Power Supply Recommendations

[billsbury]

I'm building a new system, probably one with an AMD X2 of some kind. I would just like some recommendations for brands of Power Supplies. You guys have any favorites? I've had bad luck with Antec in the past but I know people like them. Maybe they're better now, I don't know.

Any others?

Thanks in advance.

-Bill from IN

 

[ziplocpicker]

PC Power and Cooling is the absolute best but is also the most expensive. Other good brands are OCZ, Seasonic, Fortron, and i think Enermax.

Just make sure not to get something that gives tons of wattage for little money (raidmax, rosewill, other crappy brands.)

 

[billsbury]

Thanks for your input, I'll definitely do that.

 

[Rinaun]

Enermax or fortron. I have enermax and boy, i love it. Get dual rails btw.

 

[billsbury]

What are dual rails?

 

[SilverTrine]

My Enermax 335w premium PSU croaked after 2 years of use, while an ancient Fong Kai 250w powersupply that I've had for eons is running an Athlon 2000XP system without fault.

Many of the 'premium' brands are overrated IMO. Look for decent amperage on the 12v line of the powersupply, look for 24-pin compatibility and buy a dual rail PSU because some videocards need a rail all to itself.

 

[billsbury]

Is Ultra a good brand? I'm seeing it everywhere I look.

 

[montag451]

TAGAN 480 is absolute best, or at least a tie with pcpc

 

[darXoul]

Absolute best this, absolute best that... Usually, by coincidence what *I* have is absolute best. <excuse the irony>

There is no "absolute best", it depends on what you really need in terms of power, rails, modularity, noise...

PCP&C are good PSUs but I heard one 510W in action and I found it WAY too loud for my taste. Tagans are nothing special IMO. Enermax is OK but many people complain about their total failures with a loud crackling noise which can't be a coincidence... etc. etc.

Try to read a few reviews and get a power supply with 2+ 12V rails, good amps, possibly all the new standards like PCI-E x2, 24-pin and at least 500-550W.

I've had a be quiet! ColorLine 450W German PSU for a year now and it's great. Very stable, solid power, great looks and really quiet. Now, I'm upgrading to an X2 rig with SLI so I need a bit more punch. After doing quite a bit of research and reading/watching reviews, I decided to get a SilverStone Strider 600W modular PSU. It seems very stable in terms of power delivered, quiet due to one well-controlled 120 mm fan, it has quad 12V rails and is modular which helps you keep your case clean and well-organized inside. Plus, it has the official SLI certificate by nVidia.

I know a guy who bought this PSU a few months ago, and so far it's been working fine. Maybe not "absolute best" but looks good for sure


EDIT: if you decide to get the Strider, just make sure you connect your molexes (4 pin IDE connectors) appropriately, since they seem to be marked quite poorly which made some folks smoke their optical drives or HDDs.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: billsbury
Is Ultra a good brand? I'm seeing it everywhere I look.

Ultra X-Connect? Run Will Robinson! Run!


...Galvanized

 

[billsbury]

So Ultra is a bad brand then eh?

 

[StarmanEB]

Originally posted by: ziplocpicker
PC Power and Cooling is the absolute best but is also the most expensive. Other good brands are OCZ, Seasonic, Fortron, and i think Enermax.

Just make sure not to get something that gives tons of wattage for little money (raidmax, rosewill, other crappy brands.)

+1 to that

 

[mike3uz]

What about antec TruePower 2.0 PSU's.

 

[kyleb]

I like my Enermax Noisetaker 485W, and it is recommended by DFI for their Ultra-D board. My friend has had the same PSU for much longer than I have, and he has had no problems. It is also fairly inexpensive (around $65 on Newegg).