Looking into a good PSU

not an expert opinion but

I got an enermax whisper variable speed fan 450 and it works great - fj

in a home environment, unless you have multiple computers or many many old type flourescent lamps [new ones have better power factors], lots of motors [not computer fans].

I believe that the lower priced one will still have passive PFC which should be adequate.

Be sure to get a supply that has two separate 12 volt rails and connectors for SATA drives. Also one with the delayed shut down [keeps fans running for a short time to prevent "heat soak" from letting the CPU et al get too hot after power is off].

Be ready for the future which is now.

PFC= protection fail circuitry -OR- please forgo cash.

Unless, you're on your last crumb of bread or starving, $10 is a pitance compared to the other componets you've listed. Its cheap insurance to keep your system up and running. But, really just about all decent p/s units have PFC build-in so to have Thermatake make a big deal about it is for not. If you want to save some cash, look for 400W+ unit with at least two fans and maybe a rpm control for fan(s) for quietness or autocontrol unit. Some p/s units are 500W+ for roughly $10 more but they look the same, wonder what the guts are myself, but usually the final spec to check is the rated sustained power output, so when a p/s unit gets hotter it actually starts to degrade ouputs so quality always counts here. Heck, that's my rant of the topic.

good luck -----Willy

thanks for all your input, I'm thinking about the Thermaltake because of the good reviews. I trust tried and true reviews, not how cheap the PSU is.