Need new PSU - what brands are good?

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thelawnet

Member
Sep 26, 2004
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My PSU has blown up (or so it seems, it won't turn on). It's an Antec Trupower 380S (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article61-page1.html) which has been running more-or-less continuously for 5 years in my Sonata case

My load is a Q9550 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 3 SATA hard drives, DVD, an ATI X1650 Pro, and a Soundblaster Xtreme soundceard.

No overclocking, no gaming.

I need to buy a new PSU within the next few hours, the local PC World (www.pcworld.co.uk) is my likely destination.

They offer:

Sweex 350W £20 dual fan
Sweex 650W £30 single fan, low noise
Jeantech 355W £30
Jeantech JN120F-500AP 500W Orchid £60
Cooler Master M520 modular 520W £64
Jeantech JN120F-600-AP12V2 600W Arctic £69
Jeantech JNP-700 700W Storm £73
OCZ OCZ700GXSSLI-UK Gamexstream £78
Cooler Master M620 modular 620W £78
OCZ OCZ850GXSSLI-UK 850W Gamexstream £100

Are any of these brands reliable?
 
theAnimal

theAnimal

Diamond Member
Mar 18, 2003
3,828
23
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The only good quality PSU on the website is the BFG ES800, which is way bigger than you need. If I had to choose one of the PSUs on your list, Cooler Master M520.

I'd recommend looking for a retailer who carries Corsair VX450, Antec Earthwatts 430, Seasonic S12II/M12II 430.
 
bruceb

bruceb

Diamond Member
Aug 20, 2004
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T

thelawnet

Member
Sep 26, 2004
37
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Originally posted by: theAnimal
The only good quality PSU on the website is the BFG ES800, which is way bigger than you need. If I had to choose one of the PSUs on your list, Cooler Master M520.

I'd recommend looking for a retailer who carries Corsair VX450, Antec Earthwatts 430, Seasonic S12II/M12II 430.
Click to expand...

Hmm, seems everything is online these days. V. annoying.
 
T

thelawnet

Member
Sep 26, 2004
37
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C

conlan

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2001
3,395
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Is the 380 enough? Or should I buy a different one.
Click to expand...

Yup, it'll be enough.

Remember, most PSUs are operating in their peak efficiency @ around 50% of their total rating. So if your system draws 280W under full load you should consider something in the 430W - 500W range not only for efficiency sake, but also for some room to upgrade.

That being said, those power calculators are inaccurate at best. My personal choice for your system would be the EA430 for the reasons listed above.
 
T

thelawnet

Member
Sep 26, 2004
37
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0
I bought a Sumvision 350W PSU as a temporary solution until I can get something decent delivered. Noisy junk, only 1 SATA power cable which only reaches the top drive bay.

And then I plugged it in. Works, but supplied cable is too short.Switch cables. No power.

Hmm.

Replace fuse in plug.

Works.

Oops. Looks like I might have bought two new PSUs for no reason.

Of course I've already dismantle the old one.
 
Z

Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
18,998
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Actually peak efficiency of PSUs is usually around 70-80% of max out.

.bh.
 
J

Jabbernyx

Senior member
Feb 2, 2009
350
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Originally posted by: theAnimal
The only good quality PSU on the website is the BFG ES800, which is way bigger than you need. If I had to choose one of the PSUs on your list, Cooler Master M520.
Click to expand...
The OP's machine definitely will not hit the ES800's sweet spot, but it's still an 80Plus PSU. Get it if you can find it cheap after rebate. JonnyGuru does stand behind his products :p

 
yh125d

yh125d

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2006
6,886
0
76
Originally posted by: conlan
Is the 380 enough? Or should I buy a different one.
Click to expand...

Yup, it'll be enough.

Remember, most PSUs are operating in their peak efficiency @ around 50% of their total rating. So if your system draws 280W under full load you should consider something in the 430W - 500W range not only for efficiency sake, but also for some room to upgrade.

That being said, those power calculators are inaccurate at best. My personal choice for your system would be the EA430 for the reasons listed above.
Click to expand...

The EW380 is 80+ certified, so it will still be above 80% eff at 80% load, which is great ;)
 
T

thelawnet

Member
Sep 26, 2004
37
0
0
Originally posted by: Jabbernyx
Originally posted by: theAnimal
The only good quality PSU on the website is the BFG ES800, which is way bigger than you need. If I had to choose one of the PSUs on your list, Cooler Master M520.
Click to expand...
The OP's machine definitely will not hit the ES800's sweet spot, but it's still an 80Plus PSU. Get it if you can find it cheap after rebate. JonnyGuru does stand behind his products :p
Click to expand...

I bought the Corsair HX 520W
 
C

conlan

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2001
3,395
0
76
Originally posted by: thelawnet
Originally posted by: Jabbernyx
Originally posted by: theAnimal
The only good quality PSU on the website is the BFG ES800, which is way bigger than you need. If I had to choose one of the PSUs on your list, Cooler Master M520.
Click to expand...
The OP's machine definitely will not hit the ES800's sweet spot, but it's still an 80Plus PSU. Get it if you can find it cheap after rebate. JonnyGuru does stand behind his products :p
Click to expand...

I bought the Corsair HX 520W
Click to expand...

Excellent choice :thumbsup:
I love my HX520
 
C

conlan

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2001
3,395
0
76
Originally posted by: yh125d
Originally posted by: conlan
Is the 380 enough? Or should I buy a different one.
Click to expand...

Yup, it'll be enough.

Remember, most PSUs are operating in their peak efficiency @ around 50% of their total rating. So if your system draws 280W under full load you should consider something in the 430W - 500W range not only for efficiency sake, but also for some room to upgrade.

That being said, those power calculators are inaccurate at best. My personal choice for your system would be the EA430 for the reasons listed above.
Click to expand...

The EW380 is 80+ certified, so it will still be above 80% eff at 80% load, which is great ;)
Click to expand...

Agreed, however, as I'm sure you're aware 80+ Plus efficiency and peak efficiency are different.

The HX520 while being an 80+ Plus PSU, operates at peak efficiency around 250W - 260W, or about 50% of it's rated 520W.

I just want to make sure the OP understands the difference ;)
 
T

thelawnet

Member
Sep 26, 2004
37
0
0
The HX520 while being an 80+ Plus PSU, operates at peak efficiency around 250W - 260W, or about 50% of it's rated 520W.

I just want to make sure the OP understands the difference ;)
Click to expand...

Looks like it's efficient between 150 and 500W.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article692-page4.html

But will my PC really use 50% of a 430W PSU?

This setup:

ASUS P5E3 Deluxe (Intel X38 Express chipset)

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550

2 x 1GB Kingston HyperX DDR3-1333 memory modules (CAS 7. 7-7-20)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 200GB SATA hard disk drive (one single NTFS partition)

ASUS GeForce 8800 GT 512MB - with NVIDIA ForceWare 169.21

Seems thirstier than mine, yet the INPUT to the PSU is only 120W idle, and 180W under load, which implies output of 90W-150W.

http://www.hardwarezone.com/ar...hp?cid=2&id=2521&pg=11

Although I have three hard drives, only 1 is really in use. Maybe 2 if I decide to RAID my hard drives. My desktop is Win2k8 with eye candy off - no 3d ever. DVD drive, not used.

At this level it seems power wastage is not that big a deal. This 250W PSU:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article815-page4.html

wastes 18W at 90W DC output, against 26W for my Corsair. At 150W, efficiency is identical

My chosen PSU is at most 10W worse than the most efficient. That's 88KW a year, or about £9 I guess. Of course against the NeoHE which is slightly cheaper I'll make back the extra cost in a couple of years.
 
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