New ATX 1.3 PSU - Fortron 550-8 FSPFSC 550w for 23€ could this be real?

[gonzo0815]

I am looking for an new PSu for an system with AMD k7 3200, ASUS A7N8-X.
It is a 5v & 3v powered board, at least there are no PIV plugs and only 6.3V VRM input capacitors.
As quality ATX 1.3 PSU`s are getting rare, i looked at ebay for some good FSP350-60MDN units with the older design.

There i stumbled uppon this:

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...0%3D%26fvi%3D1

550-8 FSPFSC, 260w combined power.

Now i think if it is an genuine FSP ones, i would not bother to take one at about 23€ (even it has only 80mm fan..).
otherwise i probably have to go with an LC Power Super Silent LC6550 V2.0 for about 40€
Most common PSU`s from more reputable brands have way to low 3.3v & 5v combined power (e.g. 135w for an Seasonic S12) for an k7 system.
It is even getting harder to get one of the FSP PSU`S with more then 135w combined power and 12cm fan.
The LC-Power units still follow the older ATX 1.3 design, and ok the 12cm fan would be certainly a big plus (the rig was equipped with an Toppower build Bequiet BQT-P4 420w - failed with bulging Fuckyou after 5 years moderate use).
I certainly will fix the be quiet, but owner want a new PSu and preferably with more power

[zandrax]

@ gonzo: it doesn't seem an original Fortron to me. You can compare it with a FSP550-80GLC sold in a Slovak shop: different cables, lack of national logos for electrical compatibility (NEMKO, CSA, ...) and strange looking serial name (it doesn't start with FSP).
Old ATX 1.3 psu are hard to find nowadays, but I think your friend's computer can't draw more than 400 W: its consumption should be near 300W at full load. Try looking for a server grade psu or for an Enermax EG465V (the big brother of famous 365 one; however it needs a recap): unfortunately the seller whom I bought a 410 W Newton Power doesn't ship outside Italy, otherwise I'd suggest that psu.

Zandrax

[gonzo0815]

Sure, most k7 Systems are drawing around 150w -200w, but those older systems draw it from the 5v & 3.3v lines.
Thus to get a PSu with a decent combined rail wattage in the range of 160w -180w (which is absolutely necessary for those systems stability) i usually bought 350w -450w PSU`s (e.g. some FSP ones with 12cm fan and Seasnonic SS400FS). But well, it seems that the supply of cheap ATX 1.3 OEM PSU`s on ebay has ran low.
And none of the good manufacturers has a modern ATX 1.3 PSu in their retail product line nowadays.

The only available native ATX 1.3 PSU in good quality is ATM Enermax EG365AX-FMA.
But sadly, the bad cooling design is very noisy and furthermore it does not ventilate very good (it pushes the air in circles...). I am not so sure, if my friend would like the noise, as the Be quiet aren`t that loud.

[i4004]

have you actually measured the current?
measure it, and then you'll know what to buy...that's why we have measuring instruments, after all...

somehow i suspect that machine needs something special...i would guess it would work ok almost with anything...
talking about server psus in this context i find a bit silly...as that mobo is not server in any way or form...

fortron 350 psu i posted about here would probably work(at about 160w for 3.3 and 5).
but yeah, it's not very quiet...
so buy him corsair...after you verify the current.

as i said in other thread, i think lc is crap. it's a silly design with bad caps; what would you do, buy it, recap it, and lose warranty by doing so?

that newton psu look pretty neat, but it would look even neater if it had one pcb only..hehe...
i should photograph psu in my media playback machine(scenic 800..), its psu could serve as an example of simple and efficient design...but that box is heavy and i don't really wanna move it(the only time i'll be moving it will be when it hits the dumpster).
never really saw psu with so lil number of parts...

[kikkoman]

I've had good experiences with Macron units so far. They're not too expensive, the design is okay and the ones I 've seen used Teapo which is okay for the price.
They're OEM manufacturer for quite a number of brands (X-PRO, CRS, eSac and others).

I've used the 460W model which puts out 230W on 3.3+5.5V combined. It never had problems powering my old Barton 3000+ in both mainboard types.

have a look here (this is the MPT-400P)

http://www.arlt.com/oxid.php/sid/878...0/anid/2001002

datasheet:

http://www.cands.com.tw/PRODUCT/mpt400p/mpt400p.htm

[willawake]

heres a macron
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1149

i have never seen any fortron with that label

[gonzo0815]

Well i have not measured the power draw oft he system in question, as i can`t find my kill a watt ATM.
But from my older system with less powerful AMD Athlon Xp i know that it will suck about 140 -200w total and the biggest amount of this would go trough the lower voltage rails.

I have used an FSP 350w THN-P ATX 2.0 unit in my old rig for several days, until i found out that the 12v rail was running at whopping 13V which would certainly not be good for HDD`s in the long run.
Corsair VX , HX and any recent Seasonic S12 build all have very weak combined power rating at the lower rails, thus i think cross loading them would not be a smart idea either.

May be i take the Macron into consideration.
I have seen a lot of the DTK branded PSU`s in SKT A systems, they are running fin for many years. But sure, they are noisy, so the caps are well cooled.
Any way, actually i have a 300w DTK (wich is an Macron OEm according to the linked topics) here, i tested the system with it to confirm the PSU failure. But the owner wants more wattage, other wise i would put it in for free.

Personally, if the unit will do work for a few years, i think it is just fine. The System is only used for minor tasks, so it would not pushed that hard.

[i4004]

i ment you should measure the current of 3.3 and 5v rails...
that way you can say what is needed.
thus far it's all a guessing game.

[shadow]

I recently got hold of a brand new GlobalWIN SAF-Sapphire 450W power supply. This one is quite cheap (depending where you go) and it does seem quite well built and has a combined wattage for the 3.3V and 5V of 220W. It is designed to run on Athlon XP's and Pentium 4's.

However it is not everyone's cup of tea. It is designed to be run very quietly, therefore the fans run slowly. Consequently this power supply runs fairly hot. The capacitor choice was not the best either. Can't remember what it was off the top of my head but I remember that it was not great.

Having said this, it is a true 450W power supply. Active Power Factor Correction is a nice plus. And it really is quiet!

Here is a link to the specs:
http://www.globalwin.com.tw/products...0_V13_S_V1.pdf

[Scenic]

@gonzo: i've got an Athlon XP 3000+ and a Asus A7N8X-X.
i could test how much power it uses if you want (i'm running this sys with a heavy FSP 235W PSU i took from a dead P4 sys..)

[PCBONEZ]

A genuine FSP should have a UL number and that unit in the first post doesn't have one.

.

[gonzo0815]

Ok, i don`t buy this one,i think it isn`t really an original FSp ones. Most probably i go with an older FSP 350wMDM, which has an combined power of about 180w and is silent due to an 12cm fan. Sure not great capacitors, but should outlast the Topower build Bequiet with Fuckyou capacitors.

I have recapped the Beequiet, but the 3,3v line is still way out of specs with about 2.3v. So there is an failure either in the regulation or in the 3.3v rail.
I have locked with an scope, but i haven`t found a leaking shottky rectifier or similar. May be a broken 3.3v feedback line is all, what is wrong. For now i have put it onto the shelf, until i have time to mess around with it.

@Scenic
if you have the time to mess around with it, i would appreciate it, but i have build & measure enough K7 systems to know, what they need.
And sure, i don`t use any real ATX 2.0 PSu in such a system, as those PSu`s simply are not build for this duty.

[gonzo0815]

Finally i bought a new Enermax EG365AX PSU at ebay for about 35€ incl. shipping.
Sure, bad cooling solution & bad capacitors (JP), but the combination of both seems to work very well and for a long time.
Apart from that, i never mind to recap on of those again. And for the price, i would say it is a real bargain, at least inn the ATX 1.3 market.