Oye! Which of these two PSU's do i get?

IEC

Elite Member
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Jun 10, 2004
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I would think the Thermaltake would be better power than the genera-brand Aspire. Thermaltake makes some decent products, occasionally... ;)

Edit: The 18A for the 12V shouldn't be a problem unless you have a very high end rig... then I would suggest getting a Zalman 400W instead, or maybe an Enermax or Antec...
 

imported_whatever

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Jul 9, 2004
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if you are willing to spend a bit more, go with the Fortron 530. It is a VERY high quality unit, and relatively inexpensive too ($76 @ newegg iirc).
 

Ephemeris

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Nov 16, 2004
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so a 400W would be okay for my rig? I dont know where i got the misconception that i'd need at least 420...
 

Insomniak

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Sep 11, 2003
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400W would be fine, and I'd go with the Thermaltake, although to be honest, I would forgo both of those and pick up a 350-380w Antec or Enermax instead. 380W Antec > 400-420W Aspire or Thermaltake.

Whatever you get, just make sure it has a strong 12v rail - with 4 HDDs and 2 Opticals, you'll be pulling pretty hard on the 12v rail. I would recommend at LEAST 20 amps, above 30 if you can manage it.
 

Operandi

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Oct 9, 1999
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Those are both pretty bad, I wouldn't get either of them.

Look at 350 watt + units with 20 + amps on the 12v, 30 is a bit excessive. Antec, Enermax, Seasonic, Tagan, Zalman, or Forton are some of the best out there.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
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looked at those antec's but they seem a little expensive or is it cus those are "actual" wattage ratings and not the fake ones that they all put out. so say would an antec true power 380W outperform these 2, even the 500W one???
 

Ephemeris

Junior Member
Nov 16, 2004
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Armed with the knowledge i've gained.. i've seen a couple more choices open up

ENERMAX Noisetaker Series 370W Power Supply (says it has Separate (dual?) 12V rails at 14A ..that a good thing?)


Antec P4 ATX12V 450 Watt Power Supply ($10 over my $60 limit tho..)

E-POWER 450W Power Supply ($43 +12V@28A..wow)
(hope this is a good one; and it has enough molex connects)


E-POWER "Tagan" Series 380W Power Supply (Strange.. this one is labelled as a Tagan PSU unlike the other; and it costs more.

Hmm. is a refurbished one bad?
another Tagan
 

Insomniak

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Sep 11, 2003
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Originally posted by: Ephemeris
Armed with the knowledge i've gained.. i've seen a couple more choices open up

ENERMAX Noisetaker Series 370W Power Supply (says it has Separate (dual?) 12V rails at 14A ..that a good thing?)


Antec P4 ATX12V 450 Watt Power Supply ($10 over my $60 limit tho..)



If you have to pick, go with those two...I can tell you right now, the Antec could handle pretty much any system setup on the market excluding maybe SLI'd ultras.

Dual 12v rails on the enermax @ 14 amps means basically, yes, you're gettinga total of 28 amps on the 12v,
 

Ephemeris

Junior Member
Nov 16, 2004
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Thanks for your help and recommendations!

Compared the two Insomniak chose, read some reviews, and purchased the enermax this morning. Thanks again guys = )