Akasa PaxPower vs. Enermax Noisetaker

bilygates2005 · Post by **bilygates2005** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:04 am

Hello! I'm from Romania and here we have a new power supply on the market: Akasa Paxpower. Can anyone tell me how silent this psu is? It is measured at minimum 18db. But under load? I wanted to buy a Enermax Noisetaker, but after i read the SPCR article and saw noise from 32db up to 44db at load, I think I may change my mind.
So, did anyone test it or something? I would really apreciate any reply! Thank you!

cotdt · Post by **cotdt** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:57 am

The Akasa Paxpower I cannot recommend since its max efficiency is only 75% which is poor. Their claims of 18dBA is very difficult to beleive due to this fact. The biggest reason you should avoid this PSU is because its 12V rail is 11.65V at idle, and around the same for load but maybe even lower. That's a bit too low, so I wouldn't trust it.

The Enermax Noisetaker gives you a lot of bad noise, hence its name. Also to be avoided.

If you can find a Seasonic PSU, go for that. Here at SPCR this PSU is highly regarded, although fanless PSUs smoke it in acoustics.

figarro · Post by **figarro** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 1:17 am

I am also from Romania and I can tell you that many important brands from SPCR Recommended list can't be found here. Seasonic and Nexus are a no go and three Papst 120mm cost you as much as a 3700BQE.
I can't find informations about Akasa but from what I saw it seems to have bigger radiators which means you can easily perform a fan swap.

Sooty · Post by **Sooty** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:01 am

cotdt wrote:The Enermax Noisetaker gives you a lot of bad noise, hence its name. Also to be avoided.

What sort of nonsense statement is that? The Enermax NoiseTaker does not give a lot of bad noise, hence it's name. They are as quiet as Seasonics, but cheaper, and with reliability second to none. There’s a slight problem with them blowing hot air back into the case (via the venting), but Seasonics can do the same.

cotdt wrote:If you can find a Seasonic PSU, go for that. Here at SPCR this PSU is highly regarded,

Enermax are no less regarded here at SPCR, that’s why they’re on the SPCR recommended list.

And no, I don’t work for Enermax.

cotdt · Post by **cotdt** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:13 am

I'm just judging by SPCR ratings. They gave the Enermax a 6 in terms of noise while the Seasonic S12 gets an 8.

If Romania doesn't have popular SPCR supplies, what about the Tagan and Epower stuff? I heard good things about them.

figarro · Post by **figarro** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:19 am

Tagan and Epower are not available in Romania, as you might have guessed. Tomshardware had many bad experiences with Tagan so I don't think they're advisable.
Also in Romania the weather gets pretty hot in summer and air conditioning is not mainstream yet (probably won't be very soon) so it's not unusual cu have 35ºC in your room and over 40ºC in the Case, so thermally controlled PSU's are not any good here.
Please feel free to visit Romania, it's a beautifull country, but do not apply for a permanent resident visa

bilygates2005 · Post by **bilygates2005** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:47 am

Thanx all for replying! The best PSU brands you find in Romania are Enermax, Antec, Akasa, Chieftec, Thermaltake, OCZ, Vantec... no Nexus, Seasonic...
Here you can get an idea (it's romanian, but you can find your way): http://www.bestcomputers.ro/dela/1/tip/ ... roduse.htm

So the most silent PSU I found was the Enermax Noisetaker, but aprox. a month ago some Akasa PSUs arrived on the market. I didn't found anyone to actually test it, nor a good review on the internet.
So, what are you guys recommending? I guess if the Akasa PSU isn't that good, I should stick to the Noisetaker...

cotdt · Post by **cotdt** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 3:35 am

Antec Smartpower 2 also seems like a good option. I notice that they also sell the Antec Phantom. If you have a lot of money, Phantoms are amazing. I use one, and its dead silent and very powerful at the same time.

Sooty · Post by **Sooty** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:01 am

cotdt wrote:I'm just judging by SPCR ratings. They gave the Enermax a 6 in terms of noise while the Seasonic S12 gets an 8.

I don’t understand why SPCR have the S12-430 marked 8 and the Enermax 475 a whole 2 points less. I’ve just checked the S12-430 and NT-475 SPCR reviews:

430

475

Between 65w and 200w they both average identical noise (21.75dB). Okay, so the S12 is slightly quieter past 250w , but 99% of computers don’t use more than 200/250w, only dual SLI Prescott gamers use more. Smaller fan 21.75dB might be mildly more noticeable than a larger fans 21.75dB. But none of this minor detail equates to one being marked 8 and the other 6. It certainly doesn’t justify comments that NoiseTakers kick out ‘a lot of bad noise’.

Sooty · Post by **Sooty** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 4:10 am

bilygates2005,

I wouldn’t write off the Akasa because cotdt claims the efficiency is a 'poor' 75%. It’s the average efficiency between idle and 200w that matters, and if it is 75%, that’s pretty decent, nearly as good as NoiseTakers (about 78%). I’ve heard good things about Akasa amber 120mm fans. SPCR haven’t reviewed the Akasa, and SPCR tests are the definitive test. So I’d play safe and go with a NoiseTaker (latest AX version). As for Phantoms, you need a case with good airflow, and there’s a poll on these forums which shows just how unreliable they’ve been. If you want passive and under 300w, the Silverstone is the only way to go – proven reliability.