GRRR....Tight budget and still no powersupply is never a good combination. I was hopping on getting the XCLIO 450watt when it became available in the US again on newegg but that doesnt seem to be happening soon specially since newegg took it off their list of psu suppliers.

So calling all PSU knowledgeable people. I am in need of a good realiable powersupply that won't crap out on be or burn a hole in my pocket at the same time. I am still debating on the type of motherboard I will be getting but more than likey it will require a 24pin. Also I would prefer something with atleast 450watts and dual 12volt rails. I have had bad experience with modular psu's in the past so I am weary of them. Now comes the hard part, price range around $85


Done some searching on my own and well came up with a few that interested me, please let me know what you think, which would be the best, and did I miss one that you would highly suggest instead. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompa...N82E16817153022

I'm feeling Lazy at the moment, check out this old thread from a while back.

I should have grabbed one of those XClio's when I had a chance.

yep, that thread lasted a long time, and after all the 100 times i changed my mind, and after all my research, i finally decided on the Tagan v2 480watt... and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!! you can't go wrong..

look into Tagan's if u want a good PSU

There are a ton of threads about PSU's but:

OCZ modstream series or if you don't care about sleeving OCZ powerstream series. I've had Themaltake, Antec, Fortron, and several others but the OCZ has been the best. If you need a budget PSU the fortron's are awesome! They are around $40 for a 480W and they weigh a TON! they also are very quiet with a 120mm fan.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16817103459 Would be my suggestion. Fully ATX 2.0 compatible and a combined rating of 36A on the 12v rails.

Would it be better to have a an extra 40watts of power or active pfc?

Choice A.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16817104932

Choice B.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16817104934

Both of them have really good rails (dual 12V rated at 15V each). Active PFC is definitely a good thing to have on your PSU. However, unless you're planning on squeezing a lot of power out of your PSU, I would suggest getting the 460W one rather than the 500W simply for the fact that it has Active PFC. If you REALLY need 500W, then I guess it's really no contest.

Well thats a tought call, I am probably not going to be doing any volt moding so I am not to sure if I will need it or not. I have used those "watt calculators" but they don't seem to give me an accurate feed back since I was uncertain about some of the options/selections I made. If I gave a baisc list would someone here mind give their opinon on whether more is needed or not?

Definitely get PFC-Active, protection is everything !!

What does active PFC have anything to do with protection? What kind of protection? You should be a little more clear about your statement.

My question is for you Crackhead, do you really need active PFC? Active PFC is really only useful if you are running a lot of PC's in your home to reduce the strain on your electrical wires, the PC is hooked up to a UPS battery backup, or you will be using the PSU in European contries that require it on their electrical power grids. Technically also active PFC PSU's are also a liitle bit less efficient because the PFC circuit inside the PSU needs power to operate, thus lower efficiency.

Most online "PSU Calculators" don't even include the individual voltage rail loads. E.g. one calculator will say you might need 300watts DC, but on which voltage rails? The best (but not 100% accurate) "PSU calculator" is Takaman's calculator. System specs would help in the decision making, but most likely either of those Fortron PSU's would power your system with room to spare.

Many Utilities effectively charge a penalty for low power factor. Power factor correction capacitors supply the reactive power (kVAR) required by inductive loads. By correcting poor power factor, capacitors reduce kVA demand, thus off-loading transformers, switchgear and other equipment. The reduced kVA demand results in lower utility power bills, cooler equipment operation and longer equipment life.

Applying power factor capacitors used to be straight forward. Today, with the proliferation of harmonic generating loads such as variable frequency drives, soft starters and welders, careful attention must be paid to proper application power factor correction and harmonic filtering equipment to avoid misapplication problems. As a leader in the field of power factor correction and harmonic filtering equipment, Square D and the ReactiVar family of Power factor Correction and Harmonic Filtering Equipment provides solutions to many power quality problems experienced in today's industrial facilities.

Nice rip from a webpage located here. You didn't even bother quoting or giving credit to that webage.

Edit: Since Crackhead lives in the USA most power companies don't charge a PFC penalty for residential homes. Commecial businesses is different but I don't think he is running his PC anywhere else except at home.

I am just trying to pass along knowledge.

It is good knowledge, but it is irrelavant to his situation because as fas as I know of residential homes in the USA don't have a PFC penatly charge.

Back on topic, are you open to other options Crackhead? Those Fortron PSU's are nice, but you can get other PSU's for around $20 cheaper while still having good quality.

Get an OCZ modstream. Reliable and not as expensive as the powerstream. the 520w is only about 70 to 85 dollars. either on xoxide.com or jab-tech.com.

seriously owned! ^

ya whatever you do make sure its set up on a surge surpressor though :

First off grrr...I am have already posted this once, but obviously my computer/internet or the forums crapped out on me and didn't register the post. So here I go once again lol.

Thanks again everyone, in response to lilkev715, no I don't need PFC in my opinon, according to the way you described it. At full operation our household would be running, 3 desktops, and and two laptops plugged into the wall that is. Currently we only have, desktop (p2 died, and mine fried) and one laptop(other is on R&R in the closet) So is this enough computers to make this a concern? I will also be going to college next year hopefully and will be staying the dorm the first year so would it be wise to have it there?

Also I am opinon to your opinons if you have a suggestion specially if it is cheaper. Just a heads up though I am extremly picky so if your up to the challenge go for it. That seems to be a flaw I have. I go for looks first and quality second and then add the two together and look for the best deal...


In response to Raven65, check your facts again please b/c when I went to xoxide.com, the 520watt is $119.99 and I can't even seem to find it on Jab-Tech.com which leads me to belive they do not carry it. Also I have had problems with modular psu's in the past in the sense they are a pain when it comes to wire managment...but woowee are they ever pretty lol

With the amount of PC's in your house as you have described, I wouldn't worry too much about the strain on your electrical wiring. When you start to have 5-7+ PC's running full load constatly, then it would make a difference. As for PFC in a dorm room, I'm sure your uni wouldn't mind, but their electrical systems are built to handle non-active PFC systems and lots of PC's (e.g computer labs, etc.).

As for a recommendation because you are picky, sure why not. Just tell us what your system components are and what type of "bling bling" you like and I am sure we can find something for you. Pretty much any PSU's I recommend will be good/high quality reguardless of looks.

Alright man thank you, well you may or may not know I have only built one computer and well the five main components of that fired back in march, (psu, mobo, memory, cpu). Well, I am still in the deciding stage of which components to use in my system to replace the one I fired. However I am about 95% sure that this is what it will be. So base your conclusions of the powersupply off the following list please.

---Computer Specs---
Case: Thermaltake VA3000 Dream Tower Black Tsunami
Fans: 7
------Intake: 120mm Blue LED
------Exhaust: 120mm Blue LED
------Side Door: 92mm
------Heatsink: 92mm Tornado
------PCI Slot: Vantec Spectrum Fan Card
------5.25 Bay: XPER TWIN TURBO DUAL 90MM
Processor: AMD Athlon 3700+ San Diego
Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra
Memory: CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR 400 ???
Powersupply: (Still Looking lol)
Videocard: Radeon X700 Pro 256mb PCI Express
Soundcard: Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS Gamer
Wirelesscard: Linksys Wireless-G 54Mbps PCI Adapter
Harddrive: Western Digital Raptor 74GB
Optical Drive 1: Lite-On Black 52X32X52X16 Combo Drive
Optical Drive 2: Lite On Black 16X DVD+/-RW / Double Layer Drive
Floppy Drive:NEC 1.44MB
Fan Controller: Thermaltake Hardcano12
CCFL Controller: X-PANEL XP2 3.5"
CCFL: 4x Logisys 12" UV Cold Cathodes

The color concept in my case is black with blue lighting so I am prefiably looking for a black powersupply. It doesn't matter if the fan has a led on it or not as long as it doesn't make a whole lot of racket. If it does please shot for blue. As for the powersupply itself not that I have to tell you, but something reliable and is strong enough to power what is listed above. I mostlikely will not be doing any overclocking or if so serious overclocking/volt mods.

Ok here are my recommendations from Newegg.

Enermax Noisetaker 485watt PSU for $94. This PSU matches your blue theme and will power your future setup with room to spare. A little pricey IMO, but its a good PSU.

Tagan 480watt PSU for $81. This PSU is actually made by Topower, the makers of the OCZ Power/Modstreams. While it doesn't have dual 12v rails, the single 12v amp rating is pretty beefy. It can power my current setup with ease and is dead-silent.

Tagan 480watt PSU v2 for $91. A updated version of the original Tagan with dual 12v rails. Of couse its made by Topower. This PSU should have no problems powering a SLI setup.

PCMCIS 500/
550 watt PSU's. These are again made by Topower. The 500watt version in particular is very interesting option for the money. The casing isn't black/blue, but rather a mirror-like finish. What makes this attractive is that it can reflect light which will add to the bling inside your case. The pictures on NewEgg's site are rather old as I purchased one that has been updated with the sliding 20+4 pin connector and a 6-pin PCI-Express power cable.
[attachmentid=14583]

Of course you can also consider those other Fortron PSU's as well that you have already mentioned. I might be selling my Tagan PSU so if you are interested PM me about it (fully sleeved in UV yellow sleeving, UV blue connectors).

About your system I would change a few items. I would get a DFI NF4 Ultra Lanparty mobo, a 6600gt or a X800pro/XL depending on your budget, and a NEC ND-3520A DVD burner instead. Even if you are not oc'ing, the DFI NF4 mobos are the best feature-wise. The X700pro is decent, but for the same money a 6600gt is better in performance overall. For around $100 more you could get a X800pro or X800XL depending on your budet. Lastly Lite-On DVD burners absolutely suck. Their write quality and media compatibility leaves a lot to be desired.

Thanks again, likev715 I have decided up on purchasing the Tagan 480watt PSU v2 for $91. I was leaning towards the Forton Source with the presleeved cables, but figured what the hell I can sleeve them myselves and gain the experience and pride knowing I did that.

As for your parts recomendation, unfortunatly have already purchased a large majority of them back in December. I will take a look however back at the DFI boards.

Also what tools/how would I remove the sata connector and the SLI conector on my power supply so I could sleeve that particular cable?

the X connect 500w is on sale from time to time for $85

If I never see another Ultra-X in my life I will die a happy man!

The SATA power connectors are the crimp-on type, so all you have to do is remove the crimp-on cover carefully and remove the connector from the wires. I can take pictures of mine if you need a visual aid on how to do this. As for the 6-pin PCI express connectors, they are already sleeved in that plastic/copper tubing stuff. The ferrite core at the ends of the connectors pretty much makes it impossible to re-sleeve the 6-pin PCI express cables. The only thing you would need to sleeve is the molex/floppy/sata cables and thats about it. Of course you will need a molex pin remover for the molex connectors, and probably a small jewlers-sized flatheat screwdriver for the floppy/sata connectors.



The X Connects are nowhere near the same in terms of performance and quality compared to what I have suggested.

possibly but have you had problem with them?

i havent EVER
so for people who have had problems with them i undetstand but if you dont have any
mistakes,mishaps or issues with them then you would be like me
so far i it has preformed perfectly
you see what i have in my sig
add a cdrw,dvd rw and a tv tuner card
and 4 uv lights
and 3 120mm fans
and 2 80mm fans


it holds up well!

Good for you, but you don't need to Hijack his thread. He has already stated he is not interested in it. If you use the search button you can find plenty of threads about the X Connects. Or you can start a new thread and voice your opinion about it.

The Xclio PSU is in stock again at Newegg I also think they carry it at cheif value

YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! I PROMISE YOU! its what im running right now in my system

LOL Just my luck I was awaiting the Xclio and the day I decide to give up and buy a different one, it comes back into stock...oh well. Thanksagain and i am sure I will not be disappointed!