Antec or Enermax?

[guptasa1]

Hey folks,

Probably going with a new PSU. Antec or Enermax? Leaning towards Antec cuz I keep hearing great things, but I have an Enermax now that's served me well.

Thanks,
Shaun

P.S. These things hard to install? Never installed a PSU before, but I can install cards and drives no problem...

 

[guptasa1]

Oh, and one more question. How do I know a PSU is going to have all the connectors I need (floppy drive for example)? Or are those standard? Most of my connectors are the big regular kind, but I do have one or two small (floppy kind) ones in there...

 

[ViRGE]

I have 2 Antecs and swear by them, although I've heard good things about Enermax too. As for the connector thing, it should have all the connectors you need(Molex, 20pin ATX, floppy, ATX 12v), although you might want to check if it has SATA power connectors, if you need those.

 

[Sonic587]

Which PSU models are you looking at? Both Antec and Enermax are about on the same level(IMO, Enermax is a bit better) when it comes to quality.

Also, what system will you be running on this new PSU ?

PSUs are also insanely easy to install. Just unscrew the one you have currently in your system, and unplug all the connections. Then, throw the new one in there and hook up everything, switch it on and you should be good to go!

 

[guptasa1]

Tis a slightly older system:

ATX
Asus P4T-E
Pentium 4 2.4 GHz (may be 2.6 soon)
1 GB RDRAM
GeForce 4 TI4600 (Soon to be BFG 6800 Ultra OC)
Sound Blaster Audigy 2
2 IDE WD 7200 RPM 100 GB Hard Drives
1 IDE Plextor DVD/CD Writer
1 IDE DVD/CD Reader
1 1.44 MB Floppy Drive

I have an Enermax 430 W, which SHOULD be enough (I would probably be fine with it, but I hate pushing things), and since the recommendation for the Ultra OC video card is 480, figured it couldn't hurt - a quality PSU that can push enough power is obviously important. I'm leaning towards the Antec because there's a 480 W model with blue LED's that looks perfect and would look very nice in my case.

Thanks folks.

 

[amdskip]

I have had both and although I really like enermax, I have had better luck with Antec. Antec's work better for motherboards that are more power fussy.

 

[jose]

Had both, found the Enermax to be louder. Get whichever one is cheeper. I'd get a 550w-430w range ..

Regards,
Jose

 

[Sonic587]

Your 430W will definitely be enough. The wattage for 6800 series has been totally overblown. The 480W mentioned is for generics. Seriously, if NVidia said they meant a quality 480W minimum, we are in trouble.

If you are looking at just upgrading, then go ahead. It never really hurts to have more wattage, but I'm 99% sure your PSU will run that card.

I suggest this PSU if you are looking for raw wattage:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-104-968&DEPA=0

Not as fancy as the Antec, but it's cheaper, a great brand, and has plenty of voltage to spare on all rails.

 

[Research]

Not my opinion .. but found this quote from on e of the forums


I think that Antec might make good power supplies. But one reason that I really don't like them is they will have a 400W power supply and only put a max output of 18 Amps on the 12V rail. You might as well buy a generic and save yourself 20 bucks. A 400 W power supply should at minumum have 20 amps of service on the 12V. Todays computers can not handle power supplies like that. 3 years ago when p2 used 5V power a power supply could be built like that, but not today.

What's your take on this?

 

[Research]

By the way, here are the specs of Antec True 550 for 110 bucks at new egg:

Output: +3.3V@32A; +5V@40A; -5V@0.5A; +12V@24A; -12V@1A; +5VSB@2A


While the specs for ENERMAX 460W for 100 bucks are:

Output: +3.3V@35A; +5V@35A; -5V@1A; +12V@33A; -12V@1A; +5VSB@2.2A

Except for +5 V amperage ... Antec 550 has less current rating than Enermax 460!

 

[3chordcharlie]

I've been using a 300W enermax for about three years now, and it has been flawless the whole time. But I doubt you can really go wrong with either company.

 

[Lonyo]

Enermax seem to have REALLY high 12v rails compared to anyone else out there. It's quite odd, as most people skimp on the 12v rail.
They do however have relatively low 5v and 3.3v rails. I'm looking at a PSU (Enermax) that's 350w with 26A on the 12v rail, and 32A on 3.3 and 5v, for a total of 185w output on 5v and 3.3.
My current 300w has 180w on the 3.3/5v rails, and 15a on the 12v, so while they don't add much to the other rails, Enermax certainly think 12v is important, and their newer line of PSU's has a dual line for the 12v supply (also with high amps, combined of 20+ for even the 320w model).

I'm also trying to decode whether to go Enermax or Antec, but I'm leaning towards Enermax because of their stronger 12v rails (which I think is the problem I have with my current PSU, lack of power on the 12v rail, as it's running 11.7v at the moment).

 

[Mik3y]

350 will be enuff, so get a 350W or higher.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

i have an enermax noisetaker which i have locked on the max fan speed (i tied up the spinny black adjuster dial thing) and when my PC is set in sleep mode (seldom do i do this, but it happens) since the PSU is the only thing running, my PC IS silent, unless i place my head back where the PSU is at, or have my case open and put my head in it. also i've heard too many horror stories about antec true430w's blowin up, and the enermax noisetakers all have copper sheilding, and a nice high 12V rail

 

[Brian48]

I like Antec.

 

[guptasa1]

Thanks for all the great advice.

A few replies. First of all, while I believe you're right and an upgrade is not absolutely necessary, what I read over and over again about is not skimping on power. The Enermax has served me very well, but I don't feel that a new PSU would be a mistake. And if i decide to upgrade mobos at some point, I'll be set there as well for the increased power demands. *shrugs* And frankly, with a card that asks for 480 watts, I feel better running at least that. Though I do agree the power recommendations are overstated.

Based on the feedback on this and other forums as well as shopping around and pricing, I decided to go with Antec. If I'm not happy for some reason, back to Enermax for me.

Basically, it came down to Antec offering a 480 Watt TrueBlue unit at a good price with a neat feature (blue LED's to go with my silver case and other blue lights - lol). Their price was competitive, the unit is reviewed very well overall, and I think all around it sounds like a good bet. Any more power would be wasted, but it should allow for upgrading in the future at the same time.

Now, I will say I did read about a (very) few of these Antecs blowing up, but given they also had a LOT more reviews at the site, I think that's probably just a case of "not as many reported from competitors". Also, the most recent incident of that was at least a year ago, and I read something to lead me to believe the design was changed (could be wrong though).

Anyways, close call, and I can see there are a lot of fans on both sides of things. I think both companies are probably great and and am looking forward to seeing how the Antec performs. If I'm not happy, back it goes and I'll go with Enermax.

 

[guptasa1]

Originally posted by: Research
Not my opinion .. but found this quote from on e of the forums


I think that Antec might make good power supplies. But one reason that I really don't like them is they will have a 400W power supply and only put a max output of 18 Amps on the 12V rail. You might as well buy a generic and save yourself 20 bucks. A 400 W power supply should at minumum have 20 amps of service on the 12V. Todays computers can not handle power supplies like that. 3 years ago when p2 used 5V power a power supply could be built like that, but not today.

What's your take on this?

Don't really have a reply for this one. But then there are posts saying the Antecs keep things more stable for some. It's confusing. LOL.

 

[Auric]

Antec rates their power supplies lower than standard for mean time before failure. The warranty doesn't amount to squat either if it is more likely to fail and you must pay shipping for an exchange. I recommend going with a primary designer and manufacturer such as Fortron/Sparkle or Seasonic rather than a marketing company which just adds another layer of mark-up.

 

[CraigRT]

Any quality brand will serve you good.
either of them is fine. the Antec neopower is pretty cool.

 

[HappyCracker]

I like the concept of the Neopower.
<-Happy with his two Enermax supplies. I have an Antec also, it's running a very non-taxing machine. It hasn't been run much either. My one Enermax supply has been on almost constantly since March of last year and no system crashes.
Not to start any flamewars, but I recall someone on here stating that Antec's supplies have gone downhill as of late.
In the end, it's all in what you want. You really can't go wrong with either. You could also look into the other brands mentioned as well as PC Power and Cooling (supposedly the best); eh they charge enough.

 

[saltedeggman]

enermax 430watts served me well....no problems whatsoever in the past 3 years

 

[Polishwonder74]

I've used both, and they're both very good. I'm currently using an Antec True Blue 480 and it runs like a dream. Anand did a review recently I believe where they tested a batch of power supplies against their rated wattages. I'd go with that guide, or get a 480 Antec like mine.

:beer:

 

[jswjimmy]

ive had a enermax 300 watt for 2years. its just starting to die now after a year of me useing more power than it was rated for, i vote for enermax(if you have the money).

 

[Muadib]

I have the Antec True Blue 430 and I had to unplug my 2 IDE harddrives, after I got my 6800gt. My system would reboot like crazy unleenermax ss I pulled the power to the IDE drives. I'm thinking of going with an Enermax this time, because of what Lonyo stated in his post.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Neither.

Biased to Fortron, Channel Well or PC Power.