The Top PSUs

[`schr0et]

No, no this isn't another bash OCZ/PCPC thread. Just post the best PSUs you've heard of / used based on Price/Performance. Leave out the flames.

I'm seeing a lot of people use Zippy PSUs I think I'm gonna buy one, the rails are extremely nice.

I'm still using my PCPC425W right now, working fine, 12V A not as high as I'd like but it's never given me anyproblems.

I'm thinking of ordering this: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-103-708&DEPA=0

The rails are incredibly nice, has anyone used a Zippy PSU, does it have adjustable rails inside? :toast:

[ocmyface]

performance:
PCP&C
OCZ
Fortron

price/performance:
Fortron
OCZ
PCP&C

but i would still buy a pc P&C anyday over the other ones.
and i actually have heard some good things about the Zippy's, but never seen any rails...

[`schr0et]

I remember seeing some japaneese WR benches using the zippy psus hm...

[masterofpuppets]

Fortron, PCP&C and OCZ get my vote!

[felix88]

Zippy used to make PSUs for PCP&C, they may still. ;)

is anyone in the states selling Zippy units?

[9mmCensor]

I have only used Generic and Antec.

After my Generic PSU blew, I switched to Antec. Needless to say, Antec is better.

[NWEng]

I'm still using my TTGI 500w with good results. The only thing it doesn't seem to have is PFC.

:cool:

[`schr0et]

Zippy used to make PSUs for PCP&C, they may still. ;)

is anyone in the states selling Zippy units?

Actually newegg started carrying zippy units thats why I made the thread I was looking at the amps on the rails and was surprised.

[novagamer]

I'm also considering that exact one, IIRC I saw a picture of a zippy with adjustable pots inside but I'm not positive. I'd also like to know for sure. My 6800u is destroying my PC stability, I have a 430w antec modded and it wont run prime test #3 at stock!

[felix88]

Actually newegg started carrying zippy units thats why I made the thread I was looking at the amps on the rails and was surprised.

i guess i should have clicked the link, huh? :banana4:

did a google search on the 460w Zippy/EMACS unit and found this:

http://terasan.okiraku-pc.net/dengen/no45/

it's not in english, but i see some pots in those pics.

[Jupiler]

Fortron 530W, Tagan 380W, Antec PP412X (400W) and Chieftec 360W are the ones I'm using now.
- The Antec has been playing nicely over 2 1/2 years now, and still running. Just powered my first A64 rig with it.
- Chieftec 360W has been powering my son's AMD for over 1 year now, without any problems. Cheap and solid PSU.
- Tagan 380W is a rock solid PSU too. Powered my P4 system for almost 1 year, still in use in another rig.
- Fortron 530W. Man, I'm glad I got this one. Rock solid, best price/performance, IMO.

[wetworx101]

Vantec stealth 520 gets my vote. I have one of those superflower 14cm fans as well...low noise...lots of power. I cant wait to get my new Mod-right X-connect Ultra or whatever...the modular PSU. Has great reviews...Ill have to make my own opinion but what sold me was the modular design...I tend to end up with very cramped cases cuz I will buy a Lian-Li PC 37 and stuff a 520watt PSU in it and end up with a big wire ball right in the middle of the case...blocking all the air.

[shafty]

Only used Generic and my fortron. no complaints. works like a dream. rails never move.

[Susquehannock]

performance:
PCP&C
OCZ
Fortron

price/performance:
Fortron
OCZ
PCP&C

but i would still buy a pc P&C anyday over the other ones.
and i actually have heard some good things about the Zippy's, but never seen any rails...

Ditto. :)

PCP&C for performance. They are designed with more tight regulation and
provide a cleaner signal than most any other PSU.

[Hallowed]

Ive used a Generic 400W, Antec480W, Sparkle350W, TTGI520SS, and PC Power & Cooling 510 Deluxe.


PC P&C is unquestionably the best, though the TTGI did great for its price.

[mr stupid]

Tagan 480W is rock solid and very quiet. (sorry if it has already been mentioned)

[charlie]

the zippy 500w is less expensive than OCZ and PCP&C and has great rails!


C

[Torin]

Can you adjust the rails? When you say great rails, do you mean amps, or low variance akin to PCP&P?

[Tedinde]

Man that zippy looks like it's cheap as can be, but looks are deceiving, I bet it weighs close to 6 lbs!!!

i still like my fortron. I just built a new dual xeon rig tonight and im using my Fortron 300 watt Aurora series 120mm fan and heavy to power it. a pair of 2.8 xeons @ 3.6ghz each. Rails are right on!!

[`schr0et]

nice I just bought a OCZ 520W haven't had a chance to use it yet since I'm waiting for dale to sell me his PC65 + Lian Li kit before I setup the system again.

I think 20A on the 12V (on my PCPC 425W) was a bit low with my 6800GT damn MBM5 kept reporting my 12V @ 16V and SIsoft did the same. When I switched to the X800 MBM5 reported 12V@13V so something was wrong :(

I haven't even bothered opening the PSU yet but from what I've seen its an eye pleaser.

[Walrusbonzo]

Out of the PSUs I've used, the quality manufacturers have been Antec, Enermax and FSP/Fortron Source.

I've had experience with Hiper Power(TTGI eqiuv here in the UK)350w and 520w, Thermaltake 480w, Macron 400w, Qtec 450w and 550w, a whole load of others I've forgotten. But for one reason or another I didn't like them and wouldn't buy another unless things were to drastically change.

Not tried OCZ or PCP&C before you ask ;)

[Romaster]

i personally have never used a non-generic psu, I will probably get one of them ocz 520W if I ever go out of my generic range.. (depends if my next case has a deer psu with it.. deer isnt so bad) :D ;)

that zippy seems good..definetly has good rails... especially that 12volter

[situman]

I just switched from the 510turbo deluxe to the Enermax Noisetaker 600watt and couldnt be happier. (please please no lectures, please). The PCPC 510 was too noisy and drove me nuts. Antecs im not too fond of. had a 480 true power and some of my CCFL tubes wouldnt come on and i quickly got rid of it after a month.

[moosturdsoed25]

Pc Power & Cooling 510 ATX Deluxe gets my vote, quiet and stable as hell. It is a bit pricey, but that is what it takes for the best!

[flesheatinvirus]

A second vote for the PCPC 510 deluxe. I just got another one in yesterday for my next build and yes they are expensive but the build quality is incredible.

[masterofpuppets]

There seems to be mixed feelings about PCP&C. Some people say bad stuff and some people say good stuff. I've never had problems with mine, so I guess its luck of the drawer with PCP&C.

[TheDude]

There seems to be mixed feelings about PCP&C. Some people say bad stuff and some people say good stuff. I've never had problems with mine, so I guess its luck of the drawer with PCP&C.

With all due respect....I don't think luck has anything to do with it. You can't build a PSU that good depending on luck. It takes tons of R&D and QC. I have noticed that the PCP&C PSU's below the 520w do not seem to be as good as the 520w and above. I don't know why that is but the next time I speak to Larry at PCP&C I will ask. He has forgotten more about PSUs than I'll ever know. ;)

[Beenthere]

I've actually NEVER seen any negative reports on PCPC PSU's other than a thread here I think it was on the 510W unit supposedly having a high frequency component on the DC output. But no where in that thread did I see where the person **claiming** that there was a problem with the PCPC 510W unit ever test the unit PROPERLY in accordance with the ATX12V industry specs which requires two capacitors on the DC output as specified in ATX12V section 3.2.6. As Larry from PCPC responded in that thread, improper testing of AC ripple can net a 600% increase in the amplitude of noise peak-to-peak. So until someone proves otherwise, I've yet to EVER see a negative report on PCPC power supplies that had ANY merit. In fact this one complaint of the 510W unit is the only negative report I've ever seen in all the hardware forums I've visited over the past 10 years yet I've seen countless independent reviews of the PCPC PSUs and witnessed the performance firsthand.

Below is the ATX test specs for those who want to properly test any PSU. Every INDEPENDENT test of PC Power and Cooling PSUs has proven they have better line voltage stability and lower ripple and noise than any other PSU on the market so I'll take that scientific information over someone's subjective opinion every time, because you simply can not tell what the power output quantity or quality is of a PSU by the color of the PSU case, how many fans it has or by how much it's hyped in the forums by PC enthusiasts. And PCPC has the best warranty in the PC industry and competitive if not lower prices than the low quality off-shore hardware touted by many PC enthusiasts so it isn't a difficult decision when you have the facts and chose to make an informed decision.

One accurate scientific test is worth a LOT more than 1,000 opinions, based on my 30 years of experience in engineering...

See section 3.2.6, Page 19, of the ATX specification link below for the proper industry specified testing method for noise measurement in ATX PSUs.

Here is what the section reads:

"3.2.6. Output Ripple/Noise

The output ripple/noise requirements listed in Table 10 should be met throughout the load ranges specified in Section 3.2.3 and under all input voltage conditions as specified in Section 3.1. Ripple and noise are defined as periodic or random signals over a frequency band of 10 Hz to 20 MHz. Measurements shall be made with an oscilloscope with 20 MHz bandwidth. Outputs should be bypassed at the connector with a 0.1 µF ceramic disk capacitor and a10 µF electrolytic capacitor to simulate system loading. See Figure 5."

Table 10. shows EXACTLY how to test ripple with the capacitors in place and the specified range for ripple in mVpp.

http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/ATX12V%20PSDG2.0%20Ratified.pdf

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=51&type=expert

[TheDude]

One accurate scientific test is worth a LOT more than 1,000 opinions

:toast:

[flesheatinvirus]

They make excellent power supplys.

[Kanati]

I'm currently using an ePower 470watt "Cougar" on a heavily loaded system. Its rails are all pretty stable and they all stay well within spec as measured by dmm. I got it because the ePowers are made by Tagan and it was fairly inexspensive and IIRC the same people make Tagan, Vantec Stealth, and OCZ Powerstream.

[Marvin]

I am using the Emacs/Zippy 460 and it rocks...
better then my old antec 550 w
zippy at full load with a 80 w peltier and a lot of things
http://www.uploadit.org/Marvin/mod3.JPG
http://www.uploadit.org/Marvin/pus2.JPG
http://www.uploadit.org/Marvin/P1010049.JPG
http://premium.uploadit.org/Marvin/mmfb.jpg
now the same load with the antec :mad:
http://www.uploadit.org/Marvin/mm.JPG

[computerpro3]

Vantec stealth 520 gets my vote. I have one of those superflower 14cm fans as well...low noise...lots of power. I cant wait to get my new Mod-right X-connect Ultra or whatever...the modular PSU. Has great reviews...Ill have to make my own opinion but what sold me was the modular design...I tend to end up with very cramped cases cuz I will buy a Lian-Li PC 37 and stuff a 520watt PSU in it and end up with a big wire ball right in the middle of the case...blocking all the air.

PLEASE don't get that ultra x connect, it is a powmax.

AS for me, my pcp&C 510 deluxe is simply the best (until you get into $400 zippy 750w units with 50a on 12v line....)

[Holst]

I only ever use Fortron. (or rebadged fortron, sparkle mainly)

Currently using a Fortron530.

Ive never had a problem or faliure (and ive used about ten in mine and friends systems)

With the 530 you can ajust the rails easily, and they have very little fluctuation under load. I dont think another PSU could do any better than my Fortron.

[Skip]

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=1841

thats a pretty good article on voltage fluctuation, and case and noise temperature concerning psu's, also memtest errors according to psu's.

i have an antec true control 550 and i love it, it gives me very stable voltages.

[computerpro3]

The fortron 530 is a sweet psu, but your statement


I dont think another PSU could do any better than my Fortron.

is innacurate. My pcp&c doesn't fluctuate at ALL under load. And you can adjust the rails even easier with the pcp&c, they drill holes right in the casing, all you have to do is turn the pot with a screwdriver, it doesn't even void the warranty.

[Kanati]

Noone could rightfully say that PP&C isn't pretty much the best there is. But they are the Ferrari of power supplies. The whole point of the overclocking disease is to try to make the computer equivalent of a Civic be able to run 10 second quarters...or 30 second SuperPi's whichever floats your boat :) . If everyone could afford PP&C's, FX-5X's, and X800 XT-PE's, I don't think the enthusiast community would be what it is.

[halcyon]

PC P&C is indeed better engineered and specced than most.

The belowed Tagans and OCZ PSUs are made by Topower, one of the crappiest manufacturers of the yesteryears. One Tagan 330W is already on the "Unsafe for sale" list of dangerous PSUs in Finland (as tested by the Finnish Technology Authority under lab conditions).

Fortron is coming out with a new family of PSUs called Blue Storm. They have higher efficiency than previous ones. If their quality is as good or better than the current family, that is another series to watch.

regards,
halcyon

PS I'm running Tagan 480W and it's running ok so far (*knock on wood*).

[zer0]

cant say i know too much about psus i have always used generic ones then o ne of them over heated and when i took it apart one of the componets was melted. anyways i got a thermaltake Pure power 420 now it seems to work ok but the prescott system i built to use it seems to not work untill i find out the source i cant say the psu is good or bad.

[jinu117]

Enermax 660W :) Can't beat the rails man. Easily tops most PSU I had so far. (PC&P 4xx watt, Antec True 550W, X-connect, OCZ 520W). Not sure on PC&P 520watt but I might run peltier on it so 660W probably is better bet for me :)

[beau_zo_brehm]

Ultra-X Connect wins my vote... great looking, and high performance...

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/psu-98.html

[Marvin]

Zippy always. hold my rig and peltier on video card :toast:

[Cyanide]

I like my TT-520SS 520W ATX PS

Works for everything i need it to.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

i just picked this up- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=6725010236&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT
lets see how pc power and cooling does in my comp.

[blinky]

one thing to note

i calculated the actual wattage of the zippy "300w" psu on newegg, and the watts come out to an astounding 521w!!!!!!

[jinu117]

Blah... problem with Enermax. It didn't show any symptons on my rig but found out 14 or 16A of 12v rail is only used for second processor... Blah... So it is in essence AWESOME 500W PSU... blah.
Got Zippy 700W and can't be happier though. Rails are too rock steady, amperage is great, runs, cool. Definitely noisy PSU as I don't think it was meant to be used for home usage... :) Got a link of what I thought of unit here:

http://xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=47646

BTW, don't get one from Newegg. Search around. I myself got it direct from Zippy and was cheaper than any retailer even with tax. Besides, newegg doesn't even know if they have 24pin +4 pin, 20pin+4pin 24pin+8pin or GES, etc. They also are not willing to find out... stupid egg.

[situman]

well i think the enermax has 4 separate rails to provide cleaner power. Besides 16a for the cpu alone is plenty dont u think? A lot of psus only have 25a for the entire system.

[jinu117]

well i think the enermax has 4 separate rails to provide cleaner power. Besides 16a for the cpu alone is plenty dont u think? A lot of psus only have 25a for the entire system.

CPU alone is not what I am worried about as I doubt I can really cool 192W load at decent temp. (I most likely stop around 160W or so is my guess even when I go high volt, etc). In fact, the one goes to CPU is 18A. (over 200W)
The actual problem lies in fact that there is 1 rail of 14A dedicated for peripherals and the other one with 16A Rail rail is split between mobo and peripherals. I would rather see this 2 merged so that mobo will never have chance to suffocate from lack of power in case peripherals on 16A is drawing too much power away. Besides, if we are talking about 500W PSU, there are quite decent ones at much chepar price.
25A PSU's however good they are will burn out in no time in my system. In fact, Antec True 550W had to be sold while back once I got my mach units as it just couldn't pull enough 12v rail to my system.

[blinky]

Zippy always. hold my rig and peltier on video card :toast:does the zippy PSUs have internal pots?

[[XC] moddolicous]

You dont need internal pots for a zippy if you get this one
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-713&depa=1
This has some of the best rails I've seen

[dj_ski69]

I vote for PCP&C 510 Express
Yesterday at work we tested it out....
We have an O-Scope and just about every other piece of TMDE you can think of....
We tested it while my PC was under a double prime stress test @ 4.3GHZ....With 20A alone going to the 4pin CPU Connector, this thing was rock solid.....
There was only 10mv of AC ripple across the rails....
This is awesome.....Right to SPEC.....
And another good thing is that The PSU is guarenteed continuous output of 510W, and peek Output of 650w(depending on the temperature)
PCP&C is indeed the best PSU company and the 510 Express is the best of the best...

SkI

[HiJon89]

I vote for PCP&C 510 Express
Yesterday at work we tested it out....
I can tell you have a productive office :p:

[dj_ski69]

I can tell you have a productive office :p:
Its just the nature of my job....
Satellite Communications is sometimes very slow, and sometimes too busy....
X-Mas season means downtime.....Gotta stay fresh somehow...
:toast:

SkI

[Aphex_Tom_9]

okay, i just got my PC Power and Cooling 600 Watt PSU ($28 on ebay). the insides are AMAZING. here's a pic of the bare PCB-
http://home.comcast.net/~electronchaser/Front_PSU_PCB.JPG

[[XC] moddolicous]

You bought a 600watt PC Power and cooling power supply and took it out! I couldn't do that, but thats me. Even if u did get it for 30 on ebay

[Aphex_Tom_9]

You bought a 600watt PC Power and cooling power supply and took it out! I couldn't do that, but thats me. Even if u did get it for 30 on ebay
you have to do a little modding to get it working perfectly. it's a WTX psu, and has no -5vdc line, but there's a solder point inside where it has -5, you have to connect the wire though...so i had to open it up and take it out.

[blinky]

You dont need internal pots for a zippy if you get this one
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-713&depa=1
This has some of the best rails I've seenyes, yes i do

no quality PSU is gonna come with 4v, 5.5v, and 12.5v, rails :D

[computerpro3]

my pcp&c came stock with 3.6, 5.35, and 12.35 mwhahahahaha

[dj_ski69]

Which is better....
3.3v, 5V, & 12V that doesn't fluctuate
or....
4v, 5.5v, and 12.5v that bounces up and down constantly...especially when under load.....?
Hmmmmm......

If you are to say that option number two is better then maybe you should go take a class or something on power and electronics....

This doesn't mean that electronics can't be powered by fluctuating voltages....

But it does mean the difference in longevity....and stability...
If you lined up all of the PSU's out there wiith no names attached, and no price tag attached, and I had to judge them only by thier specification....

I would pick the PSU that has the best stability.....even if it meant choosing a PSU that had an 11.9V rail(rock solid) over choosing a PSU with a 12V rail that fluctuated 100mv

Who agrees or disagrees and why?

SkI

[slavik]

but you can only use 300watts ...

some manufacturers list a 3.3v + 5v combine load in watts ... which for a 300watt PSU would be around 180watts

All PSUs are like that, I haven's seen one where you can put a lcomplete load on every line ....


one thing to note

i calculated the actual wattage of the zippy "300w" psu on newegg, and the watts come out to an astounding 521w!!!!!!

[blinky]

Which is better....
3.3v, 5V, & 12V that doesn't fluctuate
or....
4v, 5.5v, and 12.5v that bounces up and down constantly...especially when under load.....?
Hmmmmm......

If you are to say that option number two is better then maybe you should go take a class or something on power and electronics....

This doesn't mean that electronics can't be powered by fluctuating voltages....

But it does mean the difference in longevity....and stability...
If you lined up all of the PSU's out there wiith no names attached, and no price tag attached, and I had to judge them only by thier specification....

I would pick the PSU that has the best stability.....even if it meant choosing a PSU that had an 11.9V rail(rock solid) over choosing a PSU with a 12V rail that fluctuated 100mv

Who agrees or disagrees and why?

SkI
i dont think zippy PSUs are going to have a problem with fluctuating voltages, theyre pretty solid if u know what i mean ;)

also the OCZ 520w has pretty solid rails, and its adjustible

[computerpro3]

Which is better....
3.3v, 5V, & 12V that doesn't fluctuate
or....
4v, 5.5v, and 12.5v that bounces up and down constantly...especially when under load.....?
Hmmmmm......

If you are to say that option number two is better then maybe you should go take a class or something on power and electronics....

This doesn't mean that electronics can't be powered by fluctuating voltages....

But it does mean the difference in longevity....and stability...
If you lined up all of the PSU's out there wiith no names attached, and no price tag attached, and I had to judge them only by thier specification....

I would pick the PSU that has the best stability.....even if it meant choosing a PSU that had an 11.9V rail(rock solid) over choosing a PSU with a 12V rail that fluctuated 100mv

Who agrees or disagrees and why?

SkI

What's better is 4v, 5.5v, and 12.5v that don't move even .01 under multimeter. Which would be a pcp&c or a zippy.

[jinu117]

Ahhh but alas mine fluctuate 0.01v under multimeter. (idle/load doesn't matter). I looked at my spec of cheap multimeter and found out that mutlimeter's range of operation is not suitable to really measure this PSU's regulation... oh well.
Someone got loaner O-scope around? :)

[STEvil]

working on it jinu, but they darn things arent cheap :/

[jinu117]

Well, here is more "scientific" result of fooling around zippy PSU. Using DVM on molex line that goes to GPU for 5, 12v and 3.3v from one of old AT line. Ground used in all measure was from the molex splitting off from GPU line. I could have used some other point for 5, 12v measure but I wanted to test where I would think is draining the most power.
Now, I can't imagine anything really beating this kind of performance with amount of junk I have :)
I think this DVM is reading better than what it claims it is accurate for but who knows :P This is the most I could get out of this DVM. Something more accurate would be nice but don't have one handy to make this result more appealing :)

http://xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20911

[jjcom]

I'm using an Aspire PSU. 520W unit...very nice...its little loud but too loard to stop you from buying it. It has some LEDs on the inside and has pretty good rails...load the 12v is something like 12.6v 5V@ about 5v...everything seems good. I would reccoment it for the best price to preformace ratio that I've seen in a while

jjcom

EDIT: had wouldn't instead of would :rolleyes:

[STEvil]

Jinu - CPU pulls more power than the video card probably for Prime.

I'd test from the 5v/12v/3.3v leads on the ATX connector and the P4 plug under pime load :D


Not that there is going to be much of a difference really, but ;)

[blinky]

hey jinu could u answer my question as to wether there is internal pots?


:stick: :( :)

[Jeff]

I vote for PCP&C 510 Express
Yesterday at work we tested it out....
We have an O-Scope and just about every other piece of TMDE you can think of....
We tested it while my PC was under a double prime stress test @ 4.3GHZ....With 20A alone going to the 4pin CPU Connector, this thing was rock solid.....
There was only 10mv of AC ripple across the rails....
This is awesome.....Right to SPEC.....
And another good thing is that The PSU is guarenteed continuous output of 510W, and peek Output of 650w(depending on the temperature)
PCP&C is indeed the best PSU company and the 510 Express is the best of the best...

SkI

Anyone remember who it was that was screaming about PC P&C power supplies being "dirty"? If you do, please point them to this gentleman's post. ;)

[Hallowed]

The screamers just want attention. :p:

[blinky]

Anyone remember who it was that was screaming about PC P&C power supplies being "dirty"? If you do, please point them to this gentleman's post. ;)
i think it was chilly1 who did the testing on the PCP&C

[[XC] moddolicous]

you have to do a little modding to get it working perfectly. it's a WTX psu, and has no -5vdc line, but there's a solder point inside where it has -5, you have to connect the wire though...so i had to open it up and take it out.

I thought that current computers didn't use the negative volt lines. I thought they were just used for ISA slots, but maybe I'm wrong.

[Aphex_Tom_9]

I thought that current computers didn't use the negative volt lines. I thought they were just used for ISA slots, but maybe I'm wrong.
i believe the -5vdc line runs all the temp/voltage monitors on the motherboard.
i did the mod sucessfully, my 600 watt pcp&c psu is on-line and looking good. my vote goes to them.

[Hallowed]

i think it was chilly1 who did the testing on the PCP&C

No, it wasn't. I remember that thread pretty well, and besides, chilly has enough expertise to avoid making a newb claim like that.

[Marvin]

I opened my zippy 460 w again to search the pots. I find both :banana:
one for the 5 and 12v and the other for the 3.3 v
Maximized the 3.3v, but didnt touch the 12v pot, since give me 12.3 without mods.
sorry the quality of the pics, but...
http://premium1.uploadit.org/Marvin/P1010050.JPG
http://premium1.uploadit.org/Marvin/P1010053.JPG

[stealthbomber]

Guys, what would be the better choice between The Antec Truepower 550W or Tagan 480W PSU?

I can get the Antc for ~£82 or the Tagan for around £75 delivered, overclockers.co.uk are doing the Enermax 600w for just under £100 delivered but Enermax doesn't seem to have the 3 year warranties of the other two... :stick:

[Hombre]

That's weird, mine came with 3 years warranty.

[stealthbomber]

Well I don't see anywhere on the Enermax site mentioning the length of their PSU warranty, Tagan, Antec, PCP&C etc. all list the length of warranty they offer.

[jinu117]

hey jinu could u answer my question as to wether there is internal pots?


:stick: :( :)

Heh... been too lazy to open up PSU, I will have to do it for OC-Rookie in few days anyway. Will PM you or something when I get there :)

[blinky]

Heh... been too lazy to open up PSU, I will have to do it for OC-Rookie in few days anyway. Will PM you or something when I get there :)thanks bro

:D

[Hombre]

Well I don't see anywhere on the Enermax site mentioning the length of their PSU warranty, Tagan, Antec, PCP&C etc. all list the length of warranty they offer.

3 Years on most of the PSU's.

[stealthbomber]

Thanks for the info, so do you guys reckon the 600w Enermax is the way to go?

It's only to power an Athlon XP-M @2.6GHz with a 6800LE fully unlocked and clocked above GT GPU speeds ATM, AMD dual core + SLI/AMR in mind come sometime next year so the PSU must last and take everything I throw at it, all overclocked like :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: of course

My crappy "550w" Q-Tec (yes you read it right!) is fluctuating like crap (~1.84v-1.92v) when the CPU is running full load @2.6GHz :mad:

[situman]

i have the 600watt noisetaker and im very happy with it.

[dr_sharp]

my vote goes to OCZ... i may try the atx tests for ripple sometime on my 470W (discontinued :(), we've got a lab that is open almost 24/7 that has got everything i'd need...

One other thing that i didn't notice anyone say was that the OCZ's run absolutely silent.. . I don't know how fast the fans inside run but they are SLOW and quiet. According to my box, the 520W runs 30dB at FULL load. Not sure about the newer (more powerful) ones but i'd assume around the same noise levels.

[stealthbomber]

The OCZ 520w Powerstream unit costs just around £115 delivered here, for that price I might as well get a 510w PCP&C TurboCool unit imported, but they are a bit loud... :banana:

[situman]

yeah the turbocool unit is more than a bit loud especially under load or if u have a prescott in your system. The turbocool will never idle even when the system is idling. I couldnt take the noise thats why i went to the next best thing, the ENermax.

[XyKo]

I'm pretty happy with my Antec 550 but would move on to a quieter PSU when I move to HTPC.

[JDizzle]

Fortron 530W hasn't failed me yet and it's only $60 at axion tech!

[Arkangyl]

This thread has been awesome, I HAD an X-Connect. The **** thing just wont work with my A64 setup (K8N Neo2, 6800 U etc..) I ended up going back to a 420w PSU that came with my Chieftech case and honestly, that thing is powering an OC'ed 6800 U and an OC'ed A64 along with 2 HD's and an Optical + Sound Card. with pretty good rails (stability, 12v Corecenter says is @ 11.6 :( )

Anyways, I'm on a bit of a budget and I've been looking at the Fotron (mucho praise), TTGI (only good things) and the CoolerMaster Realpower 450 (dual rails and the 450 is supposedly the continual draw)

Anyway, count me as a vote against the X-Connect

[`schr0et]

Well so far I've owned and currently own quit a few PSUs;

2X Antec TP 430W (my first PSU ever purchased)
1X PCPC 425W (old faithful, although she has trouble with my current rig since she only has 20A on the 12v)
1X OCZ 520W (went pop, may she rest in piece)
1X OCZ 600W (wouldn't boot in my K8N NEO2 after a few hours, may she rest in peace)
1X OCZ 600W (Haven't received her yet, expecting her to come on wednesday or thursday this week, hopefully she won't die on me)

I compared my PCPC 425W to my OCZ 600W and by god is the OCZ HUGE. I think the PCPC 425W is half the size of the OCZ 600W.

[situman]

umm thats a lot of dead OCZs

[`schr0et]

Yup I'm one of the unlucky ones.

[dr_sharp]

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=146875
10characte

[Skip]

you bought a second 600watter?

i'm hoping the release of the DFI nforce4 and the 800+watter pcpc psu's will coincide.

[computerpro3]

Well so far I've owned and currently own quit a few PSUs;

2X Antec TP 430W (my first PSU ever purchased)
1X PCPC 425W (old faithful, although she has trouble with my current rig since she only has 20A on the 12v)
1X OCZ 520W (went pop, may she rest in piece)
1X OCZ 600W (wouldn't boot in my K8N NEO2 after a few hours, may she rest in peace)
1X OCZ 600W (Haven't received her yet, expecting her to come on wednesday or thursday this week, hopefully she won't die on me)

I compared my PCPC 425W to my OCZ 600W and by god is the OCZ HUGE. I think the PCPC 425W is half the size of the OCZ 600W.

Why on earth don't you just get a pcp&c 510 deluxe and be done with it :confused: :confused: :confused:

[`schr0et]

Why on earth don't you just get a pcp&c 510 deluxe and be done with it :confused: :confused: :confused:

Originally I thought it was too much money. So I got the OCZ 520W, when that went pop OCZ offered to upgrade me for $50 bucks so I said why not it was still cheaper than PCPC 510.

Then the 600W didn't like my NEO2 or the other way around so I said well its too late to return this to newegg since I don't have the 520W anymore. So I said ok we'll see how the next one does.

Honestly I just like OCZ, really good guys, they never hassle me when I need an RMA and have always come through. Hopefully the next one I get won't give me any trouble.

Also I didn't "buy" another PSU, OCZ RMA'd it.

[situman]

so basically ur buying into their RMA and not really their products. Two dead PSUs later and so close to each other, I cant really say they are as good as everyone says they are.

[dr_sharp]

so basically ur buying into their RMA and not really their products. Two dead PSUs later and so close to each other, I cant really say they are as good as everyone says they are.
generally you have to experience this to fully understand it. I think it says alot that even after 2 rma's he still has confidence in ocz. Have you heard of anybody that wasn't happy with an rma through ocz? Their customer support is as good as it gets. Several people at EOCF recieved free upgrades from 520->600 and a couple people also received free t-shirts and pens.
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=146136

[jinu117]

Why on earth don't you just get a pcp&c 510 deluxe and be done with it :confused: :confused: :confused:

There is someone I know whose been killing A64's mem controller and mobo together with it using that and 3.3v rail mod to vdimm.... If using booster I see nothing wrong with it... :)
As for how OCZ RMA goes, I would say their RMA policy in general is above average industry and one of the best I had to deal with. Unfortuntely I had to deal with it too many times :) However, when they produce product that trying to go beyond what norm is, I guess it is hard to keep satisfying everyone. I am glad for one that OCZ is taking care of me one way or another over time. (I must be one of most problematic customer they had even more than schroet :P) and very Thankful for their effort.

[situman]

There is someone I know whose been killing A64's mem controller and mobo together with it using that and 3.3v rail mod to vdimm.... If using booster I see nothing wrong with it... :)
As for how OCZ RMA goes, I would say their RMA policy in general is above average industry and one of the best I had to deal with. Unfortuntely I had to deal with it too many times :) However, when they produce product that trying to go beyond what norm is, I guess it is hard to keep satisfying everyone. I am glad for one that OCZ is taking care of me one way or another over time. (I must be one of most problematic customer they had even more than schroet :P) and very Thankful for their effort.

Don't blame yourself for being problematic when their product is problematic. Like I said, even though their products might not totally live up to their expectations, their customer service makes up for it. That I feel is the main reason why no one is really saying anything bad about the Powerstream yet. For now, I would stick with proven brands like PCPower, Enermax and Antec's even. Until I hear less and less about Powerstreams dying and stuff like that I would not recommend it. I got my friend to buy a 520watt powerstream and now im worried. So far its ok.

[`schr0et]

Got the replacement 600W working perfectly. Got me 265x11 stable but OCZ TCCD is giving up on me past 265 with 2.5-3-3-10 1T for some reason.

[chunkylover77]

My 600w powerstream was defective when I got it. They replaced it real quick and this one has been working perfectly. This is replacing a 510 deluxe which I was happy with but I just wanted to get a little quieter. I accomplished that with the 600w powerstream. Loving it so far. :D

[faruquehabib]

just ordered an OCZ modstream 450w...will let yall know how she does

[mcnbns]

I was looking at the amperage ratings for the OCZ Powerstream 520W and the Modstream 520W and they aren't too far off each other.

Powerstream 520w:
12V: 28A
5V: 40A
3.3V: 33A

Modstream 520w:
12V: 28A
5V: 52A
3.3V: 28A

The Modstream seems to be about $50 CAD cheaper than the Powerstream. According to OCZ both are rated for 620W peak load.

If you can live without adjustable rails and/or like flashy computer parts the Modstream sounds like the better deal to me.

[dr_sharp]

I was looking at the amperage ratings for the OCZ Powerstream 520W and the Modstream 520W and they aren't too far off each other.

Powerstream 520w:
12V: 28A
5V: 40A
3.3V: 33A

Modstream 520w:
12V: 28A
5V: 52A
3.3V: 28A

The Modstream seems to be about $50 CAD cheaper than the Powerstream. According to OCZ both are rated for 620W peak load.

If you can live without adjustable rails and/or like flashy computer parts the Modstream sounds like the better deal to me.


No I'm sorry but you are wrong...

Powerstream 520w:
12V: 33A
5V: 40A
3.3V: 28A

you had it reversed... big difference :)

[dqniel]

i like my antec 550 true control a lot. got it for a bit over a 100 at newegg. rock solid rails that are easily adjustable :). only downside is no sata, very loud for a psu, and the wires are not connected properly (aesthetically, because they are tangled at the beginning of the cords). i also have a 300 watt fortron. the rails are a bit low but they are solid. it's also quiet

[dqniel]

I was looking at the amperage ratings for the OCZ Powerstream 520W and the Modstream 520W and they aren't too far off each other.

Powerstream 520w:
12V: 28A
5V: 40A
3.3V: 33A

Modstream 520w:
12V: 28A
5V: 52A
3.3V: 28A

The Modstream seems to be about $50 CAD cheaper than the Powerstream. According to OCZ both are rated for 620W peak load.

If you can live without adjustable rails and/or like flashy computer parts the Modstream sounds like the better deal to me.

just about every review i've read says the powerstream uses newer technology when it comes to the internals of the psu and has more solid rails. that's probably why the powerstream costs more; it has more expensive internal compenents. however, the modstream still gets good reviews and looks damn cool :)

[computerpro3]

i like my antec 550 true control a lot. got it for a bit over a 100 at newegg. rock solid rails that are easily adjustable :). only downside is no sata, very loud for a psu, and the wires are not connected properly (aesthetically, because they are tangled at the beginning of the cords). i also have a 300 watt fortron. the rails are a bit low but they are solid. it's also quiet

my friends tru550 just melted the p4 power connector.

[caLume]

i swear on the Tagan series.
very low noise and stable voltages.

[Astral7]

Zippy (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-714&depa=0), this thing has a +12v rail range of 12.09 to 12.11 :slobber:

[mrBEE]

Does anyone have any experience with the PCP&C 470 Silencer?

[MarilynMX]

ever since my childhood I'd been using generic PSUs till recent two years I realized the importance of stable/clean power. I had enermax 350W on my P4T533C+2.4B and TT 480W on P4C800E+3.0E. Unfortunately both work not as good as what they're supposed to be. system kept rebooting randomly~computer guy ripped me on the enermax 350(I was told it was 400W and I never doubt before problem) and TT 480W was exhausted by 6800U and DDR booster(12V rail never showed higher than 11.98 in core center). At last I ordered OCZ PS600W as a substitute of OCZ PS520W. It works very well so far. 12V always above 12.5 or so before tunning. Very quiet and stable - maybe I never heard the noise due to the annoying GPU fan.

PS Generally Canada is a s-h-i-t-t-y place for PC players(except the temp in winter). I never heard of any vender ever had zippy or pcp&c for sale at least in Ontario. Half OCZ authorized Canadian online/retail stores selling cheapies such as value rams only, personally I suggest to have them kicked off from the list :(

[computerpro3]

why doesn't anyone realize that you can order direct from pcp&c if you're in Canada? Everyone is always like "you can't get them here". You can, for the same price us US citizens pay (well plus shipping, but....) :)

[Hombre]

Marilyn, don't get too excited just because of CoreCenter's faulty readings; this program can be way inaccurate sometimes... Before you judge a PSU test it with a digital multimeter or oscilloscope. :)

[BeerCan]

I have a seasonic ss400 and its been the best psu I have owned to date. I am suprised that there have not been more recomends for it.

[jinu117]

I have a seasonic ss400 and its been the best psu I have owned to date. I am suprised that there have not been more recomends for it.

Well I would have except their rating is not high enough. They certainly do make wonderful PSU (not looks but efficiency and performance)... too bad they don't really scale past 450W they have.

[Xerxes]

seasonics S12s go up to 600w. They're very new though and hard to find. I can't wait to see a proper review on them.

[jinu117]

seasonics S12s go up to 600w. They're very new though and hard to find. I can't wait to see a proper review on them.

If it is like any of previous one's I bet it will show up on silentpcreview.com soon.

[c42]

I've been looking around. Which would be better OCZ PS 600 or Enermax 660?

[jjcom]

I'd say go with whatever is cheaper. Both should be similar I think

jjcom

[situman]

Enermax as it is a time proven brand. Too many problems with the OCZ, especially the 600watt unit.

[STEvil]

My OCZ 600w has survived 4 power outages with no surge protector so far...


I really need a UPS lol.

[ed.howell]

Enermax as it is a time proven brand. Too many problems with the OCZ, especially the 600watt unit.

They had some problems when they were first launched but I think they are fine now.

I would go with the OCZ!! I love mine.

[Hombre]

When does the PCPC850ETX will come available?!?!
I can't wait for it, and I've already planned the list of custom mods I want from PCP&C to do for me.

Damn, you need at least APC 1500VA UPS for that thing!!

[kickassclone]

I just switched from the 510turbo deluxe to the Enermax Noisetaker 600watt and couldnt be happier. (please please no lectures, please). The PCPC 510 was too noisy and drove me nuts. Antecs im not too fond of. had a 480 true power and some of my CCFL tubes wouldnt come on and i quickly got rid of it after a month.


The noisetaker series are rock solid. I have been using one for over a year, 475 watt, and I am very happy with the performance I have run heavily oc'ed and power sucking pc's with it and not one issue ever.

[jinu117]

Just so you guys know, here is my preference of PSU.
Zippy -> Enermax (nosietaker or coolergiant units)-> PC&P -> Seasonic -> Fortron
Enermax wasn't as good before noisetaker and coolergiant units but it changed a lot. Seasonic was really good on all my builds (I don't know what the hell happened to it's price but it was affordable before people found out it's efficiency and noiselevel). Fortron just gets lower mark only because of there rather not highly rated 12v rail.

[computerpro3]

Just so you guys know, here is my preference of PSU.
Zippy -> Enermax (nosietaker or coolergiant units)-> PC&P -> Seasonic -> Fortron
Enermax wasn't as good before noisetaker and coolergiant units but it changed a lot. Seasonic was really good on all my builds (I don't know what the hell happened to it's price but it was affordable before people found out it's efficiency and noiselevel). Fortron just gets lower mark only because of there rather not highly rated 12v rail.

how come enermax is ahead of pcp&c when zippy makes them?

[NiSMo]

hey guyz just a quick question....

i have a Pc Power & Cooling 510 ATX Deluxe on the way and i am just wondering if it is noisy? cos i currenty have an antec 550w truecontrol and it doesnt seem 2 loud... i just wanna kno what im in for :S

thanx a bunch guyz!!

[Hombre]

The noisetaker series are rock solid. I have been using one for over a year, 475 watt, and I am very happy with the performance I have run heavily oc'ed and power sucking pc's with it and not one issue ever.

Very true... I have a very damanding 6800U at high clocks w/ Winchester @ 2600mhz (not a spectacular chip, too bad it can't go further while I'm sure the PSU can :D). 12.20v rocksolid.

[situman]

turbo deluxe will be relatively quiet when idle on a NORTHWOOD. If you have a more demanding cpu such as Prescott, you WILL hear it even when idle. The fan is variable speed. When it loads up, i.e. playing games, it will wail like a banshee. So if u plan to test overnight with Prime95, u might not get a very good sleep. But by no means is it as noisy as deltas.

[Sephir0th]

could anyone say if a 520w modstream (28A 12v line) has enough juice for a DFI Ultra-D, 3200+ winnie (havnt got yet so dont know o/c'ability) and a 6800GT?

do i need a powerstream for the extra 5 amps? i like the design of the modstream so yeah...

[situman]

I would stay away from OCZ stuff for now until they have a more establiushed record.

[STEvil]

should work fine.

[jumanji969]

I would stay away from OCZ stuff for now until they have a more establiushed record.

More established record? What do you mean by this? I think OCZ has by far already established themselves.

Anyway my vote goes for the fortron 530w. I love mine to death.

[Cheffy]

id have to recomend mercury (Kobian) 400W or Sparkle 400W
the mercury is ~£25 in most shops!
400W runs xp-m @2600 @ 1.95V, nf7-s R9800 1 gb balistix 4 hdd dvdrw koolance 601 and 4 case fans just fine! gets very hot, but no issues and rails are solid... more solid even han my antec 550!
also from experiece, if they copied the design of the 300W,t hen you need neevr fear the psu hurting your quipt thru overload. i killed 2 (hugely OC thundybirds :P) and they simply go "oh. this is bad" and turn off gracefully and refuse to power back on. no fire, smoke, burning bursting etcetc, just switch off.
the spakrle 400 seems to just take abuse and nevercare to! both solid psu's and less than 1/3 or 1/6th the price of "average" extreem psu's

[STEvil]

if its that hot i'd say its too hot.

Antec 400w smartpower gets pretty warm running XP-M @ 2400mhz 1.75v and 9700 pro @ 425/360 1.85v/3.0v and 1gb OCZ VX 2.9v.. Allied 450w is a bit warm on same setup, OCZ 600w Powerstream is barely warm... cpu at 2600mhz 2.0v and 2x512 CH-5 @ 236mhz 3.45v 2-1-2-1-11-13-15

[kiwi]

I had experience only with Antec and FSP psu, both are nice. But OCZ, PC P&C or Enermax would be better.

[STEvil]

I'd put Fortron/FSP in with OCZ and PCP&C.

[jinu117]

how come enermax is ahead of pcp&c when zippy makes them?

Price/Noise

[cardnut99668]

So what would be better and OCZ 520 or a zippy 500? Or should I be looking at something else (this is for an a64 setup w/ a 6800 ultra and about 3 hds and 2 optical drives, also 7 case fans).

[jjcom]

Either one, I'd go with what ever was cheaper

jjcom

[computerpro3]

Price/Noise

1.obviously you havent checked the prices in a while.

enermax 660w much more expensive than pcp&C by around $50 on Newegg.com.

2. Zippy's use the same fans as pcp&c in some cases, and when they dont, as in the 700w, it is MUCH louder. :p:

There goes your arguments.

[jinu117]

1.obviously you havent checked the prices in a while.

enermax 660w much more expensive than pcp&C by around $50 on Newegg.com.

2. Zippy's use the same fans as pcp&c in some cases, and when they dont, as in the 700w, it is MUCH louder. :p:

There goes your arguments.

I don't know why people stopped reading whole thread before sending in argument.

1) Figure out shipping and cost with PC&P from PC&P. It ain't as rosy cheaper than as you thought. In fact, it goes up VERY quick. Also, I wasn't talking about Enermax 660W, I was talking about noisetaker line. Much cheaper than PC&P.

2) Read carefully, I have done fan mods. And my test on this Zippy PSU is with fan running 6-7v. I don't know if PC&P can pull of same feat at that fan speed for one and for another, there is nothing in PC&P stable that can match this PSU for time being. Not trying to knock down anything but mine is personal reasons based on what I was seeing and

PLEASE, before you critique me, read what I imply correctly. Geez... this is 4th time this week from someone trying to lecture me without reading whole thread.

BTW, ComputerPro, have you had chacne to play with Enermax Noisetaker, coolergiant line, Zippy, OCZ, Fortron, Sparkle, etc etc? I've had all these PSUs I talked about on my system at one point or another to give comment out. I SERIOUSLY DOUBT you did.

[situman]

I agree, I have the noisetaker 600watt and its damn quiet. and it powers everything stably

[computerpro3]

You can do fan mods to any psu, and.....



BTW, ComputerPro, have you had chacne to play with Enermax Noisetaker, coolergiant line, Zippy, OCZ, Fortron, Sparkle, etc etc? I've had all these PSUs I talked about on my system at one point or another to give comment out. I SERIOUSLY DOUBT you did.


You're wrong. All except the OCZ. In fact right now in my house I havea fortron 300, enermax 370 noisetaker, 2 510 deluxes, a 425 deluxe, antec 550, and I've had all the others at one point or another. And shipping from pcp&c is $14, I ordered my 3rd 510 deluxe a week ago.

I still dont unterstand why you're arguing; I'm not saying the 510 is better than the zippy 700w, its not. However, it is better than any of the noisetaker line, especially if you can do fan mods. Then the only argument is price, in which case it's only $30 more expensive including shipping. And if you get it during the monthly special from them direct, the pcp&c is cheaper.

Zippy 700w>pcp&c 510>anything enermax

[AH^DK]

OCZ
Chill Innovation
PCP&P
Fortron

[dnavarro]

Guys you can do the same fan mod on the PCP&C as the Zippy. I have done it :) And Having had both the Enermax Noisetaker (EG701P 600W) and the PCP&C 510 Express SLI there is no contest. I got a 150 MHZ better CPU overclock and a 15 MHZ higher front side bus overclock with the PCP&C with the exact same components (in sig). Nothing different than the PSU. Nuff said.

D

[graham_h]

I would like your opinions on the Topower 600w with the adjustable rails
It is the same as the OCZ 600w that most seem to think is ok.

[STEvil]

if its the exact same as the OCZ 600w Powerstream it should be.