Difference between these two Antecs?

elziko · Post by **elziko** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 1:40 am

Trying to decide between these two antecs:

Antec 400 Watt Power Supply ATX Smartpower Dual Fan £41.05
Antec TRUE380PGB TruePower 380W ATX Power Supply £43.60

... but the 400 is slightly cheaper than 380! Why would that be? Would the 380 be quieter possibly? If not abviously I;d just plump for the highest rating.

What does the "Truepower" vs "SmartPower" bit mean as far as Antec marketing jargon goes?

Thanks!

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 3:22 am

Truepower series has tighter voltage regulation than the Smartpower series.

AFAIK none of those PSUs are quiet out of the box. You'd need to fan-swap them. In fact, I know my SP350W to be extremely noisy (the bottom 92mm fan makes a huge racket)

I believe there are "S" versions of the Trupower PSUs. The 380S comes with Sonatas and some stores that build PCs based on the Sonata sell these excess PSUs at a discount. The "S" versions lack the bottom fans and are therefore quieter.

threevok · Post by **threevok** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 3:38 am

I concur with burcakb. I just shelved my Antec SL350 for a Seasonic Super Silencer 350 and I am very satisfied. It sounds like you are in the market for a replacement power supply. If so, the Seasonic brand may be a better choice.

Spod · Post by **Spod** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 5:36 am

Agreed, Seasonic are good. The Nexus 4090 is also a good choice, if the Seasonics are over your budget.

elziko · Post by **elziko** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 3:09 am

After reading good reviews, I ordered this anyway with the view of doing a fan mod if it was too noisy.

However, I have recieved the True380XRP instead of the True380PGC but I can't find any information on the web or Antec's site about the XRP version.

Anyone have any ideas what it is? Could it be the same as the 'S' model since it only hase ONE fan not two.

Thanks!

elziko · Post by **elziko** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 5:02 am

Wow it turns out that this supply is quite bizzare. The fan outlet and power socket are mounted the INSIDE of this unit whilst the outside (the bit at the back of the computer) is just an featureless grill! It would be of no use in an standard ATX case!

So I have RMAd it to eBuyer.

davidstone28 · Post by **davidstone28** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 5:06 am

If you go to the antec-inc website and look for the Sonata case, the explantory note about the 380S PSU and the 380 PSU explains it. Can't remember the exact explanation but I think its something to do with independant rails. Truepower is a higher quality PSU than Smartpower.

"What is the difference between Truepower power supply and SL Solution Series power supply?

The main difference is that the Truepower power supply has voltage rails that are independent of each other. This means that a max wattage output is possible for each individual rail. So, the concept of combined voltage does not apply to this particular power supply. Additionally TruePower features Voltage FeedBack circuitry which allows TruePower to adjust the voltages at the ATX connector. This helps maintain system stability. Further, as a part of Antec Low Noise Technology the Truepower power supply has "Fan Only" connector where a regular case fan once connected to it will be spinning at the same speed as the power supply fan. The purpose of this feature is to create a quieter system. The Solution Series power supply has the SmartFan feature, which is helps the power supply run cooler and quieter. However, SL250S and SL300S have only 1 fan. "

Spod · Post by **Spod** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:24 am

elziko wrote:Wow it turns out that this supply is quite bizzare. The fan outlet and power socket are mounted the INSIDE of this unit whilst the outside (the bit at the back of the computer) is just an featureless grill! It would be of no use in an standard ATX case!

So Ihave RMAd it to eBuyer... con artists!

Forgive me if the question seems patronising, but are you sure you had it the right way round? No PC power supply that I've seen has the plug on the inside - the plug more or less defines which side goes outside.

Any variation on the TruePower series should still be ATX compatible, which means fan outlet and plug socket at the back (outside), grilles on the bottom and/or front (inside), and internal wires coming out the front. Mounting screw holes should be on the same side as the plug socket.

elziko · Post by **elziko** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 8:17 am

I knew someone would reply with that

The side with just the grate has the four screw holes used to attatch it to the case.

The opposite side, which doesn't have any screw holes has an opening for the fan; a socket for mains power and an opening through which all the motherboard & coponent power leads comes out of.

I'm 100% sure of this and I am as surprised as you.

Inside the box I also got a 'chassis' socket for the 240 mains which is obviously supposed to me mounted on the case of some manufacturer like Dell. The other end then plugs into the socket of the PSU thats facing inward to the computer.

Here is a picture of it showing everything on thw same side with the power socket on the right and then the mobo ledas coming out ON THE SAME SIDE on the left!:

believe me now?

teknerd · Post by **teknerd** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 5:13 pm

that is by far the strangest power supply i have ever seen.

Spod · Post by **Spod** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:18 pm

Okay, yes, I believe you! All I can think is that it's some sort of testing power supply, designed to sit in a rack with all the main bits accessible from the same side, that Antec shipped by mistake.

If I were you, I'd email Antec and ask what that model's actually used for, out of sheer curiosity - but that's up to you, and I'm too busy/lazy to do it myself.

thegonagle · Post by **thegonagle** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 4:40 pm

I'm not 100% sure, but that looks like the PSU used in the Antec Overture desktop case.

AntecRep · Post by **AntecRep** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 12:25 pm

Looks like they sent you the True380XPR which is what goes in the Overture case.

AntecRep

Spod · Post by **Spod** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:21 am

AntecRep wrote:Looks like they sent you the True380XPR which is what goes in the Overture case.

AntecRep

AntecRep, can you tell us why the internal cables come out of the same side as the external AC socket?

AntecRep · Post by **AntecRep** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 9:10 am

The placement of the True380XPR in the Overture.

I'm going to go over the Overture for those not familiar with it.

Overture is basically a desktop case (3u high so a little shorter than the classic desktop style), in an attempt to make things cooler/quieter the designers opted to put the PSU towards the front of the case (under the external 3.5" bays, next to the 5.25" bays). To facilitate this they then had a power cable inside the case going from the PSU to the back of the case where you would then plug in the case to the wall.

AntecRep