Tough PS choice...

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee, Devonavar

Post Reply
Viperoni
Posts: 161
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2003 5:04 pm
Location: Brampton, ON
Contact:

Tough PS choice...

Post by Viperoni » Mon Jan 05, 2004 12:28 pm

My systems in my sig.

I'm in the GTA, and I have these options:

300w Sparkle 120mm - $70
350w Sparkle 120mm blue LED - $110
300w Nexus NX-3000 - $110
330w Antec True Power - $78
430w Antec True Power - $113
300w Zalman ZM300A-APF - $59

I would like one of the Sparkle's with the 120mm fans, but I wouldn't mind the True Power either...

From what I've read, the Zalman's had an issue with coil whine... How about the Nexus, isn't it just a Sparkle, with a quiet Nexus fan? I recall reading something about the Nexus 80mm fans having no noticeable bearing noise....


I definetely won't mind modding a PS, I just want to get a nice one that'll handle my system well, and when I upgrade to also be able to handle the power demand in the future (IE: Barton @ 2.2ghz and a 9800XT).
Maybe I should just stick with a True Power 430w and toss in a Nexus 80mm fan?

Thanks :)

GamingGod
Posts: 2057
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2002 9:52 pm
Location: United States, Mobile, AL

Post by GamingGod » Mon Jan 05, 2004 3:27 pm

you can get a 300w fsp300 fortron with 120mm fan for 30 from newegg

JVM
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 1564
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2003 8:44 pm
Location: USA

Post by JVM » Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:20 pm

You can get a Nexus NX-3000 in the USA for $53.95 at Quiet PC : http://www.quietpcusa.com/

I know you're in Canada but $110 CN dollars seems very high.

ColdFlame
Posts: 451
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 9:39 pm
Location: Somewhere in Time

Post by ColdFlame » Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:50 pm

I asked Fortron people at Comdex about the differences between regular PSU and Aurora and they basically said - "the blue LED fan". Assuming this is true I'd suggest 300w regular Fortron but mostly because I have it and it is cheap and quiet. I have no experience with either Nexus or Zalman bur I don't really know what the benefit is of TruePower. I have it and see nothing special about it. It is quieter than regular Antec PSU but falls short of 120mm Fortron IMHO.

Viperoni
Posts: 161
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2003 5:04 pm
Location: Brampton, ON
Contact:

Post by Viperoni » Mon Jan 05, 2004 7:19 pm

GamingGod, I'm in Toronto, which means if I want to ship from the US, I'll get charged with duty. Ends up not being worth it. And newegg doesn't ship to Canada AFAIK.

JVM, as mentioned above, it doesn't end up being worth it in the end.

ColdFlame, So the 300w version would be able to push the same power as the 350w version?
The True Power's have seperated voltage rails, so if the +5v sags, it won't take down the +12v with it, or vice versa.
Oddly, the different true power's look practically the same on the inside (heatsink wise).

AzN jonzOrz
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 4:04 pm

Post by AzN jonzOrz » Mon Jan 05, 2004 8:00 pm

trupower's have 2 fans do they not?

Ralf Hutter
SPCR Reviewer
Posts: 8636
Joined: Sat Nov 23, 2002 6:33 am
Location: Sunny SoCal

Post by Ralf Hutter » Tue Jan 06, 2004 6:31 am

AzN jonzOrz wrote:trupower's have 2 fans do they not?
Yes they do, and in their stock incarnation they are not particularly quiet, at least by SPCR standards.

Post Reply