Which PSU should I buy?

fadedbadger11 said:Sure, both power supplies can handle my rig—no argument there!
What I'm actually trying to figure out is whether one of them loses more energy during conversion when we're pulling, say, 200W. Keep in mind they both claim 80% efficiency, but one is 400W and the other is 500W.

EVGA just has the standard 80+ rating, while the EVGA ECO has 80+ Bronze, meaning its average efficiency is higher. If you want the exact numbers for specific loads, you'd need to track down a full review for both units, which might be a bit of a hunt. Honestly, though? They're both so close in efficiency that it's hardly worth losing sleep over.

It really all boils down to what else you're running in your rig and how much cash you've actually got to burn—that’s gonna dictate which GPU fits your budget.

Otherwise, it's a pretty decent power supply. It puts out 336W on the +12V rail and the fan stays relatively quiet—unless, of course, you decide to absolutely redline it with some overkill components. Honestly, the only real downside is that the cables are kind of short, so it’s definitely more suited for an ATX build.

It’s doable, but you're cutting it close. Personally, I wouldn't push past something like an HD 7770 or an Nvidia 650 ti,
maybe even an HD 7850 since it doesn't pull much juice,
but like graniteharbor85 said, most of this comes down to the rest of your build.

Benjamin King2 said:...
With high-quality power supplies—like this Corsair CX430 in the photo—the efficiency curve stays relatively flat between the start and end points. With cheaper units, you’ll see a much more rounded curve. Generally speaking, most PSUs hit their sweet spot with the least amount of waste between 50-80% load.

Exactly. That's why you have to account for both your peak power draw and what you're actually pulling during everyday tasks. I've made my choice.
Given that, I'd aim to run my rig at about 50-60% capacity during a full load using this EVGA unit
while it'll probably sit around 30% during normal use.
Found a review for it here:
http://www.computerbase.de/forum/sho....php?t=1016882

Here's the label:
http://www.purepc.pl/files/Image/art...P_Art/400W.png

Basically, it can deliver 336W, which puts its efficiency at 84%—that lands it right in the 80+ Bronze category.

fadedbadger11 said:here’s the sticker
http://www.purepc.pl/files/Image/art...P_Art/400W.png

So basically, it can output 336W, which is 84% efficiency—putting it right in the 80+ Bronze category, right?

Efficiency isn't what you see on that sticker. Efficiency is the ratio between the power delivered to your components and the power pulled from the wall outlet, and that's specifically what 80+ certifications measure.

Jeffrey Chavez6 said:Efficiency isn't just about what's printed on the sticker. It's the actual ratio between the power delivered to your components and the power pulled from the wall—that's what the 80 Plus certifications are actually measuring.

But isn't that exactly what's being shown here? Manufacturers (or whoever is doing the testing) ran the numbers and found that out of 400W, this unit can deliver 336W—which works out to an 84% efficiency rating in this specific scenario.

I'm not trying to act like a know-it-all or anything—don't get me wrong—I just genuinely want to understand how this stuff works, especially when it comes to power supplies!
If there's already a thread somewhere breaking this down, I'd love to give it a read, since I haven't stumbled upon a clear answer yet.

Not quite. That 336W figure represents what the PSU can (theoretically) pump out through the +12V rails—which is basically what every single component actually draws. That’s the only number that truly matters when you're looking at wattage. Reputable manufacturers label their units based on what they can actually deliver on that +12V rail, whereas the shady ones just add up all the different rails. Honestly, some of them just pull numbers out of thin air; you can easily find some cheap junk from a random overseas factory labeled "600W" that only puts out 160W on the +12V line.

And just to be clear, that 80+ certification is strictly about efficiency, like I mentioned. It has absolutely nothing to do with the wattage printed on the sticker.

fadedbadger11 said:but isn't that what they're showing us here? Like, the manufacturers—or whoever actually runs the tests—ran the numbers and found out that out of a rated 400W, this unit is actually pulling about 336W. So, if you do the math, that puts the efficiency at roughly 84% in this specific scenario.

Look, I’m not trying to act like a know-it-all or anything—I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea here—my only real goal is just to wrap my head around how this stuff actually works, and in this case, it's specifically about the power supply!
If there's already some deep-dive thread out there explaining all this, I'd be more than happy to give it a read, because honestly, I haven't stumbled upon anything helpful regarding this yet.

Do yourself a favor and check out this FAQ: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDFAQs

I see some more decent power supplies have popped up in that 300-$133 range, which is exactly what most users are looking for.
Could those of you who know your way around this stuff rank them for me? Feel free to describe them, share your experiences, or give your honest opinions. Which one runs the quietest, which has the best build quality or cabling, which offers the highest wattage, or which represents the best value for the money? If there's an obscure brand out there, don't be afraid to mention it—just give me the highlights.

Budget options (for the penny-pinchers and low-power builds)
EVGA 600W (links 229 and $86) vs Chicony 480W (adm $73) vs Chicony Hipro HPP400W-80PLUS (it futura $89) XILENCE RedWing Edition 420W ($93 hgspot)

A bit pricier, though lower wattage than the ones above.
For example, Chieftec GPS-400A8 ($112 links) vs EVGA hexa 400 ($97 centro.hr) vs SilverStone Strider ST40F-ES ($116 it futura) vs Chieftec iArena 500W (links $113)

Then we have the slightly more expensive/powerful tier.
GPS-500A8 (lins $126)—what about the wattage? No reviews available. Any thoughts? vs hexa 500W (itfutura $127) vs SST-ST50F-ES-230 ($128 itfutura) vs OCZ 500W CoreXStream 2 ($126 adm)
I'm specifically curious how these four stack up against each other if I were to choose just one.

Finally, the one that seems to be the top recommendation on the forums is
Corsair CX430 (itfutura $114) vs LC6460GP3 (links $126) vs the priciest option, XFX 450W (links and adm $140)—why am I seeing they aren't even in stock elsewhere? WTF?

Anyway, I was just bored.😬

Timothy Kim60 said:I noticed some more decent power supplies popping up in that 300-$133 range, which is exactly what most people need.
Could those of you who know your stuff rank them for me? Maybe give a quick breakdown or share your thoughts and experiences. Which one is the quietest, which has the best build quality or cabling, which offers the most juice, and which is the best value—the absolute best buy? Also, let me know if any of these are total unknowns. No need to cover everything, just whatever you can.

Budget options (for when money is tight or builds are low-power)
EVGA 600W (links 229 and $86) vs Chicony 480w (adm $73) vs Chicony Hipro HPP400W-80PLUS (it futura $89) XILENCE RedWing Edition 420w ($93 hgspot)

A bit pricier, but lower wattage than the ones above
For example, chieftec GPS-400A8 ($112 links) vs EVGA hexa 400 ($97 centro.hr) vs silverstone strider ST40F- ES ($116 it futura) vs chieftec iarena 500w (links $113)

Then there's the slightly more expensive/powerful tier
GPS-500A8 (lins $126)—how's the power delivery? No reviews found. Thoughts? vs hexa 500w (itfutura $127) vs SST-ST50F-ES-230 ($128 itfutura) vs OCZ 500W CoreXSTream 2 ($126adm)
I'm curious about these four specifically (even if you aren't looking at them yourself)

Then, the one that seems to be the top recommendation on the forums
Corsair CX430 (itfutura $114) vs LC6460GP3 (links $126) vs the priciest option, xfx 450w (links and adm $140)—why isn't this available anywhere else? wtf?

Anyway, I was bored 😬

I can actually "boast" that I'm the proud owner of an EVGA 600W (in a budget situation 😬), and I can tell you it’s a seriously cheap little miracle. It features two 12V rails at 20A each, giving you about 480W on the 12V rail, plus active PFC and incredibly quiet cooling! Efficiency is rated at 78% (per the box), which is pretty close to an 80+ rating, all for just $83! 😍 I lent it to a buddy (AMD Phenom II X4 840, ATI Radeon 6850) and the PSU didn't even break a sweat on his rig, so I'd say it's a solid recommendation for any broke sixteen-year-olds out there who need a unit for a mid-range PC; just go ahead and shell out those few bucks.$83 I'd grab this PSU because I honestly think it beats out that Chicony unit without an 80+ rating, let alone the Xilence one. I'm not so sure about that Chicony model with the 80+ certification, though. What's its 12V amperage looking like?

I’ve heard that the EVGA 600W is actually a solid deal for the price—I even toyed with picking one up myself once.

The real "budget king" pick here seems to be $86 (By the way, they have tons of stock over at Best Buy)
EVGA ECO Silent bronze 500W
or if you want something slightly beefier
EVGA ECO Silent bronze 600W

link
500w specs

600w unboxing

From what I can see, Best Buy is definitely the go-to if you actually have some real money to burn. It’s a shame the other retailers don't carry it.

Timothy Kim60 said:I've heard that the EVGA 600W is actually pretty solid for the price—I was honestly thinking about picking one up myself once.

This looks like a new Best Buy "player" for the money— $86 (BTW, they have a ton of stock in Germany)
EVGA ECO Silent bronze 500W
and the slightly beefier version
EVGA ECO Silent bronze 600W

link
500w description

600w unpacking

Not bad, nearly 400W on the 12V rail and an 80+ certification for $83. 😲 If I'd seen this earlier, I would've gone with this instead of the LC model, especially since the LC lacks 80+ even though it offers 2x20A compared to this unit's 17A and 16A.

What’s printed on the label isn't necessarily the truth 😬

fadedorca66 said:Just because it's printed on the label doesn't mean it's actually true. 😬

Well, who are we supposed to trust if not the label? 🤷

I’ve run into that exact same confusion before. For instance, you might see an EVGA unit where the +12V rail pulls 20A, yet another one from the same manufacturer rated at 350-$133 might only manage 17A or 18A. In those cases, the price point actually serves as a much more reliable indicator 😬. Generally speaking, in about 95% of scenarios, if it costs more, it's going to be the better component...

At the end of the day, you really have to vet every single model individually by digging into user experiences and professional reviews.

Adam Moore3 said:So, who are we supposed to trust then, if not the stickers? I guess nobody. 🤷

I guess the only real way to go about it is to actually test the power supply.

If you want to check out the review, there's just one catch: nobody actually wants to test these cheap power supplies because, let's be honest, most of them are total garbage.

We're talking about a German brand found in basically every shop across Germany. I find it hard to believe a German company would mess around with fake labeling.

It would be pretty helpful to figure out who the actual manufacturer is.

Quick question regarding power supplies
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...urer,2913.html

Quick question for those of you running cases where the power supply sits at the bottom—how are you actually mounting it? Should I face the fan upward toward the graphics card so it can breathe directly into it, or should I flip it around? The user manual for my case shows the PSU facing downward, but won't that cause it to choke? Even though the bottom of the case has some ventilation holes to let the power supply get air, is that really enough? Any advice would be appreciated. Basically, how do you guys usually orient your power supplies?