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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unclebud - Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - link
i came in here today looking for just the same thing though!we needs a new ps article! thanks in advance anandtech!
JustAnAverageGuy - Sunday, January 30, 2005 - link
Dopey:It's an extremely old article. Nobody reads those except when they need to be pulled out of the vault.
Dopey - Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - link
Sad to see no comments since 2003! ???Looking for a good power supply for AMD and review indicates that both Fortron & Zalman are good at not too high price. But looking at Antec True Power 330W I read "beware of the extremely modest +12V rail. If you are running a high end video card, or an Intel Pentium 4, this power supply simply will not produce enough juice." Both the Fortron &n Zalman deliver just 180 watts on the +12V rail while the Antec True Power 330W puts out 204 watts. And if you look at the whole list of PSUs reviewed 204 watts looks like a respecatable amount of power. So ... ????????????????????
MIDIman - Friday, November 7, 2003 - link
I bought the Zalman 300w for $50 as a result of this article. Love it to death, but newegg stopped carrying it.1) What size fan is in the Fotron reviewed here, 120mm or 80mm?
2) What is the model number of the 300w alternative to the Fortron FSP400-60PFN?
3) Isn't the Sparkle FSP350-60PN reviewed here also a fotron, and what is the model number of its 300w alternative?
Anonymous User - Monday, October 27, 2003 - link
You state for those PSU's that have good amoubt of voltage for the 3,3V are good for AMD.It will also be nice to say that most new motherboard from AMD are now using 12 RAIL e.g. 8RDA3+ many more and from what ive seen all K8 mobos use 12 RAIL
all in all good review.
What i have found with my TT320W that when you stress it too much and it heats up it will shit down whole system.
Also if your PC is off for many hours if you touch the PSU its worm :S
Ordered my Antec 550W True Control
Also you should show how to short the old PSU so user can use 2 PSU in one system..
I run my whole system on a 480W ProSourse untill my 550W Antec TC is here
My GFFX5900 runs on a dedicated PSU 300W soon it will have a dedicated 480 ProSource :D
And all my 12 fans run on a 300W generic PSU
Also TT's seem not to like when to many devices are connected to it
Anonymous User - Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - link
To know how much the exhaust air will heat a room you have to know not only its temperature but also its volume. It would be simpler to measure the efficiency of the supply.The tests were not very thorough at all because if they were they would have included electrical noise and current measurements and testing at full power.
Anonymous User - Saturday, September 13, 2003 - link
The memory errors could be due to bad filtering more than cable shielding. Putting a 'scope on the outputs would would provide a graphic portrayal of output quality. <hint, hint> :-)*TimDaniels*
Anonymous User - Sunday, September 7, 2003 - link
I enjoyed reading the article and I think it was very well written and the tests were very thorough. Although the article discusses "heat" and examines each power supply to see how well they deal with the heat issue, I think from a consumers point of view, you should have measured the difference in the temperature of the exhaust that is emitted from the power supply. For me that is a real issue as the heat that emits from my existing power supply probably raises the room temperature by 7 to 8 degress (to the point of making it uncomforable to stay in the room on a hot day). I want a power supply that doesn't blow out hot air. Which one of these blows the coolest air?Anonymous User - Friday, August 22, 2003 - link
As much care was taken in creating the title as in testing the power supplies.I hope to see another Anandtech power supply review soon, only one with proper testing. I have to give Anandtech an A for effort in this case, but I can't still give them a passing grade. Please consult with a specialist in this field for any future test.
Anonymous User - Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - link
Is it just me or does the article title seems a little off? "2003 Power Supply Roundup Part II: Better Faster Cheaper" Faster? A faster P/S?