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Thermaltake PSU Advice Needed

R

rugger29

Member
Hey, all. I'm upgrading some components in my rig, and wanted to protect my investment. I have a fairly generic 350watt PSU right now, (although I've learned the watt rating is fairly useless).

Firstly, I'm interesting active PFC. Are there any benefits for active vs. passive besides the power savings from efficiency?

I've done a bit of research and found Thermaltake PurePower series seems to get excellent reviews. Their prices seem reasonable considering the quality. I'm on a budget but would like to figure out what my options are.

The 3 PSU's I'm considering:

Tt PurePower 480 (W0014)

Tt PurePower 460 (W0063)

TR2 430 (W0069)

Now I'm fairly certain >400 watts should be fine for my system. I'm going to have an Athlon 64 3000+, 1gig Ram, 4 hard drives, 4 fans, 1 dvd-rw, 1 floppy, Radeon AIW 7500 card (no poking fun, I'll upgrade it in due time!).

The PurePower 480 seems cheap in price, but doesn't support the newer technologies (multiple SATA support, PCI Xpress plug, 24/20pin connector, active PFC). If I buy a $50+ PSU I'm hoping it'll stick around for a while.

The PurePower 460 seems ideal, as it has the best technologies, efficiency, and strong power..... but I can't for the life of me find the W0063 for sale.

Regarding the TR2 430, my main concern is this TR2 offshoot company of ThermalTake. I can find this PSU for sale, it's got adaquate power, plenty of plugs, and active PFC. But I can't find any reviews on the TR2 brand of PSU. Does their quality match that of the Tt PurePower brand? Their model naming convention plugs directly in with the official Tt scheme.

Any advice someone could provide would be appreciated. Thanks!

 
why are you so keen about getting tt ?

sure they get good reviews, yet from what I heard they arent so trusty as other manufactors.

...must be a reason whey they are so cheap 😉

if you want a psu for years of use I'd say get tagan/enermax/antec/pcpower...


 
I'm on my second 420w thermaltake PSU, cause the first one died after 3 days..I'll never trust another one to my main rig, it's in my backup rig where it will stay..
 
its not that thermaltake are bad ... but there are definitley others that are better, even for the price (enermax,seasonic,ocz... or x-connect,raidmax if you want to spend less)

I also think you have PFC and efficiency confused; they can be related but not nessessarily
 
I appreciate all the quick feedback. I really don't have too much experience in the PSU field, so I'm open to all suggestions. I've just been surfing forums and looking at reviews. Looks like the ThermalTake might not be the best way to go.

Let me put it bluntly then, what advantages does active PFC provide?

What do people suggest for my situation? I'd like something up to date, of good quality, and inexpensive (I know I'm asking for a lot in one package)

Would something like the Enermax EG425P-VE SFMA 2.0
be a better choice? I really don't want to spend >$85 on this.
 
If you don't want to spend more than $85, you might want to consider this one:

Seasonic Super Tornado 400 It's under $80.

Extremely efficient (80%) throughout its operating range so it runs cool, vents very well because of its 120mm fan, active PFC, 22 Amps continuous on its single 12V rail, 24-pin mobo connector, and best of all, it is THE quietest fan-cooled PSU your money can buy. Recommended by Silent PC Review.

If you want a dual-rail PSU, the Seasonic S12 (successor of the Super Tornado) are even more efficient, just as quiet, and excellent as well.
 
I heard the Seasonic S12's were really good. Looking over at Silent PC Review, they were describing how even the most draining real world desktops don't need nearly as much power as people think. Because of the 3 year warranty, and reputation, I was thinking perhaps the

Seasonic S12 Series ATX12V 2.0 380W
might fulfill all my needs and be a steal at $83 shipped.

What do you think?
 
what does everyone think of ASPIRE's psu's? I am looking into this one that comes with the case. 3dgameman.com gave it a good review, but I have heard a lot of naysayers voicing their opinions about it. Thoughts?
 
Rugger29, please listen to wisdomtooth. That wisdom is not in his name without a reason. I just purchased the S12 500 from eWiz and couldn't be more pleased. This thing is super quiet, lowered my case and cpu temps 3-4 degrees C, was well priced compared to Newegg, readings are 3.3, 5.0, and 12.1. I'm totally impressed with Seasonic, so I second what the wise one advised. Buy the Seasonic S12 430 from eWiz. You'll be glad you did. One of the best psu made.
 
Well, that's good enough for me. I looked into the Seasonic S12 and Enermax I'd mentioned, but I think I'll spend the extra $ and go with the S12 430. Plus it's even more efficient. I've never shopped at eWiz before, but if you guys have had good experiences with them, I'd consider that a good reference. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, Anandtech is the best source to come for knowledgable advice.

Thanks for all the help guys!
 
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