2003 Power Supply Roundup Part II: Better Faster Cheaper
by Kristopher Kubicki on July 31, 2003 1:58 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Vantec also gave us the opportunity to take a first look at their Ion PSU. The Ion is essentially the same as the Stealth but with a steel construction to cut costs down. Vantec Ions are fairly new to the PC market, so you may have trouble finding them in retail channels still.
While visiting the Vantec headquarters last month, one of the more interesting things Vantec had to mention to us was their discontent with variable fan controls. Other power supply companies have also shown their dislike for the feature, since it significantly raises costs, lowers performance and is generally used improperly (if at all). Further revisions of the Stealth and Ion supplies may drop the fan controller in favor of automatic controls.
Both the Ion and the Stealth power supplies made a name for themselves but cramming an uncanny amount of connectors onboard. The Ion comes with 9 standard sized molexes, plus one serial ATA adaptor. Interestingly enough, the Ion does not come with a universal ATX connector, and just ships with a standard ATX adaptor.
Wattages
|
|
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
-12 |
-5 |
+5vsb |
combined theoretical |
actual combined |
advertised total |
|
Vantec Ion 400W |
85.80 |
200.00 |
192.00 |
12.00 |
4.00 |
12.50 |
285.80 |
220.00 |
400.00 |
The Ion has a very low +3.3V rail, like Vantec’s 520W Stealth. Unfortunately, the Stealth could make up by having a large +12V rail for Intel systems as well. The Ion will work fine for your basic AMD or Intel system, but those who really push the limit (particularly with a hungry video card) are going to eventually have problems with the low output on this unit.
For $60, the Ion is priced about half that of the Stealth. The steel construction obviously reduces costs, as well as the elimination of the Universal ATX connector, which we can only guess cuts down on the number of rare components needed for construction. If anything, the Ion targets the low end system builder market better than its aluminum predecessor.
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Anonymous User - Monday, August 18, 2003 - link
I cast another vote for us to be able to get a copy of the modified version of memtest86. I'd love to check to find out how much bit-flipping is happening over time on my various PCs. In addition, it seems to me that it would be a good way to see if ECC memory is actually doing what it should be. (If a bit gets flipped on a board with ECC memory that's supposed to support ECC memory then there's obviously something wrong).Also, you should give a copy of your modified source to the memtest people so that they might include the long delay time as an option in a new version.
Anonymous User - Sunday, August 17, 2003 - link
Any chance of a review of the silentmaxx fanless 350W. This thing has no fans so in theory it should be 0Dba! Not sure where the poewsupply is up to the job though on the poewer front - a review owuld be great. Cost as you probably guess is on the high side...http://www.silentmaxx.net/silent_products/power_su...
Anonymous User - Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - link
To me the most interesting data from this roundup was the instability a PS can cause to a system. I think this subject is worth a dedicated article. Also how can we reproduce this data at home? Where can we get the modified memtest86?Anonymous User - Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - link
Hello!!??? Seasonic power supplies?? These have to be the quiestest power suplies I have ever (NOT) heard. Appears to be pretty well constructed. These should realy be included in any decent, comprehensive power supply round-up.Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
They didn't look at the seasonic brand. recommended herehttp://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.php?op=modlo...
Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
I got a PC P&C Silencer 300 a while back, and I was very unimpressed with its noise level. It was hardly quieter than the cheapo PSU it replaced. My Enermax 365 and Antec Truepower 350 are much better.How about reviewing Seasonic? I hear they're super quiet. A little hard to find, though...
Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
Untill all power supply manufacturers get it together and sheath their cables, we are pretty much stuck with what they offer. I solved this in my window case with some electrical conduit from the auto parts store. there are a few color choices including your basic black, but any of them make a world of difference hiding those unsightly P.S. cables. That and a little electrical tape over the white connector and they almost disappear.Anonymous User - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
Another extremely happy user with a PCP&C Silencer power supply. I do have to question just a bit why the reviewer didn't find out about their existence on his own, noise being the primary complaint in his review (though I imagine the sheer number of power supplies being reviewed and perhaps deadline pressure could have been factors).Anonymous User - Sunday, August 10, 2003 - link
This is actually the third power supply review on Anandtech. Not the second as you wrote.Anonymous User - Thursday, August 7, 2003 - link
#16, please check out http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_power_consumptio... for information on power consumption of several common CPUs (especially AMD).