Who Makes the Best Power Supplies?

hondaguy asks: "I'm thinking of purchasing a Lian Li case. Very nice case, but doesn't come with a power supply. Which after-market power supplies are the best for the ATX format, in terms of noise, output (lots of accessories) and longevity. Please post links if possible."

ArsTechnica

[Etyenne]

Ars Technica OpenForum [infopop.net] has, IMHO,the best tech forum around. In the Case and Cooling Fetichism forum, this question is being answered almost daily. In particuliar, this thread [infopop.net] seem pretty good.

CompUSA brand

[bconway]

Or more accurately, it doesn't really matter. Buy a power supply based on the wattage that you think you need, and of course make sure the fan is pointing outwards (Who the hell makes fans pointing inward through the bottom of a power supply? There's no exhaust!). When all is said and done, it's the same company making all those power supplies, anyways.

Re:CompUSA brand

[dondiego]

blech. It doesn't matter if you have no qualms about going and replacing the ps when it fails.

If you need the best money can buy, I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about: PC Power and Cooling [pcpowerandcooling.com]

They are expensive, but the best. CompUSA/Fry's no-names are cheap. But you will have to replace them at some point.

Re:CompUSA brand

[linzeal]

In other words its more about the fans than anything. Buy a really good fan for the power supply and most will last 5 years plus.

Re:CompUSA brand

[update()]

...and of course make sure the fan is pointing outwards (Who the hell makes fans pointing inward through the bottom of a power supply? There's no exhaust!).

Some systems (like low-end Compaqs, IIRC) skimp on a fan and direct the power supply exhaust onto the CPU instead. I'm not endorsing this practice but someone thought it was a good idea.

Re:CompUSA brand

[unitron]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that when the whole ATX form factor was dreamed up, putting the CPU near the power supply and having the power supply fan move air (I forget in which direction) over the CPU for added cooling was an intentional part of the design.

Of course I'm convinced that the real reason for introducing a replacement for the AT form factor was to make those bulletproof old cases and power supplies obsolete in order to force people to buy entire new computers instead of upgrading piece by piece.

As someone without an unlimited supply of funds who has a desire to avoid feeding landfills any more than absolutely necessary as well as an affection for old hardware (but precious little room available for adopting any more), I feel perfectly justified in assuming that they did it just to annoy me. :-)

Anybody know where I can get a mid to full tower ATX case with power supply for about $20 USD including shipping to coastal NC?

PC Power & Cooling!

[jmaslak]

I worked at a coal mine - lots of conductive carbon dust floating around in the air. We lost keyboards, monitors, motherboards, and lots and lots of power supplies.

We always replaced the manufacturer's power supplies with PC Power & Cooling supplies. They use real ball bearings in thier fans (so they last longer), and they tolerate lots of dust. We never had one of these blow up. I can't think of any other brand that we could say the same about.

Quite suppiles

[josepha48]

I'd be interested in who makes the quietest power supply. I have not really noticed any difference in different power supplies they all seem noisy and my newest one is a 300Watt screaming noise maker. I can hardly hear the TV over it.

Re:Quite suppiles

[complex]

you may want to check out this power supply [quietpc.com] or the enermax whisper series [enermax.com.tw].

alternatively, i understand it is fairly easy to disassemble a power supply and get really nice quiet sanyo denki or panaflow fan to replace the (most likely) lower quality noisy sleeve bearing fan in there now. check out plycon [plycon.com] for fans if taking this route.

hope this helps.

complex

Re:Quite suppiles

[Spoing]

If you disassemble a powersupply, be sure that you are careful. The capacitors can still hold a charge even after the ps is unplugged for a few minutes (hours?).