power supply - please recommend

[sathyan]

My current PSU is overheating (causing intermittent restarts) so I thought I'd take this opportunity to upgrade.

I'm currently using a 700MHz Athlon but will be upragding to an Intel or AMD offering around 2 GHz within a year so the PSU should be able to handle more than my immediate requirements.

budget: I don't want to spend over $100
ATX
power needed for: 3 7200 rpm HDD, dvd, cdr, dvdr, floppy, athlon cpu, 4 fans, radeon
quiet would be nice but not necessary
3-pin PSU fan monitoring would be nice

I run this system 24/7 so reliability is the major concern


which PSU's should I be looking at/ avoiding?

Antec TruePower 380? (http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20021021/powersupplies-15.html)

thanks
Sathyan

P.S. by how much should voltage levels vary from 3.3/5/12 spec?

 

[fredtam]

The Antec 380 would be fine. I use a True 430 and have no problems. Voltages are right (close), its quiet, and the cables are long.

 

[ahsia]

TruePower are very popular, and you can get it for under $100 easily. Enermax makes great PSU as well. Check reviews at newegg....

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Fortron? Sparkle? Antec? Enermax.

Those would all be pretty good. 350W or 400W would be plenty.

*edit*

Spelling 😱

 

[Cerb]

Fortron 300w or 350w.
The ones using the 120mm fan on the bottom are very quiet, and have proven to be very good supplies. I have a feeling they really love Tom's Hardware now 🙂.
If you want something more robust, jack the price right up and get an Antec Truepower. Even the 330w can take far more than you'd think for the wattage rating (the whole separate rails thing), but allegedly the 380w and above are quieter (Haven't touched any above the 330w, but even it was alright for noise, though not as quiet as my Fortron).
Enermax PSUs are perfectly good, but a bit expensive. PSU prices have changed a bit. Two years or so ago I would have wholeheartedly recommended Enermax PSUs, but the Antec Truepower and other high-end PSUs have seriously dropped in price, and Enermax ones have done so much more slowly.
...OTOH, checking Anandtech's PSU review, Enermax does have a couple positive points if you're running the amchine 24/7 for weeks at a time.

 

[montyw]

I am looking at PCPOWERCOOLING unit 425 watt. Specs seems terrific.
1% regulation on +3.3;+5;+12 volt lines 3% on -5 & -12 volt lines. Ripple is rated @ 1% p-p (peak to peak).
Overvoltage on +3.3; +5 & +12 lines
Overcurrent on +3.3; +/-5 lines;+/- 12 lines.
3.3 & 5 volt lines supply over 300 watts combined.
Think a lot of stuff can be run for a long time but costs from co. $135.20! Their 300w supply is $60 & 350w is $67 but specs not as tight. There is the rub. This maybe used to power a Athlon64 bit CPU rig in future. Think about something that lasts longer than CPU speed claims. I'd buy the best power I could afford! Special Paint jobs, light tubes, lighted fans etc come second to a stable system and it all starts at the power supply!!!!!

MontyW

 

[mechBgon]

Antec TruePower units are pretty quiet, have fan RPM monitoring for their rear fan via a three-pin plug, come with a 3-year warranty and have some other interesting features like active voltage regulation and independent circuitry for the 3.3V and 5V lines. I have a TP430 in both my home and work systems now, as well as over two dozen TP330's in our work fleet.

Incidentally, I got my newer TP430 from Newegg about a week ago and it has the neat-o black plugs, which is sure to give me an additional 150-200MHz because they look so trick 😎 😉 And not only that, but it has SATA plugs.

edit: I'm not trying to be an Antec nazi here, the other brands suggested are good too 😀

 

[jhites]

Antec Tru480
You may never need another PS ever again. 😉