PSU question

[BiPolar]

Has anyone heard anything about the coolmax taurus 550 PSU? I've read some reviews, which seem to all be good, but being that I have not heard of this company before (not like antec/enermax), I am wary about purchasing a PSU from them. My first choice for a psu is the enermax 431p-ve, but I haven't found yet in my price range yet Since I came aross this coolmax, I thought i'd try and find some more info about it. Does coolmax have a good reputation, does anyone use their psu's? My current hardware configuration is as follows:
Abit NF7-S
2700+ (will overclock once I get new PSU)
1gb Kingston DDR 3200
Maxtor 80gb HD
LiteOn 52X CDRW
Samsung DVD/CDR
Zip250
Floppy
MSI Ti4200
2 icute casefans
Firewire/USB 2.0 card

I know the 550 is above and beyond what i need, but this purchase is also so that i won't have to upgrade my psu in the near future.

THanks,

Bipolar

 

[BoomAM]

Actually, you probably will have to upgrade the PSU, as within a year, the new BTX form factor comes out, and will almost certainly require a different PSU connector.
I would stick with a decent make for PSUs, theres no point risking it.
I`d reccommend Antec over Enermax personally. A 430W Antec would be ideal, and should be cheaper than the Enermax.

And Welcome to AnandTech Forums.

 

[BiPolar]

Thanks for the response, and the for the welcome. WHy do you like the antec's better? The enermax units seem to get better reviews.

I take it you haven't heard of coolmax, or is that you've heard of them and don't have a good opinion?

 

[BoomAM]

Componets made by companies that ive never heard of, very very rarely are any good. And most of the time, have critical flaws.
The Enermax`s are good, but i prefer the Antecs, due to the fact that they have seperate voltage regulators for each line. Which no other PSU does. Its been argued that it makes no difference, but imo it does. The Antecs PSUs also tend to be slightly cheaper than the Enermax`s as well.
You can`t really go wrong with either, but from a personal preference point of view, i perfer the Antecs, and reccommend them to everyone who asks.

 

[BiPolar]

Thanks boom. I definitely appreciate the help. I'll just keep waiting until an antec or enermax at a good price comes up. Until then I'll keep slugging along with my non-oc'd mobo and cpu until i can replace my powerman 300w.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: BoomAM[/i]
Actually, you probably will have to upgrade the PSU, as within a year, the new BTX form factor comes out, and will almost certainly require a different PSU connector.
I would stick with a decent make for PSUs, theres no point risking it.
I`d reccommend Antec over Enermax personally. A 430W Antec would be ideal, and should be cheaper than the Enermax.

BoomAM I was thinking of buying the old ATX form factor power supply in 4 months when I get a new videocard just in case the 350watts I have isnt good enough as the 3.3 rails drop to below 3.18. I was wondering if the new BTX form factor is backwards compatible with the ATX board? Or each motherboard requires a completely different type of the power supply? It was be amazing if you could use the new form factor for old motherboards as well then I would wait.

 

[BoomAM]

From what ive read on alot of websites;
ATX boards wont work in BTX cases, and visa versa. And the BTX form factor will most likely use a new type of mobo connector for the PSU as well.

 

[BiPolar]

How about the Aspire 500w? Have you heard anything about them. I've seen some potential issues with the 12v rail, but wanted to see if the anandtech folks have anything to say.

 

[BoomAM]

Never heard of them personally.
But without sounding like a broken record;
Go for a PSU made by a well known company, like Antec, Enermax, Zalman, Vantec, Cheiftec, ThermalTake,ect;
As well as having more ppl that`ll have the PSU, allowing more questions & info to be found, you can also expect better tech support and more detailed info on the PSUs as well.

 

[BiPolar]

Not too sound wishy-washy. But i finally decided i'm just going to wait until i see an antec/enermax that i want at the right price. No more looking at flashy psu's.

THanks for all of your help.