[Pc_Support] Tom's Hardware on 19 Power Supplies ... consider Seasonic S12 series?

[Bryan J. Smith]

Tom's Hardware has completed a 6 week test of 19 power supply units
(PSUs):  
  http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/200507111/index.html  

The candidates were priced from $95 for a 300W Fortron to $500 for the
Monster PC Power & Cooling 850W SSI:  
  http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/200507111/stresstest-06.html#prices_and_general_overview_of_tested_products  

In the end, the 300W Fortron took quiet honors while the 600W Seasonic
S12 took price/power honors.

The Seasonic S12 is an interesting design with a 120mm outtake fan
mounted on the inside, no fan on the outside -- reducing audio noise
while still moving a lot of air.  A nice design overall.  Especially
considering the S12 series is ATX2.0 with dual +12V rails, 6-pin (2x3)
SSI WS (aka PCIe) connectors, and 8-pin (2x4) SSI Server connectors on
all models 430+W.  NewEgg carries versions of 330W, 380W, 430W, 500W and
600W for $59 - $159:  
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=GO&Range=1&bop=and&description=seasonic+S12  

You might find a better deal on Froogle with another reseller though.
from $36.50 - 185.99:  
  http://froogle.google.com/froogle?scoring=p&q=Seasonic+S12  

In the new MicroATX cases I've been recommending, the full size ATX of a
little over 120mm depth should just barely fit with a standard DVD drive
(but not a removable drive bay like I have).  The 120mm fan would be
just above the slots and pull air directly off of the slots, which would
be a nice bonus (in addition to the 120mm over the CPU on the case
itself).


-- 
Bryan J. Smith     b.j.smith at ieee.org     http://thebs413.blogspot.com
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