spend $135 on a power supply. They would have to power all my computers.

    OH any my Antech 330W true poper undervolts right now and I am running a normal 2 optical, 2 hdd computer. I think its the problems of my random reboots.
  • edited October 2003
    The Antec True Control might not be quite as well built as a PC Power & Cooling psu, but it's more affordable and it's warrantee is 3 years, which is much better than what Enermax has on theirs. My True Control 550 is reliable as all get out, high/low on the +12v rail 12.04-12.16v, +5v rail 5.03-5.00v, +3.3v 3.23-3.31v. All those voltages from MBM's high/low log. That's plenty stable enough for me. It's not a cheap psu by any means but it sure is nice to be able to adjust your rails from the front of your computer. The Enermax 651P-VE in my daughter's dually rig isn't nearly as stable on the +12v rail, dropping down to the 11.9-11.85v neighborhood every once in a while.
  • ViCiOuSViCiOuS Singapore
    edited October 2003
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited October 2003
    5V rail is way low and 3.3 and 12V rails are high. CPU is a little warm as well.
  • ViCiOuSViCiOuS Singapore
    edited October 2003
    ok. So wat can i do to change it to better?
  • edited October 2003
    I would recommend that you get a better psu, which you are asking about in this thread you started.;) Also, it looks to me like you need to improve the case ventilation as your system temperature is entirely too high, which is making the cpu also run hotter than normal. 39 C is entirely too hot and you must be able to get rid of all that hot air in the case if you want the hsf to be able to cool the proc properly.
  • ViCiOuSViCiOuS Singapore
    edited October 2003
    So maybe i get a Antec True Power 430 Watts and Xaser III V1000D Blue Series soon so later on i chng new motherboad and cpu. Would this be good?
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited October 2003
    Yes that would most likely improve temps in your system and this CPU temps.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    The Xasers are good cases, BUT they're exactly the same thing as the Antec/Chieftec/Chenming/Enermax/Casepower etc. cases, all of which are significantly cheaper. The only difference is the paintjob and bezel on the Xasers. Personally, I'd go for one of the other manufacturer's versions of this case, and use the extra $$ for a new CPU and board...
  • ViCiOuSViCiOuS Singapore
    edited October 2003
    Icic... Thx so much.. The onli problem is i wont able to get the other brands of casing cos of where i am....

    Wat about LianLi?
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited October 2003
    Expensive for the Aluminum design. Not much better than some other cheaper ones. Some like them and some think they are overprices for the extra quality.

    I personally like the Chieftec brand. I have a Blue dragon w side blowhole and window.
  • ViCiOuSViCiOuS Singapore
    edited October 2003
    OK. thx again. :)
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    ViCiOuS had this to say
    So maybe i get a Antec True Power 430 Watts and Xaser III V1000D Blue Series soon so later on i chng new motherboad and cpu. Would this be good?

    I think this is what you are looking for, except it isn't blue.
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