![]() V.5.0 POWER SUPPLIES A cornerstone policy for coolcases.com: YOU CAN ORDER ANY PS WITH ANY CASE. PERIOD. Power Supply Options: YOU CAN ORDER ANY PS WITH ANY CASE. PERIOD. WE ARE NOW STOCKING THE NMB "DUAL-AMD" and the "DUAL-P4" POWER SUPPLIES. GENERAL COMMENTS: What follows below represents a mix of observations no matter which hat I wear--that of a hardware geek seeking the best combination of power, quality, and price, of a reseller who supports them, or my own biases about what brand/model is a good PS. Power Supplies are available in sizes from 250w. to 525 w; the brands we sell include Addtronics-ChannelWell Technology-CWT-Antec, EnerMax, Fortron-Source/Sparkle Power, Lite-On, and YaHsin. Generally, other than issues of quality, PSs are treated as very much of a commodity item by the case manufacturers. PS specifications and the products available are going through a bit of a change right now--generally, the manufacturers are finally upgrading their products to meet the 2.03 standard, and changing their products to meet the specific needs of the latest chips. What this means to users is this: The +5 standby current (necessary to turn on ATX systems) has increased over time from a 750 mA spec to as much as 2.2A for the latest chips. Further, the supplemental supply leads (e.g., the B2/P4 connector, etc.) may or may not be present on all PSs--it really is just a question of working the newest products through the supply chain. This often is NOT an issue unless you have or are getting the latest chip and motherboard, and it may mean you will be trapped into higher pricing if you feel you need the latest spec. On a more pragmatic level, the issues about these 2.01/2.03 specifications result in compatibility issues that show up in the field is a failure to power up properly--sometimes--and a mysterious reboot or BSOD in a normal work session when there is not an excessive load on the hardware. It can be very frustrating to track this down, for it can appear to be underpower, a weak memory stick, or overheating as well. Generally, right now I would not worry about it. Anyone wishing to think more seriously about choosing the 'right' PS, particularly power requirements, should go to this link: There is a lot of good information here if you take the time to digest it, and it will probably help in finding the one you like the best. What follows below is a summary of the experiences I have had here (both in our personal/business use and as a reseller) and of our buyers with the different brands I stock and sell. ADDTRONICS PSs - 'A300, A325, A425,' etc. NO LONGER STOCKED ROUTINELY. The current cost of them, even when shipped with the case, made them uncompetitive in our marketplace. Originally, these were Antec PSs that were variously labelled Addtronics, ChannelWell, CWT, or even Antec. I have NOT kept up with what they are currently. Generally speaking, most of our buyers now move up in power, and overwhelmingly their choice is one of the Enermax PSs. ENERMAX - the E365FM, E365FC, E451-FM, E465-FM, E465FC and E651-FM: Now the preferred PS for case enthusiasts. There are two basic versions, no matter which power rating you buy--The 'FM' or FAN MONITORING version, and the 'FC' or FAN CONTROL version. Characteristics of both versions are the inclusion of TWO fans, both ball bearing--an 80 in the standard 'back' location, and a 90 on what we normally identify as the bottom. There is also a 'front' intake grill. These PSs also have a higher MTBF rating--100,000 hours--and a TWO-YEAR warranty. The defect rate is very low--not enough to be an issue or concern. Our experience here has shown that they can run as quiet as the Addtornics/Antec 303x PS, for the FM version does have control internally. The FC version has external fan control, and will go into a "full sleep" mode if your motherboard and PS power savings hardware/software support it. Users have even reported MTM error messages because they will spin down so low--and heat will also spin it up for good output--perhaps as high as 36-40 cfm There does seem to be a tendancy for these PSs to run at the lower end of the 12v spec--plus or minus 4%. However, other than owner anxiety, I have not heard of any problems resulting from this. The Enermax PSs are a very good value, although they are not a 'price point' item. See the PS chart for specifications, or the Enermax PS Specifications main page--use the drop-down and select the PS whose specs you want to see: http://www.enermax.com.tw/products/switch-main.htm FORTRON-SOURCE / SPARKLE POWER, INC. - 'SPI300, SPI350, SPI400': These companies may sell under different labels, and each company has independent marketing representatives, but they are owned by Fortron Source. Known as a higher-quality unit in the aftermarket, they are also heavily marketed as an OEM fan to computer manufacturers and are sometimes private labelled. For example The 300-w. model stocked is the SPI Model FSP300-60GT; this model has the "Noise Killer" Fan and appears to be the same unit as the PS PCP&Cooling 300w 'silencer.' Overall, the fans are a noticably noisier than the Addtronics / Antec PS and the Enermax models. SPI 300: This unit has a better finish to its case, etc., than the A300, and is a 100,000 MTBF unit. Reliability is every bit as good as the A300 and the Enermax models. This product has gotten a bit 'lost' since the Enermax PSs came into the market, but it a good lower-power unit for use in the JUNIOR. SPI350: This was the first 350w. to be priced aggresively in the market place, and the cost has continued coming down to compete with Enermax. You might consider the E365 and SPI 350 units and question why the need for the SPI--however, the specs show that the combined peak output of the SPI 350 is actually somewhat better. . SPI400: This was the reigning horspower champ in the geek marketplace until the Enermax PSs came on the scene. Again this fan is noticeably noisier, but the output is phenomenal. The PS case finish is chrome over an unpolished metal. Again, high-powered output on the peak output. Specifications may be found here: NOTE: We have let our inventories slide on the SPI PSs, and they may not be in stock. LITE-ON - L300. We have a number of these available from the time when LITE-ON--required resellers to buy the FS020 with a 300w PS installled. The model number is PS-50320-1F5. It is Intel certified, but I do NOT believe they have had it K7-certified. Bill at OutsideLoop reports no problems running it with Athlons, however, Although a cheaper stamped-grill case, it appears to be durably made and I have had no problems with it myself nor complaints from customers. These PSs will be the ones installed in site "case specials" until I run out of them NMB - NMB/460AMD, NMB 430P4: These are the specialty PSs for use with SMP motherboards--specifically, the Tyan Thunder/K7 dual AMD motherboard for the 460AMD, and any number of dual P4 / new spec. motherboards for the 430P4. BOTH OF THESE PSs are of "extended-length" ATX specification--about 1" longer than usual. Other than that, they both appear to be a standard PS--stamped gray case with a stamped fan grill, no power switch. Because of the boards for which they were designed, they do have a plethora of long leads--typically up to 48" long. Their fans are NOT particularly noisy (at least not in these days of 50+ dBA HS fans), but neither are they quiet. Early Thunder K7/NMB users sometimes had trouble getting their units up and running, but the directions we were given to seemed to solve that problem: Make sure you have your system completely connected before powering up--that is, have all cards, drives, fans, etc. installed to provide a full load. Tim has built two K7/NMB460 systems and has reported no problems in getting them up and running. Here's a link to the NMB Technologies' PS Page: http://www.nmbtech.com/cgi-bin/start.cgi/psselect.html SKYHAWK - currently our "base" PS. After looking hard at several brands/no-names for a basic PS, I selected this one. Both AMD and P4 approved, it should work well in persons needing a standard PS. See the tables for specifications on power, etc--as you can see, it is more than competitive. YAHSIN - Y300: A Chenbro engineer identified them as a good quality product, undermarketed here. They are backed by a limited lifetime warranty. Further, this one has a switch! 136w max. output, however. No problems with it, and field reports from customers show a solid PS that is quiet. This will be in the "specials" cases. DRPS PSs: We keep the Enermax versions on hand--the 350 and 400-w. versions, 'V' model. These are Class B rated and work well. For specifications, see this link: http://www.enermax.com.tw/products/redund-main.htm E-mail for current pricing. I can also order ZIPPY-Emacs units, and I have a 'mini-DRPS' 200w. model on hand for use in the GENIE and JUNIOR Chenbro cases. E-mail for current pricing. |
| MFR/MODEL | Cat. Name | OUTPUT | DRAW | LOAD | EFF. | ||||
| +3.3v | +5v | combined. | +12v. | +5SB | |||||
| Add.300 (Antec 303x) | A300 | 14A | 30A | 150W | 8A | 1.5A | 7A | +-5%,+-10% | >70% |
| LO PS-5032-1F5 | L300 | 30A | 40A | 250W(?) | 12A | 1.2A | 7A | n/a | n/a |
| FSP300-60GT | SPI300 | 14A | 30A | 150W | 12A | .85A | 9A | +-4%,+-5% | 65%min. |
| YaHsin 300 | Y300 | 14A | 27A | 136W | 12A | 1.5A | 10A | n/a | n/a |
| EG365P-VE | E365FM | 32A | 32A | 185W | 15A | 2.2A | 10A | +-5% | 70%min. |
| EG365P-VE (C) | E365FMC | 32A | 32A | 185W | 17A | 2.2A | 10A | +-5% | 70%min. |
| FSP350-60BN | SPI350 | 28A | 25.5A | 220W | 10A | 1.0A | 8A | +-5% | 65%min. |
| FSP400-60GN | SPI400 | 28A | 28.5A | 235W | 12A | 2.0A | 10A | +-5% | 65%min. |
| EG451P-VE | E451FM | 35A | 44A | 220W | 15A | 1.8A | 12A | +-5% | 70%min. |
| EG465P-VE | E465FM | 38A | 44A | 220W | 17A | 2.2A | 12A | +-5% | 70%min. |
| EG651P-VE | E550FM | 40A | 46A | 270W | 24A | 1.8A | 13A | <+-5% | 72%min. |
| Cat.Name | MTBF | Leads | Fan | Grill | Switch | CPU Cert'n | ||||||
| 4-pin | flpy | mbd | B2 | P2 | size | type | cfm dBA | |||||
| A300 | 50,000 | variable | stamped | NO | P4: NO | |||||||
| L300 | open | 5-18" | 2-14" | 17" | YES | NO | 80 | ? | ?------? | stamped | NO | P4: NO |
| SPI300 | >50,000 | 6-25" | 2-18" | 20" | YES | NO | 80 | BBg | 32?38? | chrome wire | NO | P4: NO |
| Y300 | open | 4-28" | 2-34" | 26" | NO | NO | 80 | ? | ?------? | stamped | YES | P4: NO |
| FSP350 | >50,000 | open | ---- | -- | YES | YES | 80 | BBg | 34?34? | chrome wire | YES | P4: NO |
| E365FM | 100,000 | 6-24" | 1-19" | 18" | YES | 80&90 | BBg | T-C variable | chrome wire | YES | AMD&Intel | |
| E365FC | 100,000 | 6-24" | 1-19" | 18" | NO | 80&90 | BBg | T-C variable | gold wire | YES | AMD&Intel | |
| SPI400 | >50,000 | 6-28" | 2-28" | 21" | YES | YES | 80 | BBg | T-C variable | chrome stmp. | YES | AMD/P4 YES |
| E451FM | 100,000 | 7-39" | 1-38" | 25" | YES | YES? | 80&90 | BBg | T-C variable | chrome wire | YES | AMD&Intel |
| E465FC | 100,000 | 7-39" | 1-38" | 25" | YES | YES | 80&90 | BBg | T-C variable | gold wire | YES | AMD/P4 YES |
| E550FC | 100,000 | 7-39" | 1-38" | 25" | YES | YES? | 80&90 | BBg | T-C variable | chrome wire | YES | AMD&Intel |
|
COMMENTS: Both the E330 and E430 a two-wire/3-pin mbd. conn. lead for monitoring (FM model) or control (FC) of the PS fans by the motherboard software. And, the E430 not only has a B2 connector, but also a 4-pin Mbd lead for the 24-pin motherboard connection found on Xeon boards or for the new P4 connector. Power Supply Pricing |