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
The EG465 power supply did extremely well in our last power supply roundup. We have not really seen many other new products from Enermax in the last few months, so we obtained a slightly newer version of the supply we reviewed in our first review instead.
From our previous review, you may recall the EG465 PFC’s tight tolerances and excellent features. The new version sports all of these features, but since the slightly different circuitry warrants a separate benchmark for this PSU. The variable fan control, motherboard monitoring and copper/rubber ATX sheath are all included on this power supply. Furthermore, the line we looked at also came in a glossy finish similar to the TTGI units. The unit includes Active PFC as one of its features as well.
The EG465 also comes with Enermax’s trademark variable fan control on the rear of the unit. We have not had problems with Enermax’s variable fan controls. The dial-style fan control assures that the switch can never fall into a halfway position like with Vantec or TTGI. We will touch more on this issue later.
One annoyance the EG651 and the EG465AX both had was a loud “pop” when the power supply was turned off. This occurred whether or not the motherboard was on or not.
Wattages
|
3.3V |
5V |
12V |
-12 |
-5 |
+5vsb |
combined theoretical |
actual combined |
advertised total |
|
|
Enermax EG465AX-VE FCA 460W |
115.50 |
175.00 |
396.00 |
12.00 |
5.00 |
11.00 |
290.50 |
200.00 |
460.00 |
This power supply is really a system builder’s treat. All rails seem to be pretty evenly balanced, with plenty of room on the +3.3V and +12V. The +12V rating appears to be the peak, however. A higher combined rail rating would go a long way for this power supply, but we are just nitpicking rather than criticizing these specifications. When talking to Enermax, one of the features they were very proud of was their strict adhesion with the Intel ATX12V 1.2 standard. Of all the power supplies we looked at, the two Enermax units were the only power supplies which displayed this ATX12V 1.2 compliance. We will see this certainly pays off in the performance benchmarks later on.
Unfortunately, with any quality component, the EG465AX-VE is expensive. Most vendors carry the unit for about $85, which prices it aggressively for system builders. We were very pleased with the performance of this unit, as well.
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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?