Comparing PSUs need opinions

[lordfreddy2005]

Fortron AX500-A 500W vs. Antec NeoPower 480W vs. Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W

Performancewise which one is better? they all have dual 12V, PFC(antec ones have APFC and Fortron has PPFC), and good effciency.

my system is:

S754 2800+ OC @ 2.54Ghz(282x10), 2 burners, 2 HDD in Raid 0 setting, 6800U OC @ 460/1250, watercooled with 10 fans (2x70mm, 4x80mm, and 4x120mm).

Any help would be great!!!!

 

[Algere]

The latter

 

[AristoV300]

Performance would go to the True Power.

 

[dguy6789]

I wouldn't go with the Antec. Alot of people have been having serious problems with them recently. The Fortron 500 is the best psu you listed there anyway, go for it.

 

[tallman45]

Perfomance to me involves energy efficiency. A PSU that is 65% efficient is a low performance Heat gernerator that requires its exhaust fan to be the top performer in the unit.

I has a Neopower as well as a Antec 480W True Blue (both 65% efficient at 50% power). Both drew identical 145 watts at idle from my system. I switched to a Seasonic S12-430W and on the identical system I am only drawing 105 watts at idle (80% efficient). It does not blow out hot air and it is dead silent. I have more of the 430watts available to my system that either of the Antecs could offer.

I have not used a Fortron but it looks to be a high efficeny unit in this review and would be the best choice of the 3 that you listed

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article212-page1.html

 

[wisdomtooth]

Agreed. Can't beat a Seasonic for efficiency, quietness, good venting and cool-running all in one package. :thumbsup:

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
Agreed. Can't beat a Seasonic for efficiency, quietness, good venting and cool-running all in one package. :thumbsup:

 

[imported_Kensai]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
Agreed. Can't beat a Seasonic for efficiency, quietness, good venting and cool-running all in one package. :thumbsup:

 

[Promethply]

I'd suggest the Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
I wouldn't go with the Antec. Alot of people have been having serious problems with them recently. The Fortron 500 is the best psu you listed there anyway, go for it.

 

[rise]

where are these problems i keep hearing about? any links? this is like the 4th thread i heard that in. as an owner of the tpII550 i'd like to know if my rig is gonna blow

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: rise4310
where are these problems i keep hearing about? any links? this is like the 4th thread i heard that in. as an owner of the tpII550 i'd like to know if my rig is gonna blow

Ditto

Antec is a very popular brand, so if there's an increase of ppl buying Antec PSUs. The reports of Antec PSU failures will undoubtedly increase as well.

 

[Boztech]

The Seasonic, while efficient, do not come near the amperage ratings on each rail that the Truepower offers. Quietness and efficiency come second to the ability to supply sufficient and reliable power to a power hungry system. The S12 430 is both more expensive than the compareable Fortron and Antec units and rated slightly lower on amperage per rail.

In this case the TP2.0 550 has MUCH higher ratings than the closest compareable Fortron and obviously more than the 480w-rated Neopower. In fact is has 40a on the 5v and almost 40a on the 12v1+12v2, plenty of power to juice an SLI system if necessary.

In any case, given that the TP2.0 series is lab-rated at <22 dba the noise difference is totally irrelevant.. either of those units is going to be drowned out by the noise of your CPU and/or case fans, even at low speeds.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

No problems with Antec so far. However, have you seen the benches of the TP2.0? The stability of the rails is incredible. I think I remmeber the 12V rail bouncing between 11.98 and 12.01 during idle/load respectively. Compare that to my old Antec 300W that does 11.89 =/. The new TP2.0 is VERY efficient, so I dunno. I would trust Antec. Forget the Neo Power. Fortron is good, but definitely not AS good as Antec.

 

[rise]

i can vouch for the rails. my multi gives me 11.99 idle and 11.98/.97 oc'd and loaded.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: Boztech
The Seasonic, while efficient, do not come near the amperage ratings on each rail that the Truepower offers. Quietness and efficiency come second to the ability to supply sufficient and reliable power to a power hungry system. The S12 430 is both more expensive than the compareable Fortron and Antec units and rated slightly lower on amperage per rail.

Check hot deals lately?

 

[tallman45]

Got my S12 430 a few weeks ago for $79.

The more efficient a PSU is , the more it's rated power is available to the PC. Both the Neopower 480 I was using and the S12 430w both powered up the identical system yet the Neopower used 40watts more if it's slightly higher rated rails to generate wasted heat.

Totally negating any extra power advantage it has.

 

[rise]

tpII 550


you're not making the comparison the OP asked for.

edit---btw i'm by no means bashing the seasonic, everyone says its a great psu.

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: tallman45
Got my S12 430 a few weeks ago for $79.

The more efficient a PSU is , the more it's rated power is available to the PC. Both the Neopower 480 I was using and the S12 430w both powered up the identical system yet the Neopower used 40watts more if it's slightly higher rated rails to generate wasted heat.

Totally negating any extra power advantage it has.

The efficiency of a PSU isn't related to a PSU's ability to deliver it's rated power. The rated power is DC (power from PSU to PC hardware). The efficiency rating is the conversion ratio between DC & AC.

e.g. if you had a PSU with 70% efficiency, for every 7W (DC) of power a PC draws, 10W (AC) of power is needed from a wall outlet.

 

[lordfreddy2005]

Thx for all the info!!!

What do you guys think about Zippy 600W PSU.

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103710

I know it's a monster, but for the long run(I am planning to get NF4 SLI setting), should I just go buy a Zippy?

 

[Baked]

No, make up your mind and get the Antec TPII-550W already. If you're gonna spend that much on a Zippy 600W, you might as well get the Seasonic S12 600W.

 

[fstime]

No, make up your mind and get the Antec TPII-550W already. If you're gonna spend that much on a Zippy 600W, you might as well get the Seasonic S12 600W.

What are you smoking?

+12V1@26A, +12V2@20A vs +12V1@18, +12V2@18.

The only thing i'd compare to the 600 watt Zippy would be the OCZ PS 600watt which is 20A/18A and since it offers ajustable rails.

 

[Operandi]

There is a lot of misinformation being thrown around here....

Seasonic make some of the best PSU's in the industry, defiantly a cut above your typical Antec. High efficiency is sign of a good design, high efficiency doesn?t always equal quality but it's good indicator 90% of the time.

Addressing the OP, I would get something in the 400-450 watt range if you intend to go SLI. Even for a dual CPU SLI system 600 watts is overkill. Zippy makes some incredible PSU so I'm sure that one would be great. For that kind of money though I'd start looking at the Zippy based PCP&C 510, or the Seasonic S12.

 

[wisdomtooth]

Originally posted by: Boztech
The Seasonic, while efficient, do not come near the amperage ratings on each rail that the Truepower offers. Quietness and efficiency come second to the ability to supply sufficient and reliable power to a power hungry system. The S12 430 is both more expensive than the compareable Fortron and Antec units and rated slightly lower on amperage per rail.

In this case the TP2.0 550 has MUCH higher ratings than the closest compareable Fortron and obviously more than the 480w-rated Neopower. In fact is has 40a on the 5v and almost 40a on the 12v1+12v2, plenty of power to juice an SLI system if necessary.

In any case, given that the TP2.0 series is lab-rated at <22 dba the noise difference is totally irrelevant.. either of those units is going to be drowned out by the noise of your CPU and/or case fans, even at low speeds.

If you want an SLI system which will be noisy with two hot video cards and a hot CPU, of course noise is not going to matter, and you do want higher amps on dual rails like an Antec.

HOWEVER, the OP is running a S754 non-SLI system. A Seasonic S12-430 at $79 is a great choice for such a system-- You don't need dual 20Amp rails for that.

And I'd like to have an independent source confirm the TruePower II's noise levels-- PSU manufacturers tend to advertise their stuff as "silent" when in real life use they moan like a frankenstein. Meanwhile, Seasonics are the PSU of choice if you are looking to build a quiet PC-- Seasonics have been tested independently by Silent PC Review. Hopefully they will review the Antec soon.

 

[Boztech]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
If you want an SLI system which will be noisy with two hot video cards and a hot CPU, of course noise is not going to matter, and you do want higher amps on dual rails like an Antec.

HOWEVER, the OP is running a S754 non-SLI system. A Seasonic S12-430 at $79 is a great choice for such a system-- You don't need dual 20Amp rails for that.

My reply was in reference to the people comparing the Seasonic to the TP2.0 units. Not a supposition of what the OP needs. I agree the S12 430 would be a good unit for his current system, but then again, he may change his current system anytime soon and his power requirements could change.

And I'd like to have an independent source confirm the TruePower II's noise levels-- PSU manufacturers tend to advertise their stuff as "silent" when in real life use they moan like a frankenstein. Meanwhile, Seasonics are the PSU of choice if you are looking to build a quiet PC-- Seasonics have been tested independently by Silent PC Review. Hopefully they will review the Antec soon.

Antec's product page states the advertised rating is from an independant lab..

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=22550

Although I too would be very interesting in a SPCR writeup on these units.