Does the psu really matter?

[JackMDS]

Yeah, a lot of things above might be true.

However until a while ago there use to be mainly two category of PSUs.

Cheappos that went for around $20 (or even less), and normal PSUs that went fo around $40 to $50.

Few years ago a 3rd category was added "Fancy".

I thing that the Vendors of the New Category did a very skill full job in shilling a feeling that whatever was regular ($0-$50) working well PSU is Now "Trash".

Well the fact is that in most cases "Fancy" PSU is not really needed, and most computers will do very well with what use to be considered regular PSU for around $50.

 

[Puffnstuff]

A lot of people here like to warn about the dreaded power supplies that take out other components or your whole system. It's like the story told around the campfire to scare the kiddys. How many of you have actually had a power supply do something like that? My guess is very very few.

When a system does get fried from a power surge it's very likely due to a power surge from the wall because someone didn't have a proper surge protector. It's not the fault of the power supply.

I've had components damaged when an antec 300w let go on me years ago. It was at that moment that I started buying enermax ps's of sufficient size to insure that I had plenty of headroom in my system. If you ever read any of the ps stress tests done by johnnyguru or tomshardware then you can see what the results can be. Ever since that happened I've not even cut it close again on my ps to draw ratio. It's your equipment and your money so do what you like.

 

[VirtualLarry]

A lot of people here like to warn about the dreaded power supplies that take out other components or your whole system. It's like the story told around the campfire to scare the kiddys. How many of you have actually had a power supply do something like that? My guess is very very few.

When a system does get fried from a power surge it's very likely due to a power surge from the wall because someone didn't have a proper surge protector. It's not the fault of the power supply.

I had a Deer/Allied PSU go out on me once. The main caps blew, or rather, leaked. Black gunk was everywhere inside the PSU. Thankfully, it didn't take out my system, but it was a lesson learned. I think I had a PII at the time.

 

[jacktesterson]

I personally have always used Seasonic OEM power supplies. Can buy them at NCIX. I have never had any troubles, and they are always around $50 with rails similar to $80 power supplies under different names that they actually make!

I ran my HTPC below for a while off a 350 watt seasonic power supply with no troubles. I upgraded and gave my PSU to a friend to use.

When I was in University I built a system for around $1300.00. It was a AMD T-Bird 1.2GHz. It has 512MB ram and a Geforce 2 Ultra. It was a kickass machine for its day...but I fried it (mobo and cpu) because I skimped out on a $20 Power supply. never again.

 

[Blain]

Good quality power supplies perform very well at regulating incoming power and not allow it to pass through to the system components.
Crappy power supplies allow more voltage fluctuation to be passed through to the system components.

 

[Lean L]

A lot of people here like to warn about the dreaded power supplies that take out other components or your whole system. It's like the story told around the campfire to scare the kiddys. How many of you have actually had a power supply do something like that? My guess is very very few.

When a system does get fried from a power surge it's very likely due to a power surge from the wall because someone didn't have a proper surge protector. It's not the fault of the power supply.

my thoughts exactly.

Worse thing that happens 99% of the time is unsteady rails... which doesn't affect performance if not extreme.

 

[robertk2012]

my thoughts exactly.

Worse thing that happens 99% of the time is unsteady rails... which doesn't affect performance if not extreme.

Your user name is correct isnt it?

 

[robertk2012]

A lot of people here like to warn about the dreaded power supplies that take out other components or your whole system. It's like the story told around the campfire to scare the kiddys. How many of you have actually had a power supply do something like that? My guess is very very few.

When a system does get fried from a power surge it's very likely due to a power surge from the wall because someone didn't have a proper surge protector. It's not the fault of the power supply.

The thing is a good PSU can take a small surge and not destroy everything its attached to.

You think that little power strip is going to protect you from all surges coming out of the wall?

 

[nerp]

Buying a good PSU is like buying a a quality piece of clothing or furniture. Do you want it to last a long time and be made of quality materials? If you don't mind the clothes wearing out after a few washes and tearing up and fading, then go for the cheap stuff, for sure.

 

[Ksyder]

For the OP who has never heard of a PSU damaging other main components, a few years back I had a PSU destroy 2 systems on me.... fried one motherboard, and then I wasn't sure if the PSU was bad or not, thought maybe the board was bad and plugged it into another system. Not a good move. Lost 2 boards that day.

Anyways, I've had better luck buying Antec, or Seasonic, or Coolermaster, or Enermax, or any "name" brand. I don't believe that the name means much of course but at least it means that a reputable name brand is willing to put its name and a warranty behind the product, even though they are not making the product themselves.

Try running one of your $20 PSU's with a P4 Prescott chip or one of these 125 watt Phenom II's, maybe throw in a nice couple hundred of watt video card and a few hard drives. This is the type of scenario that will probably fry that psu. Now if we are talking about a micro-atx motherboard with a low power cpu, integrated graphics, one hard drive, and one optical drive, any cheapo psu will do the job.

Case in point, I built my grandpa one of those G31/Conroe Celeron systems which performs decent but doesn't use much power, due to the 35 watt cpu, efficient chipset, single stick of ram and single hard drive. Because I only wanted to spend less than a certain dollar amount, I used a case from a computer shop where they would sell systems that included the $10 PSU that came with the case. In this case it was an "Austin 400 watt" which weighed about 8 ozs. Its been working fine since the load is so low, but I'm probably going to head over to Microcenter this morning to pick up at least an Antec Basiq for christmas for him just so I don't feel so guilty about saddling him with a crap psu. Although technically I probably have a better chance of frying the system if I change it since the new one is an unknown quantity.

 

[Ksyder]

Also, forgot to mention, another advantage of spending more on a power supply is efficiency. In order to get a 3rd party certified unit that is truly capable of 80 to 85% effiency from the wall (drawing a 100 watts to put out 80) you will have to spend a little more dough.

Anyways, also, power supplies get more inefficient the hotter they get, so when they claim a unit has 400 watt max output they are probably doing the testing with the psu in a freezer, so real life wouldn't reflect this, especially if you live in a warmer area of the country.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I look at a quality ps like having car or health insurance. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Quality components make all the difference and a few of us have learned first hand how important that can be.

 

[Zap]

There seems to be a religious backing behind the importance of a great psu.

That's what happens at a forum that attracts enthusiasts.

My Raidmax, which is supposed to be utter shit has never given me problems in the five years that I used it.

That's like saying "I've been smoking a pack a day for 20 years and have never gotten lung cancer."

Wonder where the guy who started this thread went? Wonder if his PSU died.

LOLOLOLOLOL

Alright, here's my take on PSUs:

I consider myself a "budget enthusiast" meaning I usually (but not always) buy middle-of-the-road gear that gives good bang-for-the-buck. You know, like that Azn massage parlor on the next block. ^_^

So, for power supplies I usually either wait for a killer deal or I buy something "reasonable." Now "reasonable" depends on the system I'm trying to power, but generalizing, I would like to know that the power supply will put out what it claims to on the label, and is not known for dying.

iamanidiot, the PSUs you mentioned using do NOT put out what they claim on the label, so even if you paid $20 for them you got ripped off.

 

[Lean L]

That's what happens at a forum that attracts enthusiasts.



That's like saying "I've been smoking a pack a day for 20 years and have never gotten lung cancer."



LOLOLOLOLOL

Alright, here's my take on PSUs:

I consider myself a "budget enthusiast" meaning I usually (but not always) buy middle-of-the-road gear that gives good bang-for-the-buck. You know, like that Azn massage parlor on the next block. ^_^

So, for power supplies I usually either wait for a killer deal or I buy something "reasonable." Now "reasonable" depends on the system I'm trying to power, but generalizing, I would like to know that the power supply will put out what it claims to on the label, and is not known for dying.

iamanidiot, the PSUs you mentioned using do NOT put out what they claim on the label, so even if you paid $20 for them you got ripped off.

It's not quite like smoking, the body is not replaceable, whereas computers are meant to be replaced. I'm not advocating buying the cheapest psu available either, I was just using the dynapower as a counterexample to the psu argument.

The Ultra that I'm using now is rated for 600w, Johnny Guru tested the unit up to 550w and it held up fine.

I'm mainly talking about the psus that are highly recommended like the enermax ones that are 100 a pop. Most psus will be out of commission before it dies... just seems counterintuitive to have a product last longer than anyone will actually use it.

If you do end up taking the old psu, it has now depleted a great percentage of its rated uptime... in which case you would be better off buying another cheaper but new psu.


so in ten years, you could use one quality enermax or two mediocre coolermasters. The price comes out to probably the same, except in the case of the coolermasters, you have two functioning pcs because you didn't salvage the old one.

 

[Slugbait]

It's not quite like smoking, the body is not replaceable, whereas computers are meant to be replaced.

Lung transplants are done all the time. Steve Jobs got a liver transplant earlier this year.

But you can't replace lost data.

The Ultra that I'm using now is rated for 600w, Johnny Guru tested the unit up to 550w and it held up fine.

I remember when MaxPC did a PSU roundup about five years ago. The Ultra they tested (I think it was the X-Connect) burst into flames. Literally. And they gave it a 4 out of 10 anyway!

As I pointed out before, I used an Ultra in my sister's machine a couple of years ago...it may have just been a coincidence that the mobo died at the same time the Ultra died. Or not. I don't know, it was at her house, she can't describe what happened.

You are happy with your thought process. So be happy with your Ultra.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

It doesn't make sense to me to spend so much money on a PSU. It doesn't give you better performance and it will be just as stable as a lower priced one. My OCZ StealthXStream costed $50 when I bought it and it's been a champ just like my current PSU, and my cheap generic psu's have also been running stuff just fine when they are appropriately matched with hardware.

 

[Lean L]

Lung transplants are done all the time. Steve Jobs got a liver transplant earlier this year.

But you can't replace lost data.



I remember when MaxPC did a PSU roundup about five years ago. The Ultra they tested (I think it was the X-Connect) burst into flames. Literally. And they gave it a 4 out of 10 anyway!

As I pointed out before, I used an Ultra in my sister's machine a couple of years ago...it may have just been a coincidence that the mobo died at the same time the Ultra died. Or not. I don't know, it was at her house, she can't describe what happened.

You are happy with your thought process. So be happy with your Ultra.

That's arguing for the sake of arguing...

links to the fire?

 

[MrPickins]

Yeah, a lot of things above might be true.

However until a while ago there use to be mainly two category of PSUs.

Cheappos that went for around $20 (or even less), and normal PSUs that went fo around $40 to $50.

Few years ago a 3rd category was added "Fancy".

I thing that the Vendors of the New Category did a very skill full job in shilling a feeling that whatever was regular ($0-$50) working well PSU is Now "Trash".

Well the fact is that in most cases "Fancy" PSU is not really needed, and most computers will do very well with what use to be considered regular PSU for around $50.

This exactly.

Don't buy cheap junk, but also don't fall for the high-end marketing hype.

 

[Kyanzes]

As pointed out by many, a cheap PSU can cause your parts go up in smoke if you happen to put heavy load on it. If really unlucky, you can find your bearings easily on the way home by steering in the general direction of the column of smoke on the horizon.

Also, just google for "PSU roundup" and check out the articles testing these beasts. Cheap PSUs ($20 range) tend to have little to do with their specifications printed on them.

 

[RebateMonger]

How many of you have actually had a power supply do something like that? My guess is very very few.

I had a cheap-o power supply take out two motherboards before I realized what was happening. So, yes, I believe it happens.

Over the years, I've tried inexpensive power supplies. The result was early PS deaths and, a couple of times, flames leaping out of the fan grill. I tried to go a step up with several Antec SmartPower and TruePower supplies, but, unfortunately, got hit by their capacitor woes.

Nowadays, I wait for hot deals on higher-end supplies (like a $90 PCP&C supply for $30 A.R.). I've also risked buying some Antecs again when the price is right, hoping that Antec has learned their capacitor lesson.