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
We saw the elegant and simple TruePower a few months ago, so we were pretty excited to see if Antec had any other products in the PSU industry we could include in our roundup. The TrueControl 550 is Antec’s highest end product, allowing fan control through a designated 5.25” bay controller. Memories of our Sound Blaster LiveDrive instantly came to mind.
The controller itself is very utilitarian looking, but it seems to get the job done. For all Antec's worth, they probably could have made the controller look a little more appealing.
Antec clearly spared no expense on the 550W TrueControl, and we noticed this is a very different supply from the 430W TruePower we saw several months ago. Several interesting things caught our attention. First, this is the only power supply we have seen with an external rear molex connector. We are not really sure why, but there must be some applications for such a feature.
Also present were black molex connectors. Almost every power supply we have seen to date uses white or clear molexes. Besides the 7 standard molex connectors, the unit comes with 2 fan only connectors (also present on the TruePower 430W). The forward bay allows for control on the internal fans, as well as the fans along these designated fan control rails as well. A very interesting feature, but it is perhaps limited in usefulness. A motherboard fan control connector is also included.
Also, the TrueControl 550 comes with dedicated molexes for fan control. The 5.25" bay is capable of controlling these fans through the power supply. This is defiantly a nice touch since we have previously questioned whether the dedicated fan molexes were worthwhile.
Again, Antec makes the point of demonstrating that the TrueControl 550 has separate lines for each of its 3 main rails. The real element that separates this power supply from the ThermalTake PurePower is the variable voltage on the fan controller. Using the included tool, the unit allows you to modify your voltage settings to adjust within %5 each of the three main rails (+12V, +3.3V, +5V). While this is incredibly useful if you are a die hard overclocker, it can be very hazardous if used incorrectly. For example, underpowering your +12V rail might result in underpowering your P4 or video card, which will eventually damage your components if not careful.
Wattages
|
|
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
-12 |
-5 |
+5vsb |
combined theoretical |
actual combined |
advertised total |
|
Antec TrueControl 550 |
105.60 |
200.00 |
288.00 |
12.00 |
2.50 |
10.00 |
- |
- |
554.50 |
On paper, the theoretical combined 530W maximum impresses us. Remember, the unique feature about a lot of Antec power supplies is that they have separate rails for each of the three main power lines. The advertised +12V rail comes in very respectably at 288W. This power supply will work well for the hungriest of AMD or Intel systems. Die hard overclockers will enjoy the control over each rail, which is also offered on the PC Power and Cooling TurboCool. Be warned though, variable pot controls can seriously compromise your system's stability.
Unfortunately, this supply also weighs in as one of our most expensive units. This is somewhat against the grain of our last Antec power supply which was priced very moderately. For $130 you get the fan controller, and a lot of extras. The dedicated power rails are worth it for a serious overclocker, so albeit expensive, the TrueControl 550 still does not disappoint.
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Anonymous User - Tuesday, August 5, 2003 - link
I personally thought the Antec True Power 330 was shining a little bit in this review. With 31.0 - 34.5 dBa noise, 26.5 - 33.8 C temp, on the lower end of memory errors, and a little tighter voltages than the average, it seems like it gives you the best combination of all categories. The only thing we're missing is some of the wattage testing. What do you guys think? And what about some of the other True Power product line - perhaps the 430 since 330 is at the lower end of PSU size that I would like to get for the power usage of any new computer (the True Control 550 is in a different product line than the True Power).Anonymous User - Tuesday, August 5, 2003 - link
Seasonic Super Silencer 400 would be interesting to test later - see if their claims of efficient, cool and quiet are accurate.abr27440 - Tuesday, August 5, 2003 - link
does it strike anyone else as odd that their memory if flopping bits left and right on their test? Dont know about you but i would prefer NO bit flips. :)Anonymous User - Tuesday, August 5, 2003 - link
A few clicks of my calculator indicate that only the Zalman ZM400A-APS and Fortron FSP400-60PFN did significantly better than average on the Interference Test, and only the TTGI/Superflower 420SS and TTGI/Superflower 520SS 4Fan did significantly worse.What were the results when different memory modules were tried, preferrably other makes of modules with other makes of chips? I'd like to know because the error rates indicated are roughly 10,000 to 1,000,000 times what memory manufacturers claim in actual systems.
Anonymous User - Monday, August 4, 2003 - link
I'm a bit confused over what it takes to be a good power supply? You slammed the Antec TruePower 330 for its "modest" +12 volt rail (204 watts). Yet you give the Frotron FSP400 your editors award and it only pumps 180 watts on the +12 volt rail. I would think this is a very important part of the formula for your pick since so many systems by your readers have high demands on the +12 volt rail due to the popularity of high end video cards. Comments?Anonymous User - Monday, August 4, 2003 - link
Another agreement with #15 and #18. If you want quiet, go for the silencer series. They are the same PS with different cooling.I discovered this when I found out what an outstanding company they are. My first PCP&C supply was a silencer 235, which is still running perfectly after 8 years. However, it wasn't enough juice for a P4 system. I wanted a new silencer with more power, but I balked at the price of the 400. I bought the turbocool 350 and boy was it loud! I called PCP&C and told them of my dilemna: what I really wanted was a silencer 350, which they didn't offer. NO PROBLEM! They put together a custom, full-warranty 350 silencer for me for $10 extra and shipped it right out.
Anonymous User - Monday, August 4, 2003 - link
The page on the TruePower 330 says the power on the +12V rail is 'extremely modest'. Did you mean to say the "+5V rail", rather than the "+12V rail"?KF - Monday, August 4, 2003 - link
The startling part of this review is that every power supply produced memory errors within six hours. It would seem every PC is unrealible and therefore worthless, regardless of the power supply. The cause could just as easily have been junk (noise, spikes, drop-outs, oscillations) on the power supply leads as electromagnetic interference. Or maybe it was a problem with the motherboard.Another interesting fact is that all the power supplies preformed insignificantly different under the loads used. Good news for people using cheap power supplies.
It would be interesting to know what the loads on the different voltage supplies are for real PCs by actual measurement. Not guess, not calculation from the labels. Monitor the currents while you do some of those stressful mobo benchmarks. How much on 12V, 5V, 3.3V? Without numbers, it is impossible to gauge what realistic power supply specs should be.
Anonymous User - Monday, August 4, 2003 - link
Erm, don't know of any mobo using the +3.3 as source rail for an AMD cpu; perhaps you might look at the +5.0 as a candidate.What 'theory' is behind that "theoretical combined" value? Meaningless, except to show a lack of understanding of how a 'standard' PSU is constructed (the only PSU where this would be comprehensible are the non-standard design Truepowers, where, of course, the value was ommitted).
A multimeter (or mobo sensor) gives only vague 'averages' of the madly fluctuating voltages that occur as millions of transistors switch on and off on each clock cycle; these broad values are only useful as an indicator of capacity/quality by the amount of sag between idle and load. You need a trapping 'scope' to nail the maximum variations to see the quality of the regulation (also to actually measure ripple).
Generally speaking, about 20W are consumed by the control (-) voltages, so that the total actual capacity of the three power rails is less than the claimed power. I have never seen a manufacturer claim a wattage not rounded to 5W, and just as the individual +3.3 and +5 wattages can 'sum' to a value greater than the TCO, so can the TCO and +12 wattages 'sum' to a number greater than the combined +3.3 +5 and +12 total wattage capacity. All of this leads to the impression that some table values (+12 in particular) were 'calculated' under some 'theory', and not the manufacturers' specs.
Anonymous User - Monday, August 4, 2003 - link
/RANT ON HOW THE MODS MODERATE...IF you mods want to play the PC card, they play it fairly or don't play it at all.
Why is a thread locked, when a person mentions a "blackie is aggressive, or these "africa americans are always aggressive".
Yet when another individual makes a similar thread, but this time ranting on "hispanics are all crazy etc etc" it doesn't get locked on.
Or this one is my favorite, i just saw a thread where someone mentioned his "retarded neighbour" lit fire to a paper roll or something. Now i thought calling someone retarded is not Political correct.
Like i said if you mods want to play the Political correctness game, then play it fairly or stop choosing at your will which threads offend you personally.
I assume this message won't get thru, because its sent from an anonymous. oh well.