200 replies to this topic

[Undead]

Intro is under construction.












Recommend Powersupplies




300-450w

Huntkey Jumper 300G
Antec HCG-400
Antec Neo ECO-400
Antec Earthwatts 380/430D
Seasonic X-400/460
Super Flower Golden Green 450W
OCZ Stealthxstream 2 400
Corsair CX430 V2
Rosewill Green Series 430
Rosewill Capstone 450
XFX Pro 450


500-550w

Antec HCG-520
Antec TruePower New 550
Antec EA-500D
Superflower Golden King 550
Seasonic S/M12II-520
Seasonic X-560
Antec Neo ECO 520
Rosewill Green Series RG530
Rosewill HIVE-550
Rosewill Capstone 550
OCZ StealthXStream 2 500
Lepa G 500w
Kingwin Lazer Platinum 550
XFX Pro 550

600-700w

Seasonic X-650
Seasonic S/M12II 620
Antec HCG-620
Antec Neo ECO 620
Corsair TX650 V2
XFX Pro/Core 650
NZXT HALE82 620
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600/700
Rosewill Green Series 630
Rosewill HIVE-650

750-800w

Antec High Current Pro 750
Seasonic X-750
Silverstone Strider Plus 750
Antec Truepower New 750
TT Toughpower XT 775
Corsair AX750
Corsair HX750
Corsair TX750 V2
XFX Pro/Core 750
NZXT HALE82 750
Kingwin Lazer Gold 850
Rosewill HIVE-750
Rosewill Capstone 750


850-950w

Antec HCP-850
Antec HCG-900
Seasonic X-850
Sentey Golden Steel Power 850
Silverstone Strider Plus 850
Corsair TX950
Corsair TX850 V2
Corsair HX850
Corsair AX850
XFX Pro/Core 850
Thermaltake ToughpowerXT 875
OCZ ZX850

1000w+

Corsair AX1200
Corsair HX1050
NZXT HALE90 1000
Sparkle Gold Class 1000/1250
Rosewill LIGHTNING 1000
Kingwin Lazer Gold 1000
OCZ ZX1000/1250
Super Flower Golden King 1000W
Superflower GoldenGreen 1300
Silverstone Strider Gold 1200
Enermax MaxRevo 1350w

Edited by Undead, 26 February 2012 - 12:35 PM.

[dhatcher1]

You listed the Antec Neo Eco 520, but missed the 620.

OCZs Fatal1ty 550 and 700, while not seasonic quality, have been available at low prices much of the past year, which has made them a fairly commonly recommended budget PSU.  The Antec Earthwatts line (built by Delta) is another lower price, decent quality PSU.


The manufacturers recommend 600W for 5870 crossfire,  650W for a single 5970.  You can get away with a bit less if you stick to high quality, newer design PSUs that have most of the amperage on the 12V rails, but it may not be wise to advise people to go less than the manufacturer specs as a general rule.

Edited by dhatcher1, 03 September 2010 - 04:34 PM.

[Undead]

dhatcher1 said:

You listed the Antec Neo Eco 520, but missed the 620.

OCZs Fatal1ty 550 and 700, while not seasonic quality, have been available at low prices much of the past year, which has made them a fairly commonly recommended budget PSU.  The Antec Earthwatts line (built by Delta) is another lower price, decent quality PSU.


The manufacturers recommend 600W for 5870 crossfire,  650W for a single 5970.  You can get away with a bit less if you stick to high quality, newer design PSUs that have most of the amperage on the 12V rails, but it may not be wise to advise people to go less than the manufacturer specs as a general rule.

I forgot about the 620w version of the Neo, I'll add that in. I'll also add the Earthwatts line in. The OCZs Fatal1ty series are really average/below average units, I wouldn't really recommend them even on a budget.

The manufacturers over-spec the amount of power you need though, as people always expect them to run on their generic PSU's. And it's silly that they'd recommend a 650w for a 5970, but 600w for 5870 CF? The latter consumes more power... so that's bullshit right there.

Edited by Undead, 06 February 2011 - 10:46 AM.

[Rhododendron]

Is there anything wrong with the Chieftec brand ?

[dhatcher1]

Rhododendron said:

Is there anything wrong with the Chieftec brand ?

http://www.xbitlabs....su-roundup.html
The top 3 Chieftecs were pretty good.  The rest were stable enough, but overstated their effective wattage.  No idea if yours is one of these reviewed models.

[razor39999]

I have a Corsair TX 650 W. The few reviews I read before buying said it was fine. Is it?

[dhatcher1]

razor39999 said:

I have a Corsair TX 650 W. The few reviews I read before buying said it was fine. Is it?

Corsair is a well respected PSU company that generally has put out nothing but quality units.  That particular model used to be a very good quality unit built by Seasonic.  Recently Corsair switched that model to CMT, which does not have the same long track record of good PSUs as Seasonic.  It should be an acceptable PSU, but it may not be a "top quality" model anymore.

[Undead]

Rhododendron said:

Is there anything wrong with the Chieftec brand ?

Hit or miss, they have some quite poor PSU's, but on the other hand they have a few half decent Delta/Sirtic build PSU's. There isn't that much info or reviews on them, though.

razor39999 said:

I have a Corsair TX 650 W. The few reviews I read before buying said it was fine. Is it?

A Corsair TX650 is a very solid PSU, not fantastic but still good so yes it's fine, I only left most of the TX series out because right now there are cheaper PSU's with better performance, the TX650 is quite old but it still holds up there.

dhatcher1 said:

Corsair is a well respected PSU company that generally has put out nothing but quality units.  That particular model used to be a very good quality unit built by Seasonic.  Recently Corsair switched that model to CMT, which does not have the same long track record of good PSUs as Seasonic.  It should be an acceptable PSU, but it may not be a "top quality" model anymore.

You mean CWT? I think the new CWT PSHII TX650 may be slightly better than the older Seasonic S12 build (better ripple/noise supression/effiency/cheaper) however we'll have to see how it fares as there are no reviews yet, nor are the any reviews of any other PSHII platforms above the 600/700W mark.

Corsair always use quality components in their PSU's yeah, but in terms of performance they're not that great, most of their older TX/HX are easily outperformed by PSU's of today as they are quite old.

Edited by Undead, 23 September 2010 - 08:33 AM.

[Tikio]

Any one ever heard of the psu "Thortech" i bought one (800w) and was wondering what you guys would think ??

[dhatcher1]

Tikio said:

Any one ever heard of the psu "Thortech" i bought one (800w) and was wondering what you guys would think ??

Lots of googling...

Its really new, only been out a few months.  Made by Sirtech, OEM for Geil's new PSU subsidiary Thortech.  Boasts an 80+ gold rating.  A few other Sirtech large wattage PSUs I looked at had good reviews so it may well be a good PSU.

[Tikio]

i installed it on my comp and it works like a charm. but before i bought it i couldnt find any reviews.Thanks dhatcher1.too bad im barely making it work... i dont have the cash to upgrade my comp. so i just decided to buy stuff seperatly when i have the cash. tought the psu would be the most important part and i can use it right now so its nice.but havent bought anything else ..

[Lourens]

What is wrong with Recom?

[Undead]

Lourens said:

What is wrong with Recom?

I think Recom = Raidmax? if that's the case then their PSU's are bad, the usual, can't output their rated wattage and realistic temperatures.

[Tr0n]

Enermax Liberty 500w is powering my i7-860, Radeon HD 5850, 2x HD, 1x DVD and 6 case fans without even flinching the 5, 3.3 and 12 lines under max load.

It all depends on efficiency and quality of material. And yeah, one shouldn't be cheap when it comes to PSU.

Edited by Tr0n, 21 October 2010 - 12:54 PM.

[Lord Sojar]

Tr0n said:

Enermax Liberty 500w is powering my i7-860, Radeon HD 5850, 2x HD, 1x DVD and 6 case fans without even flinching the 5, 3.3 and 12 lines under max load.

It all depends on efficiency and quality of material. And yeah, one shouldn't be cheap when it comes to PSU.

Basically anything Enermax makes is amazing.  They are probably the best PSU manufacturer in the world... but you pay for it at checkout.  Their prices are premium, just like their products.

[Undead]

So Corsair released their budget CX430, CX500, and CX600 PSU's recently.

First of all, the CX430 is actually worser than the older CX400 (which was a good S12II build), and has less output on the 12v rail. (28A on the CX430 vs the 30A on the CX400) I would call the CX430 more or less a good 350-380W PSU, it's still decent, just not 430w decent. In short, the CX400 is better.

CX430 internal overview: http://www.realhardt...s/Page17236.htm

The CX500 & CX600 are also CWT DSAII units which are rated at 30c. At 50c these units would most likely not output their respective ratings, however I'm going to refrain from giving comments on these particular units until more information surfaces.

Now, I understand they have to cut costs, but this is low, really low. Corsair built up a reputation for putting out nothing but quality units, now they are abusing their brand name recognition to put out shoddy PSU's.

Corsair, I am dissapoint.

Edited by Undead, 03 January 2011 - 08:49 PM.

[Lord Sojar]

Anandtech just reviewed the Antec TruePower New 550w, and yet again, it doesn't fail to impress.  Ripple was at all times below 50% of the allowance by rail.   Very impressive showing and very good review.

http://www.anandtech...erent-prices/10

Review on that unit continues for 3 pages or so.

[The Comfy Chair]

Undead Cheese said:

So Corsair released their budget CX430, CX500, and CX600 PSU's recently.

First of all, the CX430 is actually worser than the older CX400 (which was a good S12II build), and has less output on the 12v rail. (28A on the CX430 vs the 30A on the CX400) I would call the CX430 more or less a good 350W PSU, it's still decent, just not 430w decent. In short, the CX400 is better.

The CX500 is a CWT DSA build, CWT DSA's are decent-ish up to 500w, nothing more, but realisticly this is more like a 400-450w.

Now the CX600 is also a CWT DSA unit, but the DSA is only good up to 500w, so how do they squeeze another 100w out of it? they rate the PSU at an unrealistic 30 degrees, the oldest trick in the book when it comes to bad PSU's. The CX600 is nothing more than a 450-500w in disguise.

Now, I understand they have to cut costs, but this is low, really low. Corsair built up a reputation for putting out nothing but quality units, now they are abusing their brand name recognition to put out shoddy PSU's.

Corsair, I am dissapoint.

Thanks for the heads up cheese :) i'll stick with antec and the CX400W then :D

[shane]

Hey guys i know that people avoid buying non modular power supplies because they can be bulky and ugly but i'm planning to buy this XFX XPS 750W because its good quality and relatively cheap. I was wondering why the extra cables are such a big problem. couldn't you just stick them in the hole that goes behind the motherboard tray along with all the other cables you're trying to hide so nobody can see them?
By the way thanks for this guide its awesome.

Edited by shane, 10 November 2010 - 12:43 AM.

[Undead]

That XFX unit is also Modular, and I guess people prefer it because it saves space?, it's just easier to work with.

[Serafita Kayin]

shane, some power supplies come with so many cables that you can't even shut the case if you did that.

Or, they have a case that has no side panels.  (like the one I'm working with right now.)

Excellent recommendations, though I would say if you can get a TX on the cheap from closeout or whatever they're still ATX 2.3 compliant, and most have EPS connectors as well.  They are older, yes, but they were excellent power supplies at the time (I've torn apart more than a few of them) and the last Corsair I hooked up to my oscilloscope was as good as the day it was purchased.

[dhatcher1]

I prefer cases with bottom PSU mounts so that the extra cables can just be laid on the bottom of the case without causing any problems.

[Undead]

Serafita Kayin said:

Excellent recommendations, though I would say if you can get a TX on the cheap from closeout or whatever they're still ATX 2.3 compliant, and most have EPS connectors as well.  They are older, yes, but they were excellent power supplies at the time (I've torn apart more than a few of them) and the last Corsair I hooked up to my oscilloscope was as good as the day it was purchased.

Yes, they were excellent, at the time, that's all changed now, if they're on sale and you can get them cheap on sale then it may be a good option, but the only TX PSU worth recommending is the TX950, and *maybe* the TX650... the TX850 and 750 have quite average performance.

[Max_91]

Would Anyone Be So kind as to tell me if ABS is a reputable PSU manufacturer.

http://www.abs.com/

A number of what look like good PSU's, the lowest being 80+bronze.

I was going to go with a corsair ax1200 then i stumbled upon their majesty series on newegg.

http://www.newegg.co...#scrollFullInfo

the feedback there seems to puts little to no difference between that and corsair...i dont know if there is something i am missing because i am fairly new to this.

Edited by Max_91, 24 November 2010 - 02:38 AM.

[Serafita Kayin]

ABS is a rebrander.  It would do us more good if we knew what PSU they rebranded.

I went looking, and found it's an ATNG, a line I have a long hate affair with.  Check out what [H]ardOCP thought...

http://www.hardocp.c..._supply_review/

I'd keep looking.  Taken a look at the Ultra X4 series?  I can personally vouch that they're excellent PSUs for the money.

In other news, I should have either one of the new high-end Cooler Masters or the new In-Win top of the line in my hands soon to test.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Undead]

Max_91 said:

Would Anyone Be So kind as to tell me if ABS is a reputable PSU manufacturer.

http://www.abs.com/

A number of what look like good PSU's, the lowest being 80+bronze.

I was going to go with a corsair ax1200 then i stumbled upon their majesty series on newegg.

http://www.newegg.co...#scrollFullInfo

the feedback there seems to puts little to no difference between that and corsair...i dont know if there is something i am missing because i am fairly new to this.

The 1100w ABS Majesty is a rubbish PSU, but the ABS SL 1050 HERE is a rebranded Enermax Revolution, brilliant PSU.

Serafita Kayin said:

I went looking, and found it's an ATNG, a line I have a long hate affair with.  Check out what [H]ardOCP thought...

ATNG are only decent for low end wattage as far as I know. I wouldn't use an Ultra X4 either, the previous generation X3's were much better.

[Serafita Kayin]

I'll second the recommendation of the Revolution, and add that the MODU87+ and PRO87+ (modular and not) are the best power supplies I've ever laid my hands on, bar none.  Enermax has been doing it right for many years, and I still like their stuff.

As for the X4, I personally put it on the digital scope and abused it.  I could see nothing that was untoward, the only thing I dinged it for was the removable ATX cable was loose by default.  I saw nothing, not a thing, not even the off-to-full tilt 5v sweep off about it.  It just weighed a ton.

[Max_91]

Tank you both for talking me out of it, i would be safer with spending the extra $80 for corsair,that review from hardocp is EXACTLY the one i was trying to find. Again, thank you two very much.

[Lord Sojar]

Enermax can't be touched at all by any other company.  The problem is price, and Enermax is in no short supply of high prices.  But, you get what you pay for.  :)

[Sir Elementalcheese]

This will probably sounds like a really silly question but how can I find out what my current PSU is giving me?