Firecracker Or Power Plant? A PSU REVIEW 2011

[butitoy]

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Who's Who In Power Supplies, 2011: Brands Vs. Manufacturers

Firecracker Or Power Plant? : Who's Who In Power Supplies, 2011: Brands Vs. Manufacturers


How do you identify a bad power supply before buying it?

• Extremely high wattage claims at comparatively low prices are suspicious. There are simply no decent 750 W power supplies for $50. For every product class based on performance and features, there must be a minimum price. When a product is significantly below that price, be cautious. You can get a "400 W PSU" for $20, and such fire hazards are installed in budget PCs every day by unscrupulous companies that know exactly the risk they're handing off to buyers.

• Check the specifications. For example, if a PSU claims high performance on the 3.3 and 5 V rails while the 12 V rail numbers are low, then you know something is wrong.

• The manufacturer does not specify any combined maximum performance, but instead only shows the maximum load for each rail separately. This is done without specifying how much real power would be available if all rails are used at the same time. Avoid PSUs without this information.

• Be careful with juicy marketing expressions and commercial lingo: Super, Extreme, Gaming, Combat, etc. Using superlatives to describe something quite normal should arouse suspicion and have you double-check specification details.

• Passive rather than active Power Factor Correction (PFC) leads to lower power efficiency.

• Very few or short power connectors and cables might be an issue. A 750 W PSU usually has four PCIe connectors for graphics cards (2 x 6-pin and 2 x 6+2-pin), so think twice if a model only offers two (or at least consider your upgrade options).

• With cheap PSUs, the quality of the cable insulation may be poor, or the cables may not be insulated at all. The power cable grommet may also be insufficiently padded.

• Be careful if there are few or no indications of protection circuitry. If the PSU specification only says OPP (overload protection) or perhaps SCP (short circuit protection), this points towards a normal fuse. If the specification also says OVP (overvoltage protection), this probably means that it is equipped with a simple metal oxide variable resistor. These security measures by themselves are absolutely insufficient and cannot replace any kind of digital safety chip.

Unfortunately, you can't always tell at first glance whether you're dealing with a high-quality PSU or whether there's nothing but disappointment waiting behind the pleasant facade. Therefore, we decided to open up two budget PSUs representative of what you can find in many of today’s OEM PCs and illustrate the points and features you should be examining...

[siopao1984]

Silverstone PSUs FTW. great aftersales with FU!

[EarlZ]

Bottom line is, but from reliable brand.. Corsair,Enermax,Thermaltake,Silverstone or from their OEMs of the same unit.

[Kenshiro]

wow my thermaltake made the cut.
Just make sure to read reviews before purchasing a PSU.

[simoko]

i always buy a psu that has been out in the market for at least 6months...naa nai daghang reviews or feedbacks...kapoy kaayo pa warranty oi...except sa Silverstone kai dali ra sa FU...

[EarlZ]

wow my thermaltake made the cut.
Just make sure to read reviews before purchasing a PSU.

The recent tough power series is great, its all about the OEM.

i always buy a psu that has been out in the market for at least 6months...naa nai daghang reviews or feedbacks...kapoy kaayo pa warranty oi...except sa Silverstone kai dali ra sa FU...

Good idea, but some OEM release the PSU 6-8 months before a 3rd party brand will use the design. If its from Enhance/Etasis and ect Im sold.

[werty]

im sure naa napud mu comment diri na ok ra lagi generic psu...

[EarlZ]

ok raman jud ang generic PSU as long as your not loading it more than 150watts.. on a 600watt unit..

[siopao1984]

nah mas mau pa intawn mag invest ko sa klaro na PSU kaysa sa generic oi.
d nko ani mka tulog og tarong nag andar ang pc sa generic ang psu.
bacin gamay pa lang na surge nilahos na sa motherboard.

[lazaro4ever]

weird.. sayop lagi ang naka butang sa tomshardware..

akong psu kay OCZ ModXtream Pro 500W.... sa Tomshardware E144195.. pero sa akong psu kay E243823