PSU: Power Supply Guide for Today's & Tomorrow's Computers

[davidhammock200]

Originally Posted by skeensp

Dave, why would you remove the 500W PSU from the list because the 400W PSU is junk. The 500W is still a pretty decent PSU for mild overclocking users. I have one (and Im not a mild OC'er) in my main A64 rig thats in my sig, and it works. The only problem that I have is I need something like an NeoPower or Powerstream to supply better current so I can have a better OC on my 6800GT. Thats the hold up on my Video OC is the PSU, but still the 500W PSU is a nice PSU for someone that cannot afford the Powerstream or Neopower.

I have been receiving a lot of negative feed back on the Ultra X-Connect 500W,
beginning just after the first of the year.

I was hoping that it was just a bad batch at Zipzoomfly,
but the problem has since grown to include several other retailers.

It may be that Ultra has switched manufactures, but what ever the reason many EOC members &
lots of other people are having real problems with line regulation, noise & unstable +12V rails above about 26A.

There are now so many other modulars available from PC P&C, Antec, OCZ & TTGI,
that I really don't think that it will be missed.

They have a 3yr warranty & the ones produced/sold last year seem to be fine.

Dave

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Virtex

I just bought one of these, is it normal for the +5 rail to jump from 5.29 to 2.68 at any givin time?

I'm thinking of replacing it with the TTGI PLUG-N 550W.

[afrakes]

Originally Posted by davidhammock200

Warranty is 2 years & I will know more in a few mins.

EDIT:

This was their first email response, very fast. I sent them a second email requesting additional informatio.These are the PS's. The 550W & 480W are built to highers spec than the lower rated ones.

550W $100: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...189-001&depa=0

480W $80: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...189-004&depa=0

450W $52: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...189-003&depa=0

400W $49: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...189-002&depa=0

EDIT:

They are discontinuning these models & will soon have even better ones,
however the 450W & 480W are very good choices as a "BEST BANG for the BUCK"

Dave

How could they get any better?

Modular maybe? Then I would definitely buy a 400w version if they stay around $60.

[davidhammock200]

Originally Posted by afrakes

How could they get any better?

Modular maybe? Then I would definitely buy a 400w version if they stay around $60.

I just have emailed Jerry that exact suggestion (450W to 520W).

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Originally Posted by afrakes

You guys ever heard of this power supply.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...189-002&depa=0

Looks good on paper. High efficiency, dual +12v, and around $50. Anybody want to be a guinnea pig?

EDIT: Maybe from the same company that supplies PSUs for Antec? Sounds promising.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/vie...ht=xclio+400bl

I traced the UL file number - e161451. Not that I needed to... I know the file number of Channel Well by now like the back of my hand. They are indeed the OEM for Antec. Looks like a decent little unit too

[afrakes]

Thanks for confirming.

Now who wants to buy one and give it a shot.

[Alexia]

Wow, I'm glad I found this. Now I feel really silly! Running a Antec True430. Very good for what I had originally bought it for; an Athlon 2700+ setup.

Now I'm running A64 3400+, Radeon 9800 XT, seven hard drives, and a whole bunch of other stuff hooked up to it. I get the feeling the 20A on the +12V rail just isn't working to my advantage. Maybe solve my cold/warm boot issues with a new PSU.

I'm going for the OCZ PowerStream 520W once I can afford it.

[davidhammock200]

Originally Posted by ?

type start, run, and in the run box type C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

When it asks what to open it with choose Notepad

Then at the bottom of the hosts file


You can copy these into the hosts file

127.0.0.1 activate.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 practivate.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 ereg.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate.wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 3dns-3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 3dns-2.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns-2.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 adobe-dns-3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 ereg.wip3.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate-sea.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 wwis-dubc1-vip60.adobe.com
127.0.0.1 activate-sjc0.adobe.com

Go to file save, and you should be adobe connection free.

Keeps Adobe CS4 from calling home at each start-up to validate itself.

[johnny45]

Thanks for helping me, I was running the stock psu that came in a Raidmax scorpio case. It looked like a good psu from the outside, and I never personally had any problems. But I used another of the same case in a build for a friend, one day while plugging in a usb, his powersupply blew, taking his mobo, and cdrom down with it.

I investigated and found on this 420W powersupply, there was only 13A on the 12V line! and no, its not dual rails.

So I bought a Powerstream 420, and it is pretty. Pretty freakin' sweet. I'm going to get him that superflower bang for the buck power supply. You think that will be enough for a A64 2800+, cdrom drive, WD raptor, and 3 medium speed fans, fx5200, and no overclocking?

[davidhammock200]

Originally Posted by johnny45

Thanks for helping me, I was running the stock psu that came in a Raidmax scorpio case. It looked like a good psu from the outside, and I never personally had any problems. But I used another of the same case in a build for a friend, one day while plugging in a usb, his powersupply blew, taking his mobo, and cdrom down with it.

I investigated and found on this 420W powersupply, there was only 13A on the 12V line! and no, its not dual rails.

So I bought a Powerstream 420, and it is pretty. Pretty freakin' sweet. I'm going to get him that superflower bang for the buck power supply. You think that will be enough for a A64 2800+, cdrom drive, WD raptor, and 3 medium speed fans, fx5200, and no overclocking?

Yes, with a low power demand vid & no OC'ing, it should be fine.

[thirdday220]

I see that you reccomended the COOLMAX 550W as the best bang for buck. What do you think of the AeroCool Silver Line 550W? +3.3V@36A, +5V@36A, +12V@30A, -5V@0.8A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2.5A. Either one would work but I am leaning towards the CoolMax 550W .

[davidhammock200]

Originally Posted by thirdday220

I see that you reccomended the COOLMAX 550W as the best bang for buck. What do you think of the AeroCool Silver Line 550W? +3.3V@36A, +5V@36A, +12V@30A, -5V@0.8A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2.5A. Either one would work but I am leaning towards the CoolMax 550W .

The Coolmax was removed awhile back as others became a much better buy.

Do you have any links?

[thirdday220]

Originally Posted by davidhammock200

The Coolmax was removed awhile back as others became a much better buy.

Do you have any links?

Here is the link to the Aerocool: Aerocool 550W

COOLMAX 550W: Link

Which one do you think is better?

[davidhammock200]

Originally Posted by thirdday220

Here is the link to the Aerocool: Aerocool 550W

COOLMAX 550W: Link

Which one do you think is better?

COOLMAX 550W: $69.50 & Aerocool: $74.50

The following are all better values.

$54.99 + S&H
SuperFlower TT550SS 550W:
http://www.directron.com/tt550ss1.html

$59 & shipping
Fortron 400W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply with 120mm Fan, P4 and AMD ready, Model "FSP400-60THN-R"-RETAIL
http://www.directron.com/fsp40060thnr.html

$79.00 & ? shipping [Check specs at http://www.fsp-group.com.tw/english/...torname=EPS12V before buying]
Fortron 550W EPS12V
http://www.directron.com/fsp55060pln.html

$86.99 & ? shipping > 5 year warranty
OCZ PowerStream 420W
http://www.directron.com/ocz420adj.html

$87 & shipping
Enermax 535W Whisper II EG565P-VE FMA V2.0 - SLI Ready
http://www.gameve.com/gve/Store/Prod...PS-ENERMAX-535

[thirdday220]

Thanks for your help. I like the SuperFlower TT550SS 550W. Plus it is cheaper.

[*Sparky*]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the guide its very informative and I have certainly learnt a lot about PS by reading it. Thank you again.

I would ask for some advice, a recommendation if you may be so kind... My query is this; I am currently building a new system (specs below) and have purchased a TAGAN PS - TG-480-U22:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=179312

this can be cancelled as its not currently in stock…. now I quite like the idea of a modular PS as I hate the excess wires you inevitably have hanging around within your case but I need a good PS that can handle the hardware I have inside my PC. I intend on oveclocking my CPU to around 2.5 MHz and at some stage it will be running in SLi mode, another large disk running in Raid and the CPU to be upgraded to a dual core AMD chip.

Preferred manufactures and PS are (from reading your guide

Antec (Neopower 480)
Enermax (Noisetaker SLI Modular 600)
OCZ (Modstream 520)
PC Power & Cooling (Sli, not sure if this is modular?)
Tagan (but they don’t appear to make a modular PS)

System Specs (all this is coming next week, the PS and GFX are currently out of stock so i can change these items)

AMD 64 winnie 3200 (to be over clocked as much possible without frying!)
OCZ Gold PC4000 VX 2x 512mb (memory requires a lot of juice up to 3.6V)
Leadtek 6600GT PCIe (this maybe upgraded to 6800GT and in future running SLi)
DFI LANParty NF4 SLi-DR
74GB Raptor
300GB Seagate Barracuda
Logitech Z2300

I have various USB and Firewire devices that will be hooked up e.g. external HD, MFD, IPod etc…

So what do you recommend, I would appreciate your advice and looking forward to your response.

Kind regards
*Sparky* (by the way I am in the UK)

[Transnone13]

Looks nice .

[davidhammock200]

For a high-end SLI system these are my recommendations, however that Tagan looks very good, too.

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...&postcount=192

AFAIK, there are no modulars set up for SLI at this time, you would need adaptors.

Good Luck,
Dave

[*Sparky*]

I have emailed PC Power & Cooling and await their response, I will base my purchase on this...

For me the choice is simple, I want a good brand name PS, that is modular and supports SLi =

Antec Neopower 480 (My decision has been formed after reading various reviews and after reading the full 12 pages of this sticky) .

I like the PerformancePC mod on the PC Power PS (don't think they will ship to UK) but its just not worth the extra money over the Antec, IMO. Can you honestly say this PS is worth $100 more then the Antec!? Dave please restore the Antec to the number 1 position, if not it should at least be joint first with the PC Power PS! Most people have more sense then money...

Oh and Dave, you might want to take a look at the PS review over at Tomshardware, link below. I used to frequent this site a lot but sometimes find their reviews biased. http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050228/index.html

Thanks
*Sparky*

[davidhammock200]

Originally Posted by *Sparky*

I have emailed PC Power & Cooling and await their response, I will base my purchase on this...

For me the choice is simple, I want a good brand name PS, that is modular and supports SLi =

Antec Neopower 480 (My decision has been formed after reading various reviews and after reading the full 12 pages of this sticky) .

I like the PerformancePC mod on the PC Power PS (don't think they will ship to UK) but its just not worth the extra money over the Antec, IMO. Can you honestly say this PS is worth $100 more then the Antec!? Dave please restore the Antec to the number 1 position, if not it should at least be joint first with the PC Power PS! Most people have more sense then money...

Oh and Dave, you might want to take a look at the PS review over at Tomshardware, link below. I used to frequent this site a lot but sometimes find their reviews biased. http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050228/index.html

Thanks
*Sparky*

One of these days Tom's may learn how to review PS's!

I said that the Antec NeoPower was the best value & if I were buying a modular, that is what I would buy.

But PC P&C is #1 ! 1% regulation, super low noise & ripple, adjustable pots & a 5yr warranty!

[*Sparky*]

Purchased a OCZ PowerStream 600 instead
Some people have more money then sense....

*Sparky*