400W 20/24-pin Power Supply for $26

[Mentat]

looking for a PS, anyone know if this is reliable?

link

 

[pieman7]

Never heard of Topower. I'd stay away...

 

[GZeus]

No bad at all OP! If I'm not mistaken, Topower is affiliated with one of the better know brands.
I can't remember which one though. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to set it straight.

EDIT: In this same vein (cheap, mid power PSUs), consider: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023
The 430W rating seems exaggerated from a review I read, more like 370W?, but the price is $28 AR (with free shipping!) and the reviews are good.
EDIT2: Ooops! Looks like the free shipping on the TT I linked to has disappeared.

 

[magomago]

Can anyone confirm if this is a rebadged psu, what brand it actually is? Otherwise, I would tell the OP to hesitate just because it is cheap. A cheap PSU is not necessarily a good psu...and since it is what is providing juice...you want to provide your system with some good juice.

OP: don't skimp on a PSU - pay the money for something good. What would you do if you built a nice system that jump ultimately screwed your system up?

 

[kmmatney]

I've had reasonable luck with cheap PSUs, although they tend to be very loud. I would buy a better one for a main computer, and use something like this only in a second rig. Here is an old review:

http://www.dansdata.com/top420p4.htm

Looking at the specs, the PSU probably hasn't changed a whole lot from the time of this review.

Edit: NewEgg also sells Topower PSUs, but higher end models. They look pretty good. My guess is that these might be cheap as they are being phased out for higher wattage models. Probably a good deal if you only need 400W.

 

[GZeus]

I agree with 'magomago' overall - don't skimp on the PSU if you don't have too. On the other hand, if you are looking to replace a cheap PSU, in a Dell for example, there is no reason to spend $100 on overkill.

OP, do a 'PowerSearch' on newegg and narrow it down by power requirement, cost and quality name brands - FSP, for one, offers quality 350-450W PSUs in this general price range.

Topower/Epower - from what I saw on my brief search - get generally positive reviews, used to make PSUs for Mushkin and may be rebadged Enermax. Take that for what you paid for it - nothing - as I didn't save any of the links and a definitive answer seems hard to come by.

Happy hunting OP 🙂

 

[Lanyap]

Here is the manufacturer's website. This model is listed at the bottom of the page as TOP-400XP. Their website says they have been in business since 1986 but I've never heard of them before.

http://www.topower.com/pwr_silentpower.html

 

[Steve]

16 amps on the +12v rail. Don't put this in a system that is very demanding. They're probably not well known as I'm guessing that they usually don't make retail units.

 

[Avalon]

Wasn't Topower an OEM for some Antec units? Or was that Channelwell?

 

[RallyMaster]

Topower is the OEM for BFG's units from what I remember. Certainly not the most efficient but it'll do a fine job at providing power.

ChannelWellTech was the OEM for the Smart/True Powers 2s from Antec.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
Topower is the OEM for BFG's units from what I remember. Certainly not the most efficient but it'll do a fine job at providing power.

ChannelWellTech was the OEM for the Smart/True Powers 2s from Antec.

That explains why i had to RMA 4 TP 2.0 500ws before giving up.

 

[RallyMaster]

I RMAed my SmartPower 2.0 once. eBayed off the replacement since I obtained a Corsair already.

 

[fatpat268]

Originally posted by: sm8000
18 amps on the +12v rail. Don't put this in a system that is very demanding. They're probably not well known as I'm guessing that they usually don't make retail units.

Fixed

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: fatpat268

Originally posted by: sm8000
18 amps on the +12v rail. Don't put this in a system that is very demanding. They're probably not well known as I'm guessing that they usually don't make retail units.

Fixed

Um, no. Did you look at the link that Lanyap posted?

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Lanyap
Here is the manufacturer's website. This model is listed at the bottom of the page as TOP-400XP. Their website says they have been in business since 1986 but I've never heard of them before.

http://www.topower.com/pwr_silentpower.html

You see them bundled a lot with cheap cases.

 

[fatpat268]

Originally posted by: sm8000

Originally posted by: fatpat268

Originally posted by: sm8000
18 amps on the +12v rail. Don't put this in a system that is very demanding. They're probably not well known as I'm guessing that they usually don't make retail units.

Fixed

Um, no. Did you look at the link that Lanyap posted?

No I didn't, I looked at the stats from ewiz.com. Whether they're right or not is a different story.

 

[SimMike2]

For years and years I had good luck with cheap power supplies. Not anymore. I've had plenty of Powmax simply stop working within the year. I recently bought some cheap Rosewill from Newegg and every single one was dead within a year. I'm not saying this one is bad, just keep this in mind when you see deals almost too good to be true.