Who Makes The Best Power Supplies

ryguy101077 · Feb 27, 2005, 04:20 PM

I need to order a new power supply and would like to know who makes the best ones. I'm tired of using cheap ones that don't last long and don't hold up to the standard.

Please Help.

email me: ryguy101077@yahoo.com

riles9262 · Feb 27, 2005, 04:23 PM

antec, ocz, ultra, enermax are all good...there are many others too.

Volcom929 · Feb 27, 2005, 04:45 PM

PC Power and Cooling are one of the best IMO and many others will agree. They are quite expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Tipstaff · Feb 27, 2005, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Volcom929

PC Power and Cooling are one of the best IMO and many others will agree. They are quite expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Couldn't have said it better Volcom.

Antec would be my next choice after that. SilenX are expensive, but damn quiet. They aren't meant for pure power, but cleaner power and stability. As for UltraX, they're ok, but they use way too much shielding as to make the cables very inflexible, and their 12v lines can be a bit twitchy.

- Tip

CDsDontBurn · Feb 27, 2005, 06:59 PM

agreed, PC Power and Cooling is awsome. Next PSU on my list would be OCZ, followed by Antec, Enermax, Ultra, Athena, Allied. There are several other different companies out there of course, but those are just a few that come to mind when i think about them.

PandaZ3 · Feb 28, 2005, 08:14 AM

Here is another vote for

http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/home.htm

but I do have three Antecs too and I believe Seasonic's are good too.

Necrosis · Feb 28, 2005, 08:51 AM

PC Power & Cooling is good though mine did blow up. The OCZ Power Stream I have in it's place is working the same, and running cooler to boot.

jasonbourne · Feb 28, 2005, 11:03 AM

Im Realy Happy With My Tk 520w Pure Power

Matth · Feb 28, 2005, 11:20 AM

Seasonic and Fortron seem to be respected middle name supplies
Tagan seem to be a more regional name.

Another good measure, is to note how honest the specifications are... hyping the total power above all else is usually the sign of a poor supply, and a poor supplier.

These days, the 12v rail is getting to be the most important, though it once only drove motors and nothing else - now it powers the CPU, the the graphics card, a stack of drives and the fans - several good supplies (and NO bad ones) have two independent 12v rails.

The biggest problem is finding a good "middle ground" PSU... any fool can go and buy cheap junk, or spend a fortune on an "overclocker's delight".
The trick is finding a decent PSU for a "normal" system - if buying in person, I'd favour (unless one was alumium cased) the on that felt reassuringly heavy ... skimping on heatsinks is one of the usual things in a low grade PSU - if you can see through the fan grille, a sparse interior with small "bent plate" heatsinks is a really bad sign.

CDsDontBurn · Feb 28, 2005, 01:13 PM

the easiest way to find out if a PSU is good or not, is to simply put it up to the "weight test." If you see two PSUs and both boxes say 500w, pick both of them up and the better PSU will be the heavier one

. Mind you that the heavier one will also be more expensive. But if you'll be buying the PSU online, then the weight test will be pointless because you cannot pick one up to see for yourself.

BurL · Feb 28, 2005, 01:38 PM

I have a thermaltake 560w Purepower and ever since I got it my overclocks are stable. It replaced my old antec 430w which I thought was good, but then I got my TT and now I realize my antec was just an average PS.

BWX · Feb 28, 2005, 01:56 PM

ANTEC 550watt

bake15 · Feb 28, 2005, 02:27 PM

i've had a zalman,antec,fortron and ocz.the ocz is the best i've had,the adjustable rails and the build quality is what swings it for me

***Zardon*** · Feb 28, 2005, 02:31 PM

OCZ powerstream.

Logla · Feb 28, 2005, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

OCZ powerstream.

here here!

Randy P · Feb 28, 2005, 04:21 PM

From my personal experience Sparkle and Enermax are quite good.

Lowfat · Feb 28, 2005, 04:37 PM

PC P&C would be number one without a doubt. The Sparkle/Fortron, OCZ.

I have a thermaltake 480w, its decent, but loud as hell.

swimtech · Feb 28, 2005, 04:48 PM

From what I have read and experience - PC Power and Cooling, OCZ, Enermax, and Vantec.

Take to heart what Matth mentioned - need high amps on the 12v line(s).

**Asmoday** · Feb 28, 2005, 05:06 PM

My OCZ Powerstream 520w is the best PSU i've owned. Ever......

Geminiwave · Feb 28, 2005, 05:10 PM

PC power and cooling is absolute best.

Antec aint too shabby though.

Drakon · Feb 28, 2005, 08:24 PM

hmmm, with all these votes for OCZ, i'm thinking of buying the Powerstream 520w and swapping out my X-Connect. Then either sell it or use it in my old rig which i'm giving to my mom (it currently has a cheiftec 340w PSU).

spottymonster · Feb 28, 2005, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

hmmm, with all these votes for OCZ, i'm thinking of buying the Powerstream 520w and swapping out my X-Connect. Then either sell it or use it in my old rig which i'm giving to my mom (it currently has a cheiftec 340w PSU).

Excellent idea.

PCP&C are the best, I just couldn't afford one. I like this OCZ a lot too. After those two brands, fortron is the next best one. PCP&C and OCZ are pretty reasonable with their wattage claims, however, many people consider fortrons to be underrated. If you're looking for a 24pin PSU, the fortron blue storm is a very solid PSU at a very reasonable price (~$80)

Silentpcreview.com has very good reviews of the units themselves and utilize good testing methods. Ignore their noise concerns, our definition of a quiet PC would make them go insane

BWX · Mar 1, 2005, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spottymonster

Excellent idea.

PCP&C are the best, I just couldn't afford one. I like this OCZ a lot too. After those two brands, fortron is the next best one.

Fortron better than Antec? I don't think so. Maybe comparable, but better?

Lowfat · Mar 1, 2005, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWX

Fortron better than Antec? I don't think so. Maybe comparable, but better?

I'd take a Fotron anyday over an Antec PSU.

BWX · Mar 1, 2005, 01:04 AM

Oh well, differences in opinion I suppose...

Does Fortron make a PSU with adjustable rails?? That's one of the reasons I like my Antec.