Seriously considering this power supply...

[rocketbubba]

Power Supply

I've seen Tagan mentioned a few times as building decent stuff - anybody have any experience with these? It looks like a decent supply for the price. 28a on the +12 rail looks pretty good, as well as a dedicated shielded molex connector for a video card.

This would be for a budget system: nForce2 mobo, 2500+ @ 3200, 6600GT (the main reason I need to upgrade my psu), 2 hdds, 2 optical drives, and about 6 fans (4 w/ leds).

~$70 shipped is about what I can afford. Thanks.

Edit: also considering This 520w aluminum Aspire PSU Not sure about the Aspire brand but the specs and reviews look good. Thanks.

 

[ribbon13]

There are some diehard fans of Tagan around here. Made in germany.

 

[CraigRT]

I read that E-power is no good, aside from the Tagan series

 

[Mem]

That`s an EPOWER Cheetah PSU,review here ,decent enough review,apart from the fan only header problem,just don`t use that.


Anything by Antec,Tagan,PC&P,Fortron,OCZ, etc..... will be on the very right track PSU wise.

 

[rocketbubba]

Thanks for the input. I've done some more research and I'm looking at a few others as well.

 

[KHarvey16]

Check out this round-up:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?head=64&page=2279

Tagan 480 comes out on top. I was under the impression E-Power was just their US distributor. Is this correct?

 

[rocketbubba]

Thanks for the link! The Tagan brand looks good to me. By the way, the link on Newegg says "Epower/Tagan" - which is the company name? I ask because they have some psus listed as "Tagan" Series. Is Epower their economy line?

Also, I saw this Aspire psu and was impressed by its numbers and feedback ratings on Newegg. Aspire 520Watt According to the label its 3.3/5/12 amp ratings are 30/32/35 - those are good numbers even when compared to more expensive brands. Anybody have experience with these?

 

[ribbon13]

Epower is an American distributor for Tagan (German)

Avoid all non-Tagan Epower supplies

 

[rocketbubba]

Ok, thanks. So what about the Aspire supply I've listed? Again, this is for a budget machine. Thanks.

 

[Sniper82]

Well I think about any cheap PSU will do as long as your not putting it on a high end, or high o/ced system. Thing with cheap PSU's is they work well with low load system but once they are loaded the components in them just can't handle it for long and they just blow. Whats the system specs this is going in?

 

[KHarvey16]

Originally posted by: ^Sniper^
Well I think about any cheap PSU will do as long as your not putting it on a high end, or high o/ced system. Thing with cheap PSU's is they work well with low load system but once they are loaded the components in them just can't handle it for long and they just blow. Whats the system specs this is going in?

The Tagan is only a "cheap" PSU in relation to its price, not quality. It competes(and often beats) more expensive PSU's handily.

 

[Sniper82]

Originally posted by: KHarvey16

Originally posted by: ^Sniper^
Well I think about any cheap PSU will do as long as your not putting it on a high end, or high o/ced system. Thing with cheap PSU's is they work well with low load system but once they are loaded the components in them just can't handle it for long and they just blow. Whats the system specs this is going in?

The Tagan is only a "cheap" PSU in relation to its price, not quality. It competes(and often beats) more expensive PSU's handily.

Well I myself and considering a Tagan. I was refering to the Aspire as far as being cheap. Should have pointed that out.

 

[rocketbubba]

Thanks for the replies.

Here are the system specs:
nForce2 Ultra mobo
XP2500+ o/c'd to 3200+ (only o/cing I do - cpu cooler is LED modded)
1 GB (2X512) PC3200
6600GT AGP
6 case fans (4 w/LEDs - yes this is windowed case)
Fan controller w/ backlit fan speed and temp readouts and 2 LED-lit knobs.
Additional fan controller w/LED-lit knobs
2 DVD drives
2 7200rpm HDDs
Floppy, modem, etc.

Looks are a factor. I have a cheap "480w" psu in there now and it's not holding up. It was doing ok until I stuck the 6600GT in there. 99% sure it's the psu because pulling the aux-power plug on the 6600GT (running in 2D only of course) and everything is stable again. Anyway, I'm looking for a good quality supply that will do the job in a tight budget.

Question: how important are the amp ratings on the rails? I've read that 3.3 should be >26a and that 12 should be >30a. I ask because I've seen many "quality" supplies (Antec to name one) with 24a or less on the 12v rail.

Thanks everybody.

 

[Sniper82]

Hmmm is it safe to be pulling any kind of power plugs from anything while the PC is running? Minus case fans of course?

 

[charlietee]

Fortron Blue Storm...

 

[ribbon13]

Yes. It's called hotswap.

That's not mentioning there is special design protocol for it though.

 

[piroroadkill]

Originally posted by: ^Sniper^
Hmmm is it safe to be pulling any kind of power plugs from anything while the PC is running? Minus case fans of course?

I wouldn't risk it.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
There are some diehard fans of Tagan around here. Made in germany.

No. Made in China by Topower, actually. Tagan is a German company, just as OCZ and Raid Max are American companies that also use Topower power supplies.

Mini review:

Tagan, OCZ and Raid Max are all pretty much the same on the inside. The reason to buy one over the other is down to subtle differences.

All three have thermostatically controlled fans mounted with rubber grommets.

The OCZ has most of it's wattage regulated to the 12V rail, and of course the externally mounted potentionmeters. It's also Active PFC.

With 18A on the 12V rail and 45A on the 5V rail, the Raid Max obviously has most of it's wattage regulated to the 5V. The Raid Max also has passive PFC. The Raid Max, like the OCZ, has capacitors and iron ferrite cores wrapped around two of the 4-pin Molexes to help clean ripple and reduce interference (pretty cool idea IMHO.) It is a pretty decent PSU and is only $87.50... Probably the nicest PSU out there with only 18A on the 12V rail, but only consider it if you're using an AGP video card and not if you're using a gas hog LGA775 CPU.

The Tagan is sort of the happy of mediums. It doesn't have fan only power connectors and capacitors and iron ferrite cores on the Molexeslike the Raid Max and it doesn't have user adjustable potentionmeters (whoopee!) like the OCZ. It "only" has 28A on the 12V rail which is still more than the Raid Max, and is active PFC. The big draw is that is costs less than the OCZ... it only costs $78.99! The OCZ is $140!

All prices are Newegg prices, BTW.

As for unplugging things from a running PSU... Only a good idea if the device is meant to do this, like a hot swappable HDD. If you plug in other devices while the PSU is up and running, you likely won't hurt anything because if the connection arcs, the PSU should just shut down. But then you have to unplug it... wait about 2 minutes... and then plug it back in and fire it back up again. Might as well just shut down and plug in, right?

 

[KHarvey16]

I was under the impression the Tagan models were made in Germany. The press release given to Toms Hardware indicates the PSU's are at least engineered in-house.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Nope. Just look under the hood of all three if you get a chance. They're all identical visually. They all have components labeled with "TOP" and "Viking" (signs of Topower manufacturered units.)

Here's the label from the Tagan: http://www.trustedreviews.com/images/article/inline/1014-34.jpg

Made in China. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

What's funny is the shielding on the Raid Max power supply's cables.... actually say Tagan on them!!! DOH!

 

[jonnyGURU]

Oh.. and the OCZ also has capacitors and iron ferrite cores wrapped around some of the 4-pin Molexes. Not sure if the shielding on them says Tagan like the Raid Max ones do.

EDIT: That Cheetah is not a Tagan. You fooled me with your post! I guess I should have clicked the link before I began typing. EPower is a distributor sort of like Powmax. They have their "private label" line of PSU's and then they import/distribute/sell other people's power supplies, like Tagan. I'm not saying that the Cheetah is anything like a Powmax. That's just an analogy I'm using. From the specs alone, it looks quite decent... Could also be made by Topower for all I know... but it's not a Tagan.

 

[Arcanedeath]

Any ideas on this powersupply? Rosewill is Neweggs house brand not sure who makes it but the reviews are all good and seems to have good raitings on it's rails.... Rosewill 550W Black Mirror Power Supply with 1 x 120mm UV Blue LED Fan, Model "RP550" -RETAIL

 

[KHarvey16]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
Nope. Just look under the hood of all three if you get a chance. They're all identical visually. They all have components labeled with "TOP" and "Viking" (signs of Topower manufacturered units.)

Here's the label from the Tagan: http://www.trustedreviews.com/images/article/inline/1014-34.jpg

Made in China. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

What's funny is the shielding on the Raid Max power supply's cables.... actually say Tagan on them!!! DOH!

Is it possible they are engineered in Germany and manufactured in China? Otherwise the profile on their website would be misleading at best. They claim to have come together as a group of professionals who were frustrated at current power supply offerings and formed their own company. They say they designed these power supplies to do what they felt was necessary for a power supply to do.

Are you saying these are simply rebranded power supplies or are you just saying their manufactured, per Tagan's spec, by another company?

 

[JackDanielsDrinker]

I'm a big Seasonic fan because they're very quiet. Especially the Tornado series with the big 120mm fan.

Also, they have active apc, are very efficient (70-80%), have good voltage stability, and good power reserves. Also a 3yr warrantee, and read in one review that they cross ship replacements, though I don't have personal experience with this. On top of that, ATX 2 compatibility (24 pin connector, 8 pin dual cpu connector, 4 pin cpu connector, 2 SATA power connectors). I believe it includes a converter if your motherboard has a 20 pin connector.

Super Tornado 400 watt (~28a 3.3v, ~28a 5v, 22a 12v) is $75 on Newegg w/rebate.

www.seasonicusa.com

They have an S12 series just coming out that is phat, but they are pricey and hard to find.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: KHarvey16
I was under the impression the Tagan models were made in Germany. The press release given to Toms Hardware indicates the PSU's are at least engineered in-house.

Apparently they are designed by MaxPoint in Germany. As to where they are mfg, who knows. My (rather nice) Advent AV270 Power Partners speakers, are "Designed in the USA. Mfg in China". I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many industries are the same.

I'm curious about the TTGI/Topower/Tagan connection, since the OCZ's heatsinks do look kind of like the same ones in my SuperFlower/TTGI supply, and both OCZ and SuperFlower are "Made in China" by Topower, apparently.

Edit: It's actually kind of re-assuring, to see RaidMax using Topower-made supplies. I also saw some aluminum cases recently on a site, listed as Raidmax brand, made by Chenming. So it seems as though the products that they are branding, are at least of reasonably quality.

Who makes Codegen PSUs? Codegen? They are at least a step up from the Deer/Allied/L&C models, as far as I can tell, but not seemingly up to the standards of Topower-made units.