Is it safe to conclude...

[Thor_Odinson]

that a psu is stable after running smoothly and without issue for 7+ months?

My cousin bought a rig last August with a no-name 650w psu made in China. The reason why he can't go for a Cosair or an Antec was due to budget constraints. Anyway, the aforementioned unit has been powering that GTS 250/Athlon II X4 system every day since it was brought home (and on numerous occasions, even running for 72 hrs straight). He has been using it for both work (architecture) and gaming purposes, so the load is by no means light.

My reason for posting here is that he now has enough to buy a new PSU (branded) and he is contemplating on replacing his not-so-old one. Without a voltmeter, I can't really give him a well-supported answer, but my opinion is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I told him that if he is happy with how his desktop is working and if he isn't planning on attaching any new parts to the mobo (or doing any radical upgrading), then he should be fine with that generic psu. The money could be spent elsewhere.

But I could be wrong ... any thoughts?

 

[Martimus]

No, it is not safe to assume that. Caps die slowly, and when a primary blows it will take out most of the system with it.

Now this doesn't mean that the PSU won't hold up, but past performance of the PSU does not guaranteee future results, perhaps more than any other component.

 

[BoomerD]

Is it safe to assume that the system is stable...sure...but don't be surprised if the no-name PSU suddenly dies and takes out much of his hardware with it.

 

[HOOfan 1]

My cousin bought a rig last August with a no-name 650w psu made in China.

95+% of PSUs are made in China. Including Antec and Corsair

 

[Thor_Odinson]

Then we go back to selecting a decent one. He showed me a list of units that he can afford (from a computer shop near his suburb). Normally my gut would point me to a Corsair, but, again, it might not be the best among the lot.

- Seasonic X-Series Modular 660w
- Huntkey HK701 SLI 700w
- Corsair TX series 750w
- Acbel AB-R8II 650w
- CoolerMaster GX-650 650w
- Thermaltake ToughpowerXT 675w
- FSP AURUM Series 600w
- FSP Everest Series 700w

Reliability, stability, and longevity are his prime concerns.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Don't know if the deal is still going on, but couldn't he order a Corsair 600CX from newEgg? IINM, it works out to ~$35AR.
Or hell, if you're interested, I've got a brand new and unopened Antec Earthwatts 650W.

 

[BoomerD]

We don't really know the specs of the computer, but unless he's running 2 video cards, there's no reason he'd need 700 watts...

For the processor listed in the original post, most likely, even 500 watts would be overkill.

Corsair and Antec both make decent power supplies in the <500 watt range that should do a great job with his PC.
HOWEVER, please post full specs if you need/want a better recommendation.

 

[Thor_Odinson]

As far as I recall, his specs are:

- 4gb DDR2
- Athlon II X4 640 or 645
- Sparkle GTS 250 (1024mb)
- 2 SATA WD HDDs (500gb each)
- MSI GF615M mobo
- X-Fi Surround 5.1
- D-Link Wireless N card (forgot the model)
- 4 x 120mm TTake case fans
- 2 x Liteon DVD drives

It's probably future-proofing, but he wouldn't settle for a psu less than 600w. My biggest hurdle here is the fact that he will only choose from that list (as they are in-stock and easily accessible). Oh yeah, he also never orders online these days (bad experience with a DSLR).

 

[Modelworks]

You might want to check who makes the PSU he currently has. Look for an ID number from EIA, UL or similar.

There are tons of great supplies that are not on the high profile name list because they are not marketed well. Some of the ones I see people avoiding are made by companies that have been in business longer than antec and corsair put together.

 

[Morg.]

If this is still true, corsair = enermax and thus is much better than antec will ever be, they just have a slightly shorter warranty than enermax btw.

 

[fffblackmage]

It's probably future-proofing, but he wouldn't settle for a psu less than 600w.

Anything over 500W would be overkill for that system. And what do you mean by "future-proofing?" If you mean he plans on running SLI or crossfire, then perhaps he does need a 600-700W PSU, but if you mean he wants to upgrade to a more contemporary mid-range gfx card, then you don't need more power. Both the GTS 450 (106W TDP) and GTX 550 (116W TDP) actually use less power than the GTS 250 (150W TDP). A 500W good psu is also more than capable of handling most high-end gfx cards anyways.

 

[TemjinGold]

OP: With a system like that, those PSUs are not only way more expensive than he needs to pay, he also won't be in the most efficient part of the power curve meaning his power bill will be higher too. Unless he one day decides to put together a MUCH more expensive system, "future-proofing" is a load of crap. A decent 400-450 watt PSU is more than enough for him and if his 600watter was a cheap no-name unit, a decent 400-450 watter will likely output TWICE as much power as what his current unit is capable of.

 

[BoomerD]

If this is still true, corsair = enermax and thus is much better than antec will ever be, they just have a slightly shorter warranty than enermax btw.

I'm not sure how accurate this is nowadays...so YMMV...

Corsair http://www.corsair.com/

* OEM: Channel Well Tech
VX550W ~41A
CX600W ~40A
GS600W ~48A
TX750W ~60A
HX750W ~62A
TX850W ~70A
HX850W ~70A
TX950W ~78A
HX1000W ~80A
* OEM: Seasonic
CX400W ~30A
VX450W ~33A
HX450W ~33A
HX520W ~40A
HX620W ~50A
HX650W ~52A
TX650W ~52A
AX750 ~62A
AX850 ~70A
* OEM: Flextronics
AX1200 ~100A

 

[Thor_Odinson]

Gave him a call and he said it's a Huaiyi (based on the box). He didn't know where to look for the ID numbers and all that.

Did a quick google search and all I could find was this site: ( http://imaster.en.alibaba.com/productlist.html )

I haven't seen his psu with my own eyes, but it should be safe to assume that his model is the same as the only 650w listed there. The funny thing is that it claims to be an 80 plus when I can't even see a Huaiyi listed in the Plug Load Solutions webpage. So, I'm not really sure if this is one of those good quality but low-key supplies that Modelworks was referring to.

As for the future-proofing, I got the hint when he gave me that "better to have excess than deficit" speech before he bought his desktop and that the psu is the last thing he intends to replace/upgrade. It sounds self-defeating now, though.

 

[theAnimal]

If this is still true, corsair = enermax and thus is much better than antec will ever be, they just have a slightly shorter warranty than enermax btw.

No. Corsair's higher end PSUs have a longer warranty. Not all PSUs from Antec, Corsair, and Enermax are the same quality, so some PSUs from each are better than some PSUs from the others. Antec's HCP1200 is arguably the best PSU currently available, at least as good as Corsair's AX1200.

 

[Thor_Odinson]

To update:

He has narrowed it down to 2 models and he'll be getting it on Friday
- Corsair TX750 Enthusiast Series
- CMaster SilentPro M700

Which is the better one? Thanks!

 

[TemjinGold]

The corsair is better. Before he wastes his money, you might want to know that MY system tops out at ~250 watts draw and his system will draw nowhere NEAR as much as mine. Excess is better than deficit but not when he has no idea how little he actually does and will ever need. Such a low load will force a 750-watt to run below its optimal efficiency curve, forcing him to pay higher electric bills than necessary with no benefit to him. But hey, it's his money so if he wants to waste it, so be it.

 

[BoomerD]

To update:

He has narrowed it down to 2 models and he'll be getting it on Friday
- Corsair TX750 Enthusiast Series
- CMaster SilentPro M700

Which is the better one? Thanks!

The Corsair unit is better than the Coolermaster unit.

 

[backfire103]

Go for the Corsair. They make a great unit. However I've been running a 750w Coolermaster for years now and it's been great. I fear its running on borrowed time though because its so old.

 

[kevinsbane]

Any reason he didn't consider the Seasonic X-660? Seems to me that's the best one there.

 

[Slugbait]

If this is still true, corsair = enermax and thus is much better than antec will ever be...

It's no better than my Antec.

The Antec ECO NEO 520 I bought about a month ago is a rebadged Seasonic. HardwareSecrets is pretty certain it's the S12II. Corsair has also regularly based their PSUs around Seasonic as well...so they're kinda equal at times. And I don't think Corsair ever used Enermax, but I could be wrong.

The Corsair that OP is asking about is also a Seasonic. Solid choice, if not overkill.

 

[Slugbait]

Oh, one other thing, OP...if you crack open your Dell machine, you'll likely find that the PSU is a no-name brand that was made in China.

 

[bruceb]

Manufacturer's ID should be on the power supply label, usually on the back where the power cord / power switch area is at. Also see this link for some very good information on power supplies (it is 10 pages)

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/370

This next link has a list of who really make what:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDArticles&op=Story&ndar_id=24

 

[Thor_Odinson]

Thanks for the advice! And, yeah, he is the "overkill" type (has the same mentality with food and serving size) ... in fact, he bought 2 of those TX750s and gave one to me as a gesture of thanks. Although I have this lingering suspicion that it is because he wants someone to serve as a control/co-guinea pig.

Anway, what simple tests can you guys suggest to determine whether his psu is more or less stable and built to last? So far, he has kept the machine on for more than 24 hours now (work, around an hour of semi-heavy gaming -- 4v4 insane AI all Zerg SC2 skirmish, tabbed browsing here and there, and a Steam d/l while he was asleep). It should still be on even as we speak and there have been no restarts, power failures, BSODs, fan problems, weird smells (apart from that out of the box factory smell), and loud noises thus far. He mentioned an odd thing though: a faint buzzing noise no louder than how a bee would sound occured while he was browsing. It lasted less than a minute and disappeared after he restarted (when the Windows loading screen came up). Coil whine or the fan changing speed, I am not sure. The sound didn't return or persist after that, though.

 

[Joseph F]

Prime95 on 3 threads and Furmark at the same time... May blow his GPU but will definitely test his PSU.