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Fortron & Sparkle 350W PSU $25 & $26 Shipped at Newegg

Sparkle makes great PSU's. They don't necessarily use the quietest fans (although the fans they have are normally good fans).
 
I've been debating whether or not to go with the HiQ but the difference between that one and the other one which I know is of good quality is only $10.
 
detailed specs for the ATX350GU

12V rail can provide 16A. Not bad, although I still prefer my Antec True430 that I got from the recent Directron deal, with 20A spec on the 12V rail. I'm using it to run a P4 system with three ATAPI devices, six 7200rpm IDE drives, one 15k rpm SCSI drive and the system is rock solid. 🙂
 
I've never had either of these, but at Newegg I saw subtle differences in at least the 300W version, the PowerQ series doesn't appear to be the same, slighlty different specs (though that could be a typo?) including different external casing and crappy Yate Loon fan... it's NOT just a different label on 'em, but perhaps otherwise the same design from different factory? Usually a junk fan spells trouble, an indicator of the total construction budget being lower, not just a 20 cent savings on the fan.

What's the significance? Sparkle has made some relabeled low-end stuff in the past, reserving their "Sparkle/Fortron" name on the labels of better units. It would be very helpful if someone with a regular Sparkle of same wattage could thoroughly compare one of these for us. In particular some of the generic-labeled Sparkles from past years had crap fans too.. several times I received dead systems where those !@##$ Yate Loon fans had seized then the PSU baked till the caps popped or a diode went out. If you have to spend $5 to replace the fan yourself you might as well buy the regular model. No vents on the underside either... that was one of my favorite things about the 300-350W models, that they could move a lot of air quietly.

These might be best used for someone you SELL a computer to, one of those "quality be damned build me the cheapest box possible" type buyers, where you need a power supply that can put out enough power to keep the system going till the cheaper fan, caps, or whatever, fail in a couple years... or I could be completely wrong. I'd rather spend the extra $10 on Sparkle or Fortron labeled units, though these days I'm wanting name-brand 400W for anything modern and near future.
 
For a few bucks more ($22 + shipping) you can get a better quality TTGI 320W PS with better ratings on the 3.3V and 5V rails:

TTGI 320W Super-Flower TT-320SS (320W) ATX Power Supply, +3.3V~28A, +5V~32A, +12V~16.0A. at directron.com

Personally, for an entry level system I would spring the extra $10 or so for the dual fan 350W TTGI for $28.99 + shipping. It has better amperage ratings than most cheap 420W PS's:

TTGI Super-Flower Silent TT-350SS 350W Dual Fans ATX Power Supply, +3.3V~28.0A, +5V~35.0A, +12V~16.0A at directron.com.

I would place TTGI one notch under Antec as far as quality, although personally I have had better luck with TTGI than Antec.
 
Originally posted by: BG4533
Are the Fortrons the 120mm fan ones?
Click to expand...

You can find them on this page. Good prices too! I think this 300 watter specced out to 390 watts before it had to reset in a THG psu shootout that actually appeared to be well written!

Newegg Fortron's

I'll vouch for the TTGI brand. Mine is flawless, but I'll prolly get a 120 mm Fortron next time.
 
awesome deals, however i do not need another psu. but at those prices... i am so tempted to get a spare 😛
 
Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
Sparkle makes great PSU's. They don't necessarily use the quietest fans (although the fans they have are normally good fans).
Click to expand...

I disagree. I went with the suggestion of AT when I bought my current 350 watt power supply, but all of the voltages across the board are slightly lower than they should be. If you need a quality power supply, go with Antec -- they're expensive, but proven over and over.
 
I'll vouch for the Hi-Q fortron. These are the best "budget" power supplies on the market, in my opinion. I recently used one to power a K7S5A motherboard and the original Athlon 1400 (A real energy hog!). The only PSU that would run it stably before was my Antec TruePower 430. Well, when I upgraded to another motherboard/CPU, this one was handed down to my son. Of course I kept the Antec. When I went looking for a cheaper PSU, I had read alot of good things about Fortron. I figured for $26 bucks, it was worth a shot.

I plugged it all in, and that sucker runs great! The power supply is a bit noiser than my Antec, but he finds it totally acceptable in his bedroom. If I ever need another PSU, I will definately pick another one of these up.
 
Originally posted by: docinthebox
detailed specs for the ATX350GU

12V rail can provide 16A. Not bad, although I still prefer my Antec True430 that I got from the recent Directron deal, with 20A spec on the 12V rail. I'm using it to run a P4 system with three ATAPI devices, six 7200rpm IDE drives, one 15k rpm SCSI drive and the system is rock solid. 🙂
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a lot of stuff 🙂 I'm trying to put together a P4 system myself and have questions about power. Do you think that the True380 from the Sonata (18A on the 12V rail I think) can handle this:

P4 2.8c
Asus P4P800 Deluxe
1GB RAM
2 optical drives
3 IDE 7200 HD's (possibly 4)
Radeon 8500
2 PCI cards
1 or 2 120mm fans
2 USB devices

The Fortrons' seem to be rated lower on the 12V rail in general, even the 400W model. Anybody know if they can handle a system with heavy 12V demands?
 
Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Originally posted by: docinthebox
detailed specs for the ATX350GU

12V rail can provide 16A. Not bad, although I still prefer my Antec True430 that I got from the recent Directron deal, with 20A spec on the 12V rail. I'm using it to run a P4 system with three ATAPI devices, six 7200rpm IDE drives, one 15k rpm SCSI drive and the system is rock solid. 🙂
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a lot of stuff 🙂 I'm trying to put together a P4 system myself and have questions about power. Do you think that the True380 from the Sonata (18A on the 12V rail I think) can handle this:

P4 2.8c
Asus P4P800 Deluxe
1GB RAM
2 optical drives
3 IDE 7200 HD's (possibly 4)
Radeon 8500
2 PCI cards
1 or 2 120mm fans
2 USB devices

The Fortrons' seem to be rated lower on the 12V rail in general, even the 400W model. Anybody know if they can handle a system with heavy 12V demands?
Click to expand...

The items that are going to use the 12V rail are the four IDE drives, two fans, the P4 CPU and maybe the optical drives. Considering I have three more drives than you and I'm doing fine on 20A for the 12V rail, I think your True380 should handle the load fine.
 
Originally posted by: vr4nothing
Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
Sparkle makes great PSU's. They don't necessarily use the quietest fans (although the fans they have are normally good fans).
Click to expand...

I disagree. I went with the suggestion of AT when I bought my current 350 watt power supply, but all of the voltages across the board are slightly lower than they should be. If you need a quality power supply, go with Antec -- they're expensive, but proven over and over.
Click to expand...
lol, if you think your motherboard's monitoring (voltage and temperature) are anything close to accurate, I've got some prime real estate in the arctic to sell you.
 
Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
Originally posted by: vr4nothing
Originally posted by: ThisIsMatt
Sparkle makes great PSU's. They don't necessarily use the quietest fans (although the fans they have are normally good fans).
Click to expand...

I disagree. I went with the suggestion of AT when I bought my current 350 watt power supply, but all of the voltages across the board are slightly lower than they should be. If you need a quality power supply, go with Antec -- they're expensive, but proven over and over.
Click to expand...
lol, if you think your motherboard's monitoring (voltage and temperature) are anything close to accurate, I've got some prime real estate in the arctic to sell you.
Click to expand...

I think my multimeter reports correctly, which coincidentally reports damn near what Motherboard Monitor says.
rolleye.gif
 
I got one of the Sparkles and MBM was showing 4.82 on the 5v. Read the above post and got out my trusty digital VOM. Direct read from a molex is 5.06v. I was worried The PSU was about to crap, now I am relieved. I wonder how good the rest of MBM's reading are.

Regards, Ed
 
Originally posted by: docinthebox
Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Originally posted by: docinthebox
detailed specs for the ATX350GU

12V rail can provide 16A. Not bad, although I still prefer my Antec True430 that I got from the recent Directron deal, with 20A spec on the 12V rail. I'm using it to run a P4 system with three ATAPI devices, six 7200rpm IDE drives, one 15k rpm SCSI drive and the system is rock solid. 🙂
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a lot of stuff 🙂 I'm trying to put together a P4 system myself and have questions about power. Do you think that the True380 from the Sonata (18A on the 12V rail I think) can handle this:

P4 2.8c
Asus P4P800 Deluxe
1GB RAM
2 optical drives
3 IDE 7200 HD's (possibly 4)
Radeon 8500
2 PCI cards
1 or 2 120mm fans
2 USB devices

The Fortrons' seem to be rated lower on the 12V rail in general, even the 400W model. Anybody know if they can handle a system with heavy 12V demands?
Click to expand...

The items that are going to use the 12V rail are the four IDE drives, two fans, the P4 CPU and maybe the optical drives. Considering I have three more drives than you and I'm doing fine on 20A for the 12V rail, I think your True380 should handle the load fine.
Click to expand...


P4 2.4c @ 3.12
Asus P4P800 Deluxe
2GB RAM
2 optical drives
6 IDE 7200 HD's
& 2 Raptors
Radeon 9800
4 80mm fans
2 USB devices

I was running it off of the 350.. blow it =)
 
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