retardware wrote on 2021-11-24, 11:08:Most retro people (at least in Europe) seem to be cheap, not caring about PSU quality.
It must cost next to nothing.
No matter h […]
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Most retro people (at least in Europe) seem to be cheap, not caring about PSU quality.
It must cost next to nothing.
No matter how much ripple, no matter how much the voltages deviate.
They don't care whether +5V is actually 4V, or whether +12V is actually 15V, or whether the ripple cooks the caps and VRMs in their retro rigs.
Instabilities? Blame the board, blame drivers etc. Hardware failures? Blame the hardware's age.
Or they have a 5€ PSU tester from Shenzhen, which they use before they hook it up to hardware.
I usually wait for 1 or 2 weeks, after I've received a used PSU, to be sure there is no charge left.
Then I open them, clean them, visually check capacitors and finally check them with my tester.
Schule04 wrote on 2021-11-24, 11:48:
Old Delta, Fortron and Seasonic PSUs are usually are fine for older machines, the only problem are the PCs made between 2000 and 2005 that still need lots of 5V
I would stay away from Fortron/FSP. Had one, that only delivered 11V on the 12V rail. Another one did deliver more than my cheap PSU tester can measure on the 12V rail. Definitely not gonna hook that one up on valuable hardware!
Seasonic are good. Delta is also fine, I guess. But they're cheap OEM. I'd rather look for a rebranded Delta. Those are even better.
By the way: How much Ampere on 5V do those machines actually need?
Claris wrote on 2021-11-24, 12:20:
Unpopular opinion: i don't really see the point in going out of your way to buy an AT psu when you can just grab a *new* 500Watt evga/corsair off amazon and a cheap AT-to-ATX converter for the motherboard.
I never understood why Americans spend so much money on rebranded PSUs.
Your beloved Corsair is just an overpriced Seasonic (best case) or Channel Well (worst case).
Silverstone used to sell a 1 by 1 copy of my Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520:
The Nightjar 520. Looks exactly the same except it's white instead of black. Same stats.
Initial asking price was 150€ but quickly dropped to 135€. At the same time you could get the Seasonic for 130€.
Seasonic: 7 years warranty
Silverstone: 3 years warranty
Why the hell do people buy this overpriced crap? It's a rip off.
Claris wrote on 2021-11-24, 12:20:
Unless you really need to use a soundcard that requires -5v rail or allready have a bunch of AT PSUs lying around, I wouldn't bother specifically hunting for one.
There are more devices than sound cards which need -5V. Also some people don't like having to switch PSU if they want to switch sound cards. Flexibility is king.
If you want -5V my suggestion would be:
Also has more power on +5V than a 1000W Corsair.
The (G) means, that it's the Kraut version. Just search for EG365AX and you will find them. Doesn't really matter if you get the 1.2 or 1.3 version. Don't bother looking for newer PSUs. Those are the last that have -5V. There are also variants with 265W, 301W or 465W. But the 365W one is the most common.
Efficiency is close to 80PLUS. Since systems which require -5V usually are below 100W, you can turn the fans to minimum. Also they are sturdy as hell.
I used to snatch them up for 5€ plus shipping. Never paid more than 10€ for them. My buddy also has a few of them. But it's getting harder to acquire them for that price.
If you need more power on 12V (overkill XP build comes to mind), I would search for a used Enermax Modu87 or Seasonic X series. You can get them for around 50 bucks. Much better quality than current 80PLUS Gold PSUs. Those were top of the line during Sandy Bridge era. Still have my Modu87 from back in the day and use it in my XP rig.
If you want to spend a bit more: Enermax Platimax or Seasonic Platinum series.
Brickpad wrote on 2021-11-24, 16:54:
And really, if you need -5v why not just but a Voltage Blaster or its clone? They're pretty cheap.
Because they're a waste of precious ISA slots.