Power Supply question....

[Naeeldar]

Just rebuilding my system a bit and with a new 7800gtx going into the system it's time I upgraded my psu.

I've been looking at the Antec TruePower 2.0 TRUECONTROL II-550. Can pick it up on newegg for 99 right now which looks like a good deal.

Here's my current system:

EPOX 9NPA+Ultra
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice
XFX Geforce 7800GTX 256mb
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 SATA NCQ ST3160827AS 160GB 7200 RPM
2x1gig DDR 400 ram
External Audigy 2
Thermaltake Soprano Mid Tower Computer Case

I'll be upgrading to a 4000+ come xmas and possibly sly in the future.

Will this psu fit the bill for running the system? Ordered a 2405fpw and I just want to make sure I have the ysstem to put it to use.

 

[Zepper]

I don't think I'd buy Antec at this time. Look into some of the new models of Fortron/Sparkle (or if you really need a 550 watter, look at the Sparkle FSP550-60PLG ~$85. per Froogle). It is the best PSU for ~$85. or less that I know of.

..bh.

 

[KoolDrew]

That particular PSU has known ventilation issues. It may not be a problem with your case, but why spend $100 on a PSU with issues like that? There are better options. Zepper's recommendation is good, but something like a Fortron AX500-A would be good too.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
That particular PSU has known ventilation issues. It may not be a problem with your case, but why spend $100 on a PSU with issues like that? There are better options. Zepper's recommendation is good, but something like a Fortron AX500-A would be good too.

link so we may all read about the ventilation issues??

 

[lifeguard1999]

Antec Review Link

Summary:
"Antec TrueControl 2.0 550 (550W)

Coming up second lowest wattage rating at 550W, the Antec TCII-550 power supply showed superb performance and kept the fluctuations to minimum. Don?t be fooled by the wattage rating at only 550W as this power supply can take quite the beating. Having the ability to tweak the voltages via the front control panel made this power supply very user friendly and enthusiasts will like this feature the most. By the way, case modders will also find the control panel unique as it glows when powered up. Although the +3.3V rail performance was not the best we have seen, remember that this power supply allows you to increase the voltages whenever necessary. Moreover, the TCII-550 impressed us by showing absolute stability on the +12V and +5V rails where even the higher rated power supplies had tough time keeping up. If only Antec had spent a little more time organizing the cables on the TCII-550, I believe that the TCII-550 could be the perfect power supply. But when it comes to pure performance, the Antec TCII-550 is definitely a winner and it gets even better with a 3-year warranty backing up the product. Overall, the Antec TCII-550 grabs the Gold Award! "

THG Review Link

Personally I have a Enermax EG565P-VE FMA 535W Power Supply that has passed NVidia's SLI ratings.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Seasonic S12 PSU, or Fortron, Antec 2.0 is also very good.

-Kevin

 

[AznAnarchy99]

no problem with the TP2.0 550W which is essentially the same thing

 

[Rockhound1]

The Seasonic S12 has been getting a lot of good reviews lately. It costs a little more than the Antec.

 

[Rockhound1]

This site has the best prices on the Seasonic (that I have found through various searches).

Link

 

[Shadrack]

Originally posted by: Rockhound1
This site has the best prices on the Seasonic (that I have found through various searches).

Link

Personally Seasonic is not that good of a brand.

There are other brands that eat Seasonic alive.

Besides that Seasonic and Silverstone are made by the same people who make Suhiyoku PSU`s.

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
That particular PSU has known ventilation issues. It may not be a problem with your case, but why spend $100 on a PSU with issues like that? There are better options. Zepper's recommendation is good, but something like a Fortron AX500-A would be good too.

link so we may all read about the ventilation issues??

he'll link you to oc forums, the same old tired thread that he has been linking for 6 months. funny, its the only one he has but apparently this guy "larva", the thread starter, holds alot of sway over drew.

i don't know why he feels the need to keep dragging it out but frankly its borderline trolling.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Shadrack

Originally posted by: Rockhound1
This site has the best prices on the Seasonic (that I have found through various searches).

Link

Personally Seasonic is not that good of a brand.

There are other brands that eat Seasonic alive.

Besides that Seasonic and Silverstone are made by the same people who make Suhiyoku PSU`s.

Name one.

Seasonic (aside from the Antec Phantom) has the highest measured efficiency on the market. In addition to that it is also the quietest. Name one.

PCP&C does not count, they merely have extremely tight voltage regulation and high power output, noise and efficiency are merely average. I will say that build quality is probably the best out there.

-Kevin

 

[Shadrack]

Seasonic (aside from the Antec Phantom) has the highest measured efficiency on the market. In addition to that it is also the quietest. Name one.

rofl and we all know that Antec sucks.

shall we say that measured efficiency is another one of those things that depends on who is doing the measuring.

its obvious you have no clue.

 

[charlietee]

The "guy" over at overclockers.com has probably forgotten more about power supplys than most of us will ever know.

Heat kills...And the type fan and the mounting of the fan in the 2.0 series Antec supplys is all wrong.

Larva does not speak without knowing through experience...He has even contacted Antec and discussed the problem with them.

I personally would stay away from them just because this "guy" has pointed out what are to me serious flaw's that could shorten the life expectancy of the Antec 2.0 supplys.

Fortron power supplys are easily the best bang for the buck supplys on the planet...And some of the very best in build quality.

When a guy with the education, knowledge a experience like Larva speaks...I listen.

Take it from one of our own resident experts...Zepper

 

[Gamingphreek]

its obvious you have no clue.

Hmm some little kid who cant hold a mature argument has to resort to crude childish insults. How original :roll:

rofl and we all know that Antec sucks.

Hmmm thats funny, i have never heard such a thing out of someone who knows what they are talking about.

As for the measured efficiency, well i get my facts from SilentPCReview. Additionally, i have owned both an Antec TruePower (not 2.0 unfortunately) and a Seasonic S12. Have you owned either? Have you even read a review on efficiency?

Once again, name one brand that trumps Seasonic.

-Kevin

Edit: INTELIA is that you (-> Shadrack)??? I think so.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Originally posted by: Shadrack
Seasonic (aside from the Antec Phantom) has the highest measured efficiency on the market. In addition to that it is also the quietest. Name one.

rofl and we all know that Antec sucks.

shall we say that measured efficiency is another one of those things that depends on who is doing the measuring.

its obvious you have no clue.

In now way is effciency dependant on who is measuring....measure what it is drawing, and what it can dish out...

The TruePower I had was out of the 2% specs they give it...I returned it for a SmartPower, and I now am quite happy with it. (SmartPower has temp regulated fansm and better voltage regulation)

 

[rise]

Originally posted by: charlietee
The "guy" over at overclockers.com has probably forgotten more about power supplys than most of us will ever know.

Heat kills...And the type fan and the mounting of the fan in the 2.0 series Antec supplys is all wrong.

Larva does not speak without knowing through experience...He has even contacted Antec and discussed the problem with them.

yeah, i know who "the guy" is and i don't dispute that he is knowledgeable. so what? nobody else has been able to reproduce the 1800 rpm his fan was running at in ANY case that i've seen. hell, i've run the tpII's in 4 different cases with different combination of fans and can't break 1100rpm.

and the fact is, he still uses a tpII but changed out the fan. so i asked him, how is it possible that i'm not seeing anything near those rpms and his answer was akin "i'm lucky" :roll:

yeah, nevermind that nobody else but larva has seen this problem. have you ever seen a post by somebody saying that their antec fan is spiining so loudly it sounds like a "hairdryer" in larvas words?

my psu exhausts 42c right now running the rig in my sig 24/7, 2x rosetta @ home even when gaming. so thats a bit of a load i would say. yet still here it is, 1048rpm as we speak.

just lucky i guess

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: rise4310
have you ever seen a post by somebody saying that their antec fan is spiining so loudly it sounds like a "hairdryer" in larvas words?

I've had two TruePower 330W and one 430W originals. They all were reasonably quiet, indeed their fans wouldn't spin up no matter how hot they got - and I used to live in the SoCal desert and my room temperatures would sometimes hit 90ºF.

Yesterday I picked up a TruePower II 480W from Circuit City for $50AR. Same deal on their web site with free shipping. I think prices are good through the weekend. Haven't used it yet, but no matter what the haters say it is a good value for $50.

For the Fortron lovers, my wife's computer has a Fortron FSP400-60GLN that is a good value also.

SPCR review

Newegg $68.99 plus $6.99 shipping

Ewiz $50.98 plus shipping

No rebates on the Fortron, $50 rebate on the Antec. Both are good ~$50 values and both have all the "new" plugs such as 24 pin ATX, 6 pin PCIe, SATA.

 

[rise]

yeah, i usually don't consider the original true line, i was only referring to the tpII and tcII line. if there were mulligans in manufacturing i'm sure antec would have used theirs on that, lol.

btw, i have nothing against fortron, in fact nothing against most manufacturers. my point was that trotting out one users opinion over and over despite the fact that:

1) you have never used one and
2) no one else has had this problem with the tpII line,

is irresponsible at best and in my eyes is simply trolling.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I would be willing to discuss PSU`s with anybody here or from overclockers.com.....
Just a note the peeps at overclockers.com have nothing on the peeps in these forums.
There are alot of good knowledgeable people in these forums!
Sometimes opinions conflict but that is good for discussion purposes!

If I may.....

The true bottom line is that it matters not what you see in a review--albeit good or bad.
It matters not whether you had a good experience or a bad experience with brand X PSU.
It matters not whether the PSU was tested at 25c or 50c.
It matters not whether the PSU has dual or single 12v rails.
It matters not whether the PSU is loud or silent.
It matters not whether the PSU is modular or not.
It matters not whether the PSU has a 80mm or a 120mm or even several fans.
It matters not whether the case is a highly finished anodized black or pink.
It matters not whether the cables are sleeved or un sleeved.
It matters not whether the warranty is for 1 year or 2 years or 3 years or 5 years or forever.
It matters not whether the PSU is empty or bulging with high quality components.

All that truly matter is that the person who is using the PSU is truly happy.

We all can sit here and put down various brands and discuss various opinions as well as is the PSU rebadged or does the company produce PSU for other companies etc....

If there are 100 PSU`s marketed by brand X and say only 20 of them last longer than 6 months that doesn`t matter at all to the person whose brand X PSU is still going after several years.

Just some things to think about...

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
I would be willing to discuss PSU`s with anybody here or from overclockers.com.....
Just a note the peeps at overclockers.com have nothing on the peeps in these forums.
There are alot of good knowledgeable people in these forums!
Sometimes opinions conflict but that is good for discussion purposes!

If I may.....

The true bottom line is that it matters not what you see in a review--albeit good or bad.
It matters not whether you had a good experience or a bad experience with brand X PSU.
It matters not whether the PSU was tested at 25c or 50c.
It matters not whether the PSU has dual or single 12v rails.
It matters not whether the PSU is loud or silent.
It matters not whether the PSU is modular or not.
It matters not whether the PSU has a 80mm or a 120mm or even several fans.
It matters not whether the case is a highly finished anodized black or pink.
It matters not whether the cables are sleeved or un sleeved.
It matters not whether the warranty is for 1 year or 2 years or 3 years or 5 years or forever.
It matters not whether the PSU is empty or bulging with high quality components.

All that truly matter is that the person who is using the PSU is truly happy.

We all can sit here and put down various brands and discuss various opinions as well as is the PSU rebadged or does the company produce PSU for other companies etc....

If there are 100 PSU`s marketed by brand X and say only 20 of them last longer than 6 months that doesn`t matter at all to the person whose brand X PSU is still going after several years.

Just some things to think about...

No. And here is why: money doesn't "matter not".

Just something to chew on

-Kevin

 

[JEDIYoda]

No. And here is why: money doesn't "matter not".

Just something to chew on


Actually from the viewpoint of the person purchasing a PSU money might or might not matter....

If your parents give you an allowance then money would matter...
If your parents just purchase your equipment for you then money might not matter....
If you are the kind to save your money and you already know what you are saving for then money is not an issue.....
If your like several of us who decide we want something such as a high quality PSU well then we just purchase it. Theres nothing wrong with money mattering or money being an issue.

Again it all boils down to what your own particular circumstance is.

Just because a PSU is cheap thats no issue to the person who wants that PSU.
Just because I paid alot of money for my PSU - price wasn`t an issue for me.

Not everybody has issues involving money.
Yet there are those who do have money issues......

Truly you gave me nothing to chew on.

What I will tell you is the bottom line has nothing to do with any of the above....
Are you happy with your PSU?
Thats the bottom line.

With that said these companies need to stay in buisness thus they have to set prices as such to make a profit.
No company making computer equipment is in the buisness to lose or break even.
Using PCP&C as an example***
You wonder why companies like PCP&C can stay in buisness charging so much for there product..
Well they actually do NOT relie on the average single user to make there money.
They relie on contracts as well as there reputation for producing a quailty industrial
product that takes no prisoners.
You wonder why only recently they addressed the fan issue on ther PC`s?
Well thats very simple....in industrial applications quality and performance and reliability are more important than fan noise. Since most industrial PC`s are not in homes it did not matter.
For example the hospital where I work is 100% noise all the time. Thus the noise from a PSU is non existent and I`m talking about a hospital....so imagine some heavy industrial complex.....just something to thimk about.

Those of us who own there product should be happy we can get such a product.
Yet the PSU I own verses the PSU anybody else owns matters not.
What matters is are you happy with what you own?

Have a good day!!

 

[Gamingphreek]

Well if you want to argue like that, then, there is no way someone could be happy with a generic PSU because it probably doesn't work, or if it works it probably gives them problems.

-Kevin

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Well if you want to argue like that, then, there is no way someone could be happy with a generic PSU because it probably doesn't work, or if it works it probably gives them problems.

-Kevin

I was not arguing with anybody...just becuase people post differing opinions does not indicate they are aguing...

Also what basis do you attirbute that comment.....there is no way someone could be happy with a generic PSU because it probably doesn't work, or if it works it probably gives them problems.

To the average user they don`t over clock...they aren`t running the latest greatest videocard...they don`t have 10 harddrives in ther computer...
The generic brands - OKIA and other work just fine.....
I even used an OKIA for many years and I was overclocking.
Again you proved my point.......

if a person doesn`t have issues or just cares about owning a computer then the generic brands are not bad for the average run of the mil PC owner.

So it doesn`t really matter does it......heheeeee

Have a good day!!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
All that truly matter is that the person who is using the PSU is truly happy.

Yup. If it ain't broke...

After all, there are plenty of people happy surfing the internet and doing typical office work on Dell Celeron computers. You can try to sell those people x2 systems with 1GB RAM and the latest PCIe video card, plus the most awesome PSU known to overclockers... and it won't matter a whit because their $400 Dell can hit web pages just as fast, plus it has a 3 year onsite warranty.