Antec Smartpower or Truepower?

[BorisTheSpider]

I've been looking at different PSUs and while at Ebuyer I noitced that they are selling the Antec Smartpower 400W for about £1 more than the Truepower 330W. Why is there such a small price difference between the two PSUs? Are the Smartpowers crap or something? I'm on a tight budget(£45 at the most) and am interested in the Smartpower 400W, but I need to know more about it before I buy.

My specs are:

Athlon XP 2700+ w/ Thermaltake Volcano 12 HSF
Asus A7N8X Deluxe
Soundstorm On Board Sound
128MB Radeon 9800Pro(256bit)
1024MB(2x512MB) Crucial DDR PC2700
Seagate Barricuda 80GB 7200 HDD
Maxtor 20GB(not that necessary)
Pioneer DVD Drive
Lite-On CDRW Drive
Floppy Drive
4 Case Fans

Thanks.

[Steve]

I had a smartpower 450watts for ages and it worked great. They are by no means crap. The Smartpowers feature "quiet" temperature controlled fans. Although it makes as much noise as most other PSU's. The truepowers, I think maybe they have separate 3.3 and 5V rails, though I aren't certain.

[BorisTheSpider]

Ah ok, so a 400W Smartpower will be fine with those specs? My current 400W PSU causes my PC to shutdown when gaming, I guess that's becuase it's just a crappy generic one.

[Steve]

I'd say it'd manage, yeah.

You sure you're not shutting down for CPU overheat? Check your temperatures.

[BorisTheSpider]

My temps are fine I think, CPU temp is usually below 50C, even while gaming. Mobo temp is usually around 25-30C.

[eldren]

In general, the SmartPowers are the budget range and the TruePowers, the enthusiast range. Even so, a SmartPower would be far better than a no-name PSU of any wattage.

[BorisTheSpider]

Ok, thanks. I'll go for the Smartpower 400W, thanks for the help guys/gals.

[fRostiE]

sorry to throw this one in but im motivated to recommend the OCZ PSU range

very nice - ATX and BTX compatible... adjustable separate rails and its chrome so you can do your hair in it.

[BorisTheSpider]

Unfortunatly OCZ PSUs are way over my budget of £45 .

Ok, I've seen some more PSUs, an Enhance 460W and an AeroCool AeroPower 450W, any experienced these? I'm quite interested in the Aerocool one especially.

[mike_w]

A tiny bit out of your budget, but certainly worth a look, is a Thermaltake 480W (http://www.cpucitystore.co.uk/catalo...roducts_id=364). I might be getting one fairly soon, seen nothing but good things from these very forums about them (especially from Agent )

[Zak33]

I'd go with the Truepower at 330W

In this world, you get nothing for nothing. Stability is everything for a PSU.

Dont forget .... a 1.6 litre engine today, creates much more useable power and torque than an older desgined cheaper 2.0 engine. PSU's are similar.

The quality of heatsinks and components on the Truepower make it the choice of a new generation ...er....of posh people like me

[BorisTheSpider]

The Thermaltake 480W does look good, I might just be able to squeeze my budget up to £50.

As for the Truepower 330W, will that be enought for my PCs spec? Just seems a bit low especially if I need to upgrade further at some point.

[Zak33]

.....400W

......300W

Lets face a few facts here....the smallest Small Form Factor PC's are coming with LESS!!!! PSU rated power...LESS ...NOT more.

Its QUALITY...not quantity we need.

Promise

[Zak33]

here....get this

First....its a DUAL OPTERON system.....the PSU is likely to be between 250 and 350W (inital models were on 250W PSU's...they will probably ship with slightly larger ones)
http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews...JsX3BhZ2U9Nw==

Now my Boss, David, is using that right now.
http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=30261 that shows you what he is running in it.

Its 2 cpu's, 2 heatsinks, Dual 200gig Hard drives, ATI X800, plus normal gubbins (Optical drives etc)

See....quality...not quantity

[BorisTheSpider]

Sorry for bringing this topic up again. Whats the 380W version of the Tagan like? Are they any good 'cause I can get one for £45 Inc. VAT and Delivery. Seems like a good deal to me but I just wanna make sure before I spend.

Cheers guys/gals .

[Zak33]

Tagan = Good