350 Watt Power Supply Guide
March 20th, 2006 | Power SuppliesIf your computer needs are a little more than the bare minimum then perhaps a 350 watt power supply would be down your alley. In terms of power outage they manage to do more than their 200 watt power supply brethren, although the don’t match up to more powerful models.
At this range, 350 watt power supply units start to get a little cooler looking and oftentimes function a little better too. A 350 watt power supply is not designed as simply a replacement for an average computer, the 350 watt power supply will give that little extra to allow you to maybe go for a new powerful graphics card and other extras, like a more powerful processor.
The 350 watt power supply is capable of handling powerful graphics cards, but certainly not the newest ones on the market and certainly no dual video card setups with the power a 350 watt power supply delivers.
We will run through a few and see what kind of things you can expect if you purchase 350 watt power supply and more exactly, what a 350 watt power supply can actually handle.
Coolmax 350 watt ATX SATA-ready power supply
Coolmax 350 watt power supply
Coolmax is a well known brand in computer circles. They branch out into all sorts of areas, mainly peripherals, and not just this 350 watt power supply. Features that make power supplies quieter start to come into effect in the 350 watt power supply range. The Coolmax is very quiet and will allow you to have a quieter office with less of the distracting surrounding sounds that often make offices noisy. This 350 watt power supply will make you realize how noisy your keyboard and mouse are, according to one buyer.
There are actually settings for the fan so you can customize how much noise, and also cooling this 350 watt power supply receives. This is a good feature if you are pushing the power supply with a lot of components or with graphics cards as it will keep this 350 watt power supply from overheating, without it having to be loud all the time.
Rated well by buyers and a more well known brand in the industry.
Ultra X-Finity 350 Watt ATX Open Box Power Supply
Ultra X-Finity 350 watt power supply
Ultra are most well known for their series of X-connect power supplies. Although not available in the 350 watt power supply range, the trust of the brand passes down. The technology itself basically allowed cable to be removed from the power supply.
For a 350 watt power supply it is a handsome model. With a shiny cage covering the large 120mm fan on the top and sides perforated with holes all over, this 350 watt power supply does impress. You can see all the internals from the outside.
Other technologies come into play with this 350 watt power supply. One that most effects the effectiveness is having dual rails. Many power supplies have everything feeding off one 12V source in the power supply. With this 350 watt power supply, and with others, you can have two rails. In this case one of them supplies the extra 4 pin motherboard power supply and the other does the usual job.
The extra power for the 4 pin from this 350 watt power supply is because the motherboard takes a lot of power for graphics cards and other parts connected directly to it.
Its own name brand FlexForce cables allow easy movement of cables in the case, allowing you to push the ones from this 350 watt power supply that you dont’ want to see, out of the way. They are basically flattened cables, just a nicer look really. But they also make it nicer for cable routing.
Vantec ION2 350 watt ATX SATA-ready Power Supply
Vantec ION2 350 watt power supply
Vantec have made a good name for themselves with reliable products. This 350 watt power supply comes highly recommended for its good looks and efficiency. Apart from the obvious looks, which seem to be shared with the Ultra it does well in terms of performance.
The Vantec does not share the dual rail design but doesn’t really need to, as a 350 watt power supply should be able to give enough with or without two 12V power rails.
When a power supply becomes to hot as this 350 watt power supply and many others can, you need to be sure that it will protect itself and your computer from possible damage. One of the ways is to have a fan that will turn on at high speed to help cool it down.
But sometimes thats not enough and this is where the auto turn-off feature comes in very handy. With this 350 watt power supply if it gets too hot it will just turn itself off, with no ill effect and after it has cooled down will once again be able to power up the computer and perform as before.
For a 350 watt power supply it is a little loud, but nothing out of the ordinary. Shouldn’t disturb you too much.
Ultra V-Series 350 watt Power Supply
Ultra V-Series 350 watt power supply
This is a slightly cheaper 350 watt power supply from Ultra. It doesn’t feature the cool cables of its counterpart, but comes in at a slightly lower price. If you are considering this 350 watt power supply, it might just be up to whether you particularly need the cooler cables on their other 350 watt power supply.
The Ultra V-Series 350 watt power supply has only one power rail, but it offers a great number of cables and connections with it. This 350 watt power supply comes with native cabling for 20 or 24 pin motherboard power with a little 4 pin cable for the extra power. It also has enough power connections for whatever you have in your computer. It even has 2 for SATA power.
Silverstone 360 watt Power Supply
Silverstone 350 watt power supply
The silverstone power supply falls pretty close to a 350 watt power supply. It’s reported to hold steady on its power ratings although fluctuating more than some. This particular model is an old design, as many 350 watt power supplies sometimes are.
This model is very good looking, as it sports a shiny polished case. This 350 watt power supply sports all the relevent cables, even SATA.