Best PSU for under $75

[Tostada]

I've got a 5-year-old Enermax 360W PSU and I think it might be holding me back. I used to have it running a Palomino with 10K SCSI drives, and when I added a third 10K drive sometimes one drive would fail to spin up.

My current system is a Sempron 2800 on a DFI LanParty UT NF3 250Gb with two 7200RPM drives. I have an old GeForce Ti 4200 and a PCI GeForce MX440. Nothing else is in the system besides two optical drives and two case fans.

I don't think I need a $100 PSU. I'm not planning on getting a GF 6800. I just want to make sure my PSU isn't limiting my overclocking.

I'm really suspicious of how most PSUs are rated. There seems to be a big difference between a "normal" load, a "max constant" load, and a "peak" load. The amp ratings on the rails really doesn't mean anything to me if they're not going to specify whether it's a safe typical load or just a peak rating.

I read a lot about PFC about a year ago. What I remember is that PFC is only useful for businesses who pay for their power in a different way, and for residential use active PFC just makes your PSU a little less efficient.

The PSUs I've been looking at are:

EnerMax Noisetaker 370W: $50 delivered
24-pin (detachable 4-pin block), dual 12V rails, no PFC, standard molex connectors
80mm + 90mm fan (efficiency not listed)
"max" load 3.3v 27A, 5v 27A, 12v1 18A, 12v2 18A
(newegg doesn't show a 24-pin connector like EnerMax lists for this model)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103444
product page:
http://www.enermax.com.tw/products_page.php?Tid=1&gon=265&Gid=18&Gid2=46

XCLIO 450W: $59.50 delivered
24-pin (w/ 20-pin adapter), dual 12V rails, active PFC, standard molex connectors
120mm fan, >70% efficiency at full load
"max" load 3.3v 32A, 5v 30A, 12v1 15A, 12v2 17A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=17-189-003
product page:
http://www.xclio.com/product_04-a.htm

Cooler Master Real Power 450W: $61 delivered
24-pin (w/ 20-pin adapter), dual 12V rails, no PFC, easy-grip molex connectors
120mm fan (rifle bearing), under 20dB up to 50% load, >75% typical efficiency
"continuity" load 3.3v 20A, 5v 25A, 12v1 12A, 12v2 10A
"peak" load 3.3v 30A, 5v 35A, 12v1 18A, 12v2 16A
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=370776
product page:
http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php?L..._title=+RS-450-ACLX+Real%20Power%20450

Fortron Blue Storm 350W: $62 delivered
24-pin (w/ 20-pin adapter), dual 12V rails, no PFC, easy-grip molex connectors
120mm fan, under 23dB up to 50% load, 70% typical efficiency, 70% minimum efficiency
"normal" load 3.3v 11A, 5v 10.5A, 12v1 7.5A, 12v2 7.5A
"maximum" load 3.3v 22A, 5v 21A, 12v1 15A, 12v2 15A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104936
product page:
http://www.home2000.net/client/fspgroupusacom/proddetail.asp?linenumber=181

Antec SmartPower 400W: $66 delivered
24-pin (detachable 4-pin block), dual 12V rails, no PFC, standard molex connectors
2x 80mm fan, >=70% efficiency
"max" load 3.3v 22A, 5v 21A, 12v1 10A, 12v2 15A
SmartPower 350W (only $4 less) has the exact same specs except combined max output
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103935
product page:
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=26400

SeaSonic S12 380W $83 delivered
24-pin (w/ 20-pin adapter), dual 12V rails, active PFC, easy-grip molex connectors
120mm fan, 22dB up to 35% load, up to 80% efficiency
load (max?) 3.3v 22A, 5v 21A, 12v1 10A, 12v2 15A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151022
product page:
http://www.seasonicusa.com/products.php?lineId=9

I know SeaSonic, EnerMax, Antec and Fortron are all good. I love Antec cases because they come with good PSUs, but as good PSUs go I really don't think Antec is special, and their nice 120mm fan TruePower PSUs start at $86 delivered. Their regular SmartPower PSUs are a decent deal. It really looks like SeaSonic is overpriced and Cooler Master is the best deal. I don't know what to think about Cooler Master as a brand, though.

Could someone point me to a good FAQ about PSUs? I really don't even know what uses the different rails. The molex connectors have both 5V and 12V available, right? So do hard drives and optical drives just use 12V? Do the motherboard fan connectors run off 12V? What does the CPU use? Don't different generations of CPUs use different rails? How are dual 12V rails split? Is one for the motherboard and another is for your drives? What's the deal with that extra 4-pin square block on boards? On some PSUs 12V1 and 12V2 are rated the same. On some 12V1 is stronger. On some 12V2 is stronger. Some PSUs are rated the same but have stronger 3.3V and 5V rails. I really don't know what's important here.

Maybe my current PSU is just fine. The rails look pretty stable at about 3.2V, 4.9V, 12.2V. My PSU is new enough that it has that 4-pin connector to plug into the board.

 

[saleen385]

you might want to check this out
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=17-189-003&depa=0#DetailSpecs

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: saleen385
you might want to check this out
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=17-189-003&depa=0#DetailSpecs

Thanks.

I also noticed the Cooler Master one is only $61 at ZipZoomFly. It looks like those two are the best deal.

Cooler Master 450W:
stronger 5V (+5A) and 12v1 (+3A) rails
a little quieter
better molex connectors
has the watt meter
5% higher efficiency
25% higher MTBF

XCLIO 450W
slightly stronger 3.3V (+2A) and 12v2 (+1A) rails
has the extra fan controller

I would guess that the Cooler Master would be worth the extra $1.50, although I really don't know which rails are more important, so maybe the XCLIO is better.

 

[saleen385]

from what i've read the 12V rail is the most important, but i'm not an expert

 

[NightCrawler]

XCLIO XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply 230Vac - Retail $59.50 delivered

or

SeaSonic S12 380W $83 delivered

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: NightCrawler
XCLIO XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply 230Vac - Retail $59.50 delivered

or

SeaSonic S12 380W $83 delivered

On the surface it appears that the XCLIO is inferior to the Cooler Master in many ways, and it would be very hard to justify the SeaSonic -- it is $20 more than everything else it has the weakest rails of anything (actually it's tied with the Antec).

Could you elaborate on any reasons for picking these?

I'd really appreciate any solid info from anyone, other than just the standard statements like, "Antec is the best," or "SeaSonic is the best and the quietest." Do people have a reason for saying this?

And can anybody point me to info about what rails are important for a Socket 754 system that doesn't have a power-hungry video card?

 

[tr1kstanc3]

SeaSonic is the best and the quietest.

=)

s12 review

 

[amheck]

I'm considering this Fortron for $69 shipped. Seems to be a pretty good deal.

 

[Acanthus]

Seasonic and Antec both have prudent specs that can be maintained by the PSU, not peaked for a quarter of a second. Hence the lower specs (basically what im saying is, their specs are the real specs, the others are hyped up).

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
Seasonic and Antec both have prudent specs that can be maintained by the PSU, not peaked for a quarter of a second. Hence the lower specs (basically what im saying is, their specs are the real specs, the others are hyped up).

Do you have any proof of that?

SilentPCReview has reviews on a lot of these, and it certainly doesn't look like the numbers are hyped up.

SeaSonic S12 430W
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article226-page3.html

It's obviously a great PSU. It gets 83% efficiency at 200W and 78% efficiency at 430W. Its rails are extremely stable. It's amazingly quiet. I'm just wondering if it's worth $22 more than the 450W Cooler Master to get a 380W SeaSonic.


Cooler Master 450W
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article205-page1.html

That's a very good review of the Cooler Master. The specs say 75% efficiency, but it actually gets 82% efficiency at 200W and 81% efficiency at 450W. Its rails are extremely stable, especially the 12V. The only negative thing was that it wasn't silent at high power draws. Notice that their review is of the 2-ball LED fan, whereas the one at Newegg & ZipZoomFly is the non-PFC version that has the quieter rifle bearing non-LED fan.


Fortron Blue Storm 500W
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article212-page1.html

Looks like thise uses a different brand fan than most Blue Storms and is actually only a 460W PSU. It gets 80% efficiency at 200W and 77% at 460W. Its rails are stable. It's still a decent PSU, but not as good as the SeaSonic / Cooler Master / EnerMax.


EnerMax NoiseTaker 470W
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article149-page1.html

A good review, but I don't know how well this would compare to the 370W model.

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: Tostada

Originally posted by: NightCrawler
XCLIO XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply 230Vac - Retail $59.50 delivered

or

SeaSonic S12 380W $83 delivered

On the surface it appears that the XCLIO is inferior to the Cooler Master in many ways, and it would be very hard to justify the SeaSonic -- it is $20 more than everything else it has the weakest rails of anything (actually it's tied with the Antec).

Could you elaborate on any reasons for picking these?

I'd really appreciate any solid info from anyone, other than just the standard statements like, "Antec is the best," or "SeaSonic is the best and the quietest." Do people have a reason for saying this?

And can anybody point me to info about what rails are important for a Socket 754 system that doesn't have a power-hungry video card?

Well that Cooler Master is a lot cheaper then I thought and it's definitly got the power and noise doesn't bother me that much since it's the back off the case and I usually have music on so I would go that route myself.

 

[harperjn]

Could someone point me to a good FAQ about PSUs? I really don't even know what uses the different rails. The molex connectors have both 5V and 12V available, right? So do hard drives and optical drives just use 12V? Do the motherboard fan connectors run off 12V? What does the CPU use? Don't different generations of CPUs use different rails? How are dual 12V rails split? Is one for the motherboard and another is for your drives? What's the deal with that extra 4-pin square block on boards? On some PSUs 12V1 and 12V2 are rated the same. On some 12V1 is stronger. On some 12V2 is stronger. Some PSUs are rated the same but have stronger 3.3V and 5V rails. I really don't know what's important here.

http://takaman.jp/D/?english

That is a good power supply calculator. It is important to get the right amount of power on each rail for the components you have. You would want to go higher than the minimum since you want to OC.

Jaime

 

[Baked]

Antec 430W-TPII from SVC = $77

 

[Arcanedeath]

Of the choices you listed I'd suggest the Seasonic or the XClio, w/ the Seasonic getting the nod. the coolermaster is made by coolmax and I don't really trust them.

 

[kev182]

definetly go for the 430W TPII with dual 17A 12V rails, the realpower really wouldnt be good

www.thenerds.net has it for 70 usd

 

[Zepper]

CoolerMaster is made by Real Power, the Meridian Technology XClio is made by Channel Well (who also make most Antec, Enermax, etc. and major assemblies for PCP&C). I would buy the XClio if I were in the market for a PSU today. You aren't going to get the combo of output/efficiency/features (including active Power Factor Correction) that you get with the 450 for less money - check the http://www.XClio.com web site to see ALL the features!!! About the only way it could be improved is to go back to single 12V rail.

.bh.