YAPSQ: HEC v. Enermax v. Antec v. A1 v. Sparkle v. ? Comment/Recommend please.

[The Dancing Peacock]

So I'm going back and forth debating what PSU I need to buy. I did some research. I orginally started out thinking Enermax was the best, but I've done some searching on here, and some people say the dual fans aren't very quiet, that there have been some problems with the 5v either not being read correctly by the mobo, or not giving a sold voltage. Read some reviews, and I'm still not sure where I want to go. I've been decided on all of the ones here at least once in the past 2 weeks.

Currently I have duron 1.2, ecs k7s5a with 2 hds, 1 cdrw, 1 dvd, floppy zip, SBlive, voodoo3 1 nic plus onboard. I plan on adding case fans, maybe an AIW, or a better vid card and a TV capture card. Maybe an IDE controller card for more HDs. Plus I would like to keep this PSU for a while. The duron could turn out to be a short term solution, or I could last until Thoroughbred/ maybe Hammer if it lasts/is compatible. As a note, I have an A1 300w running my sisters xp1600 and it's very solid, not too loud, seems good.

Here's what I want, all equal in importance to me.

1.minimum 350w
2.dual fan
3.Quiet.
4.Affordable. want to spend <65 shipped

Here's the ones that I've been looking at. Please hit me with more suggestions

HEC, Enermax and A1 are AMD approved at xp1600 Antec is not.

HEC (Heroichi Electronics) 350w LD-t 180 combined on the 3.3 and 5v ~50 @ various places (dual fan)
Enermax 365 xxxx combined 185w priced anywhere from 50-65 shipped, depending on FC, FMA or nothing (dual fan)
Antec PP352x combined 180 about 60-62 from various places dual fan
A1 Electronics 350w JX-9810UK combined 200 locally 40 they have the 400w 200 combined, for 52 locally (both dual fan) but not on the bottom A1 350 picture

newegg has a 350w sparkle, FSP350-60BTS but I don't think it's dual fan, the model isn't listed on sparklepower.com or on the amd approved PSU's for athlon XP's (I don't have one, but I very easily might grab one with the relatively low prices) They also have an Enhace PSU that is dual fan, and looked good but I read some posts after searching, and someone said it was like sitting next to a vacuum cleaner. I want as quiet as possible ( I hate my 6cu+ and will replace it with the gc68 as soon as I lap it )

Thanks.

 

[MWink]

Sparkle's don't tend to be dual fan. I don't think I have ever seen a Sparkle with 2 fans but the 1 fan they do have is VERY powerful. Of all the power supplies I have used, Sparkle's seem to have the most powerful, long lasting fans. I have never seen a fan in a Sparkle die (I still have an AT 300W Sparkle from my P-75 system working perfectly). I have seen an Enermax with a dead fan.

I personally think Sparkle is by far the best, though Enermax is not too bad. Those are the only two I would recommend.

 

[PlatinumGold]

if you want the BEST, spend the money and get one from PC Power and Cooling.

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

I know the PCPC ones are good, but they cost more than my chip, mobo and ram combined. A little steep for me. I'm trying to keep it near 60 bucks so I have more money to spend on my graphics card

The reason right now that I'm looking for dual fan is the case I'm using doesn't have any spot for an exhaust fan, and has poor cooling to begin with. Hell there really isn't a spot for an intake fan either. I'm looking to upgrade my case, but that is last 1. PSU 2. vid card 3. case

Has anyone had any experience with the HEC or the A1 PSU's? I read a review on the HECs, and it was favorable, but I'd like some real world advice on it.

 

[MWink]

I have been told PCP&C power supplies are relabeled Sparkle's.

 

[ToBeMe]

Personally, I run either Enermax or Antec and have never had a problem with either! Some people dislike Enermax because of a supposed +5V rail prob.. Never had a problem with it and IMO they are damned fine P/S's as well as the Antecs'!

 

[John]

I say flip a coin and get the Antec. I run Enermax 465's in both my rigs FWIW. The +5v rail on o/c'ed XP's @ 1.85v ranges ~4.80ish.

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

Sparkle's run expensive retail, but online some are near 60 bucks. The PCPC are around 90 everywhere I looked, even for <300w. Too rich for my blood.

I was searching last night, there were some people who liked TTGI PSU's? Any more opinions on those or any of my original picks?

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

From searching on here, I hear the Sparkle's are too loud.

Anyone know if the the Enermax Whisper 365's are quieter than the regular 365's? I couldn't find this when I was searching. The power supplies are the same right, and they just add the various fan management options correct?

 

[PlatinumGold]

yo

jonnyguru recommends this case and Power supply.

the ps is supposed to be made by Top, same company that makes Enermax. but it's cheaper.

he likes it, look him up and ask him about it.

 

[ThenIsaid]

FWIW, I really like my Enhance (ENP-0730 I think..its 300W, but keeps up with those brands you mentioned). Got it from Newegg...holds steady voltage on everything, is quieter than any of my other fans (so i don't notice the noise), and I think its rated 220 combined....AMD approved for XP2000+, etc. I mention it because it was pretty cheap, and has behaved great so far.

I'm sure there are better out there, but the Enhance appears to be a decent PS and you might as well be spending the extra $ on the video/proc/memory, right?

good luck

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

how is the enhance for you, is it loud?

 

[JoPalm]

I don't really understand all this +5v rail stuff. What do they do and what are they? Who does it concernt...when it comes to psu's i know nothing! Care to explain ?

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

I had similar -5v rail problems with my Enermax 400, at least until my reseviour sprung a leak and turned my $89 powersupply into an $89 door stop.

JoPalm, 5V and 12V power is the most common supply voltages used in electronics today. The +/-5V rail supplies power to critical parts such as your CPU and motherboard. When the +/-5V rail deviates more than 10% from standard, it can produce instabilities in your system. Overclocking any component in the system will increase the draw on your powersupply. Inadequate PSU's are often strained beyond what they can handle by overclocking. If you overclock, and your 3.3, 5, and 12V rails have trouble maintaining their values, it's time to get a more powerful/higher quality powersupply.

 

[JoPalm]

Thanks Starcutter! That helped a lot. So are the 12v rails the one's that go to the hardware, ie. hard drives and optical drives? Can you give me an opinion the new rig i'm getting, "critique". Is the power supply ok for the rig?

Thx

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Thanks Starcutter! That helped a lot. So are the 12v rails the one's that go to the hardware, ie. hard drives and optical drives? Can you give me an opinion the new rig i'm getting, "critique". Is the power supply ok for the rig?

No problem. Yes, the 12V rails do your "heavy lifting' in the system such as providing power to mechanical devices (drives, fans etc.). I think you'll be fine with that PSU. I have more hardware than you, and I'm using a 300W generic.

 

[Jhhnn]

First off, you need to understand that the AMD list is a little goofy- PSU's widely and correctly regarded as junk are "approved" and some very capable stuff is not. It's an issue of submission and testing by the manufacturers and AMD.

You're on the right track, though. HEC, A1, and Enhance are widely regarded as good quality, some would put Antec(made by Channelwell) at the top of this pile. The Sparkle(Fortron/Source, also Powerman) and Enermax stuff is generally regarded as a cut above these at the 350w output level. That may or may not be true, but none of them are junk, any would serve your purposes. Enermax and Antec are probably the least noisy. By necessity, they'll all be noisier than an older 200-235w unit from your p2-266 system, they have to dissipate almost twice as much heat.

Modern AMD systems draw down hard on the +5v and +3.3v outputs from the psu. A few don't use the +3.3v output at all, but rather regulate it down from the +5v on the board itself. In some instances, this has led to problems with Enermax units among maniacal overclockers.

The -5v output is simply not used on modern boards, and use of the -12v is extremely rare. They're vestigial, like an appendix. Since there's virtually no current flow, they're very tough to regulate properly, but it doesn't matter. Expect them both to disappear in some future revision of the spec., SFX supplies have no -5v.

 

[ArchAngel777]

I say go with Antec, they will outlast your other PSUs and give you very clean power...

The absolute best.

 

[John]

FWIW I dropped an Antec PP303x in my nForce 1700+ @ 1.6GHz rig and the +5v is 4.90v. Newegg used to carry them.

 

[Pabster]

Get the Antec 400W (PP412X). 245W between +3.3 and +5v, 345W with the +12v. It's the best out there right now.

Enermax do have voltage issues. The ridiculously long ATX power cable has a lot to do with it.

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

400 might be overkill for me. I'm thinking 350w.

The place that I'm going to probably get my case from bundles them with a 300w High Power PSU. I checked higherpower's site, and most of the 300's are only 165w combined on the 3.3 and 5v. This might be okay for now, but I'd end up having to get a new PSU if I upgrade to an XP chip/new mobo and overclock.

I'm still undecided, my wallet says A1 350w because it's decent, cheap, local and 200w combined on the 3.3 and 5 is better than the enermax and the Antec. And if it doesn't work for a possible Thoroughbred/Hammer upgrade or even an XP upgrade and overclock, then I haven't lost that much, 37 compared to 60+.

Still not sure though...

 

[staticfly]

while were on the subject, anyone got one of those enermax active pfc powersuplies. Sounds like those fix the 5v rail problem. Any actual evidence?

 

[Bad Dude]

I am using the HEC right now and no complaints at all. I got the Enhanced and it blew up so I changed to the HEC b/c it's cheap for a dual fan. No problem with voltage like Enermax that I hear with the 3 and 5V line.
So I would recommend the HEC. It looks like the Antec one too. I wonder if one of them is just a rebadge of another.

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

So I went and picked up the A1. It's actually not an A1, it's rebadged, but it has the same model number as the A1, JX-9810UK. 200W combined on the 3.3 and 5v, plus it was 35 bucks. I paid with cash, so there was no tax Running like a charm now, The fan on the front is in perfect position t pull air off my 60gb 7200 rpm drive, which had been running hot. It even looks cool too, has that nickel coating.

 

[caboob]

Bad dude..You are right about the HEC and Antec being one and the same. I have the Antec (much quieter than the Enhance..could only stand it for 2 weeks) and looking closely, it's labeled as a HEC! What's funny is that the HEC unit is AMD approved but there is no mention of the Antec 350W (HEC). Go figure.