In Search Of Budget Psu.

SD-Plissken · Post by **SD-Plissken** » Sat May 20, 2006 10:49 am

Though this is my frist post here i been reading you guys info/howto's ect. well i'm looking for a low budget psu. specs of the system is listed below.

1)BioStar Tforce-939 (will use the onboard graphics.)
2)Amd 64 3000+
3)1Gig-512x2-DDR400
4)CD-RW
5)40gig 5400rpm laptop-HD/with adapter

Thanks.

larrymoencurly · Post by **larrymoencurly** » Sat May 20, 2006 11:20 am

You may want to check Directron.com or Newegg.com for their Fortron-Source PSUs because they have 300W models for as little as $30.

If you had asked yesterday, I would have recommended either the 350W Antec with case or the 500W Antec because each was just $15 after rebate.

SD-Plissken · Post by **SD-Plissken** » Sat May 20, 2006 11:28 am

larrymoencurly thanks. will look into fortron-Source. i had thought about a seasonic s12 330 however this seemed to me to overkill for the machine being built.

Sidenote: since this system seems to draw a low amount of power. would i have to worry about the 1amp min with some PSU's need to boot the system.

GHz · Post by **GHz** » Sat May 20, 2006 2:09 pm

I also recommend FSP power supplies. I use them on budget PCs I build for clients and friends/family. They are reasonbly quiet, efficient, and best of all... cheap

You have nothing to worry about regarding starting power; The systems I build are designed for power efficiency (idle < 50W AC) and I haven't had any issues yet.

SD-Plissken · Post by **SD-Plissken** » Sat May 20, 2006 2:35 pm

GHz thanks. i just thought from reading the sticky (thread about Low power system not booting with high efficiency PSU?!) that cold booting would be an issue, and that i would need to find a psu that did not need a min of 1A load to boot up. as of now these are the psu's i'm looking over. if any of these are not upto the task im sure you guys/gals will chime in.

1)FSP-ATX300-PA or ATX350-PA version 2.0
2)SPARKLE ATX-300PN or ATX-350PN-B204
3)SILVERSTONE SST-ST365

Thanks

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sat May 20, 2006 6:31 pm

Hello,

Sparkle is made by FSP, IIANM. I am not familiar with the Silverstone, but their fans are often made by Everflow, and are not as quiet as the Yate Loons or Adda that are/were used in the FSP units.

If you want a more efficient PS, with active PFC, then look at the Fortron "Green" 300watt model.

SD-Plissken · Post by **SD-Plissken** » Sun May 21, 2006 7:57 am

NeilBlanchard Thanks for the fsp link. right now i'm leanning more to this model SILVERSTONE SST-ST365 360W. only issue is with the rails they spec out like this +3.3V@22A, +5V@21A, +12V1@10A, +12V2@15A, [email protected], +[email protected] know the machine i'm building is not power hungry by any means however are these kind of rail numbers ok?

Sidenote:Is a dual rail psu absolutely needed, could one use a single rail psu provided the the amps,and atx specs was met correctly?

Thanks again.

SD-Plissken · Post by **SD-Plissken** » Sun May 21, 2006 12:51 pm

Well after reading the recommended psu list which the model i was going to buy is not on. It would seem i need to do more reseach on this model. if any of the SPCR forum users have used the SST-ST365 please post your experience with this psu.

Thanks to all who have posted.

Edit: after looking the SeaSonic S12-330 330W and SILVERSTONE SST-ST365 360W they seem to have the same spec's san's the pfc on the SILVERSTONE. would it be a safe bet to say that the st365 is a good pick for the machine i'm building. the seasonic is out of the build budget. i just used it for comparing.

SeaSonic S12-330 330W
+3.3V@20A, +5V@20A, +12V1@8A, +12V2@14A, [email protected], +5VSB@2A

SILVERSTONE SST-ST365
+3.3V@22A, +5V@21A, +12V1@10A, +12V2@15A, [email protected], +5VSB@2A

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sun May 21, 2006 5:28 pm

Hello,

With the specs you listed, yopu have no need to worry about the PS -- a solid 300watt unit will be plenty. You should cruise through the PS FAQ on dual rails (they are basically no better) and the "What will a 300watt PS run?" threads.

Your system might be under 100watts peak! And that's a good thing...you can probably undervolt it, and then you might even be able to passively cool it.

What case are you thinking of? I used the Fortron "Green" in an Evercase 4252, A64 3200+, 1GB, two optical drives, FOUR 7200RPM HD's, 6200 PCIe, etc., and without even undervolting, the Zalman 7000 Al/Cu only ran half the time with 100% load. The PS fan never ramped up at all.

The wires on that model FSP fit perfectly in that case, but they might be a little too short in a larger case.

SD-Plissken · Post by **SD-Plissken** » Sun May 21, 2006 6:07 pm

Thankyou again NeilBlanchard. As for casing it for now it will just go in a old standard atx case nothing big or fancy. at some point it might be moved over to a smaller form factor case.

sidenote: I have been reading the what will a 300watt PS run, and i must say you guys run some heavy machines off 300watts. to think i ran a sempron 32meg agp 512mem 80gig drive on 460watt long ago.what a waste that was.

Thanks again for the help, and this great forum.

SnooP · Post by **SnooP** » Mon May 22, 2006 9:13 pm

SD-Plissken wrote:Well after reading the recommended psu list which the model i was going to buy is not on. It would seem i need to do more reseach on this model. if any of the SPCR forum users have used the SST-ST365 please post your experience with this psu.

Thanks to all who have posted.

Edit: after looking the SeaSonic S12-330 330W and SILVERSTONE SST-ST365 360W they seem to have the same spec's san's the pfc on the SILVERSTONE. would it be a safe bet to say that the st365 is a good pick for the machine i'm building. the seasonic is out of the build budget. i just used it for comparing.

SeaSonic S12-330 330W
+3.3V@20A, +5V@20A, +12V1@8A, +12V2@14A, [email protected], +5VSB@2A

SILVERSTONE SST-ST365
+3.3V@22A, +5V@21A, +12V1@10A, +12V2@15A, [email protected], +5VSB@2A

The silverstone is a decent psu, fairly quiet (ADDA fan). the seasonic will likely be a bit quieter, as long as you keep it under 150w or so to avoid massive fan ramp-up.

larrymoencurly · Post by **larrymoencurly** » Tue May 23, 2006 4:45 am

SD-Plissken wrote: i just thought from reading the sticky (thread about Low power system not booting with high efficiency PSU?!) that cold booting would be an issue, and that i would need to find a psu that did not need a min of 1A load to boot up.

I test stuff using an Intel 810 system with built-in graphics, one CD, and one 5400 RPM HD. It typically draws about 60W, but there were no problems with a 350W Fortron or even a 500W Antec SmartPower. The only PSU that failed to work with it was a 300W Delta that required a minimum of 2-3A @ +5.0V or else the +12V rail would be too low to let the HD spin.

kaange · Post by **kaange** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:16 pm

SD-Plissken, did you end up trying the Silverstone ST365 PSU?

I 'm thinking of getting one for a budget PC too since it costs barely more than a no name PSU down here (and I'm very impressed with my ST50EF+)

Greg

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Tue Dec 26, 2006 5:31 pm

enhance enp-5140gh
80 plus
$58

review
http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=24
buy
http://www.ewiz.com/query.php?categry=277&s=enp-5140gh

kaange · Post by **kaange** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:42 am

Looks pretty good and from JohnnyGuru's comment, they probably make the Silverstones too!

Thanks
Greg

Edit: bummer - the price down here is almost as much as the Silverstone ST-50EF+!!!

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:52 am

Hello,

I've bookmarked the Enhance 400watt unit -- nice unit! Is it as quiet as a SeaSonic?

[Edit: Ah, I found the SPCR review of a similar 360watt unit.]

For an even less expensive PS -- but without the top notch efficiency and w/o PFC, you can get this HEC unit:

http://www.directron.com/windmill385.html

It is on sale for $35 + shipping, and it is very quiet. Reminds me a lot of the older Fortron Source units. Here's my micro-review:

viewtopic.php?t=36658

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 1:37 pm

Spcr reviewed the enhance enp-5136gh and found that at idle and low power the enhance was quieter than seasonics, but the fan controller curve is not as flat at higher power outputs. It uses the same adda medium speed fan. My 500w model remains quiet as my case temps are relatively cool using watercooling.

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 2:20 pm

The Enhance unit Frank mentions is sold only by Ajump, according to the Enhance website. And they're on backorder at Ajump.

OK, Enhance makes a 300W unit, right? Sold by Ajump and MALabs. Backordered at Ajump (do I see a pattern?), and MALabs won't give either price or availability unless you phone them and talk to a salesman (now that's a brilliant on-line retailer!).

Makes me wonder if these units are currently in production.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 2:29 pm

I would email enhanceusa.com and ask if you could purchase one directly from them if they cannot locate one in a retail outlet. I had an installation question and they responded immediately.

By the way, ajump doesn't seem to have any model in stock, but ewiz stocks the enp-5140gh and enp-5150gh.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:16 pm

The enhance enp-5130gh 80+ is now available here for $46.35.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-E5130GH

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:09 am

SD-Plissken wrote:Well after reading the recommended psu list which the model i was going to buy is not on. It would seem i need to do more reseach on this model. if any of the SPCR forum users have used the SST-ST365 please post your experience with this psu.

Thanks to all who have posted.

Edit: after looking the SeaSonic S12-330 330W and SILVERSTONE SST-ST365 360W they seem to have the same spec's san's the pfc on the SILVERSTONE. would it be a safe bet to say that the st365 is a good pick for the machine i'm building. the seasonic is out of the build budget. i just used it for comparing.

I considered buying the ST-365 when I upgraded my machine a while back, you can read the thread here.

I ended up buying the S12-330 and I couldn't be happier...worth every penny.

ronrem · Post by **ronrem** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:34 am

If you are looking at less cost than a Seasonic 330,the 300 w FSP Fortran Green is hard to beat. Has Active pfc,is about 30 bucks at newegg,and Fortran has made so many millions of PSU's they tend to not do lemons.

I'd be curious about what it can do with a fan swap,but then the cost of the replacement fan becomes a factor unless you have a use for the stock fan.

I'd use the 300w FSP Green and the 300w Seasonic as the base standards. I'd say anything more $ than the Fortran needs something to justify that,while getting something just a few $ less than the Seasonic is not so good because Seasonic is so well roadtested as a solid/reliable performer.

niels007 · Post by **niels007** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:06 am

I picked up a 'Medion' PSU for 10 euro on 'dutch ebay' which is one of those 12cm FSP "more than 70% efficient" models. With a 500rpm low speed yate loon fan swap, its heatsinks barely reach 40c under load, which is ~110W DC ish.

I say this to point out that the stock fan speed control on most FSP units is poor, but they do superb with a replacement fan and lower speed.

kaange · Post by **kaange** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 6:04 am

Well, I finally got a ST365v3 to replace the generic , thrown in with the case PSU in his PC (all the other budget options mentioned in this thread either aren't available down here or cost far more, comparatively than the A$55/US$44 for the ST365v3).

First impressions are good even before I open the box - the thing weighs a LOT. Inside, the PSU looks just like on the Silverstone website - long cables, sleeved m/b leads, matt black finish.

I decided to trial it in place of my ST50EF+ to check the noise level and the thing sounds identical, ie very quiet but not silent. My rig isn't high powered enough to load it much but neither is my dad's so it should always stay quiet. I forgot to connect up the fan speed sensor cable to check the rpms - I wish my ST50EF+ had this, just for interest if nothing else.

Finally, I decided I wouldn't be a card carrying SPCR member if I didn't open it up and take some pics which I will try & link tomorrow. Suffice to say it looks pretty heavy duty inside and it's obvious why it weighs so much.

I'm now wondering if I wasted my money buying the ST50EF+

edit: Pics linked

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