What PSU to get? Antec vs. Enermax

[dcdomain]

I really do believe it's a one time thing because it served me so well for the few years I've had it. From the diagnosis, some people told me that the connection could have just been bad. Believe it or not, I would definitely go for an Antec again. However, I've chosen to go for the $102 deal for the Chieftech aluminum case and Channel Well 420W PSU. Though the Antec that died on me could have been a Channel Well, I still have faith in the companies...

 

[gizbug]

Antec here, love it, it's l33t

 

[WyteWatt]

Antec TruePower series Power Supply!

 

[caboob]

Dont wanna start a flame war here cuz i own both.

I just got in an Enermax 651 that's replacing a dying Antec 550W TP (which I thought was a good value) that's giving me cold boots and getting louder over the last two weeks and I have to say that hands down the Enermax unit is quieter. This unit has manually adjustable fan speed controller and even at its highest setting its quieter than my Antec TP (which is only 3 months old). At the lowest fan control setting, you can barely hear anything.

I'm not knocking the Antec units because in addition to the TP550 I own two PP352x that are going strong for over a year now. Clearly the TP 550W is not handling the overclocking well and I wanted to replace it before it took my new mobo with it. Something's up with these TPs cuz I'm not confident it'll last by this time next year. The enermax unit is not cheap though but manually adjustable fan control is nice to have and it is noticeably quieter than the Antec which has reasonable noise to begin with. If you dont need the massive power output, go with a lower power Antec if you wont OC much. But if quiet is paramount, the Enermax Whisper series are the quietest I've heard but they are more expensive.

 

[NeilPeart]

I'm gonna have to make a point: I have owned many Enermax units, and every Antec TruePower I have owned has run much quieter; the voltages were also much more stable. Perhaps Caboob's model was defective or simply from a bad batch. If a silent computing environment is what one is seeking, then the best choices (by FAR - even more so than the TruePower series) are the Nexus NX-3000 and the Zalman ZM300A-APF. Enermax would not even appear on my list if silence was of paramount importance. Many users and reputable reviewers (including our own AnandTech guys) highly regard the Antec TruePower series for its performance and low noise levels. A single user experience such as Caboob's holds little credence for me (especially because I can personally attest to the Antec TruePower's quality). Don't listen to the "Something's up with these TPs" because a lone user found a problematic one - the TP series as a whole are the best overall PSUs for the money.

 

[arcenite]

Thank you so much for your help Neil. I was looking at the PC Power & Cooling and it seems like their 12v lines are low. Aren't the 12v lines the ones that are required to have a minimum of like 15A or is that the 5v line. Sorry if I'm not making sense, It's early and I have to goto work or I'd do the research.

Bill

 

[1ManArmY]

Antec TruePower 430W :frown:

 

[nick1985]

chalk one up for ANTEC!!!