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What are good PSU's besides Antec

N

Ninjo

Member
I am looking for one for my new system and the Antec ones are pricey.

So are there other PSU's of good quality?
 
In order of best to worst:

1) PC Power and Cooling
2) Antec, Vantec, Enermax, Zalman
3) Thermaltake, OCZ, Fortron
4) Sparkle, Raidmax, Kingwin
5) Rebadged, Generics, etc.

You will probably find the best bang for the buck on Zalman, Fortron, and Thermaltake PSUs. I myself would recommend the Zalman out of that group.

Search around though, and watch the e-tail sights closely for a couple weeks. Quality PSUs go on sale all the time.
 
Originally posted by: Insomniak
In order of best to worst:

1) PC Power and Cooling
2) Antec, Vantec, Enermax, Zalman
3) Thermaltake, OCZ, Fortron
4) Sparkle, Raidmax, Kingwin
5) Rebadged, Generics, etc.

You will probably find the best bang for the buck on Zalman, Fortron, and Thermaltake PSUs. I myself would recommend the Zalman out of that group.

Search around though, and watch the e-tail sights closely for a couple weeks. Quality PSUs go on sale all the time.
Click to expand...

yup...but i'd bump the zalman down to the #3 spot.

I've got an enermax 600w and couldn't be happier.
 
I decided to get the Thermaltake W0014 Silent Purepower 480W. It has good reviews on Newegg and includes dual fans 8 )
 
Originally posted by: Stangs55
Originally posted by: Insomniak
In order of best to worst:

1) PC Power and Cooling
2) Antec, Vantec, Enermax, Zalman
3) Thermaltake, OCZ, Fortron
4) Sparkle, Raidmax, Kingwin
5) Rebadged, Generics, etc.

You will probably find the best bang for the buck on Zalman, Fortron, and Thermaltake PSUs. I myself would recommend the Zalman out of that group.

Search around though, and watch the e-tail sights closely for a couple weeks. Quality PSUs go on sale all the time.
Click to expand...

yup...but i'd bump the zalman down to the #3 spot.

I've got an enermax 600w and couldn't be happier.
Click to expand...



I dunno. From what I've seen, Zalman does a good job of excellent build quality for the money, and their rails seem to be pretty consistent (they may not push quite as many amps as Antec, Vantec, Enermax but at least there's not much variance), and for the money they're a good deal.

Regardless, as long as one buy's from those in the top 3 slots, they should be ok.
 
Originally posted by: Stangs55
Originally posted by: Insomniak
In order of best to worst:

1) PC Power and Cooling
2) Antec, Vantec, Enermax, Zalman
3) Thermaltake, OCZ, Fortron
4) Sparkle, Raidmax, Kingwin
5) Rebadged, Generics, etc.

You will probably find the best bang for the buck on Zalman, Fortron, and Thermaltake PSUs. I myself would recommend the Zalman out of that group.

Search around though, and watch the e-tail sights closely for a couple weeks. Quality PSUs go on sale all the time.
Click to expand...

yup...but i'd bump the zalman down to the #3 spot.

I've got an enermax 600w and couldn't be happier.
Click to expand...

Agreed.


I use an Enermax Noisetaker 480 with dual 12v rails and love it, also have a few Antecs.
 
Newegg currently has these psu on sale:

COOLMAX 400W CX-400B, BLACK, Taurus CX Series Silent Power Supply
Thermaltake Silent PurePower, 420W ATX power supply
Aspire 520W 12V Black Triple Fan Aluminum Power Supply

Do you guys recommend any of these three?

Thanks
 
Originally posted by: gametalent
Newegg currently has these psu on sale:

COOLMAX 400W CX-400B, BLACK, Taurus CX Series Silent Power Supply
Thermaltake Silent PurePower, 420W ATX power supply
Aspire 520W 12V Black Triple Fan Aluminum Power Supply

Do you guys recommend any of these three?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I picked up that Coolmax 400B about 3 weeks ago and put it in my system. It is extremely quiet even when the fan is on high, it is very heavy which is a good indicator, and the voltage ratings on the respective rails are all awesome for the price range. I give it a big recommendation, even though its pretty much new out of the box. The only thing I would add in if I were Coolmax would be some insulation around the wires just to tidy things up. But, overall very nice IMHO.


 
Originally posted by: Insomniak
In order of best to worst:

1) PC Power and Cooling
2) Antec, Vantec, Enermax, Zalman
3) Thermaltake, OCZ, Fortron
4) Sparkle, Raidmax, Kingwin
5) Rebadged, Generics, etc.

You will probably find the best bang for the buck on Zalman, Fortron, and Thermaltake PSUs. I myself would recommend the Zalman out of that group.

Search around though, and watch the e-tail sights closely for a couple weeks. Quality PSUs go on sale all the time.
Click to expand...

OCZ and Zelman should be switched the OCZ powestream PSUs are tanks
 
PCpower and cooling= #1 (but noisy!)
ocz = #2 (also Tagan = OCZ)
enermax = antec
Fortron = sparkle + seasonicnic,zalman
Everyone else.

= means that either they are made by the same manufacturer, or use exact same components.
 
I got the Coolmax one as well for a few weeks now, works great. The 120mm fan does a much better job moving air and is also more quiet than the Antec one I returned.
 
no one has mentioned the Coolermaster Real Power 450, and that got great reviews from every site I checked. It's quiet with only a single 120mm fan, and it only costs $75.99 at newegg
 
Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Fortron = sparkle + seasonicnic,zalman
[. . .]
= means that either they are made by the same manufacturer, or use exact same components.
Click to expand...

seasonic designs and manufactures their own power supplies and are not connected with fortron, sparkle or zalman

they also recieve top marks for BOTH quality AND quietness by SilentPCReview

quality is more than how many amps you can deliver on the 12v rail, it also has to do with how the PSU handles fluctuating loads and dirty line conditions. See the box entitled "A Technical PS: Output Voltage Regulation and AC Voltage" on this page

after having a PSU fry my system because it couldn't deal with the constant brown-outs, the above consideration was very important to me

oh wait, you wanted something CHEAPER than Antec, nevermind, lol
 
Originally posted by: tynopik
after having a PSU fry my system because it couldn't deal with the constant brown-outs, the above consideration was very important to me
Click to expand...


That's why we invest in a UPS 🙂 Power starts going wonky, you're covered.


I might eat these words. We'll see. I just picked up a 520w Aspire PSU from Newegg since it was on sale for 49 shipped and the 500W version of the same series was getting good reviews. We'll see how it goes.

If it craps out, the case I'm ordering comes with a 400W Antec Smartpower, so I'm covered 🙂 I just wanted to get something with a bit more upgrade potential than a 400W...

Aspire has had an interesting run lately. The reviews say they're pretty good for the money, and in the forums I've been perusing, most people generally have good experiences with them.

Regardless, we'll see.

 
I've only used Antec and Enermax, and had better experiences with the Enermax. I've heard lots of good things about Fortron, never heard anyone say that supply went bad on them, can't say the same about the Antec or Enermax (though I've never had a problem with the Enermax supplies I've owned or put together on other's systems).
 
Originally posted by: Insomniak
Originally posted by: tynopik
after having a PSU fry my system because it couldn't deal with the constant brown-outs, the above consideration was very important to me
Click to expand...
I might eat these words. We'll see. I just picked up a 520w Aspire PSU from Newegg since it was on sale for 49 shipped and the 500W version of the same series was getting good reviews. We'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...

I am sending my new aspire 520W back. I do not know if it is the cause of my of computer lockups ever since I installed me BFG 6800 GT OC, but it will be one less thing I will have to worry about.

Here is my current ratings:

12v
http://img98.exs.cx/img98/6208/psu.jpg

5v
http://img98.exs.cx/img98/2172/7406.jpg

3.3v
http://img98.exs.cx/img98/9477/7405.jpg
 
Thanks for those my man. I appreciate it. All your rails seem to be within the 5% spec, so I doubt your PSU is your problem. I could be wrong though. The 12v runs a bit high, but it's always under 12.6, and the 3.3v seems to run about 3.12 where roughly 3.15 should be the lower limit, but unless you're really stressing the hell out of your system, I doubt that would cause any locking.

Anyway, like I said, if there's trouble, I have no doubt the 400W Antec will step in just fine.
 
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