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ATX 2.0 is here! 8 Power Supplies Reviewed

hardcoreware.net — If you haven't been keeping up on power supply standards, now is the time to catch up. ATX 2.0 is required for many systems today, along with EPS 12V. This article explains the standards, gives a basic overview on what PSU RAILS are all about, and goes on to review 8 of the latest power supplies.

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 23, 2006

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  • mushoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Only one modular! Why do we still have to deal with the tattered octopus crap of old?
  • dbre2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8"...This was particularly true on the 3.3V rail which had a 6.2% variance between idle and full load. That being said, it is again well withing acceptable bounds in terms of overall rail performance levels"

    well within acceptable bounds...right...last time I heard that there was a resonance cascade scenario
  • daldredge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7 3. DON'T LOSE POWER WITH MODULAR PLUGS
    Due to their look, convenience, and cost savings for manufacturers, modular plugs have become a popular power supply feature. Unfortunately, there has been little or no discussion of the impact of this feature on overall performance and reliability. The fact is, modular plugs limit power by adding to electrical resistance. The voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire. Worse yet, modular plugs utilize delicate pins that can easily loosen, corrode, and burn, creating the potential for a major system failure. That's why pros specify uninterrupted wire!

    http://www.pcpower.com/technology/myths/
  • deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7All Intel Mac's already use ATX 2.0 power supplies.
  • chickenselects, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9this is about power supplies, not motherboards.
  • TenebrousX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@ chickenselects: ATX is a form factor - it's a standard for all components. So it doesn't just apply to power supplies
  • pfranz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Wasn't BTX supposed to be the new case standard? (which id assume would be PSU as well)
  • xraycat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Electrical performance (ie: efficiency) of the power supply. Not performance of your uneccessarily overclocked PC. A poor electrical connection will have a tendency to not conduct as well thus reducing the amount of power output compared to the amount of power input.

    Haha. Looks like I'm not the only one who recognized this.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2lowlight - cause you're the last one to get it - it's a bad half-life joke.
  • pfranz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yeah, but ATX refers to the PSU, case and motherboard layout. I would assume BTX would too. Just wondering if it was abandoned in favor of ATX2
  • Malakin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Here are the specs for ATX2.2 and EPS 2.91 for anyone interested in reading them:
    http://www.formfactors.org/developer%5Cspecs%5CATX12V_PSDG_2_2_public_br2.pdf
    http://ssiforum.org/Power%20Supplies/EPS12V%20Spec%202_91.pdf

    Modular plugs do add to the resistance in an electric circuit. That should be common sense.
  • piratearggghhh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's just crazy the wattage new computers require.
  • orlandogeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2He's referring to electrical performance. Modular connectors can sometimes have voltage fluctuations that arent present in hardwired units. Depending on the severity and how often it occurs, this can cause numerous power related issues in high end rigs. It's rare, but it can happen.
  • PopeOfDope, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5That doesn't seem right, nearly every power supply aimed at enthusiasts i.e. the power supplies with +700W, seem to be modular. You would think those who would need +700W would like to get as much out of the power supply as possible.

    I fail to see how being modular would degrade performance. If anything it allows better airflow due to less cables being in the way.
  • stephenwq, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Your either joking, or your incredibly stupid.
    ATX 2.x has been the standard since march 2005.
    Read the damned article.
  • lowlight, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2ATX spec allows for +/-0.3V variance.. so that 6.2% is acceptable. It sure stands out compared to the other ones though doesn't it!
  • lowlight, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Aww man I should have gotten that one! Oh well that's what I get for staying up until 4am after getting 5 hours of sleep the night before!
  • sethkinast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dugg for the Half-Life reference :)
  • jonnyboy88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Atx psus are compatible with btx.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Now as to why they are called rails, the best explanation that I can find is that the term comes from the wacky world of electronics and it refers to a long metal bar or strip that is used to proivde a particular voltage level. Perhaps someone with a deeper understanding of all things electrical could let me know whether or not that is true.

    ---
    isn't this from the wacky world of electricians? You install breakers on a "rail", I always thought the term was related. Not that I can qualify as a hardware buff, much less an EE
  • Kijoki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Dude nice review! Just confirmed what I thought. I think it is worth mentioning the prices as well in the conclusion.... The iGreen is so damned cheap that price/quality comparison just 100% favours this model. Btw the user who says better reviews on Jonnyguru should also note the PSU's he has been testing there... All of them are PSU's for the very high end users with the lowest Wattage I have found to be around 500, but then again that is purely my opinion.... (I also find he goes 2 technical, if you're just a normal geek lookin for a good PSU you don't need to know all the internals by heart :P)
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I agree With you 100%!!!!!
  • skinnypupp, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1OCZ = ToPower = Goooooood PSU =)
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Where is PC Power and Cooling?

    You can't have a legitimate PSU showdown without PC Power and Cooling. They've always been top rated in every round-up I've seen. Only downside is the price.
  • BugMeNot2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Better reviews:
    http://jonnyguru.com/reviews.php
  • edzieba, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1ATX 2.0 has been here for a while now.
  • yohan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I have ATX 2.0 and 2.2 PSUs. Big woop.
  • cheato, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Although they review the 480W Antec Truepower, I picked up the 430W a couple of months ago and love it. I hadn't been keeping up with power supplies and form factors, and I definitely had to do a little bit of research concerning the main connector since I have the older 20-pin.

    Antec's the way to go for me.
  • matmat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Many can't evaluate their needs correctly when it's time to buy and just pick the more watts they can afford given their budget.
    Try this : http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

    You will know exactly what you need and you will be able to invest in a good quality PS ..
  • starguy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1OH HELL NO. Of all the stupid stupid things, to screw up yet another standard, for the second time in a row even!!! When they went from AT to ATX, they royally obsoleted a whole ocean of AT powersupplies, with no signifigant benefits whatsoever. Tell me, why in gods name do we need to vary from ATX now??? You know, in 20 years, the only thing, THE ONLY THING, that has never been screwed up has been the ubiquitous computer power cord. You can still use a power cord from 1983 in a comptuer today. Why? Nobody has ****ed with the standard yet. I imagine now that I've posted this, some idiot somewhere will decided to screw even that up to. Even friggin keyboard connectors of all things changed, when there was nothing wrong with them. Even harddrive molex connectors. God. ANSI, save us all for christ's sake. For the rest of you, veto the crap out of ATX 2.0
  • musntSurfatWork, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1avoid Antec SmartPower 2.0 powersupplies. They are ceasing to work like no tomorrow. RMA rate is extremely high. Especially those which come with the SonataII tower. Mine, and everyone I know who bought a SonataII, already blew their power supply.

    Lastly I bought an OCZ Modstream 450, and its excellent.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Modular plugs degrade performance.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -19/+4I wonder how long the failures at Apple will take to integrate this into their case designs.

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