Refurbished Sparkle Power Supplies--Possibly hot.

[earsjr]

FYI: Fry's has the Ultra XConnect 500W for $60 A-$20-R + tax... it's a bee-yoot, and mighty convenient & practical...

 

[statik213]

Originally posted by: wkwong

Originally posted by: statik213

Originally posted by: wkwong

Originally posted by: Byte

Originally posted by: LilGator
These are really Fortron PSU's ... note the 'FSP' in the product code.

Extremely solid PSUs, one of the best IMHO; too bad they don't have the 530w in there too...

another n00bie bought on wattage hype

lol. Yea, you would never use that much power anyways. Most computers only use around 200w most of the time. And before you go buy a cheap 550W psu, make note that Sparkle does not use a "max peak" style of rating their wattage. When they say 350W, that probably means its equivalent to some 500-600 PSU from a cheaper company.

all right mr. expert ,

Can one of the 400w sparkles handle,atlon xp 2500, mobo will have a SB live an al lan card firewire card, 2 7200 rpm ide hdds, 2 optical drives and a say 6600 vid. card? and 80mm fans...
and how much more can you push it? Say can it take say another two scsi 15k rpm hdds and upgrade to geforce 6800gt (do the higher end vid. cards pull that much more juice?)

-K

I'm not an expert

But I think it should be able to take that. I have a similar set up, 1 less HDD and a R9800Pro and I'm using an Antec True430 with no problems. Since Antec isn't a "continuous" 430, I guess one of those Sparkle 400W should easily handle your setup. I would change, but I'm wondering if the Sparkles are loud. The Antec is pretty noisy IMHO.

exactly what do you mean by continuous power?

 

[slpaulson]

Originally posted by: jmagg
I'm taking a shot on a 250. 17a on +12v looks good to me for a P3 machine.

Thanks op.

The +12V doesn't matter much on a P3, unless you have a beast of a video card.
Well at least not the extent that it matters on a P4 or Athlon 64, because P3 boards run the cpu off the 5V line.

 

[OulOat]

Originally posted by: statik213

Originally posted by: wkwong

Originally posted by: statik213

Originally posted by: wkwong

Originally posted by: Byte

Originally posted by: LilGator
These are really Fortron PSU's ... note the 'FSP' in the product code.

Extremely solid PSUs, one of the best IMHO; too bad they don't have the 530w in there too...

another n00bie bought on wattage hype

lol. Yea, you would never use that much power anyways. Most computers only use around 200w most of the time. And before you go buy a cheap 550W psu, make note that Sparkle does not use a "max peak" style of rating their wattage. When they say 350W, that probably means its equivalent to some 500-600 PSU from a cheaper company.

all right mr. expert ,

Can one of the 400w sparkles handle,atlon xp 2500, mobo will have a SB live an al lan card firewire card, 2 7200 rpm ide hdds, 2 optical drives and a say 6600 vid. card? and 80mm fans...
and how much more can you push it? Say can it take say another two scsi 15k rpm hdds and upgrade to geforce 6800gt (do the higher end vid. cards pull that much more juice?)

-K

I'm not an expert

But I think it should be able to take that. I have a similar set up, 1 less HDD and a R9800Pro and I'm using an Antec True430 with no problems. Since Antec isn't a "continuous" 430, I guess one of those Sparkle 400W should easily handle your setup. I would change, but I'm wondering if the Sparkles are loud. The Antec is pretty noisy IMHO.

exactly what do you mean by continuous power?

It's like the average over time. Peak numbers are always higher than continuous numbers to account for the fact that machinery generally draw a lot more power during startup than during normal running operation.

wkwong, I got the a 350W Fortron that I sometimes use to run 8 HDs (sucks lots of power). Never has a problem and it's pretty quiet with it's 120mm fan. Too bad those are OOS.

 

[jmagg]

Originally posted by: cRazYdood

Originally posted by: jmagg
I'm taking a shot on a 250. 17a on +12v looks good to me for a P3 machine.

Thanks op.

The +12V doesn't matter much on a P3, unless you have a beast of a video card.
Well at least not the extent that it matters on a P4 or Athlon 64, because P3 boards run the cpu off the 5V line.

Thanks for the info on the P3.
No beast of a vid card in this build.

P3 600 slot
TNT 2 vid card
Single harddrive
Single optical
Soundcard
Nic
Rear fan

 

[statik213]

Almost ready to jump on this. I'm trying to decied between this and a ThermalTake Silent Purepower W0009R 420W PS

http://www.directron.com/w0009.html

Any comments, anyone?

wkwong & OulOat thanks for the input!

 

[brewzer420]

Originally posted by: statik213
Almost ready to jump on this. I'm trying to decied between this and a ThermalTake Silent Purepower W0009R 420W PS

http://www.directron.com/w0009.html

Any comments, anyone?

wkwong & OulOat thanks for the input!

Go for the Sparkle. The TT rails are too weak.

 

[Zepper]

I got that email offer too. Quite tempting. If I had the spare cash, I'd buy one of those 550s just because...
. Most of these refurbs are old designs with the output weighted heavily to the +3.3/5V side vs the +12 side as needed by newer mobos and video cards - some even lack the P4-12V connector. But if that is what you need, this is an excellent price. But that 550 is a certified 800 lb. gorilla! 100% current spec and very Zippy-like - and that's A GOOD THING...

.bh.

p.s. I did grab a 400 Watter with the active PFC. I think they made a mistake in pricing that the same as the non-PFC one.bh.

 

[statik213]

Originally posted by: brewzer420

Originally posted by: statik213
Almost ready to jump on this. I'm trying to decied between this and a ThermalTake Silent Purepower W0009R 420W PS

http://www.directron.com/w0009.html

Any comments, anyone?

wkwong & OulOat thanks for the input!

Go for the Sparkle. The TT rails are too weak.

:frown: Dang it! Jumped on an ebay listing for the TT, shipped for $36.... it's supposed to be new.....
I looked at the specs for the TT and the sparkle, the TT had higher max outputs than the
sparkle and since it was new and would have cost me abt $3 more I went with the TT...
hopefully the diff. isn't too much..... maybe i can relist it on ebay and get the sparkle...

I really want to get a good PS 'cos my machine goes into this weird uncoorporative stages where it won't powerup (every two months or so) until I unplug everything and do a voodoo dance... I upgraded my mobo and it happened again.... i suspect it is the PS 'cos it an el cheapo brand (rated at 400w)....

My specs are:
Athlon xp 2500
Soyo KT-600 Dragon v.2
2 x 512MB pc2700
ATI Radeon 9000 128mb
1 x seagate 7200.2 80GB
1 x WD 7200.8 160GB
DVD-ROM
DVD-RW
SBLive
and Firewire card....

Looking to add two Raptors or 1 U160 scsi card and a (maybe two) 15k rpm 74GB SCSI HDD....
Think the TT can handle the load or should I get the Sparkle?

 

[Satyrist]

Originally posted by: statik213

Originally posted by: brewzer420

Originally posted by: statik213
Almost ready to jump on this. I'm trying to decied between this and a ThermalTake Silent Purepower W0009R 420W PS

http://www.directron.com/w0009.html

Any comments, anyone?

wkwong & OulOat thanks for the input!

Go for the Sparkle. The TT rails are too weak.

:frown: Dang it! Jumped on an ebay listing for the TT, shipped for $36.... it's supposed to be new.....
I looked at the specs for the TT and the sparkle, the TT had higher max outputs than the
sparkle and since it was new and would have cost me abt $3 more I went with the TT...
hopefully the diff. isn't too much..... maybe i can relist it on ebay and get the sparkle...

I really want to get a good PS 'cos my machine goes into this weird uncoorporative stages where it won't powerup (every two months or so) until I unplug everything and do a voodoo dance... I upgraded my mobo and it happened again.... i suspect it is the PS 'cos it an el cheapo brand (rated at 400w)....

My specs are:
Athlon xp 2500
Soyo KT-600 Dragon v.2
2 x 512MB pc2700
ATI Radeon 9000 128mb
1 x seagate 7200.2 80GB
1 x WD 7200.8 160GB
DVD-ROM
DVD-RW
SBLive
and Firewire card....

Looking to add two Raptors or 1 U160 scsi card and a (maybe two) 15k rpm 74GB SCSI HDD....
Think the TT can handle the load or should I get the Sparkle?

The 350 or 400 units ought to do fine.

 

[Zepper]

^^^^!!! Buuuuuuummmmmp!

Oh, and BTW, the X-Connect is substandard. In the last review I read on it, when they tried to push full output on the +12 rail, it BLEW UP! Stay away!

.bh.

 

[thunderroller]

good one

 

[Hammyton]

I just recieved the 350w PSU today and it was listed as 20pin ATX connector but it's actually 24pin... I have yet to contact them about the issue because I just recieved it but its just a warning to you all....

 

[BUBKA]

I got my FSP400-60GN(12V) the other day, great PSU, fixed all my random freezing problems and harddrives sometimes not spinning up, had a crappy TurboPower PSU that came with the case

These things are HEAVY, probably weighed 3X what the previous one did, and the exterior is thick aluminum, really nice PSU

also got some cheap PC Toy cables and lights and thumb screws for a few extra bucks (Y)

http://www.svc.com/fsp400-60gn.html

 

[statik213]

Originally posted by: BUBKA
I got my FSP400-60GN(12V) the other day, great PSU, fixed all my random freezing problems and harddrives sometimes not spinning up, had a crappy TurboPower PSU that came with the case

These things are HEAVY, probably weighed 3X what the previous one did, and the exterior is thick aluminum, really nice PSU

also got some cheap PC Toy cables and lights and thumb screws for a few extra bucks (Y)

http://www.svc.com/fsp400-60gn.html

Yeah, I just bought a thermaltake 420W PS on eBay and that thing weighs a ton. WOw, didn't expect to see such a huge difference, it's easy to see that the TT is way better quality than the el-cheapo DuraMax 400W i had...

 

[unclebud]

i bought this
http://secure.newegg.com/app/CustratingReview.asp?DEPA=1&item=17-104-966
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Sections+index-req-printpage-artid-106.html
http://global.aopen.com.tw/Products/power/fsp350-60pn(pf).htm
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article106-page4.html
for $50 from local vendor -- it's okay 11.71 like the review says...
did anyone notice that cc got antec sl350 for $29 ($30 mir)? if rebate didn't have to go to new york i would have been on it
thanks to op for creating a psu thread

 

[wasamicron]

I bought the FSP 400-60GN, just got it installed. My 3.3v readings are 2.932 using a voltmeter...is this acceptable?? Any way to adjust to improve the voltage?? Maybe I should RMA it.
Update:
Had to RMA power supply...monitored 3.3v line using voltmeter...went from being too low to way too high over a period of several hours.

 

[wasamicron]

Warning to all those who purchased these so called refurb power supplies...see my post above.