Which PSU should I buy?

Maybe it’s just because you haven’t been keeping up with enough hardware reviews lately, and you don't quite realize the sheer variety of power supplies available on the market these days... This particular unit might have been considered a decent choice about five years ago, but by today's standards, it doesn't even qualify as a solid option anymore.

wiredmarlin5 said:Maybe it’s because you don’t read enough reviews and just don't get how many power supplies are out there now. This PSU might have been decent five years ago, but today? It isn't even considered solid.

I gotta say, I think you're wrong here.

Look, I’ve been running one 350W unit for four full years now, and I've had a 550W Corsair for three.

They run perfectly fine and they're quiet. In the smaller build, I've got an 8800 GT, and in the bigger one, I went from two 8800 GTs in SLI to two Radeon 4890s in Crossfire.

I haven't had any issues at all—voltage doesn't really dip under load or anything—and I honestly don't see why I should drop a ton of money on overpriced Corsair, Tagpower, or EVGA units when brands like Corsair and Fortron are totally fine... you know, for us regular folks.

And as for those foreign tech sites? Half of those reviews are probably paid for just to hype up products and move inventory.

The most important thing is just getting your thoughts out there on paper, even if what you’re writing feels a bit nonsensical at times... 😬 Honestly, I’d suggest avoiding those heated debates when you don't really have a leg to stand on regarding the subject matter.

Yeah, everything you listed there carries an 80 Plus certification. Basically, the 80+ program is just a way to push power supplies that hit at least 80% efficiency across different workloads.

So, they’re basically marketing units where the energy loss—the stuff wasted as heat when converting AC to DC for your components—is kept to 20% or less.

There’s even an 80+ Silver standard that sits somewhere between 85 and 88% efficiency.

It’s all fine and well, I guess, but those certified units can end up being up to 40% more expensive than those "generic" ones...😁 that I call the "budget basement dweller" specials.😁

I mean, props to you for putting in the work, but maybe you could've tested some of those average, cheap power supplies that actually get the job done for people with more modest needs. 😛

silvergardener93 said:I appreciate the effort—really, I do—but you could have also tested some of those "average," budget power supplies that actually get the job done for those of us with more modest needs. 😛

True, they serve a purpose right up until the moment the voltage drops or a lightning strike fries the whole unit—taking a few other components down with it... I won't go further than that. I suppose wiredmarlin5 knows a bit more—perhaps even too much 😁—about power supplies...
there are decent, cheaper options out there, like a 350W FSP unit for maybe $67 or perhaps a Cooler Master if I recall correctly... all of those would probably handle 80% of today's builds. If I'm not mistaken, wiredmarlin5 was just trying to point out that Corsair isn't quite what it used to be, yet it remains relatively expensive.

Does anyone have any info on this power supply? It's a 550W Scythe Kamariki 4, model KMRK4-550A, ATX2 v2.3, with a 100mm fan, priced at $203

Dimensions:
150 × 160 × 86 mm / 5.91 × 6.3 × 3.39 in (W×D×H)

Cooling:
Scythe Kaze Jyu 100 mm Fan
- max. 1,500 rpm (550 W)

Noise Level:
8.4 – 23.0 dBA (550 W)

Cable Lengths:
45 – 55 cm Mesh-Type cables

Connectors:
550 W, 650 W Version: 1 x ATX Main, 1 x EPS 12V, 1 x PCI-Express, 2 Floppy, 6 x Drives (4-pin Molex), 8 x Serial ATA, 3 x Fan

Efficiency:
84% Efficiency at 20/50/100% system load (80PLUS.org)

Mainly looking for details on build quality and any actual user experiences, good or bad...

wiredmarlin5 said:http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/762

Thanks. Very thorough test...👍

Wait, why isn't there any Thermaltake power supplies on this list? 😕
I was actually just reading some reviews for their 1200W and 850W models lately...
turns out they're top-tier units, especially that 1200W one. 👍

Noah Thompson said:I'm a bit puzzled here... how is it that there isn't a single Thermaltake power supply listed on this inventory? 😕

Well, I think the answer is sitting right there in the title itself, if you take a moment to look closely... 🙂

wiredmarlin5 said:The answer's right there in the title. 🙂

aha 🙂can't even get those here in the States 😢

Hey there,

So, how am I supposed to figure out exactly how many watts I actually need for my PSU? Can someone please walk me through this...

I'm rocking an Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (which I'm definitely planning to overclock, obviously) paired with dual ATI 4670s, plus I've got one of those beefier Thermaltake coolers... and let's be real, my current power supply is absolute garbage. I'm looking to grab a new one, so what kind of wattage am I looking at to keep this thing from dying?

Thanks

stormyseal98 said:Hey there,

I'm a bit stumped on how to figure out exactly how many watts my power supply actually needs... could someone point me in the right direction?

So, I've got an Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (which I am definitely planning on overclocking, if I can...) paired up with two ATI 4670 cards, plus a decent, beefy cooler from Thermaltake... and let's just say my current power supply is absolute garbage... so I'm looking to upgrade, but what kind of wattage should I be aiming for to stay safe?

Thanks!

Take a look at this. 🙂

wiredmarlin5 said:Check this out. 🙂

Thanks, but I’d honestly rather just grab something brand new from a local shop like Micro Center... I want a high-quality power supply with enough wattage to cover everything I listed, plus maybe a little extra headroom just to be safe🙂.

Honestly, I’d say the Corsair CX400 should be more than enough for what you need...

You might want to reconsider before you offload that power supply 😁...
It isn't as if you don't have better things to do than mess around with voltage offsets and overclocking anymore—so maybe you don't even need a Zwer

Actually, wait, I think something even more powerful is arriving tomorrow... 😁

You must have snagged that somewhere at an absolute steal, maybe even at a place like Newegg 🙂

Yeah, so, here's the deal. Since I was convinced there was some kind of mistake, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on an expedited order from Newegg, only to realize just a few minutes later that it was actually $28 cheaper over at Micro Center. But hey, whatever... Micro Center is just... ugh. 😁

I honestly can't wrap my head around how esys manages to move those power supplies at such ridiculously low prices....

Just when I posted about those old stock items, it turns out Dell is practically giving them away... what a fantastic price. 🙂

By the way, I haven't seen any news about them slashing prices on their power supplies, so it's highly likely they're just clearing out some old inventory...

Sales haven't been exactly booming lately—probably because they hiked the prices too high before—so I'm assuming that's what's happening here. :/

Either way, this is an incredible buy. It's funny how you always find something even the retailers themselves seem to have missed... makes me think of John Doe's graph for $467 🙂