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
The most abundant PSU company in our review was TTGI. Most users have not even heard of TTGI before, let alone SuperFlower. Interestingly enough, that hardly upsets SuperFlower, who continues to mass produce products under various OEM and discreet labels. Given their unique market position, we took the chance to look at several offerings from TTGI. Their largest power supply is the 520SS, a 520W offering with 4 fans.
Again, the variable fan control makes an appearance. As you will see later in this review, the fan control is the Achilles heel for these power supplies. TTGI’s good prices and good features make these units very attractive, so performance becomes the most important issue with these units.
Features on the TTGI units are fairly bountiful. All of the units come in a glossy finish which really would look sharp in a case with windows or other acrylic. Our unit also came with one quad LED fan. In our opinion, it probably would have been more appropriate to ship the power supply the same color fan as the finish (or at least just one solid color). If you are particularly handy, replacing the fan will be no problem.
Wattages
|
|
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
-12 |
-5 |
+5vsb |
combined theoretical |
actual combined |
advertised total |
|
TTGI/SuperFlower 520SS 4Fan |
92.40 |
260.00 |
240.00 |
9.60 |
2.50 |
15.00 |
352.40 |
260.00 |
520.00 |
Like the Vantec Stealth, the TTGI 520SS has an unusually high +5.0V rail. The +3.3V rail is not penalized as much, so we will not criticize them on that. Do keep in mind that an Athlon 2200+ XP runs on about 60W, so overclockers should consider all the options when looking at these power supplies.
Pricing on the TTGI series is extremely aggressive. The 520SS runs around $85, much less than the other power supplies running about the same wattages. (The three fan version runs a little bit less, around $75).
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Anonymous User - Saturday, August 2, 2003 - link
#11, yes P=IxV, but the power ratings in the table were obviously taken from manufacturers' data rather than actual measurements, which is why when any power rating for any of the positive voltages is divided by that voltage, the quotient exactly equals an integer. That would not be a problem if all manufacturers applied identical standards to their specifications, but many computer users have learned that this isn't the case.Anonymous User - Saturday, August 2, 2003 - link
Perhaps you could include a Q-Tec PSU in the next review? They retail here in Sweden at about 60% of the price of corresponding Enermax and other high quality units, so assuming they aren't totally lousy they're very cheap.Anonymous User - Friday, August 1, 2003 - link
I agree with #15. Definitely take a look at the PC Power and Cooling 400w Silencer PSU. I own two of these units and they're very high quality with reasonably low noise.Anonymous User - Friday, August 1, 2003 - link
Enlight power supplies are always being excluded from these PSU comparsions. I have a Enlight 360W PSU and it's very stable and very quiet. Test some Enlight PSUs!Anonymous User - Friday, August 1, 2003 - link
I appreciated the comments concerning AMD users, but what I really need is some sort of guidance on AMD processor speed vs combined power or 3.3V rail current for upgrading older systems. Many older cases have limited power supplies and I'm trying to figure out the fastest processor I can install and still have reliable operation. Example: A 300 watt supply with 25A of 3.3V can only support up to a Athlon 1600+ on an ECS K7S5A Pro or a 350 watt with a combined power of 200W can support up to 2200+. Oh, and forget that old 250 watt power supply altogether. I need something like that... yeah, I know: your mileage may vary, void where prohibited by law, no watts were endangered in the making of this article.....:-)Anonymous User - Friday, August 1, 2003 - link
Next time you guys might want to check out the PC P&C Silencer 400. It's built just as heavily as the Turbo Cool but with a quieter fan.Anonymous User - Friday, August 1, 2003 - link
Hey guys, im sure 1 or 2 of you resistorheads are an ee or will soon be one.. ripple and noise are only part of a good pwr supply.. we need the facts... how many watts do these power supplies really put out. how do they respond with a big load.. will they take an overload.. how well are they protected...thats what i wanna read aboutMIDIman - Friday, August 1, 2003 - link
WOW - excellent review. I'm getting a zalman for my silent box.Nice to see you guys pumping out articles quickly again! Thanks!
idenyit - Friday, August 1, 2003 - link
hey just wondering the allied A400ATX hows that compare with the B400ATX thats offered on newegg? any differences?Anonymous User - Friday, August 1, 2003 - link
#10, doesnt P=IV? The Power and Voltage measurements were given.