$ 80, Final budget for Best PSU

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: QueBert
Am I "dying" because I'm not a fanboy who buys into hype, or because I recommended a great PSU, that you happen to dislike?

Maybe I should go spend 2x as much on a Enermax so I can be l33t like j00r 4r3??!

I've owned all these so called "uber PSU's" there isn't a difference in real world sh!t. He wanted a PSU that works, and has modular cables, you can't show me a better one then Ultra PERIOD...

since I'm supposed to die, I won't be able to respond to anything you say, have a wonderful life.

The Ultra is generic quality PSU with a fancy paint job and modular cables, it?s crap. Just because you?ve been running yours for 4 months without problems doesn?t prove much, a 500 watt generic for $20 would likely do just as well but then again it might not. Either way your experience from using one X-Connect doesn?t qualify you to make informed judgments on it?s quality or stability.

The X-Connect has been tested several times; it?s not stable, and it can?t supply it?s full rated power safely, how is this a good PSU?

Operandi,

(Here we go again...)

A $20 power supply CERTAINLY isn't going to do as well as any Ultra. Your exaggerations aren't appreciated. Like I'm going to use a Deer to power a Prescott w/ a 6800?

The Ultra HAS been tested several times. It IS stable and it CAN supply it's fully rated power. I don't think you can back ANY of your claims. Give me links.

There were only two instances of Ultra's "blowing up" in reviews and neither review stated any technical reason behind the unit's failure. No measured load, etc. Bsides, as everyone knows, ANY piece of computer equipment is going to have some percentage of failures, so regardless of how or why those two failed, it's certainly a small percentage in the grand scheme of things.

What color is the sky in your neck of the woods again?

The X-Connect has a bad reputation for a reason, I don't go around bashing them for the fun of it despite what you may think?.

Consider it's sources, it's built by Young Year who also makes Aspire and Logisys; two other names associated with the term "junk". There are plenty of users here who have had bad experiences with them; you shouldn?t have to look too far to find evidence of that.

To my knowledge the Ultra has catastrophically failed twice; once in a Maximum PC round up and in this TrustedReviews roundup. While it's only two failures the X-Connect is the only PSU I can think of that?s managed to "blow up" in even that many tests. Considering how many PSU reviews are conducted properly (1/10 maybe?) that?s pretty discouraging failure rate. I can?t think of a single instance where a Seasonic, Forton, or Channel Well has failed the way the X-Connect has.

And for the record I never stated I ran my system with generic PSU, I was comparing it to the Ultra. A generic PSU being a better deal unless modular cables and reflective paint are your top priorities.

 

[Nebben]

Most of the recommendations in this thread should do nicely. I'm using a 500W Fortron Blue Storm, and I really like it. Solid performance, very quiet, and nice looking, but not cheesy, blue LED beauty.

I'm normally not a fan at all of the whole "Holy crap let's put 50 lights in our PCs and make them look like little Honda Civics with neon lights underneath" scene, but I have a simple blue LED theme with my black case and it looks pretty nice.

 

[Idleuser]

for the price of 80 bucks you can't go wrong with t he 420 modstream, or 480w antec neopower psu. but your bet with 80 dollars would be forton blue 500w, antec neopower, or the modstream. All of these powersupply are highly recommended.

I'll also give my .02 regarding the ultra xconnect 500w psu... the psu is great besides being a bit noisy... it is no where near as quiet as my powerstream 520, antec neopower but still an excelly psu... Take it for what it's worth, but the ultra xconnect 500w isnt a bad psu and do work quite nicely. You can read all the reviews you want but having used these psu I would recommend a neopower 480w before a ultra xconnect that's because of noise but if you want dont mind the sound a little and want more bling factor then ultra x-connect is the way to go...

All my equipment are used to power all my h2o computers and I havn't had a failure from either of these psu. PS. Don't listen to operandi he has yet to use one but bases his judgement on what he reads but I can tell you from real world experience that it's a good psu.

 

[paadness]

Im going for the NeoPower. Im sad at JonnyGuru and u guys saying bad stuff about ULTRA, i fell in love with its UV cables but guess it like a City Rover fancy but made in India

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: QueBert
Am I "dying" because I'm not a fanboy who buys into hype, or because I recommended a great PSU, that you happen to dislike?

Maybe I should go spend 2x as much on a Enermax so I can be l33t like j00r 4r3??!

I've owned all these so called "uber PSU's" there isn't a difference in real world sh!t. He wanted a PSU that works, and has modular cables, you can't show me a better one then Ultra PERIOD...

since I'm supposed to die, I won't be able to respond to anything you say, have a wonderful life.

The Ultra is generic quality PSU with a fancy paint job and modular cables, it?s crap. Just because you?ve been running yours for 4 months without problems doesn?t prove much, a 500 watt generic for $20 would likely do just as well but then again it might not. Either way your experience from using one X-Connect doesn?t qualify you to make informed judgments on it?s quality or stability.

The X-Connect has been tested several times; it?s not stable, and it can?t supply it?s full rated power safely, how is this a good PSU?

Operandi,

(Here we go again...)

A $20 power supply CERTAINLY isn't going to do as well as any Ultra. Your exaggerations aren't appreciated. Like I'm going to use a Deer to power a Prescott w/ a 6800?

The Ultra HAS been tested several times. It IS stable and it CAN supply it's fully rated power. I don't think you can back ANY of your claims. Give me links.

There were only two instances of Ultra's "blowing up" in reviews and neither review stated any technical reason behind the unit's failure. No measured load, etc. Bsides, as everyone knows, ANY piece of computer equipment is going to have some percentage of failures, so regardless of how or why those two failed, it's certainly a small percentage in the grand scheme of things.

What color is the sky in your neck of the woods again?

The X-Connect has a bad reputation for a reason, I don't go around bashing them for the fun of it despite what you may think?.

Consider it's sources, it's built by Young Year who also makes Aspire and Logisys; two other names associated with the term "junk". There are plenty of users here who have had bad experiences with them; you shouldn?t have to look too far to find evidence of that.

To my knowledge the Ultra has catastrophically failed twice; once in a Maximum PC round up and in this TrustedReviews roundup. While it's only two failures the X-Connect is the only PSU I can think of that?s managed to "blow up" in even that many tests. Considering how many PSU reviews are conducted properly (1/10 maybe?) that?s pretty discouraging failure rate. I can?t think of a single instance where a Seasonic, Forton, or Channel Well has failed the way the X-Connect has.

And for the record I never stated I ran my system with generic PSU, I was comparing it to the Ultra. A generic PSU being a better deal unless modular cables and reflective paint are your top priorities.

The Ultra-X DOES NOT have a bad reputation for a good reason. Logisys & Aspire are far from "junk" no, they're not Enermax quality. But the average person doesn't need 32a on the 12v rail. Or anything spectacular.

GM makes Geo's & Corvettes, a isn't a great car, but nobody going to not buy a Corvette simply because the company makes a lower quality GEO. Both appeal exactly to who they're supposed too.

People always point out the 2 reviews where the Ultra X "blew up" for proof. I've had good PSU's go out because I didn't plug the ATX in properly. IS a PSU blowing up ever a good thing? No, but when I've seen 40+ reviews that love it, and never talked to another person who owned one with any problems. Along with my own experince, I recommend the PSU over any other when people ask me.

What I don't get is how the people discredit the good reviews by saying "they didn't test it right"

but when it blows up, it's can't possibly be the reviewers falt, it's because the PSU is junk.


TT sucked at one point too...

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: QueBert

TT sucked at one point too...

LOL.... No TT still sucks. I'm trying to find someone with a TWV500 in stock so I can have my mind changed, but nobody has them in stock.

And GM isn't a good analogy. I would, however, take a Corvette if someone GAVE me one.

 

[QueBert]

yeah it was a poor analogy, but we're arguing with people who HATE Ultra (not dislike) because a few reviews said they suck. I humor myself and argue back with people who talk about a product they've never used.

I'm really surprised that after your post with PICS and tons of info, they could still fight that "ULTRA IS TEH SUXORS!?!?!" When somebody counter your review with one showing it's bad they did themselves, oh with the same high tech equipment you used. I MIGHT listen.

well done man

 

[Operandi]

The Ultra-X DOES NOT have a bad reputation for a good reason. Logisys & Aspire are far from "junk" no, they're not Enermax quality. But the average person doesn't need 32a on the 12v rail. Or anything spectacular.

It doesn?t?, I think you'll get an argument there. Sure you can do worse but is that really the point? If Aspire and Logisys isn't a low quality brand I don't know what is. If you want another opinion on Young Year (X-Connect, Aspire, Logisys) you can read what Nvidia recommends; you can find the X-Connect down on the bottom where it belongs.

GM makes Geo's & Corvettes, a isn't a great car, but nobody going to not buy a Corvette simply because the company makes a lower quality GEO. Both appeal exactly to who they're supposed too.

Stupid analogy but ok.... GM never made any Geo, they were all built by Suzuki in Japan. They were horrible cars which only brought GM's image down lower, they stopped selling the cars and killed the brand.

People always point out the 2 reviews where the Ultra X "blew up" for proof. I've had good PSU's go out because I didn't plug the ATX in properly. IS a PSU blowing up ever a good thing? No, but when I've seen 40+ reviews that love it, and never talked to another person who owned one with any problems. Along with my own experince, I recommend the PSU over any other when people ask me.

WTF? Read the reviews the testing methodology is sound and fair, every PSU was tested properly and exactly the same way, I think it's safe to assume they didn't connect the ATX connector improperly :roll:.

When it comes to power supplies "real world" usage is next to useless if you want to learn anything about the PSU. You have to test it under full load and take detailed measurements, almost nobody dose. I'm sorry but throwing a 500 watt PSU into a PC that can only draw 250 watts doesn?t mean sh!t, and dosn't count as a review.

Considering the X-Connect has been tested properly so few times (jonnyGURU's counts) two failures is more then enough to convince me it's of questionable quality. Show me any another PSU that's failed similarly in two separate reviews, any.

 

[QueBert]

I don't agee with "real world" usage being useless. You don't buy a sports car based off top speed, because you'll never drive it that fast. You worry about how it will perform under normal driving condition. If a review hooks up an Ultra PSU to a good system, and it runs flawlessly for 2 weeks, that is all I need. Stress tests prove very little as to what a PSU can do under normal conditions. And in the 2 reviews where it blew up, neither tested a 2nd unit under the same settings. They should have tested a 2nd Ultra PSU, if for nothing else then the fact there is such a thing as HUMAN ERROR.

I use PC, not some custom built machine that you hook up 8 light bulbs to a PSU to see if it can turn them all on. Stress tests mean about as much to me as 3d Mark results. Nice for the "wow" factor, makes no difference in the big picture.

I would say jonnyGURU's testing speaks for itself, 32a on the 12v for over half an hour.

 

[SuperSix]

You come into this thread, talking sh*t about the Ultra PS, yet you have NOTHING to back it up, except 2 reviews - (one online). If it has such a bad rep, then why aren't there more negative reviews about their power supplies? Why is it in the one article you linked they say "Ultra is a company that has taken the US market by storm"? Must be all the stupid people goosestepping behind JonnyGURU, unlike you, of course.

You speak your peace, and Jonny comes out and thouroughly kicks your ass with actual data. G'head, fire up your power supply tester and refute the hard data he has collected.

Granted, not many sites test PSU's like Jonny or the place you link, but I have yet to enounter this "bad reputation" you speak of, and as for MaximumPC, if you look carefully, you'll see they ain't all that sharp. I take any of their reviews with a grain of salt. It's not how good the hardware is, it's what the MFG wants to pay.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: QueBert
I don't agee with "real world" usage being useless. You don't buy a sports car based off top speed, because you'll never drive it that fast. You worry about how it will perform under normal driving condition. If a review hooks up an Ultra PSU to a good system, and it runs flawlessly for 2 weeks, that is all I need. Stress tests prove very little as to what a PSU can do under normal conditions. And in the 2 reviews where it blew up, neither tested a 2nd unit under the same settings. They should have tested a 2nd Ultra PSU, if for nothing else then the fact there is such a thing as HUMAN ERROR.

I use PC, not some custom built machine that you hook up 8 light bulbs to a PSU to see if it can turn them all on. Stress tests mean about as much to me as 3d Mark results. Nice for the "wow" factor, makes no difference in the big picture.

I would say jonnyGURU's testing speaks for itself, 32a on the 12v for over half an hour.

You don't have to agree with me but you're wrong, real world usage just doesn?t apply itself to PSU testing. You can't test for maximum capacity, efficiency, stability, or dBA levels; real world testing shows basically nothing.

Testing with synthetic equipment is the only way to know maximum capacity, efficiency, stability, and dBA levels. Putting the PSU under full load is the best indication of it's build quality; if it can sustain full load for sustained period it's all but guaranteed to do all you could ask of it in real world usage.

It's the same reason you stress test a newly built system; often it's the only way to single out faulty components that would otherwise go undetected for days or weeks before executing problems.

The same goes for your analogy to cars. Pick up a issue of Car and Driver and see how many reviews/test consist of driving to the mall or grocery store (normal driving conditions), hint; 0. People by high performance cars because they are fun to drive (at least that?s the right reason). When you do a 0-60 run you don't put the accelerator at 50%, you put it to the floor because it's the only way you know what the car is capable of, it's the same way for power supplies.

Regarding the exploding X-Connects; there was one of every PSU in the test they all had a fair chance and the X-Connect exploded, a second unit? give me a break :roll:. If you would have read the review you would realize human error could not have been a factor.

jonnyGURU's test dose speak for itself as far as I can tell it was a good test but one test can't be representative of every X-Connect. I guess I'll just repeat myself; the X-Connect exploded twice in two separate reviews, no other PSU I can think of has managed this yet you continue to make excuses for it :thumbsdown:.

Originally posted by: SuperSix
You come into this thread, talking sh*t about the Ultra PS, yet you have NOTHING to back it up, except 2 reviews - (one online). If it has such a bad rep, then why aren't there more negative reviews about their power supplies? Why is it in the one article you linked they say "Ultra is a company that has taken the US market by storm"? Must be all the stupid people goosestepping behind JonnyGURU, unlike you, of course.

You speak your peace, and Jonny comes out and thouroughly kicks your ass with actual data. G'head, fire up your power supply tester and refute the hard data he has collected.

Granted, not many sites test PSU's like Jonny or the place you link, but I have yet to enounter this "bad reputation" you speak of, and as for MaximumPC, if you look carefully, you'll see they ain't all that sharp. I take any of their reviews with a grain of salt. It's not how good the hardware is, it's what the MFG wants to pay.

There is plenty of proof if you bother to look..

Taken from Nvidia's forums:

Youngyear
(Aspire, Logisys, MGE, Ultra X-Connect, Rosewill)

Now we're into budget territory. Maybe it's just a quality control issue; some people love them but most hate them, and from bad personal experiences. I personally wouldn't touch them. They should work, but no one will be suprised if it smokes itself and takes your motherboard with it. They rarely come close to what their ratings state, very poorly constructed. (but usually colors or chrome and UV sleeved and colored Molex's and LED fans!) These for the most part are toys, although you might get lucky. Not all of them are, but it does take more effort in sifting through them than it's worth.


Here are two recent users here who have had issues with the X-Connect; X-Connect failure #1 & #2, and Failure #3 / questionable RMA polices.

 

[Zepper]

Sorry, operandi - I'm trying to stay out of these PSU threads as much as possible. I had a feeling in my bones when I first saw the Ultra X-Connect that something was amiss - that old too-good-to-be-true tingle. Then I did a little digging and found that Ultra is part of the Tiger Direct/Systemax/Infotel/Global group and the opinion started solidifying.
. Then the reports started coming in: in one review, the thing won't even power up with over a half-powr load on it; in another, the thing explodes when they try to apply near to full rated power; then I hear that they're using flimsy 20ga wiring from the PCB to the modular block (when you're charging over $100, details like that should be SOLID); then people that have had them awhile start reporting lousy contacts at the modular connector and it just goes on...
. If a PSU costs over $100 and it doesn't have active PFC, I just keep looking no matter how pretty. I'd rather mod a good psu using that modular kit from SVC et al. than buy shiny junk.
. Some of the Silverstones (made by Enhance) are pretty good for the money and don't look bad either. I've seen some excellent reviews on the XClio lately too.

.bh.

 

[Jeff7]

I'm surprised no one's outright recommended Seasonic yet, so I'll do it.

Seasonic.

There. I said it. I'd say it again.


I like their efficiency - a 460W Seasonic beat a 430W Antec Truepower by close to 10% in power consumption, to power the exact same hardware. 208.20888 watts vs 190.46016W. (Ok, so it's actually more like 8.524%, not 10%). Still, not too shabby.

 

[frx218]

Originally posted by: paadness
Im interested in OCZ modstream 450 watts, 83 at newegg. Is it good?

I would say its worth it, or mabey just getting a powerstream.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Linking to forums does not warrant a great percentage of actual use either. Forum "opinions" good or bad are like Dogpiles. Everyone joins on good or bad. If you want to use posts from people that have had one fail, I could link to quite a few PC Power and Cooling units that have failed (much to my surprise, actually. There were three posts in one week over at HardOCP of failed 510's and then that "bad batch" a few months back that had RMA rates up about 15%!) and a few Antec failures. I could tell you about my own Antec failures (had one blow a cap in my face. I was deaf for the rest of the day) and Supersix just had an Antec fail (although it was about two or three years old, so it was time.) Does that make them horrible power supplies too? And don't forget, even I had an FSP 530W fail before I could fully load it. Must be crap, right? Hardly.

I would NEVER go on record saying that the Ultra is BETTER than any of the aforementioned brands. But it does work and it does deserve more credit than it's getting. To address Zepper's point, you DO get what you pay for and the Ultra has a nice finish, sometimes windows and probably the nicest looking modular cables on the market... and you PAY for that (although I haven't seen them sell for over $100 in quite some time.) But to say it's nothing more than a blinged out $20 PSU is truly ignorant, because although it is fair to say that there's a big difference in the contruction of a Zippy or PCP&C or the like in comperison to the Ultra, I feel there is an equal amount of difference between an Ultra and your $20 Deer, L&C, Codegen, etc.

I'm not sure why people say Ultras have a high failure rate and that they don't supply their advertised load. I've used several, installed several, worked for VAR's that have sold several. I won't say they NEVER come back. I think I've had a couple bad ones, but their RMA rate is certainly no higher than anyone elses and I haven't had one yet that didn't supply it's advertised load.

 

[Cheezeit]

Wow, this is the biggest PSU flameare ever.

Anyways, if you want to take chances with ultra/xconnect, then do it. People have had horrible expierinces with them in the past, but I don't know how good they are now.

5 people here already reccomended the Fortron Blue Storm 500. Im using it right now and its aweseome. Check out any review and it will tell you that it has the best efficiency. Its also dead silent for me.

I know that Fortrons and Antecs are all that are going into my systems, but If you want to take a chance, then Ultras might be okay as jonnyguru proved.

My reccomend ation is to get the fortron BS 500

 

[Spike]

I personally stayed away from the Ultra's just because of the questions raised in forums like this. That being said I currently run with a Thermaltake 450 on a oc'ed system with no issues, so even "junk" brands can do well.

To the OP, I would wait for a sale, I just picked up a Antec Smart Power 500w for $70 - 20 MIR so $50 total, thats less then I paid for my TT! The smartpower series may not be as good as the true power, but the 500 w has modular cables and decent dual rails, so it will probably work for me.

-spike

EDIT** the other reason I chose the smartpower is it's pull through fan design. I plan on getting the P180 when I build my new rig so this psu works perfect for that particular setup.