Power Supply Question - need help from the EE out there

[Fuelrod]

I was looking at the specs for the Thermaltake Silent PurePower 420 series and 480 series. According to the documentation (420 specs here, 480 specs here) they both have the same max loads on each rail, both have the exact same over voltage trip points, same ripple values, and in general same specs on everything except max power. If they both have all the other specs the same, what is it inside the power supply that gives the 480 more max power? Forgive me if this is a stupid question but I was never good at electricity and I always been curious about it. Thanks.

 

[JSSheridan]

Well, I had a look and couldn't find a difference myself. My guess would be that the specs are incorrect for either or both products. Aside from that, the max power rating is half fact and half marketing these days anyway, so it's useless as far as I'm concerned. Peace.

 

[Fuelrod]

If the specs are incorrect, then they are printed incorrectly on the power supply itself. You can go to Newegg and look at the product pics and the same specs are on both power supply labels. As far as the marketing goes, I agree with you. That is why I'm wondering about the difference. Could the 420W be a 480W in disguise; the world may never know??

 

[lenjack]

Why not contact Thermaltake on this?

 

[mlt001]

The ratings of the individual rails are be the same but the combined output power may be different. Just add up the individual rail output and you would notice the sum is higher than the rated output. The reason is it cannot put out the maximum power on all rails at the same time. The 420W unit has a 220W maximum combined output of the 5V and 3.3V rails. I don't know about the 480W unit but I suspect it is higher, meaning the rails can put out more power at the same time.

 

[Balex99]

I am sure there is something to it or they would'nt cost any different. The 420 is running around $45 and the 480 is at $60. Thermaltake is a pretty reputable manufacturer so I would say go for the 480 just to be on the safe side, unless you already bought the 420 and are trying to make yourself feel better.