Which psu for the price? coolmaster, thermaltake, BFG, OCZ

[Johnnyblazzwa]

BFG 550 watt 47$
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/21...0Technologies/

Coolmaster 500 watt 40$
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/20.../COOLERMASTER/

Thermaltake 500 watt 52$
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/22...U/THERMALTAKE/

Ocz 500 watt 56$
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/16...%20Technology/

out of these four PSU's, given their respected price, which one would be the best buy?

any names there that are subpar, that should be avoided?

leaning toward the thermaltake simply because i'm getting a thermaltake case and their warranty is good, what do you guys think?

any insight much appreciated

[Evileagle]

The Coolermaster suffers from very high ripple on the 12V rail, exceeding the maximum allowed (120mV) before 500W loading is reached.

The OCZ exhibits good ripple up to the full 500W, while still maintaining good regulation throughout.

That thermaltake has no power factor correction - it's quite an old unit, don't bother with it (72% efficiency also shows it's age). The BFG is based on a platform with no PFC, skip it too (it's actually a 500W unit rated for 550W peak).

Power supplies today really have to be evaluated on a per-model basis; brands like thermaltake & others may change or use multiple OEMs for their units. Tt also seems to have a habit of keeping quite old units in the channels...

[Johnnyblazzwa]

thanks for the reply EvilEagle, you sound like you definitely know your shit.

After going over the OCZ again i noticed that it only has 2 sata conections which probably isn't enough for me.

Anything good you can say about the other model's named or is it just a one GPU race here? Really most concerned about reliability and something that won't fry the entire system when it dies.

the BFG is cheap and has a 3 year warranty which is impressive but i've never even heard of BFG before

i could also go with this thermtake purepower 500 or bigger cooler master 550 watt but 60 cad is the most i'll spend on this budget unit
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/16...U/THERMALTAKE/

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/16.../COOLERMASTER/

[Evileagle]

Well, it's not 2003 anymore, so we don't have to worry too much about lower-end supplies going up in smoke & frying pc parts Cheap units still exist, however, albeit in fewer quantities. It's when the 500W model is $20 that you probably should skip it....

That said, I chose the OCZ based on your requirement of the best performance between the four and nothing else; I'll factor in 2x PCIe + 4x SATA as well.

Also note that the $56 500W StealthXStream has 3x SATA connectors (only 1x PCIe).

The W0100 Thermaltake you linked to is from 2007, again without any PFC; I can't find any proper reviews on it so I wouldn't recommend it unless it's the only option. It also only has 1x PCIe.

Coolermaster isn't very well received in general, with some specific units exempted. Here's an interesting quote from the 500W CM review I linked to previously:

You need to pay attention as Cooler Master has two power supply series with similar names. The eXtreme Power series is around for a while and the power supplies from this series are presumably manufactured by Seventeam. Units from eXtreme Power Plus are manufactured by AcBel Polytech. So even though the names of these series are similar, each series use a different internal design.

The reviewed model is also called RS-500-PCAR-A3. Two things immediately caught our attention. First, the fact there is no reference for “500 W” on the power supply. If you pay close attention to the label (Figures 1 and 13) you will see that the number “500” printed on the upper right corner doesn’t have the letter “W” after it. This is usually a trick done by manufacturers to protect themselves against potential lawsuits (e.g. “we didn’t say this was a 500 W power supply; 500 is the model number”; a good example is the AcBel iPower 660 power supply we reviewed, which isn’t a 660 W model – hey, wait a minute... eXtreme Power Plus 500 W is also manufactured by AcBel... Hum...)

Again, I wasn't able to find a proper review on the CM 550W, but I'm 99% sure it's based on the same platform as the 500W unit, in which case it'll provide similar performance (unless it's been revised, which sometimes happens with underperforming models - there is no way to know this without performance details from review(s)).

If you can spend up to $60, I would consider upping that by just $6 for the last two units (if possible):

• Antec Basiq 500W: $50, FSP made, possibly noisy 80mm fan, 2x PCIe (Antec & newegg state a single PCIe connector, newegg customer reviews & this review show two), 3x SATA, decent performance for a budget unit, *3yr limited warranty.

• Antec Basiq 550W: $64, modular & sleeved cables, 2x PCIe, 6x SATA, made by either FSP or delta (both very good), large 120mm fan, I would assume good performance since the basiq 500W (an FSP model) does well, *3yr limited warranty.

• OCZ ModXStream 500W: $66, modular & sleeved cables, 2x PCIe, 6x SATA, huge 135mm fan (very quiet), good performance, *3yr limited warranty.

* - Newegg states 3yr limited, may need to investigate this further if this is important to you.

Aside from those three options, buying a 500W+ unit in the under-$60 range will result in a sacrifice of connections or performance. My advice is that if none of the three above appeal that much to you, consider the power requirements of the system again - i.e. do you really need >3x SATA + 2x PCIe for a budget computer? The $54 Corsair CX400W, for example, provides incredible performance (see review) while still being able to provide 360W on the 12V rails for CPU + GPU(s).

[Johnnyblazzwa]

i was gona name the antec basic as an option but the 1 year warranty only from a company like antec wasn't cutting it. Still like to hear your thoughts on BFG, seems like a good unit for me for 47$ if it wont fry computer

i like the 3 year warranty on such a bargain psu, plus over 80% efficientcy, plus i read you can extend the warranty to 5 years by registering it on the BFG website), plus it even supports shittier sli setups

if no bfg i'll consider the ocz or perhaps a 65$ OCZ one with over 3 sata's(good to have for future), i can get a coolermast 690(nice case) if i get the BFG, thats why i would like to save

Overall you've been a big help EE, thanks bruh

[TheGlasMan]

I'll second the Corsair 400w recommendation, better PSU then any you have listed imho

Now none of these are really ready for SLI, be better off getting a 750 for that with all the connectors.

Any Thermaltake ToughPower is good, but would recommend SeaSonic and Corsair over them anytime.

[Evileagle]

Antec provides three types of warranties for their power supplies, the lowest of which (for new units) is 3 years. The website you're ordering from lists a 1yr warranty for the basiq 500W, and doesn't list a warranty at all for the basiq 550W.

The BFG GS-550 is a special unit built for retailers like Best Buy to make large margins on, as such I haven't been able to find a single review on it. One particular issue I read about with BFG's lowest-end LS series is the use of JunFu capacitors - capacitors which I was unfortunate enough to come across in a supply I let sit in my room for 4 years without use (the caps visibly failed from non-use, which should never happen). If their GS series follows the same practice, it would not be a good option (I have no way of knowing w/o seeing a review). Antec had the same problem some years ago with capacitors going bad very quickly - they've much improved things since then from what I've read.

Bottom line for me: the GS-550 is a wildcard - could be fine, maybe not. You'll be sacrificing APFC, which may or may not be of any consequence to you; non-APFC supplies will do better with cheaper UPSs that don't produce a true-sinewave output.

I should add that I'm only basing my recommendations on that site, since I'm in the US and have no idea where else you may consider purchasing from - the selection available seems to be lacking in terms of quality units in this price range.

[Johnnyblazzwa]

i know your looking for a proseeional review , it got good reviews on newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ark=&Keywords=

the fact that the bfg has a 3 year warranty at that price is a big plus


i see some a recommending the corsair 400 watt, not the first time, i was actually set on buying it but the cooler master case i want (690) supports up to 6 fans and i very well might use them all. With my plan to overclock and hopefully also unlock for BE 550 into an x4, i'm not quite sure 400 watt's is enough

then again, dell run's there i5's on generic 350 watter's , possibly even there i'7s though i'm not sure on that

[Johnnyblazzwa]

I'll second the Corsair 400w recommendation, better PSU then any you have listed imho

Now none of these are really ready for SLI, be better off getting a 750 for that with all the connectors.

Any Thermaltake ToughPower is good, but would recommend SeaSonic and Corsair over them anytime.

just a quick one, you sure that corsair 12volt 8 pin power connection is gonna split to a four pin for a m4a785td-v evo

considering that unit for 54$ if i can get away with 400w

[Evileagle]

i know your looking for a proseeional review , it got good reviews on newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ark=&Keywords=

the fact that the bfg has a 3 year warranty at that price is a big plus


i see some a recommending the corsair 400 watt, not the first time, i was actually set on buying it but the cooler master case i want (690) supports up to 6 fans and i very well might use them all. With my plan to overclock and hopefully also unlock for BE 550 into an x4, i'm not quite sure 400 watt's is enough

then again, dell run's there i5's on generic 350 watter's , possibly even there i'7s though i'm not sure on that

A good 400W supply would likely handle an OC'd core i7. Wattage will depend entirely on how much expansion you need for video card(s) & drives.

The JunFu caps I mentioned will work fine, for a period of time. Eventually, they'll fail, maybe after 6 months, maybe a few years. However long it takes, you'll be waiting for a new one with no machine if this unit does in fact have them; if you decide to buy a new supply instead of waiting for the new one (or in the interim), what use will the warranty have been? My personal feeling is that the risk isn't worth the potential reward of saving maybe $10-$20.

[Johnnyblazzwa]

A good 400W supply would likely handle an OC'd core i7. Wattage will depend entirely on how much expansion you need for video card(s) & drives.

The JunFu caps I mentioned will work fine, for a period of time. Eventually, they'll fail, maybe after 6 months, maybe a few years. However long it takes, you'll be waiting for a new one with no machine if this unit does in fact have them; if you decide to buy a new supply instead of waiting for the new one (or in the interim), what use will the warranty have been? My personal feeling is that the risk isn't worth the potential reward of saving maybe $10-$20.

so is that 12v power connection gonna for sure split in half to a four pin for my amd atx. need's to split, no room hanging over the outlet on my mobo

[Johnnyblazzwa]

never mind, i think the 12v 8pin does split into a 4 pin and i also think i'm gonna go with it



thanks all,

Eagle, you are one badass mofo, thanks

[Evileagle]

so is that 12v power connection gonna for sure split in half to a four pin for my amd atx. need's to split, no room hanging over the outlet on my mobo

Looks like it. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/750/1

One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form one EPS12V connector.

never mind, i think the 12v 8pin does split into a 4 pin and i also think i'm gonna go with it



thanks all,

Eagle, you are one badass mofo, thanks

any time

[Pixels303]

Thanks for the input Evileagle. I never used OCZ before and after reading your post, I'll likely be shopping for one soon.

Antec has always been a good choice for me as they always have outperformed competing brands with twice the ratings.

Capacitors are the #1 failure in power supplies with the flyback diode or switching field effect transistor (FET) being close behind for failing. I have replaced these components before in a couple Enermax and a few no-name Chinese knock off brands before. I usually can tell quality by the weight of the power supply. There are many manufacturers who tote specifications which nobody in their right mind would ever attempt using without blowing up something in the power supply or failing to provide any regulation whatsoever. I have seen many systems fail or be destroyed as a result of being overpowered by a failing or overrated power supplies.

Unless you have a instant product replacement policy with your vendor, I would strongly suggest researching how difficult it would be to obtain warranty service directly with the manufacturer. I found Enermax to be completely devoid of any customer service with relationship to trying to obtain replacement PSU's directly, so I would be cautious of them.

[Johnnyblazzwa]

so i pulled the trigger, corsair 400 watt with my cooler master 690 http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/18...400CX/CORSAIR/
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/11.../COOLERMASTER/


not bad for my first custom build