PSU advise needed. Are all Sparkles made the same?

[NeoPTLD]

I stumbled across a 300W Sparkle power supply for $20 shipped, a generic price. Are all Sparkles made the same or am I going to be getting one of the generic OEMs baring a Sparkle label?

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: NeoPTLD
I stumbled across a 300W Sparkle power supply for $20 shipped, a generic price. Are all Sparkles made the same or am I going to be getting one of the generic OEMs baring a Sparkle label?

nice link would be of help..

 

[NeoPTLD]

The merchant doesn't even provide model beyond Sparkle 300W OEM.

 

[imported_Mactron]

Originally posted by: NeoPTLD
I stumbled across a 300W Sparkle power supply for $20 shipped, a generic price. Are all Sparkles made the same or am I going to be getting one of the generic OEMs baring a Sparkle label?

Had good luck with many Sparkles. Maybe check out Newegg for better resolution/clarity of what your looking at. HTH

 

[PhoenixOrion]

sparkles are great psu's made by same fortron folks.

 

[NeoPTLD]

Originally posted by: Mactron

Originally posted by: NeoPTLD
I stumbled across a 300W Sparkle power supply for $20 shipped, a generic price. Are all Sparkles made the same or am I going to be getting one of the generic OEMs baring a Sparkle label?

Had good luck with many Sparkles. Maybe check out Newegg for better resolution/clarity of what your looking at. HTH

Only problem is Sparkle PSUs comes in more than one flavor of 300W if you check their website...

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

just got a sparkle after my gernaric one went splone. it's good sofar real steady voltage rails.
i think all sparkles are high quality psu's. just not as fancy or quiet as other brands that charge twice as much.

 

[trexpesto]

Originally posted by: NeoPTLD
The merchant doesn't even provide model beyond Sparkle 300W OEM.

Got a phone?

 

[duragezic]

I am not very informed when it comes to PSUs, but I believe someone said that the Sparkle models with FSP-* are the Fortron-made models, so they are prolly the better (and more expensive) ones. I learned that a couple minutes after placing my order a 350w Hi-Q Sparkle PSU with the FSP model being only slightly more expensive, oops. But hopefully this is still a pretty high quality one since it is a Sparkel afterall, I will find out today since my case just came in!

 

[NeoPTLD]

I emailed them. They haven't responded, so screw them. It's probably the cheap one judging from the price.

I looked on www.sparklepower.com and there are indeed ATX-xxx and FSP-xxx. When you look at rail current ratings, the FSP series is clearly superior.

 

[duragezic]

^^^ Yeah but even the cheaper ones still have strong ratings. The 350w Sparkle Hi-Q that I had ordered came in a couple days ago and I moved my rig over to that case/PSU, its rated way higher than the 300w PSU in my Inwin full tower (Fortron made I assume, since the model is FSP-xxx). That 300w worked just fine for my 2 7200rpm hdds, 2 cdroms, barton 3200+, 9800 pro, etc... so this one is plenty.

That said, I still wish I would've sprung the extra $5 to get a Fotron-made one, but its still a Sparkle so no biggie. Definitely cheaper than the Antec's, which would be pretty overkill for any system similar to mine.

 

[Zepper]

The FSP models are the high line, the ATX models are the budget line. I've seen a Sparkle 300W at an odd-lot electronic parts jobber's site for under $20. It is an FSP model but an older one that lacks the P4-12V connector. Get an adaptor and you're in bidness...
. And there are levels within the FSP model series - e.g. the ones with active PFC are even better made than the ones without it - and you pay for the quality.
.bh.