Power Supply Gurus...

[bob4432]

as summary says - need an efficient, cool (temp) and quiet 300W psu - something like this Enhance Unit or this FSP unit. which is the best one, not limiting to these 2 for ~$35-$50?

thanks in advance for you expertise

on requirement are 20+4 power plug, the additional 4pin power and then some sata, but not really necessary as i have adapters that go from molex to sata. pci-e is not necessary

the most optical/hdds i will be running would be 5-6 with maybe a 10K scsi in there, and then the lowest power(V) cpu setup i can find, so i think even 300W is overkill, but would rather have that much. i doubt the machine will even draw 1/2 the 300W, probably only 1/3 or even less so please consider that too as i believe efficiency changes at different levels of use.

thanks in advance

edited to take out the quiet request, not necessary

 

[oynaz]

I have a Chill 350 watt which would fit your needs and budget nicely. It runs both cool and quiet.

 

[John]

Antec EarthWatts 500 $39.99 AR w/ 3 year warranty

 

[bob4432]

thanks for the replies, anybody else want to weigh in on this?

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: John
Antec EarthWatts 500 $39.99 AR w/ 3 year warranty

i will go have a look at the compusa near me - which is one of the closing stores.....

 

[conlan]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: John
Antec EarthWatts 500 $39.99 AR w/ 3 year warranty

i will go have a look at the compusa near me - which is one of the closing stores.....

free shipping!

 

[Operandi]

The Enhance you linked to is by far the best choice for that price range.

Really the only better option would be the Seasonic S12 330 but that may be a bit outside the $50 budget.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Operandi
The Enhance you linked to is by far the best choice for that price range.

What makes it the best choice?

 

[Operandi]

80+ efficiency, very quiet, solid rails, high-quality components, and price.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Operandi
80+ efficiency, very quiet, solid rails, high-quality components, and price.

The same can be said for the Earthwatts. It costs less (AR) plus you get a 3 year warranty compared to 1 year on the Enhance.

* Edited missing word.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: John

Originally posted by: Operandi
80+ efficiency, very quiet, solid rails, high-quality components, and price.

The same can be said for the Earthwatts. It costs less (AR) plus you get a 3 year warranty compared to 1 year on the Enhance.

* Edited missing word.

All except the quality component's.

Like the rest of the new Antec PSUs the Earthwatts is built by Seasonic but with less empathsis on component choice (the designs are the same however) to get to the lower price.

The Enhance is the better unit in my opinion.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Operandi
All except the quality component's.

Simply because it uses lower end Seasonic components doesn't mean that they aren't quality components. Better yet, how did you determine that the Enhance is actually a better psu? FWIW jonnyGURU gave both of them a 9.....

Don't get me wrong, the Enhance 80+ unit are very reputable, but there are other quality alternatives available. I have yet to RMA an Enhance so I wonder how slow their RMA process is. Antec's RMA is first class, and in some cases you'll receive the upgraded model if the one that you sent in has been discontinued. I had to RMA a Neo 480 for a co-worker and received a retail/sealed NeoHE 500. :thumbsup:

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: bob4432
this FSP unit

I have a few of these and they work great. Most systems that don't run high end GPUs or massive overclocks do not need super high wattage. This unit seems decent and is cheap at $32. It is reasonably quiet. Though it has a claimed 80% efficiency, I'm not too sure on that because I think the Taiwan FSP site rated it at 77% or something, while the US site rates it at 80%.

 

[Matthias99]

http://www.silentpcreview.com/ for all your quiet/efficient PC needs.

Seasonics have been the quietest I've used, though I haven't personally seen the 'quiet' Fortron units in action.

 

[schneiderguy]

seasonic s12 330watt was $55 at newegg last time I checked :thumbsup:

 

[bob4432]

thanks all, quiet is not a real issue, just heat, hahaha and i did see that s12 330W unit, but was wondering if it was really worth the extra $$$ over the fsp 300W "green" unit for $32.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: bob4432
thanks all, quiet is not a real issue, just heat, hahaha and i did see that s12 330W unit, but was wondering if it was really worth the extra $$$ over the fsp 300W "green" unit for $32.????

A most emphatic YES! To that question.

And I would take the Enhance's 120mm fan and Teapo capacitors over the EartWatts 80mm fan and OST capacitors anyday. One year warranty vs three?:laugh: It could be five years on the EarthWatts and the Enhance would be better all around.

If you want a unit that will live nearly forever, get a 300W Zippy at MyAopen.com for $72.

 

[Techno Pride]

Beware of FSP's "Green" GLN PSUs if you want silence. Some come with Protechnic fans (BAD!), some Yate Loon (OK). The only way to tell is to buy it.

 

[ShellGuy]

I have the seasonic 380 and it is dead silent i love it,



Will G.

 

[imported_AndyT]

What on earth are you powering? A P3 system maybe? What would run on 150w? Just curious.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: AndyT
What on earth are you powering? A P3 system maybe? What would run on 150w? Just curious.

Are you kidding me? I'd venture about 1/3 of the systems on these forums consume 150-200 watts under load.

Power Distribution within Six PCs

 

[conlan]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: AndyT
What on earth are you powering? A P3 system maybe? What would run on 150w? Just curious.

Are you kidding me? I'd venture about 1/3 of the systems on these forums consume 150-200 watts under load.

Power Distribution within Six PCs

Yup, this mega-watt hysteria going around lately is ridiculous.

 

[imported_AndyT]

Well, with onboard video (or low power anyway) and a miserly processor I would agree. I have been through enough data corrruption and instabilty with my high end systems to know that nothing close to 300w (or 500w at times) will do. This is without a dual video card setup.

I will say that quality has the most to do with a power supplies capabilties. Cheap junk = junk.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: AndyT
Well, with onboard video (or low power anyway) and a miserly processor I would agree. I have been through enough data corrruption and instabilty with my high end systems to know that nothing close to 300w (or 500w at times) will do. This is without a dual video card setup.

I will say that quality has the most to do with a power supplies capabilties. Cheap junk = junk.

Did you even read the link above? It's piratically impossible to break 300 watts without resorting to dual CPUs and/or GPUs.

And nobody in this thread is talking about "cheap junk", just Seasonic, Enhance, and FSP.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Operandi
And nobody in this thread is talking about "cheap junk", just Antec, Seasonic, Enhance, and FSP.

Fixed.