Yet another PSU topic...

[slash196]

So, I read the PSU roundup on TrustedReviews, and appearantly the Enermax Noisetakers shut down under load. Big-time dissapointment, as I was planning on putting one of those into my build. So, I'm on the hunt for a 24-pin PSU for under 90 dollars. 90 is my absolute upper limit, with a wiggle room of 1 or 2 bucks. The system will be as follows:

Athlon 64 3500+
DFI nForce 4 Ultra-D
eVGA geforce 6800GT
Seagate HD (160 or 250, depending)
2 Optical Drives (Lite-On DVD-ROM and NEC 3520A)

...in a Coolermaster Cavalier case. As prices change, the components may change too, but the basic power requirements will stay the same. I was looking at the Fortron Blue Storm, but the low 12v rails worry me. Please, if you could find it in your heart to make an informed suggestion, you could take a huge load off my mind.

 

[Operandi]

If your looking at the Forton in the TrustedReivew roundup the 12v rails are anything but low 14+15=29 amps.

 

[WobbleWobble]

I'm assuming you're looking for a quiet PSU since you're looking at the NoiseTaker. The Seasonic Super series are high quality, quiet PSUs and is something you might want to look at.

 

[beatle]

Which Cavalier? I assume you mean the tower, as the desktop/htpc version does not accept standard ATX PSUs.

 

[runestone]

For what it's worth: using an Enermax Noisetaker 475 v.2 with my A8n, AMD 3500, leadtek 6600 , 3 hard drives, 2 rom drives- no probs.

 

[Mucker]

FSP Group dual rails: http://www.electroseller.com/Merchant2/...ode=PS_FSPAX500-A/R&Category_Code=_fsp
30 day money back guarantee is pretty sweet!

m

 

[Algere]

FWIW, they were testing the old Noisetaker. I'm still waiting for someone to thoroughly test the new ones since they use a different 12V design.


P.S. SilentPCReview also had similar findings on the old version - shutdown @ full load.

"3. POWER OUTPUT: The unit had no trouble at all in the test environment, and ran with great stability at all the lower output levels. Even at 400W output, it ran for a full 5 minutes without any sign of overheating or overload.

After about 3.5 minutes at 470W, however, protection circuitry kicked in and the unit simply shut down. The fans stayed running at least 3 mninutes after the PSU had shut down, as advertised. In this case, this feature seemed like a good thing. After the fans stopped, I reduced the load and turned the power switch off and on. It came right back on without any problems, and no apparent damage.

It is not clear why the unit shut down. There are several protective features that can shut this PSU down:

* Over Voltage Protection - unlikely; none of the output voltages were misbehaving
* Over Load Protection - unlikely; the load was exactly at maximum
* Over Current Protection - maybe: very clear limits are specified, and in setting the load for 470W, I may have exceeded the limit on one of the voltage lines.
* Over Temperature Protection - possible: 40°C is the specified maximum operating temperature, and the case temperature was recorded at 39°C, with exhaust at 44°C. How one defines or where one measures the temperature becomes very difficult. If the Over Temperature Protection function shut the unit down, it is very probable that the operating temperature (as Enermax defines it) was exceeded. As it is so unlikely for any system to reach steady 470W output for any length of time, never mind 3.5 minutes, I have no quibble with the shutdown. It is a very extreme and unrealistic test. In fact, I am pleased that the protection circuitry worked well."

Until someone tests the newer version. I'd opt for the OCZ 450W Modstream as an alternative.