Which is better? Antec True Power 380W or Smart Power 450W?

[Henny]

The True 380 is a pull from a Sonata I case. The Smart 450W is a pull from a Sonata II case.

I heard that some users claim the True 380 was a better supply then the Smart 450W? Other then the obvious capacity differences, is there a compelling reason to choose one over the other given that both of them have capacity suited to my needs.

 

[imported_Imp]

Truepower should have more amps on 12v rail(s). Smartpower is quieter with only one fan on most of the time. I haven't caught my SM350 turn the second fan on once (I bet you're thinking that it's busted).

 

[Ike0069]

I have the TP380 and its a decent PSU. Yes the TP line is supposedly better than the SP line, but not necessarily so in this case.
The 380 only has 24A@+12V, and that is not alot. The SP450 has 32A@+12V I believe and for that reason alone it's a better choice IMO.

 

[LxMxFxD3]

Try enermax. 431W enermax (whisper) now has 5 years use on this bad boy, and still powers my power hungry x2 4800 with 6 hard drives, X800, pci sound, 3 case fans + big typhoon, DVD burner, etc etc.

Best $95 (now about $60) I ever spent on a computer part.

 

[Mik3y]

the psu in the sonata ii is much better then the one in the sonata 1. i've had both cases.

 

[0roo0roo]

not sure about power, but in my experience with a smart power 350 vs tp380 ..the smart power was loud

 

[InlineFour]

380 Watt True Power in my Sonata is single fan. It's very quiet.

 

[furballi]

Saw a decent deal on an Antec SmartPower 350 2.0. This PSU comes with two 80mm fans in an in-line push-pull configuration. The PSU is quiet, even at 200 watts actual load. The 12VDC rail fluctuates from 12.10 to 12.21 depending on load. The case is only warm at maximum CPU load. It also comes with a PCI-E plug and SATA plugs. Not sure about the reliability of this PSU. However, if it stays this way for the next 5 years, then I would definitely recommend this PSU to drive a light to moderately loaded rig. I paid $17 AR.

 

[Mik3y]

The smartpower has 2 fans, but generally only runs w/ 1 fan. my psu's never gotten hot enough to enable the 2nd fan.

 

[TrevorRC]

Use one, then when it craps out in a few months swap it out

Or test the rails on both; see which is more stable. Odds are you'll go with the 450W one [32A = necessity nowadays. 10A for a CPU; 12-15 for a video card...]

--Trevor

 

[furballi]

Video card DOES NOT need 12A @ 12VDC. Try 7A MAX.

 

[Auric]

Last I checked the SP line's MTBF rating was only half that of the industry standard while the TP was not quite as bad (i.e. 50/80/100k hours).

 

[furballi]

MTBF for the Antec SmartPower 350 2.0 is 80,000 hours. That's over 9 years of use for a 12 hour day.

 

[Jase03]

Is there a test that you can run with the Smart Power to see if the 2nd fan even works???
I too am starting to think it 's broken...

 

[jjsbasmt]

The second fan in mine has never come on either, that I know of. I'm thinking that my case fan keep the interior cool enough.

 

[furballi]

Run Super Pi in MAX HEAT mode. This should trigger both fans.