Power Psu & Ups FAQ: !DRAFT!

Quetzacoatl · Feb 12, 2003

I'd also throw in something about suggested manufactuers of PSU's, as well as a generic list of the watt consumption that individual parts use up, so people can make a general guage of how many they should get. Make sure to mention too, no crappy below 300 watters, nothing generic, all that good stuff. If you want, I could write this up for you.

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...

dstell · Feb 12, 2003

How about we put a link to the power supply article that we did? It has a ton of good information on the subject and continues to have a good amount of reference material in it.

lhgpoobaa · Feb 12, 2003

yes... links are good.
PSU article that you guys did wasnt bad

I even bet you had fun burning out crappy ones

Anyone claiming they can see the difference
between 450 and 500 FPS in Quake3 deserves to
be severely beaten with a rock.

AndrewT · Feb 12, 2003

<A HREF="http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BP500UC&language=EN&country_code=US" target="_new">APC Back-Ups LS500 (BP500UC)</A> rated for 500VA/315Watts

My sys. specs under info.
With 17" monitor on: 170 Watts load, battery time 14 minutes.
Monitor off: 103 Watts load, battery time 25 minutes.

Press 1 if you want to be on hold, 2 for disconnect, 3 for a representative who will put you on hold before disconnecting.

bum_jcrules · Feb 12, 2003

For a good look at some Power Supply Units (PSU) please see the article that David Stelmack, Frank Volkel, Bert Topelt, Nicole Ott, and Dirk Jonischkiet of THG wrote.

<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20021021/index.html" target="_new">Inadequate and Deceptive Product Labeling: Comparison of 21 Power Supplies</A>

Fredi Fredi He's our man! If he can't do it no one can!

lhgpoobaa · Feb 13, 2003

If you have the time, go for it

Anyone claiming they can see the difference
between 450 and 500 FPS in Quake3 deserves to
be severely beaten with a rock.

Quetzacoatl · Feb 13, 2003

alright, i'll type one up tomorrow in school, mwahaha, study halls rock ^_^

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...

lhgpoobaa · Feb 21, 2003

[shocking french accent]

Le' Bump

[/shocking french accent]

"Revenues were less than robust" - QWEST
"The company applied its accounting policies incorrectly" - WORLDCOM
"Certian financial adjustments may be required" - AOL+TW.

Quetzacoatl · Feb 21, 2003

almost done, did half of it in Comp Sci2, i'll upload it tomorrow

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...

Nimra · Feb 21, 2003

How about giving people some tips on how to test a power supply suspected to have gone bad. The equipment needed for this and how to use it.

bum_jcrules · Feb 21, 2003

Read Dstell's article that I posted above. There is too much equipment involved to do it yourself if you are only a hobbyist. That is why I leave stuff like that up to people like David.

Fredi Fredi He's our man! If he can't do it no one can!

lhgpoobaa · Feb 22, 2003

best way for the home enthusiast is to monitor your voltages.

"Revenues were less than robust" - QWEST
"The company applied its accounting policies incorrectly" - WORLDCOM
"Certian financial adjustments may be required" - AOL+TW.

4Ryan6 · Feb 22, 2003

PooBah, how about stressing the importance of properly grounded outlets, some older home wiring setups, have people thinking they're safe with the by-pass ground adapters, when they're not.

Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.

lhgpoobaa · Feb 22, 2003

i guess... but it sounds like we are getting a bit technical for a basic faq dontcha think?

"Revenues were less than robust" - QWEST
"The company applied its accounting policies incorrectly" - WORLDCOM
"Certian financial adjustments may be required" - AOL+TW.

4Ryan6 · Feb 22, 2003

Probably but its frequently a missed disaster especially in the US.

Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.

Quetzacoatl · Feb 22, 2003

Power Supply FAQ
Version 1.10, 22 February, 2003

01.How much power do I need in my system?
It all depends on what parts you have in your system. The generic standard size for a good power supply is normally thought of as 300 watts, although with the newer parts having a greater drain on the power, I would recommend a minimum of 350-365 watts. A basic computer requiring 350-365 watts would include a motherboard, processor, 256-512mb of ram, one hard drive, a Cdrom/Dvdrom/Cdrw, a floppy drive, several case fans, an Agp graphics card, and perhaps a couple Pci cards. Beyond this, you may want to consider buying a larger one in upwards of 400-520 watts.

02.What are good manufacturers for PSU's (power supplies)?
I would invest money in the following, broken up into two categories, higher end and value. Power supplies cost between $30 and $120
Higher end PSU's
• Enermax
• TTGI
• Vantec Stealth
• Channelwell Technology
• Achme
• Seasonic
• Top Power

Value PSU's
• Enlight
• Thermaltake
• L & C Technology
• Allied Components
• Powerup
• Antec Performance Plus

03.What are bad manufacturers for PSU's?
The worst companies i've used are in the following list

Bad PSU's
• Any generic or unlabeled brand
• Antec Truepower
• Sparkle
• Compucase
• Raidmax
• Codegan
• Omni

04.Can I use a power supply that comes with my case?
Yes and no. Realistically, you can, although you run the risk of having an unstable system due to fluctuating voltages. Look inside your case amd see if you can identify the manufacturer. While you may be lucky with a no name brand, chances are the power supply will castrate your entire system.

05.Do new power supplies have all the necessary connectors?
Yes and no again. The main 20 pin power connector (P10) provides current for all versions of ATX motherboards. However, the newer power supplies do not support the older AT type motherboards with P6 connectors. Additionally, all power supplies have at least 3 or 4 molex Connectors for Cd drives/hard drives/ect, as well as 1 or 2 floppy drive plugs. Also, just about every new power supply has the square 4 pin connector (12 volt) for Pentium4/Celeron motherboards, as well as limited AMD boards with additional load input.

06.Is there an advantage of PSU's with multiple fans?
Every power supply has at least one fan (except ultra quiet one's with passive heatsinks). A good balanced power supply has two fans, one intake fan on the bottom, and one exhaust fan in the back facing outwards. Even if you have minimal case fans, your power supply can be used for air circulation in your case. Generally, most power supplies are stable with two fans, although some can get by with just one exhaust and grates for air intake.

07.What is the lowest and highest voltages a power supply can have?
Power supplies can't be judged entirely by their rated wattage. The watts shown are the combined total of watts between the three rails, 3.3 volt, 5 volt, and 12 volt. During usage, these values are likely to drop or rise above the exact amount, depending on the load the other rails have. The most important factors of a good power supply are a clean non fluctuating current, and a low variation in voltage. The voltage in a stable system is usually tolerant to roughly 1 to 3 percent of the average voltage. For an example-

3.3 volt rail-3.13 volts 5.4 percent deviation
5 volt rail-4.78 volts 4.6 percent deviation
12 volt rail-11.23 volts 6.9 percent deviation

While these voltages aren't too terrible, they are also erratic enough to cause system instability.

3.3 volt rail-3.25 volts 1.5 percent deviation
5 volt rail-4.98 volts .4 percent deviation
12 volt rail-11.78 volts 1.8 percent deviation

These voltages are much closer to a systems reasonable tolerance

If anyone has any suggestions or comments, or fixing my errors which are undoubtedly in there ^_^, feel free to reply

Edit-update to power supply listings
version 1.10

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...Edited by Quetzacoatl on 02/22/03 02:21 PM.

lhgpoobaa · Feb 22, 2003

a few additions: put toptower in the quality list... on par just about with enermax, dan @ dans data have done a few reviews on em.

as for bad PSU's
Codegen and OMNI

also dont forget to mention that the prices are in US dollars

"Revenues were less than robust" - QWEST
"The company applied its accounting policies incorrectly" - WORLDCOM
"Certian financial adjustments may be required" - AOL+TW.

jamarno · Feb 23, 2003

I don't understand how you can list Channel Well among the best power supplies but at the same time list Antec Truepower and Compucase among the worst when they're also made by Channel Well and are of very similar designs. I don't know who makes Antec's Performance Series, but their Solution Series and their predecessor, Smartpower, are also Channel Well, and this company's products tend to be reliable.

Similarly, I don't understand how you can rate Allied and L&C well among the value brands but Codegen badly since they too are all from the same parent company, Deer, which is known for poor quality (bad or even missing components).

Sparkle, also known as Fortron, Source, and Powerman, is one of the best built and designed makes available.

Quetzacoatl · Feb 23, 2003

Channel Well technology make's the power supplies, but has nothing to do with the housing or included cording and such. Antec Truepowers tend to have lower ratings, and my guess is that they receive relabeled or poor yeilds from CWT. Allied and L&C have come to an acceptable level that have put out better power supplies that i've had experience using on myself. Codegan is rather poor, as is Sparkle. Have YOU ever even used a Sparkle power supply? I have, and they run hot, very poorly designed, with bad airflow and cooling. I've actually USED all the power supplies I listed, and don't speak for brands I don't know of. Unless you can back up your quotes, i'm not making changes without first using them.

edit-minor typos

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...Edited by Quetzacoatl on 02/23/03 01:05 PM.

jamarno · Feb 24, 2003

I'd be very surprised if Channel Well was sending its inferior products to Antec, and I've never heard of Truepowers having lower ratings. If anything, they're rated more conservatively than other Antecs or Channel Wells. I've used Sparkle and its cousins, Fortron and Powerman, and they are robust, as Tom has shown, and have heavier components than almost anything else but Astec and Delta. I didn't measure efficiency, but almost all ATX power supplies are rated for 65-70% efficiency, and I didn't notice the FSP/Sparkle supplies running any warmer than others.

Quetzacoatl · Feb 24, 2003

You still haven't answered my question. Of what of the listed power supplies have you actually used?

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...

Vince604 · Feb 24, 2003

Whoa so Antec is bad? I thought Antec had the best value and performance in the psu field?
Are you saying that I would probably be better off with a Channelwell Technology psu than Antec? because I was going to go out and buy an Antec Trueblue 480W psu at the beginning of next month but now I'm not sure what to buy anymore.

Quetzacoatl · Feb 24, 2003

Well...i'm not sure, I wouldn't doubt they have some good products, but they're just not the same Antec I thought of as the best before. I just know Channelwell Techology is reliable, and inexpensive.

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...

Vince604 · Feb 24, 2003

Oh I see.
Well I'm not really looking at the price. What I really want is something quiet yet have a lot of power. I chose the Antec Trueblue 480W because I seen a couple reviews and they had no con's to them and I saw that everyone voted on the Antec Trueblue 480W psu over at ocworkbench so I'm thinking it can't be a bad product. But you listed Antec as a bad psu manufacturer so not sure anymore.

What would you recommend in getting as a quiet yet a high end power PSU? I'm wanting something at least 400W but at the same time as quiet as can be.

lhgpoobaa · Feb 27, 2003

i dont think antec are bad. In the past they have had some mediocre PSU's but their true power line and modern units seem to be damn beefy.

"Revenues were less than robust" - QWEST
"The company applied its accounting policies incorrectly" - WORLDCOM
"Certian financial adjustments may be required" - AOL+TW.

Power Psu & Ups FAQ: !DRAFT!

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