PSU comparrison and recommendation

Anyone with knowledge of PSUs wanna look through the below and recommend one for me? :)

Note some have dual 12vs, others just have a strong single one, and I'm not sure which would be better...


Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 460w (3 sata, 1pcie) £20
+3.3 = 22
+5 = 25
+12 1 = 18
+12 2 = 18
-12 = 0.5
+5vsb = 2.5

gigabyte superb 460w (4 sata, 1 pcie) £25
+3.3V = 30.0A
+5V = 30.0A
+12V1 = 16.0A
+12V2 = 18.0A
-12V = 0.5A
+5Vsb = 2.5A

Ebuyer Extra Value 550w (1 sata) £20
+3.3V = 28A
+5V = 35A
+12V = 30A
-5V = 0.5A
-12V = 0.8A
+5VSB = 2.5A

450W EZCool Silent (no sata) £15
+3.3V = 26A
+5V = 28A
+12V = 30A
-5V = 0.3A
-12V = 0.8A
+5vsb = 2.0A

tagan tg480-u22 (plenty of everything) ~25
+3.3 = 28
5 = 48
12v1 = 20
12v2 = 20
-12 = 1.0
-5 = 0.8
5vsb = 2.5


antec earthwatts 380w (4 sata, 1 pcie) ~15
+3.3 = 20
+5 = 20
+12v1 =17
+12v2 = 15
+5vsb = 2.5
-12 = 0.8

Well, the first 4 in that list are made with incredibly cheap components, have very small heatsinks and offer little protection to your components if the PSU goes bang.

The Tagan is OK but no world beater and the Antec are quite new so not sure. Doubt its that good though.

It may help if you listed what you want to power.

Also, are you that intent on buying a poor PSU?

from that list Tagan 480W U22, in single rail mode it is 30A on the +12V, handled my OCed quad and X1900XTX perfectly fine, and the fans remained almost inaudible even though they are dual 80mm.

>> Also, are you that intent on buying a poor PSU?

not really, only on spending no more than about £20 and getting the best psu I possibly can for that amount.

are you sure about the first 4? I know they're not great (esp. the second 2) but would have thought at least the CM one would be a little better.


anyway, I'm leaning towards a single 12v rail now after reading this: Power Supply Guide for Today's & Tomorrow's Computers - EXTREME Overclocking Forums

so the tagan would be good if it weren't so much :( maybe i'll get lucky on ebay... :juggle:

400W FSP ATX-400PNF available online from Scan Computers UK

^^ if you could scrap a few shilling more together, you could wait till that goes on Today Only at Scan for about 27 quid

and yet on paper... FSP ATX-400PNF vs Cooler Master eXPP 460w

FSP ATX-400PNF (~£30, +33% from CM)

+3.3V = 30.0A
+5V = 28.0A
+12V1 = 18.0A
+12V2 = 18.0A
-12V = 0.5A
+5Vsb = 2.0A

Combined 3.3 + 5v = 150w (-10% from CM)
Combined 12v = 346w = 29a (+10% from CM)

no official word on connectors (probably sata, maybe pcie), 70% efficency, other features comparable to CM.
1 year warranty.


Cooler Master eXPP 460w (~£20, -33% from FSP)
+3.3 = 22
+5 = 25
+12v1 = 18
+12v2 = 18
-12 = 0.5
+5vsb = 2.5

combined 3.3 + 5v = 165w (+10% from FSP)
combined 12v = 312w = 26a (-10% from FSP)

3 sata connectors, 1 pcie connector, 70% efficency, other features comparable to FSP.
2 year warranty.


And there's my problem. For 33% less money, you get almost equivalent stats (lower 12v for higher 5/3.3v rails), probably the same amount of connectors though I can be certain of what the CM has, and 50% longer warranty. now unless someone can prove the Fortron supply is 33% better quality then personnaly I'd recommend the cooler master supply over it. And then for £30 you'd probably find something better from another manufaturer :rolleyes:

...and then you factor in what's been built down to a price point and who makes what. FSP also make the Gigabyte, but would I chose the Gigabyte over the 400PNF? No, I'd rather pay 2 - 7 quid extra and be reasonably satisfied that an FSP badged one would be made from marginally better components because FSP has badged it, and they make for a wide range of well known brands, of all budgets, including OCZ.

At the price point you're deliberating over, it probably doesn't make much difference what you buy, but for me, above, would be the rule of thumb I would go by, and do go by.

You cannot go by the specs because it has been clinically proven that most manufacturers lie...

And that's because they use cheap components. FSP have been known as a good value manufacturer of PSUs for years. Most of the others are trading on their names (built on other components) to sell PSUs not made by them. Part of the price is them leveraging their brand.

I don't think any of us here would buy a £20 PSU - the value of the components must be pennies.

I too would go for the FSP over the coolermaster.

Infact i do anytime i need a cheap power supply.

You wont see £20 as good value when it blows up and takes out your other components as well.

Ok people I'm convinced...

Official XS Tiered PSU Manufacturer Brand Listing Phase III - XtremeSystems Forums

Will try and get something no lower than tier 4 from that lot, although I ain't budging on my &#163;20. I'm gonna try pick up an Antec Truepower for that much and then I shall come back here and laugh... like a laughing thing... :crazy: <-- not quite laughing but close. Now everyone stay off ebay for the next week :) ...please?

Thanks for the help guys.

That list hasn't been updated since either February or April (depending on which way round the dates go :P) So don't take it as an up to date current list of available PSUs.

Personally I would find the extra cash for a &#163;30-40 unit as some other people have said saving &#163;10-20 on your PSU only for it to blow up taking your CPU, motherboard and RAM with it doesn't really make a whole lot of economic sense. And don't forget if you get a decent one now it will last you a long time, power consumption tends to be coming down not going up. Also the more expensive units have higher efficiencies which mean less heat generated which will extend its life and you save money on the electricity bill!

Edit: This may be worth a read as it will show you what your looking to buy in a cheap PSU
[H] Enthusiast - $50 Power Supply Roundup
[H] Enthusiast - 450w-500w PSU Battle Royal

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pepsi_max2k

Ok people I'm convinced...

Official XS Tiered PSU Manufacturer Brand Listing Phase III - XtremeSystems Forums

Will try and get something no lower than tier 4 from that lot, although I ain't budging on my £20. I'm gonna try pick up an Antec Truepower for that much and then I shall come back here and laugh... like a laughing thing... :crazy: <-- not quite laughing but close. Now everyone stay off ebay for the next week :) ...please?

Thanks for the help guys.

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Personally, if you only want to spend £20, i would pick something up off fleabay.

YOu got a little more chance of getting something fair to middling for that money this way.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pepsi_max2k

Official XS Tiered PSU Manufacturer Brand Listing Phase III - XtremeSystems Forums

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That's a handy list, though it needs updating. I could have done with that list 2.1/2 and 4 years ago. I bought a q-tec psu about 4 years ago, which failed after quite a short time and Q-Tec is really far down the list. I bought a hiper psu just over 2 years ago and that failed just recently and it seems it has damaged my motherboard as well. Hiper is also rated very low on the list and so they should be, do yourself a favour and don't buy hiper. I thought at the time these were good PSUs having read some reviews and stuff, but it turned out later not to be the case. I think PSU reviewing and testing has come along way since then in magazines like custom PC. I think my new PSU, a seasonic X900 should be very high up that list like tier 1, I hope so anyway.

I would only buy a cheap psu now if I was bilding a PC from cheap components all round that werent going to be overclocked and wasnt too bothered if it lasted very long. I'm talking like if your £20 PSU blows your £20 motherboard that's not so bad. If your mobo cost more like £70 or more you should think about spending more than £50 on the PSU.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pepsi_max2k

Official XS Tiered PSU Manufacturer Brand Listing Phase III - XtremeSystems Forums

Will try and get something no lower than tier 4 from that lot, although I ain't budging on my £20.

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I think you'll have to be pretty lucky to get a tier 4 unit for £20. Stranger things have happened, though :)

Novatech have the Corsair VX450 for £39.95 with free delivery, at the moment. The Corsair HX series are fantastic power supplies. I don't know much about the VX series, though this [H] review indicates the VX series are great, as well.

Rule of thuumb that i stick by:
Usually, its best to spend 8-10&#37; of your budget (or price of your PC) on the PSU.

Obviously there are some exceptions but you cant usually go wrong then.