Antec TruePower II 380??

xenithon · Post by **xenithon** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 8:08 am

Hi Guys. Just wanted to get anyone's opinion on this PSU. I know that it will be rock solid and stable, but in terms of noise levels, does anyone have any first-hand experience?

I have searched around and could not find any reviews or user comments. I also only found reviews on the web for the larger TP-II 430 and 480 and these review were all about gaming and overclocking, without a mention of sound and noise levels.

Cheers,
X

amplemind · Post by **amplemind** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 9:50 am

Quiet, but not as quiet as a SeaSonic, or silent like the Antec Phantom.

xenithon · Post by **xenithon** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 10:15 am

We don't get Seasonic here unfortunately. The only other quiet PSU we can get here at decent prices are the Vantec ION 2 PSU's. Do you know how the TP-II would compare?

We get others like the Antec Phantom and SilentMax, as well as Tt fanless PSU's, but all of these are ridiculously expensive.

X

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:25 pm

I'm not sure where applemind is getting his information about tp 2.0's, but there have been a couple of posts from others who have tp 2.0's or will be getting them. Here are the posts that I remember. - FG

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... ht=#196857

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=23748

Vulcan · Post by **Vulcan** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 5:34 pm

would the smartpower 2.0 be a better option? I have heard that they are quieter than the true power... No experience with them myself though.

xenithon · Post by **xenithon** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 1:30 am

Anyone have any comparisons in terms of noise with other PSU's (other than Seasonic's)?

I had a question regarding the TP-II fan. The PSU has a 3-pin fan header which can be connected to the motherboard to monitor the PSU fan speed. Does anyone know if you can also adjust the fan speed using that connection? The only thing I would think that is stopping you is the fact that the PSU fan would be thermally controlled.

Cheers,
X

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 7:57 am

xenithon wrote:Does anyone know if you can also adjust the fan speed using that connection?

No, there are only ground and signal wires to that connector. The middle pin (which is power or plus) is not connected.

xenithon · Post by **xenithon** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:14 am

thanks for the quick reply! have you had any experience with the TP-II 380?

amplemind · Post by **amplemind** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:51 am

I'm not sure where applemind is getting his information about tp 2.0's, but there have been a couple of posts from others who have tp 2.0's or will be getting them. Here are the posts that I remember. - FG

Pfft...how do either of these links refute what I stated?

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:55 am

xenithon wrote:thanks for the quick reply! have you had any experience with the TP-II 380?

Not personally.

teknerd · Post by **teknerd** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 11:14 am

I'd get one of the new smartpowers. I have the 500W one and it is very quiet.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:07 pm

Here's a link from ocforums about tp2.0s.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php? ... epower+2.0

They don't seem to like them very much. An SPRC review seems overdue for the latest antecs. I'm only speculating, but either antec is not ready for them to be reviewed as they are still addressing some development issues, antec knows they are noisy and doesn't plan to do anything about it, or SPCR found some problems and antec asked that the review be withheld. SPCR seems silent about the sonata II (smartpower 2.0), truepower 2.0, smartpower 2.0 500w. Maybe they are just too busy.

The seasonic would be the obvious choice as each new revision is immediately reviewed, but they're not available in AU.

Just looking at the psu noise rankings the seasonic 430w = 8 and an enermax 475w is a 6. 9 = effectively inaudible. 5 = very quiet. I have a smartpower 2.0 500w that is quieter than my enermax 475w in my computer. I don't have a seasonic, but I know what a yate loon D12SM-12 sounds like at 1000rpm.

An antec phantom 500w is a safe choice.
An enermax noistaker is a safe choice.
An s12 is a safe choice although not available in AU.

antec smartpower 2.0 ? I have not found a review on the web other than a few lines in a case review.
antec truepower 2.0 ?

- FG

xenithon · Post by **xenithon** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 7:12 pm

I personally would only be interested in the Truepower 2, from a pure noise-level perspective. I don't believe there is anyway that dual 80mm fans can be quieter or even as quiet as a single low-speed 120mm, even if only one of the 80mm is engaged half the ttime.

Here I have very limted choices, in particular because 'quiet computing' isn't too popular here. I can get Antec, Vantec, Thermaltake fanless and Silentmaxx (European I believe, VERY expensive). Also get Zalman but from what I hear they are very noisy comparitively.

I would love to hear some first-hand opinions from TP2 owners, in particular the 380. I remember reading that a number of people had ordered it so am surprised not to hear anything. Hopefully someone who has one sees this thread and can pitch in

X

teknerd · Post by **teknerd** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 7:27 pm

xenithon,
while everyone is free to have their own opinion, making a decision simply based on some belief you hold is well, .... foolish. The difference in the fan controllers and the fans selected make a huge difference. (ie: a yate loon is a quiet 120mm fan, but 2 80mm panaflo's are probably quieter, especially if only one is on.)

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 7:38 pm

You can always send a pm to those users who have or were planning to get one. I posted two of them above. - FG

xenithon · Post by **xenithon** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 9:16 pm

Hi There,

I see your point, however I just wanted to clarify why I feel that way. Firstly, my previous PSU was a TruePower 1 with dual 80mm fans. It was not quiet by any means. I then got a Vantec ION 2 which was very quiet but failed after a few weeks, and fortunately was under full warranty. That is why I believe the 120mm would be quieter. Also, unfortunately here in South Africa we don't have the option to try something out before buying. Once we buy and open the package, that's it. No returns possible. We also do not have the ability to get and test PSU's out in terms of noise levels as they are distributed by the importers themselves who have them shacked up in warehouses

That is why I have to sort of 'buy blind' so to speak.

Cheers,
X

Smith3000 · Post by **Smith3000** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:45 am

The TPII seems to be pretty decent, given that i have very few options for psu's here, i think it would be the one for me. Just haveing second thoughts though as i am tempted by the Phantom 350 (i seem to have found one for a decent price) although if i got it i would also need to get a case fan. Interesting thought though, would the TPII be much the same for noise as a Phantom + 120 case fan?

silence · Post by **silence** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 2:46 pm

I am currently building an A64 system for a friend with the TP2 380 and will report back to you as soon as we get the system up and running, which will likely be thursday so long as his fans and controller arrive on time. We powered on the computer once with just case, PSU, CPU, and memory and I could not hear the PSU over the stock AMD cooler, southbridge hsf, and Abit AN8 motherboard PWM fans. Once I can get Cool 'n Quiet active and reduce the speed of those other fans, I will be able to more accurately judge the sound emitted from this PSU.

-DG-

xenithon · Post by **xenithon** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 11:40 pm

Yup, please keep us posted!

Got an email back from Antec today with the following info:

"The speed of the power supply's fan is relative to load. Here is the
correlation between the speed and the load.
0W ~ 199W = 762RPM
200W ~ 299W = 896RPM
300W ~ 379W = 1292RPM
380W = 1687RPM
The 21.3dB rating was tested at idle load"

X

xenithon · Post by **xenithon** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:02 am

This link is definitely worth a read. What do you guys think? According to them, the fan would be quiet if it cooled the PSU properly, thus allowing it to run slowly. Because the design does not allow for very good cooling, the temps go up, and the fan is ramped up very quickly. Replacing the stock fan with a quieter fan may make it virtually silent, but might perhaps affect the life of the unit due to overheating.

Thoughts?

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:54 am

x,

I read larva's original post a while ago, and I just looked at your link.

If you look at the seasonic S12 430 (the version that's tested here) you will notice that the fan guard is mounted the same way as the antec tp 2.0. I can't tell if the S12 has a gasket of some kind to seal the gap between the fan and case. The fan in the S12 (latest version) is an adda and the fan in the tp 2.0 is a topmotor. Both are probably very similar. They are not high pressure designs. Papst 4412 F/2GL's have a reputation for being good in restrictive airflow applications.

Larva's system is overclocked, not a great cpu heatsink, hot graphics card?, and probably not a free flowing case. You wouldn't expect the tp 2.0 to be as quiet in his system as you would in a nubee system here ie 3000b free flowing case, xp-120 heatsink, amd cpu, etc..

If the tp 2.0 turns out to be noisy in your system, and your case has good air flow, then changing fans or relocating the fan controller temperature probe as described in an article here is a good option, provided you monitor you psu temps to make sure the changes don't allow temps to rise above a safe level. - FG

Read the safety tips about working on power supplies before you take one apart.

BigHonu · Post by **BigHonu** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:39 pm

Hello,

Checking in here as I am an owner of a TP380 II. It came with my Sonata that I bought earlier this month and I just finished my first rig and am in the process of trying to hush it up.

AMD64 3200+ Winchester
Gigabyte GA-K8NF9
Gigabyte 6600GT
Zalman 7000cu on Fanmate2
Raptor 36G
Caviar 250G
Mad Dog DVD
OLD NEC DVD read only
Sonata with ANTEC holes closed up

I have the stock case fan in the back and a Vantec Stealth (I wish I had found SPCR beore I bought this) behind the HD cage running off of the FAN ONLY plugs from the PSU.

According to my monitoring software, at idle my two case fans (and I assume the PSU fan) are running around 950-980 rpm and my Zalman at it's minimum (I forget the figure).

Keeping in mind that I am a big time newbie and this is my first build, and taking into account my components I think the TP380 II is one of the more quiet components in my system at idle. Aside from the HD and DVD drives, the loudest thing BY FAR is the fan on the 6600GT. Heck, even the Stealth seems okay....for now....

Just my $.02

edited to add: With the case opened, computer at idle, and my ear close to the PSU, I can hear it, but just barely.

Techno Pride · Post by **Techno Pride** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:07 pm

frankgehry wrote:x,

I read larva's original post a while ago, and I just looked at your link.

If you look at the seasonic S12 430 (the version that's tested here) you will notice that the fan guard is mounted the same way as the antec tp 2.0. I can't tell if the S12 has a gasket of some kind to seal the gap between the fan and case. The fan in the S12 (latest version) is an adda and the fan in the tp 2.0 is a topmotor. Both are probably very similar. They are not high pressure designs. Papst 4412 F/2GL's have a reputation for being good in restrictive airflow applications.

exactly. The Bluestorm has the same fan mounting as well, with the gap between the stock fan and psu chasis.

winguy · Post by **winguy** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:38 pm

BigHonu wrote:Checking in here as I am an owner of a TP380 II. It came with my Sonata that I bought earlier this month

Hi
You sure a TruePower 2.0 380W came with your Sonata ?

BigHonu · Post by **BigHonu** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:29 am

winguy wrote:
BigHonu wrote:Checking in here as I am an owner of a TP380 II. It came with my Sonata that I bought earlier this month
Hi
You sure a TruePower 2.0 380W came with your Sonata ?

Pretty sure. Two 12V rails, one 120mm fan that sits under the unit, and 2.0 printed on the green label (IIRC). It is definitely not the 380S that they have listed on their site.

winguy · Post by **winguy** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 5:22 pm

BigHonu wrote:Pretty sure. Two 12V rails, one 120mm fan that sits under the unit, and 2.0 printed on the green label (IIRC). It is definitely not the 380S that they have listed on their site.

Where did you purchase the Sonata from?

BigHonu · Post by **BigHonu** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 1:42 am

winguy wrote:
BigHonu wrote:Pretty sure. Two 12V rails, one 120mm fan that sits under the unit, and 2.0 printed on the green label (IIRC). It is definitely not the 380S that they have listed on their site.

Where did you purchase the Sonata from?

Comp USA, Honolulu, HI

Funny thing is that the box and manual show the 380S.
Go figure...

silence · Post by **silence** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 11:42 am

I got the whole system assembled and running last night, and first impressions are pretty good. The fan spins at approximately 800 RPM when idle and, if I put my face up to the grill, the exhaust air is definitely fairly warm. This particular system was not built with silence or even quietness in mind, so I have to turn every other fan down or off to even hear the power supply. I would put its noise output on par with the TP380S that came with the original Sonata, at least the very early version I had (bought a Sonata when they first came out, right around the time I found this site). If you are looking for a noiseless or near noiseless PSU, look elsewhere. However, if you're on a budget and would like something fairly quiet, you can't beat this one for ~$50 with dual 12V rails rated @ 16A each, a PCI Ex graphics card connector (part of ATX 12V 2.0 spec), and Antec's well implemented >/= 5V fan output. The one I have used is powering the following:

Abit AN-8
1GB Corsair XMS3200C2 (2x 512MB)
Abit X800XL (does not use PCIEx connector)
120GB Seagate SATA NCQ HDD
Lite-On DVD/R/RW
Sunbeam Rheobus w/all 4 channels at or near max 24/7 using 0.14A 80mm fans

I will do some testing with S&M later to check for weaknesses.

-DG-