EA-500 vs. EA-500D

[gaster]

Has anyone tested the new EA-500D Earthwatts from Antec?

I just bought one at Fry's and am considering going back and changing it out for an EA-500 that would be Seasonic, but I don't know if it's worth my time.

The EA-500D box states it's good for 22A on both 12V rails and the EA-500 box said it was rated at 17A for each 12V.

[Spectre]

IIRC the D is a Delta. Haven't had one in but it is likely a step up from the severly cost down Seasonic earthwatts if it is at least a marginal Delta platform.

[Zap]

What's the combined +12v wattage?

[gaster]

Good question.

It says combined max output on 12V1 + 12V2 is 408W

+3.3V and +5V combined max output is 130W

[gaster]

I guess that looks the same as the old EA-500

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...=Story&reid=35

[burebista]

Guys, please enlighten me why all of you dislike Earthwats. OK, it's group regulated, but it shouldn't be a major problem today when almost all load is on +12V. It has only 34A on 12V but it shouldn't be a problem even for 2 8800GT's (or equivalent) and a Wolfdale even with a decent OC.
It has Nippon Chemi-con on primary and OST rated at 105C on secondary. Very good ripple suppression, very good eficiency, single 12V rail, silent.
jonny rated it very well.

The Good:

* Very stable +12V.
* Very efficient.
* Very quiet.
* Very affordable.

The Bad:

* Nothing really "bad" about this unit unless you're going to hold it's looks against it.

The Mediocre:

* Not a whole lot of power on the +12V. Trumped by other 500W power supplies on the market.

Gabe too.

Antec EarthWatts 500 W provides one of the best cost/benefit ratios for the average user: it is a relatively cheap 500 W power supply that can deliver up to 577 W at 46º C, has high efficiency (between 82% and 87.9% in our tests), very low electrical noise level, is silent and provides two power cables for video cards. And it survived to our stress tests without burning.

It is an outstanding product and don’t let its simple look that reminds generic units fool you.

SKYMTL like it too.

The performance of this power supply is nothing short of stunning for a unit which is included in the price of a case. The Earthwatts 500W bucks the trend of lackluster power supplies which have long been the norm if they are pre-installed into a case. Even alone, this power supply is a force to be reckoned with; its ripple suppression is top-notch, it barely bats an eyelash when faced with a pair of 8800GTS cards and is quite efficient to boot.

If we would be reviewing this power supply as a stand-alone product, it would get heaps of praise

SPCR speaks nice about it.

It's highly efficient thanks to an 80 Plus certified design, it has excellent electronics (as demonstrated by our rigorous electrical tests), and it's pretty quiet too.

For me it has just a major drawback: in my country Corsair VX450 is $21 cheaper than EA500 and obviously Corsair VX450 is the winner.
But on the other hand EA380 is very popular here (price wise) for a decent system with an Wolfdale and one 8800GT(S)/9600GT/HD38x0.
So, what's the catch about EA for you?

[gaster]

I'm not complaining about them. Note that the reviews are all of the old EA-500 models.

I just wonder if anyone has tested the new one with a "D" on the end of the model number. It may be different somehow and I thought somebody here might have tested it already.

If the new EA-500D made by Delta is somehow inferior to the old Seasonic made models I want to know so I can take it back and exchange it for the EA-500 that everyone has reviewed and liked.

I might do that anyway now that I have found that the combined 12V wattage is the same, new or old. It is probably better to have the old one because it is the exact model everyone has tested to be good vs. taking a chance on the new EA-500D.

[jonnyGURU]

Originally Posted by burebista

Guys, please enlighten me why all of you dislike Earthwats.

I don't think ANYONE here said they disliked the Earthwatts. Certainly not "all" of us dislike the Earthwatts.

Between the EA-500 and EA-500D, I would take the EA-500 simply because it's a KNOWN product. If the other is made by Delta, that still doesn't give me warm fuzzies because not everything Delta makes is super duper AND whenever Antec makes a change in OEM like this, especially on a lower end product, it's not typically because they want to bring their customer a better product, it's because it cost them less.

[Makalu]

I think they're the same OEM and the D models (430 and 500) have OCP as opposed to none. I'll have a 500D here in a week or so (only $28 and free shipping at pcboost.com) and if it's not DOA I'll open it and see.

[jonnyGURU]

Originally Posted by Makalu

I think they're the same OEM and the D models (430 and 500) have OCP as opposed to none.

Good point. They may have gotten busted by UL for Class 3 certifying a Class 5 product.

If they're both Seasonic, I'll pay for one of each to have Wolf review side by side. The load tester will tell us if there's an OCP and what it's set to.