Power Supply / SMPS

[klinux]

- whats the best power supply in indian market for amd / intel based motherboards ? what are the specs ?
not a lot of thought is ever put into PS unit . got an amd 2600+ / asus a7v8x-mx running at 1.5ghz 266 fsb (Underclocked) / dvd combo / 2 extra cabinet fans rear and front

- when running at normal 1.9ghz 333 the smps goes bust . had prob with original 300 watts touchmate . switched to 350 watts zebronics . same problem occurs on monthly basis . service centre says fuse / fan goes bust . there is no short circuit . can the heating of the cpu / mb cause probs in smps ? y do some smps have single at connector connected to atx power supply ?

- any idea on where thermal compounds sold in chennai ? amd says warranty void if we use artic silver stuff as it sometimes shorts the processor . are there alternative compounds , preferbly cheap ones ?

 

[theraven]

go in for a min. 400w psu from powersafe
its good
ull get realll cheap thermal compounds even like 10 bucks a small bottle types
no use
they suck
go in for artic silver
500 bucks a tube
dunno where in chennai tho

 

[gxsaurav]

True, go for atleast 400W SMPS even if it is not Powersafe, also thermal compund is not a must as Intel & AMD already come with retail HSF with Thermal compound or tape

 

[klinux]

thanks for the reply .

does powersafe have the fan at bottom of the unit like antec ones ?
was thinking of artic silver , but seems amd warranty is void if u use that . artic silver acts as a conductor and could short ur processor . have u tried artic silver ? how much of a temperature have u gotten

 

[blade_runner]

AS doesnt act totally like a conductor but yeah it cud screw ur proccy if u are not sure what u are doing.

 

[digen]

Correct me if i'm wrong but yes it does have a extra fan at the bottom.Check its review at techtree, I searched for it but couldnt find it there.

 

[theraven]

not bottom
on the inside of the case
but yeah there is an additional fan

 

[richard nightly]

The prices of the Antec power supplies were reduced last month. I bought my Antec True Power 480w for 4700/-. It used to be 8500/- before that. I think the 430w and 330w are also available at lower prices. Check for models available here...

*www.theitdepot.com/pro_powerSupply.html

 

[klinux]

why are some smps with same wattage (350w/400w) cheap and others sooooo costly . extended warranty , quality of board inside ?

 

[richard nightly]

why are some smps with same wattage (350w/400w) cheap and others sooooo costly . extended warranty , quality of board inside ?

I think the Antec's cost more because you have to pay heavily to have the name Antec put on to the SMPS. They are pretty decent but nowhere near being called as the BEST available. They are definately overpriced in India.

I have seen a lot of threads on many forums where people have mentioned about their SMPS's parts exploding and catching fire and these are with top names in the SMPS industry. (I have never seen an Indian SMPS do this) The only brand which seems to stand out from the rest is PC Power and Cooling - this companies SMPS's are rated as the BEST and the most expensive too.

According to most SMPS guru's I have come across the wattage is not the imported factor on the load handling capabilites of the SMPS but how much AMPs it can handle on each line - that is 3.3v 5v and 12v. You will see an 400w SMSP able to handle only 12 amps on the 12v line and then see another 400w one which can handle 18 amps. This should be the important factor in making a decsion.

 

[richard nightly]

Here is some more info...

Antec make 2 480w SMPS's one the True480 and the other the Neo 480. I have the True480. Both of these are 480w SMPS's.

my True480 can handle the following amperage
3.3v 30 amps
5v 38 amps
12v 22 amps

the Neo 480 handles
3.3v 30 amps
5v 38amps
12v 34 amps <- WOW !!!

The NEO divides the 12v line into 2 - one for the CPU / Motherboard and the other for drives / fans.

By the way I understand the Antec NEO 480w SMPS is being sold in India for about 9000/-

 

[gxsaurav]

Hey, I got my Antec 430W for Rs 3k, in Jan, got it from Delhi, I mean imported from delhi

 

[richard nightly]

Hey, I got my Antec 430W for Rs 3k, in Jan, got it from Delhi, I mean imported from delhi

THATS a good price !!! I wonder if it is from theitdepot stock ? Probably imported by a Delhi dealer directly.

 

[theraven]

dun think its itdepot prices .. they hike the prices up pretty much
the reason why some brands are soo cheap .. is again cuz of the quality of the components used ...
antec is costly because of its quality no doubt .. but also because of the brand name ..
and yeah .. its not htat the well known names are cr@p and indian brands are really good
its just depends on ur luck ..
i mean its like any other component of the pc ..
say for eg an optical drive
most of us hate the samsungs cuz of its ... well know problems ..
but some havent had any trouble with it ... adn stand by it ..
its just like that with PSU's as well
the price factor also includes what richard nightly said ...
the amp rating .. makes a lot of difference .. which ofcourse is then dependent on the components used
vicious cycle u see ?

 

[richard nightly]

Words of wisdom Raven I totally agree - there is never any rule of sorts with computer part failures. But the way I look at it there must be at least thousands of Antec's sold around the world for one of any Indian brand and even if Antec's and other top brands have a failure rate of 0.1% it will make for many more failures than lets say 5% of any Indian brand. And it is always the people with hardware problems who are screaming the loudest and making their presence felt.

One of the points I have kept coming across in various forums is that - most of the time a SMPS which weighs more is mostly made with better and higher rated parts. So the saying is go with the heavy weight SMPS when buying. Do you agree ?

 

[theraven]

lol ..
hmm .. .well ive never heard that ... i think .... maybe true not sure
for now im happy with my powersafe 400W thats all i can say

 

[klinux]

- is it advisable to cut the bottom of an smps and attach a fan similar to the ones they have for cabinet cooling . ?

- whats the best way to cool the whole cabinet . 2 fans in front and 2 in rear or just one in front/rear .

- is it adviceable to cut the side panel of the cabinet to attach directly in line with the processor to take out heat ?

- there are really weird ways of cooling the cabinet found on the net like , external huge fan , water cooling and stuff . whats the best for indian heat

- ordinary Rs.50 good or those Rs.500 fans more effective .

- main cause for supply to go bust in india ?

 

[richard nightly]

- is it advisable to cut the bottom of an smps and attach a fan similar to the ones they have for cabinet cooling . ?

If you do get - ready for a lot of dirt collecting in the SMPS. And a loss of warranty You may have to attach the fan from outside the SMPS - if you do this will the SMPS slide into your case ?

whats the best way to cool the whole cabinet . 2 fans in front and 2 in rear or just one in front/rear .

The more the air flow the better and also the more dirt in case. You have to check temps and decide what is enough for your setup. I have 3 120mm fans running at 7v each so they spin slow but they give me CPU temp of 30C and Case temp of 32C. My CPU temp is low because I use the Zalman Heat Sink which has a 92mm fan with Artic Silver 5.

is it adviceable to cut the side panel of the cabinet to attach directly in line with the processor to take out heat ?

I did this for a while - have a fan throwing in air not pulling out - but it throws in too much dirt on the CPU and mother board. In my opinion just a hole will not make much difference to the CPU temp.

there are really weird ways of cooling the cabinet found on the net like , external huge fan , water cooling and stuff . whats the best for indian heat

Possibly an air conditioned room ?? Water cooling is good but risky and expensive.

ordinary Rs.50 good or those Rs.500 fans more effective .

I use Antec and Pabst Germany 120mm fans and they cost me 1000/- each Look for ball bearing fans (expensive) as against sleeve bearings.

main cause for supply to go bust in india ?

Could be any one of several reasons - bad power from electricity supplier with lots of spikes - overloading of SMPS - parts used in SMPS not of high quality - SMPS fan dead causing overheating of unit.

 

[theraven]

dammmnnn he covered everything...
@richard and u were teasin me abt joinin a course
hehehe ...
anyways water coolin is the best .... if done right .. no problems whatsoever
but yeah .. it is very expensive ...

 

[richard nightly]

edited out....