• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Thermaltake Purepower 500W vs. Ultra X-Finity 500W

D

Drunkentig3r

Member
Well it finally happened-my Antec PSU finally bit the dust. I was worried because for a few months there was some sort of high-pitched whistling sound coming from my PC (only later did I find out it was coming from my PSU). Not only that, but once when I pressed the power button to my PC, the PSU just gave out halfway, and I had to wait over 2 hours for it come back on again. And so, tomorrow I am going to swing by my local Fry's Electronics to pick up a replacement PSU. I WAS considering getting a RMA through Antec and just getting a replacement, but way back I remember being told that the Smartpower series wasn't really that great of a PSU by Antec' standards. So instead, I narrowed it down to these two:

OLD PSU: Antec Smartpower 2.0 500W Modular Power Supply (Cable management, sleeved cables)

PSU I'm considering:

Thermaltake Purepower 500W PSU (mirror finish, no cable management, sleeved cables)


Ultra X-Finity 500W PSU (mirror finish, no cable management, Flexforce cables).


Mind you, I am on a budget here (buying gifts absolutely bankrupted me), so I am only considering these two that I have mentioned. So which one should I get?
 
Huh-I just realized the number of PSU-related topics popping up in here, and YES, I will read through the other topics to check for any useful info.

I checked out that list on ard|Forum regarding what PSU's to consider/avoid, and both the Ultra and Thermaltake PSU's I'm considering buying were on the "except" list while their respective manufacturers were on the "avoid" list.
 
Wouldn't recommend thermaltake purepower.... only thermaltakes i would even consider are the tought power ones 650 watts and above.
I got a 750 watt one for a month now or something, and its been good.


Have a look here, some of the ones reviewed should be within ur price range.
 
they're not known for being the best psu's either...

why are you aiming to buy from the lower end of the psu spectrum?
 
Is this Enhance ENP-5150GH outside of your price range? If so, then check out the 5140. I'd pick these over either of the ones you list, but if I HAD to choose from those, I'd go with the Tt as I REALLY DISLIKE Ultra.
. In any case, neither of the companies you list actually make power supplies, while Enhance does. They also OEM for others such as Silverstone. The Enhance 5150 is basically the same as the Silverstone Element of the same power rating. I recommend buying from PSU mfrs rather than middlemen/marketing companies like Antec/Tt/Ultra/etc...

.bh.
 
Originally posted by: Zepper
Is this Enhance ENP-5150GH outside of your price range? If so, then check out the 5140.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that you only get a 1 year warranty on that psu. Hopefully it never craps out because it is a nice psu. 🙂

I'd pick these over either of the ones you list, but if I HAD to choose from those, I'd go with the Tt as I REALLY DISLIKE Ultra.
Click to expand...

Ultra is trying to turn their image around since the X-Connect tarnished it badly. If you check jonnyGURU's site you'll see that the X-Finity and new X-Pro are quality units. The X-Finity seems to catch flack due to lack of PFC since we seem to be striving for efficient psu's nowadays. Other than the lack of PFC it seems to do rather well.

Here's what madmat had to say about the Ultra X-Pro 600w:

SUMMARY:

The Ultra X-Pro 600W is quite the departure for Ultra. It's an Andyson built unit and features APFC and normal cables. I like their flat, "FlexForce" cables mind you but I think the sleeved cables is a much nicer look especially if you're not planning to go to the trouble to snake them under the mobo or if your case uses very short standoffs which could result in a sharp component leg wearing through a cable in time so that doing so is not practical. The performance is outstanding with some of the best efficiency numbers I've seen and add that to the APFC and you have a power supply that'll be easy on your wallet in the long haul since the VA numbers are pretty close to the wattage used by the unit. The finish is top notch and it's one of the quietest units it's been my pleasure to encounter. The 135mm fan does a good job of moving air and the improved heatsinks (over the ES unit) really opens up the air flow path to ensure that things stay cool under pressure. If you're not running 8800GTX's in SLI then you'd be hard pressed to find a better unit for your pride and joy. I know that the only way I'd give mine up is if I went to a GPU that demanded higher numbers amperage wise, otherwise you'll get my X-Pro from me if you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

In any case, neither of the companies you list actually make power supplies, while Enhance does. They also OEM for others such as Silverstone. The Enhance 5150 is basically the same as the Silverstone Element of the same power rating. I recommend buying from PSU mfrs rather than middlemen/marketing companies like Antec/Tt/Ultra/etc...

.bh.
Click to expand...
With that in mind you would avoid the Seasonic-built Corsair HX psu's w/ 5 yr. warranty, or the TT Toughpowers w/ 5 year warranty? 😕😱 Try to be more open-minded. 🙂
 
The Enhance warrenty from eWiz is a one year bulk.
Enhance has a very low warrenty claim rate. There have been a few complaints of very low volume buzzing when thier ENP units are heavily cross loaded with little or no load on the 5V rail.
I put a 400W ENP in my Sister's rig. No issues.

There is a known issue with buzzing / chirpping with the ToughPower 750W units. If you ask, a link will be provided.
 
Originally posted by: John
Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
The Enhance warrenty from eWiz is a one year bulk.
Click to expand...
I see a one year standard warranty direct from Enhance regardless if it is bulk or retail packaged.

http://www.enhanceusa.com/file/43_specification.pdf
http://www.enhanceusa.com/support_rma.htm
Click to expand...

Excuse me. It was Zippy that went from a one year warrenty to three year recently.

As the Silverstone Element this Enhance provided unit has a three year warrenty.


 
Of course, you don't get the extended warranties for free (plus the dip the middleman adds beyond the warranty) and most electronics will die within 6 mo. if they are gonna suffer from SIDS. After that it'll generally last until the electolytics start drying out - barring a direct lightning hit or some such misfortune. I'll take those odds!
. If I want a Seasonic, I'll buy one with the Seasonic label on it, thank you very much.

.bh.
 
Zepper, since you were recommending that people buy direct from an ODM I was simply providing additional information so that people could make educated decisions instead of second guessing themselves. 🙂
 
Ok...so you guys are saying ditch the two I'm considering and to go for the Enhance?

Reason why I was considering the two was that both were on sale at my local Fry's for pretty cheap ($60-$70). And like I said, I am aiming towards the lower end of the spectrum, not only because my rig isn't the latest and greatest (1 Year old AMD 64 build you see around alot) nowadays, but also because like I said, going Christmas shopping absolutely bankrupted me and so I need to watch my money.
 
Alright, back home from visiting relatives in Las Vegas and stopped by Fry's on the way home; both are STILL on sale 🙂

This time, I got some more information on both PSU's to see if it'll make any difference in opinion (such as if one version is notorious for being faulty or etc).

Thermaltake W0100RU Purepower 500W Power Supply; no active PFC and on this Hardforum thread of <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=974240">PSU's to
Avoid</a>, the W0100 version doesn't show up. It also doesn't have a review by JonnyGuru (if that means anything to some of you).

Ultra X-Finity 500W Power Supply; no active PFC as well.

So from what I've read, the version I was staring at was version 2.0, since the first generation model didn't have Flexforce cables. Its on that list I mentioned (as an exception implying that its good), and the 600W version has been reviewed by Jonnyguru, with seemingly good results. Plus the cables are UV reactive 😀, so thats the a plus if only for aesthetic reasons.

Thoughts?
 
look, the enhance 5140GH will run almost any single gfx rig, I don't know your specs, but I'm going to guess it will be enough.
The things that will separate the enhance from the two you mentioned are higher build quality and lower noise.
The enhance has an efficiancy advantage that causes it to produce less heat, making the fans work less, producing less noise.
 
Originally posted by: Drunkentig3r
Alright, back home from visiting relatives in Las Vegas and stopped by Fry's on the way home; both are STILL on sale 🙂

This time, I got some more information on both PSU's to see if it'll make any difference in opinion (such as if one version is notorious for being faulty or etc).

Thermaltake W0100RU Purepower 500W Power Supply; no active PFC and on this Hardforum thread of <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=974240">PSU's to
Avoid</a>, the W0100 version doesn't show up. It also doesn't have a review by JonnyGuru (if that means anything to some of you).

Ultra X-Finity 500W Power Supply; no active PFC as well.

So from what I've read, the version I was staring at was version 2.0, since the first generation model didn't have Flexforce cables. Its on that list I mentioned (as an exception implying that its good), and the 600W version has been reviewed by Jonnyguru, with seemingly good results. Plus the cables are UV reactive 😀, so thats the a plus if only for aesthetic reasons.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Both are junk in my opinion.

acegazda is right. The Enhance E5140GH will run practically any single CPU non-SLI/Crossfire system out there.

It is built on a active PFC design, not tacked on as an after thought like many models. The efficiency is very high, 80% min (80+). The build quality is very good. And it is very quiet. For the price it?s probably the best PSU you can buy.
 
Originally posted by: Operandi

acegazda is right.
Click to expand...

oh yea! That's going in my sig!😉

EDIT: Seriously, don't waste your time, life, money, etc. on a crappy psu. I've seen too many people make the mistake of buying quality components, spending $1500, then getting a $40 psu to cover a high end system. Sickens me... actually it doesn't, but IT'S BAD.
Remember there's always a slight chance that this could happen to a crappy psu.
 
Originally posted by: acegazda
Originally posted by: Operandi

acegazda is right.
Click to expand...

oh yea! That's going in my sig!😉

EDIT: Seriously, don't waste your time, life, money, etc. on a crappy psu. I've seen too many people make the mistake of buying quality components, spending $1500, then getting a $40 psu to cover a high end system. Sickens me... actually it doesn't, but IT'S BAD.
Remember there's always a slight chance that this could happen to a crappy psu.
Click to expand...

When your right, your right. 😛
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top