Good Power Supplies without going nuts

[Jeffyboy]

Hi Guys/Gals...

I need to get a more powerful PSU... 400W+ Kinda strange... I mean, I've never had trouble with mediocre power supplies before... and Zalman has treated me well too... I am seeing all these nicely wrapped modular power supplies available and thinking wow, cool. IS anything highly recommended?
I would like something with Active PFC.

The 400W zalman is active PFC... but a mess of cables... not nice n' tidy like some... what you guys happy with?

Jeff

 

[mechBgon]

Do you know what Active PFC does? I wouldn't be worrying about that feature (or lack thereof). Will you need 24-pin ATX support now, or in the predicted lifespan of the PSU, and what do you plan to power with it? Full specs?

 

[Jeffyboy]

Some of the modular power supplies I hear provide both... but in the meantime, just 20 pin ATX connector before I eventually upgrade to an nforce4 board with a 24 pin no doubt. I know what Active PFC does. It allows the PSU to operate at best efficiency, it reduces harmonics, it corrects for AC input voltage better than the others... not that I prolly care much being behind a UPS... but, every inch of prevention is a plus

hehe.

Jeff

 

[Sonic587]

As mech mentioned, what are your planned specs for your new system?

 

[Jeffyboy]

ooohhh.hehe. I want the PSU in my old system now because I just got a Gigabyte 6600GT... so I need to upgrade the PSU with an Asus A8N7X board 2500+. I will eventually go up to an nforce4 board... maybe in 4 months or so and won't be using the same power supply... I just may get a new one. I have 3 computers and upgrade each of them over time. In 4 months I may put a new pcie motherboard in to a Lianli box I have and get a new video card and PSU

Jeff

 

[gamerj]

i would definately recommend the "Antec Neopower 480" Or 380 for that matter....

http://www.antec.com/us/produc...ails.php?ProdID=24480#

Its quiet as a mouse, rock solid,...0.1 volts fluctuation when changing from 100 to 400 watts, (and it controls your case fans for you lol)

read some reviews about the neo....and judge for yourself,

 

[mechBgon]

Active PFC is beneficial... to your utility company, that is. Do a Forum search on Active PFC and you'll get some good info on it.

It would help if you gave full specs (how many drives, cards, memory modules, etc). Assuming a typical enthusiast's OC'ed 2500+ system with a 6600GT and two each of hard drives and optical drives, you might look at Enermax's 460W Whisper II. It's overkill, but you said you wanted 400W+ and it's only about $16 more than the 350W model.

Here's another one I heard good remarks about: Fortron Blue Storm, 24-pin with a 24-to-20 converter, single 120mm fan, dual 12-volt rails... and of course what REALLY matters is it's riced up with sleeved cables :Q dude!

 

[Zepper]

. I suggest checking out Silverstone (made by Enhance) - hard to beat for the money.
No, Jeffyboy. All aPFC does makes the PSU look more like a resistor to the power grid rather than a reactive load - and does it better than Passive PFC. If you have a slew of machines you could save a bit on your power bill if all of them were aPFC as the power draw isn't spread over time as much as an unequipped PSU (my computer's PF, per the P3 "Kill A Watt" meter, is around 0.5, while a perfect PF is 1 (the PF of a solid-state resistor like carbon or metal film - wirewounds have a bit of reactivity) - aPFC usually gets the PF to between 0.9 and 1). Other design factors of high-end PSUs (which those with aPFC usually are) are the cause of most of the effects you mentioned.
. Eeewrope [sic] and other bankrupt socialist utopias require PFC on power supplies to keep from having to add more generating capacity.

.bh.

Where's the :sun: ?

 

[Jeffyboy]

Cooool... thanks guys ;-) I thought active PFC would be better for AC fluxuations that Passive PFC wouldn't be able to cope with... then again... I am behind a UPS so who cares right? hehe.

I've heard news about some of the Blue Storm PSUs failing review tests n stuff. I know they are cheaper than most PSUs... and definately better than the one I currently have. Any experience with the OCZ power supplies?

The neopower looks cool...oooo, ahhhhh.

Jeff