*Enermax NoiseTaker 475 vs. Antec TrueControl 550 PSU

inet · Post by **inet** » Sat May 15, 2004 11:02 am

Ok EXPERTS. I would really like some opinions on which is better the Enermax NoiseTaker 475 or Antec TrueControl 550 PSU.

Now my system is this:
asus nf2 a7n8x deluxe ver1.04 (built in soundstorm apu)
mobile barton 2500+ oc to 2.3 or 2.5ghz (havent oc'd yet, will try soon)
sapphire 9800pro (not oc'd yet)
2 ide 7200 maxtor hd
1 floppy
1 48x plex cd burner
1 8x dvd burner
21" trinitor crt

I've read both these reviews on this site and I cant decide between the 2.

Enermax pros:
*much quieter than the 550 antec
*has sata power cables

Enermax cons:
*+/- 2% voltage regulation on the +5 line, maybe on the +12 line too
*less wattage: 475 vs 550

Antec pros:
*voltage regulation much less than 2%, think it was 0.5%
*more wattage
*adjustments of +5, +12 lines manually

Antec cons:
*much louder at any load
*no sata power cables

My system goals:
*low sound from psu
*excellent to max stable overclocks for cpu and vid card

Ok, given that I plan to oc my mobile barton 2500+ and vid card, would a 2% voltage regulation make a huge difference compared to say a 0.5% voltage regulation?

Which would u pick, and why? Both are same price btw ($90 at newegg). Maybe there is a reputable but cheaper place?

Is there another alternative you guys would recommend?

CallMeJoe · Post by **CallMeJoe** » Sat May 15, 2004 11:56 am

2% is well within the tolerance of any PC, and 475 watts is more than enough power for your rig. I would go for the Enermax (Silence).

diamond99 · Post by **diamond99** » Sun May 16, 2004 1:12 am

Not sure why you want 475 watts, that is more power than you will ever come close to using with that rig. But if you are set on those two power supplies, then I'd pick the Enermax.

zona16 · Post by **zona16** » Sun May 16, 2004 11:19 am

I was looking for the antec Truecontrol 550 but in the web don`t say what Atx 12 v version is?

Do you know if is ATX 12 V version 1.1 1.2 or 1.3?

I think only atx 12 v 1.3 version will be full compatible with the latest chipsets of pentium 4.

Any one of you have this psu?
can you tell me what atx 12 v version is?
Thanks

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Sun May 16, 2004 12:15 pm

As others have stated before, the Enermax will be the better product. Unless you plan on having a powerful Waterpump + Peltier cooler powered off your PSU, you should have more than enough power to OC your system.

And as a former user of the TP550, I can tell you that though it's quiet compared to your average Power supply, it is by no means quiet by our standards.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sun May 16, 2004 7:36 pm

Hello:

Please read the "How much will a 300watt PS run" sticky!

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 75&start=0

Your system probably won't top 200watts ever -- so why are you buying a PS that is likely to be 2X too big? There are systems in that thread that'll astound you...please read it through!

inet · Post by **inet** » Sun May 16, 2004 8:49 pm

Here's the story why Im looking at 475watters as opposed to 400 or 300 watters.

I presently got the antec 400watt (not truepower) and the +5v line has dropped to 4.36volts (worse case scenario) according to bios with my 9800pro. Put in a gf3ti500 and the +5v line pops back up to 4.64volts. Put in a gf2 and it goes up to about 4.85volts.

It seems my antec 400 watt cant handle a 9800pro on the +5v rail that is why Im looking for a higher wattage psu.

Add in the fact that I plan to put in a mobile 2500+ to oc to heck and back, I like to have the most stable oc possible within budget. A fluctuating +5 rail probably would do bad things to an oc.

I got 2 questions:
*Is there a real risk that a low +5v line will eventually kill my vid card?

*If I were to ever buy that new nvidia card the 6800? the one with the 2 molex connectors, would I need a 475watter psu to run it properly on a heavily oc'd machine?

What are your thoughts on this? Is it a faulty psu causing such low +5v rails?

Post by **MikeC** » Sun May 16, 2004 11:15 pm

Is it a faulty psu causing such low +5v rails?

Is your system exhibiting any faulty behavior or are you just getting freaked looking at the BIOS?

If your system never exhibits mysterious instability &/or crashes... be aware that monitoring systems on motherboards are not anywhere close to reference accuracy. They are subject to all kinds of errors. If you really want to check what the 5V line is doing, get a multimeter, put the leads across a black and a red lead in a free 4-pin Molex outputs from the PSU, and monitor the voltage -- manually -- while you are using the PC.

akelsall · Post by **akelsall** » Mon May 17, 2004 12:55 am

Even if you got the new 6800 ULTRA top of the range version, 350 watts would still be enough to power it all. nVidia only set the 480 watt requirement assuming that only people with huge cutting edge, maxed out systems would be buying it. By maxed out i mean 4 scsi HD's 3 optical drives soundcard etc running a 3.2P4 EE or something. Only then would you take more notice of their suggestion. But for a mobile athlon, I'm pretty sure you would easily get away with 350watts.

I saw a NoiseTaker 425 i think it is. Does anyone know if this is similar in specs for noise, efficiency etc to the 475?

Goodluck.

Post by **MikeC** » Mon May 17, 2004 8:27 am

I saw a NoiseTaker 425 i think it is. Does anyone know if this is similar in specs for noise, efficiency etc to the 475?

They have 325, 375, 425, 475 and 701... they don't wnat to lose a single sale for not having the exact right rated model!

In general, all the models in a series of PSUs are based around the same circuit design/topology. What changes as you go up in models is the power/temp ratings of key internal components, and sometimes, the fan(s). If you move down from the 475, you might see a slightly lower speed ramp-up point for the fans, but unless your system draw more power than that, or you have very high ambient temperatures, this is not likely to affect the actual PSU noise.

inet · Post by **inet** » Mon May 17, 2004 10:53 am

MikeC wrote:
Is it a faulty psu causing such low +5v rails?
Is your system exhibiting any faulty behavior or are you just getting freaked looking at the BIOS?

Both actually

My hd would give me write errors and windows would turn into a nice shade of bsod so now u know

I will however measure it using a voltmeter in a few weeks when I get back my system

swiftynz · Post by **swiftynz** » Mon May 17, 2004 2:22 pm

That sounds like a faulty, not underpowered PSU to me. An Antec 400W should power any standard gaming PC with ease. My Enermax 350W (32A on the 5V rail) gives a MB reading of 5.03V (no noticeable fluctuations) with the following specs:

2500+@166x12
2x512mb PC2700
Abit NF7-S 2.0
GF4 Ti4200 64mb
2 Barracuda 7200.7 HDDs
2 Optical drives

Maybe you should RMA it instead? Or could it possibly be a faulty motherboard power circuit? It would be worthwhile testing another PSU to make sure a new one will solve the problem.

akaidiot · Post by **akaidiot** » Mon May 17, 2004 4:08 pm

My Forton FSP350-60PN 5V rail is stable at 5.00 most of the time occacionally goes down to 4.97 at most under heavy load..

Sign..

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Mon May 17, 2004 7:10 pm

Hello:

My 300watt Fortron 120mm is currently at @ 4.89v according to SpeedFan, anyway...

*Enermax NoiseTaker 475 vs. Antec TrueControl 550 PSU

*Enermax NoiseTaker 475 vs. Antec TrueControl 550 PSU

antec truecontrol 550 atx version?

Please read the "How much will a 300watt PS run sticky!

Fortron 120mm @ 4.89v