Fortron 500w psu for $96 shipped or Antec Neopower 480w psu for $99? Seasonic 430w???

[fstime]

550 watt Sparke. Same price with a nice beefy 12V.

 

[EternusNox]

Antec

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth

Originally posted by: toattett
Seasonic 430w PSU for $99 seems quite expensive.
430w PSU usually don't cost that much.

I'm willing to pay a little more for THE quietest fan-cooled PSUs your money can buy. It's a good investment for those who want a quiet computer.

I wouldn't think the Antec NeoPower and Forton 500w are that much noiser, as all of them only use one large 120mm fan for airflow.

 

[wisdomtooth]

The Fortron Blue Storm at 200W power draw is 12dB louder than the Seasonic Super Tornado. Test results HERE.

Ditto Antec Neopower. Test results HERE.

12dB is quite a lot, considering that the decibel scale is logarithmic. 150-200W power draw is normal for a computer these days under moderate use (i.e. video/music play back, burning a CD, etc). For those users who don't care about noise and just want a well-vented PSU to help keep their case cool, the Fortron Blue Storm and Antec Neopower are great choices.

But if you want to bring your computer to the next level of quiet, then it's definitely worth a few more bucks to get the Seasonic.

HTH.

 

[tallman45]

Seasonic S12's and Tornado's will pay for themselves in energy savings

80% efficiency is one of the highest of any power supply

For $99 one would be very hard pressed to locate a 430W PSU that has Active PS and
80% efficiency at 30%-50% power

Neopower has the Active PS but is only 63%-68% efficient at 30%-50% power, that is 30 watts wasted over an S12

Peak power for the Super Tornado 350W is 390W
Peak power for the S12 430W is 475w

Best deal out there right now is the Seasonic Super Tornado 350W for $59 + S/H. I have them in 3 systems all draw less than 120watts at idle, and are dead silent

2.4ghz P4, 1gb ram, 2 hdd, 9700Pro (less than 100 watts draw at Idle)
3000+ A64, 1gb ram, 2 hdd, x700Pro
3500+ A64, 1gb ram, 2 hdd, 9800 Pro