generic power supply does it really matter?

[brunswickite]

i am building a p4 based machine, and am opting to buy an enermax or antec tru 330
but the case i am buying comes with a 400 watt generic PS, but to save a few bucks is it worth using it?
wahts teh differance between generic and antec/enermax?

 

[DeschutesCore]

Antec and Enermax have a name and reputation to protect. Generic manu's are huge in some countries, but you'll rarely see them around others. We use a number of supplies from Deerfield, Sun Mosho, Eagle, Apollo, and more, and their all fine, I just wouldn't put them under too much load. They also tend to get a bit warmer with the thinner casings and small heatsinks, IMHO.

DC

 

[guywithoutaclue]

in my opinion there aren't many differences from the generic to the name brands... yeah the name brands run a little cooler cause they're better manufactured and probably have better architectural design, and as a result of this they'll probably last longer if you leave you computer on 24/7/365... but if you don't leave it that long then I'd say the generic's are just fine....

 

[Lezboy]

There is a big difference. link

 

[Crassus]

I actually don't see a reason why someone answers a question if he doesn't have a clue (name!) :c)

To be serious, I bought a cheap 300W PSU and the surge protector failed and my PC was on fire when an old fan failed! Anyway, I've got a nice 431W PSU from Enermax now with no problems at all and additional case cooling, which comes quite handy when having a 1333 TBird heating up the case.

I used to have a 250 W PSU from a good manufacturer which served 4 HDD (two IBM!), DVD, Burner, Athlon 1000, GeForce2 and so on without failing. I changed when I upgraded my system for safety reasons - but that shows that when you buy something more expensive it should last you longer and with a lot less trouble.

Just MHO.

 

[Alphazero]

Brand name power supplies are definitely worth the extra money. You get more stable voltage and reliable operation. I wouldn't settle for a generic power supply.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

You get what you pay for.

In reality, there are only few manufacturers making power supply on earth (not sure about in Mars), most so-called brand name power supply just buy from them and put their own label, expensive ones get the better made, cheap ones get the low-quality made. If you buy in a large quantity, you can ask the real power supply manufacturer to put whatever W rating you like on it. That's why some cheapy 400W are even not stable as some good 250W.

 

[xylem]

Yeah, power supply is one area where paying for quality can really make a difference. If a PSU fails it can also fry your other hardware, if you are unfortunate. You can, however, find some brands that are high quality and not pay the same premium that you would for Enermax or Antec. Channel Well is supposed to be good, and I'm sure there are some others.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

Yes, Enhanced, SPI, HEI, etc, they're good as Antec, Enermax, and cheaper.
Use newegg for reference.

 

[Bovinicus]

One area you do not want to cheap out on is that of a power supply. Power is the lifeblood of a computer. Therefore, a flaky power supply has the potential to wreak havoc on any component in your system. An inadequate power supply can lead to an unstable, unreliable system. I was just looking at the specs on the Antec Tru330; I would definitely suggest it. I don't see why any home user would ever need more than what the PSU offers.

 

[WyteWatt]

I own a Antec 330 watt truepower series power supply. Here are the specs from Antec's website. http://www.antec-inc.com/product/powers/true330_spe.html

Plus the 2 fan connectors on the Antec 330 watt truepower series power supply which are just for fans made my computer a lot quieter! I could not believe it. You can always connect the fans to the normal power connectors but the power supply will not control the noise level of the fans like the fan only connectors will. It cools my system just as well i think.

 

[Dogsbody]

I've used a lot of different power supplies, both generic and name brand, and never had a problem. That said, when I'm building a computer for personal use I think it's worth the extra few bucks for a quality PS, especially if you plan on keeping the computer for awhile.

 

[VTrider]

That Link really sums it up. Buying a quality power supply is probably one of the best and most important things you can do for you system, I still can't believe that it is often overlooked. Take in all this good advice here, you can always take your chances, but why risk it?

-VTrider

 

[Curley]

I agree with LEZBOY. I have always bought cases without power supplies and put in a quality power supply.