Fortron power supply with 120mm fan

dis · Post by **dis** » Sat Aug 23, 2003 12:29 am

As far as i understand it the Aurora is the same as the standard model (with the automatic fan spped control) but also has the control on the back of the PSU.

If i'm wrong then i'll definatley be wanting the standard version, it'll have to be the PF version though

supastar · Post by **supastar** » Sat Aug 23, 2003 1:03 am

Maybe I can throw some light on the availability of Fortron PSUs in the UK. FSP Group are only offerring the 350W Aurora in the UK and it is 20% dearer than the standard unit. It appears the illuminated fan is very expensive. The 120 mm 400W Fortron PSU is 50% dearer than the 350W model. It has active PFC.

Some distributors will send a single PSU direct to a customer but FSP will only deal with a reseller with a minimum order quantity for each item.

If there is sufficient interest, we would be prepared to get a batch of these units in. The Aurora 350 would cost £51 plus £7.95 carriage plus VAT. The 120 mm 450W would cost £65 plus £7.95 carriage plus VAT.

dis · Post by **dis** » Sat Aug 23, 2003 1:19 am

Well i'd definatley be interested in ordering one of the two, the 400 sounds pretty interesting. I'm guessing that the active PFC will pump out more heat than passive PF version does and (hopefully) have bigger heatsinks inside to combat it.

So anyone else interested and roughly how many would we need before its worth you ordering a batch in?

supastar · Post by **supastar** » Sat Aug 23, 2003 1:37 am

Hi Dis. Up to half a dozen of each would be ideal and I would put the rest into stock.

Where do you get active PFC as being hotter than passive PFC? Active PFC is superior to passive, is quite complex and costs more. It is more efficient so there is less heat wasted. It is also quiet as the harmonics are removed and these can cause the classic buzzing sound in a PSU. Active PFC also costs less to run.

dis · Post by **dis** » Sat Aug 23, 2003 2:00 am

Ah...maybe i had that backwards then, all i know is what i've been able to pick up while searching for a PSU over the past week. I believe that as part of the power factor operation the supply pumps out more heat (when passive PFC is used) and thats why the euro PF versons are a wee bit louder than the non-PF US counterparts. Id just assumed that the active version would mean even more heat but thinking about it now it would make sense if it were cooler, using a control mechanism instead of balancing the power with a big capacitor (or whatever it does in passive mode).

And i've got to admit, the thought of putting a high load on the non-PF model doesn't appeal. My elec bill is bad enough at times without drawing way more power from the main supply than i need to.

1 400Watt FPS400-60PN please

I'll start another thread later on and see if we can dig up some others who are interested.

supastar · Post by **supastar** » Sun Aug 24, 2003 3:10 am

The FSP400-60PN(PF) has a 120 mm fan.

dis · Post by **dis** » Sun Aug 24, 2003 3:28 am

Heres a link to it, its an online shop in France that stock it (no international shiping)
http://www.materiel.net/details_FSP400-60PN.html

I think Fortron are just being slow about updating their web site, they don't even list the 350Watt 'Aurora' yet and they're pretty easy to find around the net.

kirbysdl · Post by **kirbysdl** » Mon Aug 25, 2003 9:30 am

So what's the concensus on closing the front vents so that air enters at the bottom and goes out only at the back? I wouldn't want warm air continually recirculating because of the open front vents...

Existing owners: can you shed some light on this? It was only discussed for a few posts earlier in this thread, and I'm wondering if there is more to be said now.

Also, how many people have been getting ball bearing fans in their non(PF) PSUs? Where did you buy those from? That seems disturbing...

Incidentally, this thread has about twice the views of all the PSU forum stickies combined.

Shimmyhill · Post by **Shimmyhill** » Sun Aug 31, 2003 4:12 am

Hi there !

Im in the UK and interested in the Fortran psu !

Basically im after whichever is the quietest psu i can get (currently have a Antec 330 and its the loudest thing in my case

)

lmk if this deal is happening !

supastar · Post by **supastar** » Sun Aug 31, 2003 9:20 am

Hi Shimmyhill

The offer was for a batch of 350W Auroras and 400W 120 mm fanned PSUs. If you want standard 300W and 350W 120 mm PSUs, these are both a current line and are in stock. Visit the website at www.KoolnQuiet.co.uk

Shimmyhill · Post by **Shimmyhill** » Mon Sep 01, 2003 10:13 am

Many thanks !

Is the 350 psu still as quiet then ?

Currently i have a Antec 330w and its the noisiest part of my system !

kirbysdl · Post by **kirbysdl** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 2:08 am

And in this segment, I answer my own questions.

kirbysdl wrote:So what's the concensus on closing the front vents so that air enters at the bottom and goes out only at the back? I wouldn't want warm air continually recirculating because of the open front vents...

Hmm it turns out there are only a few slits on the front of the PSU. I forget now where I got the idea that it was mostly open in front... that would be silly.

kirbysdl wrote:Also, how many people have been getting ball bearing fans in their non(PF) PSUs? Where did you buy those from? That seems disturbing...

I bought one from newegg and one from directron (it made my 3700AMB $6 cheaper

) and they both have the (suppsedly quieter) sleeve bearing fans. Neither is a PF unit, so buying from them should be fine. Incidentally, do you think this thing will handle the following?

EDIT: nvm... people on the 300W PSU sticky thread are running 7-8 drives.

supastar · Post by **supastar** » Sat Sep 27, 2003 6:28 am

We have the Seasonic Super Tornado 300 in stock. This is the only unit from Seasonic's new ranges available in the UK at the moment We will have a delivery of Fortron 400W with active PFC and a single 120 mm fan middle of next week.

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 12:58 pm

I have a FSP300-60PN in my new system. Im still in the process of silencing it, but i have to say it seems very very quiet. I am a little worried though, it had a burning smell coming from it at first. I played 3d games for a few hours and the psu case got quite warm and the air coming from the back of it was also very warm. Much warmer than the rear 120mm fan which seems to be pushing out cool air. Do I need to worry with the heat coming from the psu? It is sucking air off of the 7000alcu on a 2.4c (which actually stays cool to the touch) and a sapphire 9800pro (which will have a zm80c on it soon). I suppose Its a good sign to have the hot air out of the case instead of inside, but it still makes me nervous.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 1:13 pm

GamingGod wrote:I have a FSP300-60PN in my new system. I am a little worried though, it had a burning smell coming from it at first. I played 3d games for a few hours and the psu case got quite warm and the air coming from the back of it was also very warm. Much warmer than the rear 120mm fan which seems to be pushing out cool air. Do I need to worry with the heat coming from the psu? It is sucking air off of the 7000alcu on a 2.4c (which actually stays cool to the touch) and a sapphire 9800pro (which will have a zm80c on it soon). I suppose Its a good sign to have the hot air out of the case instead of inside, but it still makes me nervous.

For now, just keep an eye on it. It's not too uncommon to smell something like a hot electronics smell from a new PSU but it usually goes away after a few hours. If it doesn't go away or if flames start shooting out the back of the PSU you might have a problem.

Jan Kivar · Post by **Jan Kivar** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 1:23 am

Ralf Hutter wrote:If it doesn't go away or if flames start shooting out the back of the PSU you might have a problem.

Ditto if You see the infamous blue smoke that makes all electric devices work...

Jan

DyJohnnY · Post by **DyJohnnY** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:42 am

this website offers the active PFC version of FSP350, has anyone bought this version? i'm courious if it could handle the configuration listed here
i'd buy it straight away since the FSP300 non PFC models seem to be best buys but what is puzzleing me is that their PDF spec sheet list a minimum efficiency of 65%, i'd have expected it to be more like 70% since the Seasonic 350 super silent line had 75% efficiency and they have active PFC also. the sparkle is 10USD cheaper than the seasonic on newegg(considering shiping and mail rebate) but also more expensive than the non APFC models

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 8:09 am

Power Factor and AC/DC conversion Efficiency don't have anything to do with each other.

Adding PF Correction inserts a filter in front of the AC input of the PSU, so actually costs 1-2% efficiency. The efficiency is determined most by main circuit design & components & execution.

tof · Post by **tof** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:07 pm

MikeC wrote:Power Factor and AC/DC conversion Efficiency don't have anything to do with each other.

Adding PF Correction inserts a filter in front of the AC input of the PSU, so actually costs 1-2% efficiency. The efficiency is determined most by main circuit design & components & execution.

I think DyJohnnY was talking about the difference between Active & Passive PFC.

I would agree with the fact that ACTIVE PFC tends to be more efficient. They have a quite different architecture than (No PFC & Passive PFC)

Mike, your referring to the difference between NO PFC & Passive PFC (simple i/p filter)

DyJohnnY · Post by **DyJohnnY** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:22 pm

yes, that's what i meant, what i noticed is power supplies with APFC tend to be more efficient than passive PFC ones, i might have made a correlation between those two, although it might not be a direct relationship between the 2.

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 1:18 pm

DyJohnnY wrote:yes, that's what i meant, what i noticed is power supplies with APFC tend to be more efficient than passive PFC ones, i might have made a correlation between those two, although it might not be a direct relationship between the 2.

Yes that is true... I was responding to your comment that "the Seasonic 350 super silent line had 75% efficiency and they have active PFC also". Bottom line: The Seasonics always had higher efficiency circuitry w/ APFC or NPFC. However, Fortron just announced a new series called Blue Storm and tho the web site cites min 70% efficiency, a press release I received says >80% efficiency. http://fspgroupusa.com/

DyJohnnY · Post by **DyJohnnY** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 1:44 pm

thnx for the info, any SPCR review coming up?

...though i will probably not get a chance to own a blue power...i'm from Romania, a god forgotten country where today, i was lucky to find FSP350 and SS300 APFC after 2 days of internet search and a lot of luck...still i'm not losing hope

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 7:08 pm

Hey Mike, where is that press release?

Post by **MikeC** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 8:50 pm

Press release was a HTML email that's hard to reproduce here... but the review will come in a couple weeks. Theyre sending over a copy. Looks like they have up to 500W models in this series, which is ATX12V 2.0, high efficiency, etc. Looks like something of a major catch up effort to stay even with Seasonic, Enermax & the handful of others now hitting 80% eff.

fluxcore · Post by **fluxcore** » Sun Nov 14, 2004 6:35 pm

A local supplier has this (and unfortunately ONLY this) model of Fortron PSUs: http://www.fsp-group.com.tw/english/02_ ... m%20Series

The FSP400-60PNU.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any input on it, as it's almost half as cheap as I can get a Zalman 300W, but that makes me a little wary as well.

Cheers,
--flux

Post by **MikeC** » Sun Nov 14, 2004 8:19 pm

FYI, the Zalman is made by Fortron. It seems the biggest difference aside from any cosmetics is that the Fortron models have less fine fan control than the ones they make for other brands -- ie, the fan controller has coarser steps and often more rapid ramp-up of fan speed. However, this can be modified...

DG · Post by DG » Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:04 am

The Sparkle 300W model, has 18amps on the 12v line. The Fortron 300W, has 15 amps. So, what's the deal? I thought they were identical...

midiman · Post by **midiman** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 3:21 pm

Just thought I'd throw in my $0.02.

I bought my Fortron Aurora 300w as a comparison with my Zalman 300B. This particular PSU has actually been annoying me lately - even with the knob all the way at minimum (5v?), the fan does ramp up in speed when the CPU gets hot (around 48 C). After the system has been on for a while, idle, my CPU stabalizes around 50C and the PSU is heard quite loudly. During cold boot, the system is completely silent.

Only other fans are two panaflo 80mm @ 5v (CPU and rear), so it may just not be getting enough air in and out.

Fortron power supply with 120mm fan

In Stock UK - Seasonic/Fortron PSUs