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PSU reviews are unsettling at newegg.com

W

wjgollatz

Senior member
There seems to be way too many reviews of PSU's burning out, sparking or being DOA for my comfort on newegg.com from a wide range of providers with cases and without for the lower end PSU's. I understand that the vast majority of people that have problems will be the ones posting, happy people are happily doing other things. On the other hand, I don't expect your typical newegg.com purchaser to be like your typical Amazon.com reviewer.

But it still seems too much for something that can burn a house down. With one manufacturer, I can see many DOA's just for this month alone. And, I really don't know who makes the PSU, one maker can be be rebranding all of them for all I know.

Is the quality of the "lower end" PSU's really bad? What should I expect to pay for a 450W supply? These seem to be a problem and I might go purchase a PSU from Bestbuy so I can at least return it to a store location the same day, even if 50 minutes away.
 
Yes, low end PSUs are really bad.

Good ~450W PSUs to consider are Antec Earthwatts 430, Corsair VX450 or Seasonic S12II 430.
 
Take newegg user reviews with a grain of salt...that is all there is to say. Some of them are obviously just BS.

Quality runs a wide gamut, from absolute crap that is destined to pop at half of the rated output to crap that will run fine for a year or so, with terrible voltage regulation and ripple that causes instability or shortens the life of your components, to stuff that is good enough to work and run stably all the way up to rock solid.

So yes, some really low quality PSUs are just ticking time bombs waiting to blow.

Depending on sales and such a good 450W PSU is going to be $30-$80. $40-$50 and up is what you can really expect to pay.

As far as buying from Best Buy...they sell some real crap too and charge as much for them as decent PSUs from online vendors.....stay away from Rocketfish and Dynex power supplies.
 
Yes some of the cheap ones, are really that bad. If you go to WorstBuy, don't buy their house brands Dynex or Rocketfish. Not only are they over priced and complete shit, the Dynex destroyed the test equipment when it was reviewed. Does being able to return a power supply matter if it fries out you computer?

Check the good review sites and buy something half decent from a company known for their power supplies. Last time I looked Antec Earthwatts were on sale at Newegg.
 
Originally posted by: wjgollatz
$40-50 was what I was hoping to pay for a decent PSU. As for BestBuy, if its DOA I can have it settled the same day, or at least get my money back. BFG - 450-Watt ATX CPU Power Supply $68
Click to expand...

WAY overpriced

1) GS series are rated at Peak not Maximum stustained
2) GS series are rated at 25C instead of 40C-45C
Both of the above mean it likely isn't capable of 450W in a running system
3) It is likely not very efficient at all

You could get a LS550 online for that price

LS series are rated at Maximum sustained and rated at 40C

If you want to spend a lot of extra money just in the 1 out of 1000 chance that you get a DOA unit, so you can take it back that day, that is your affair. If you want my advice though, don't buy from Best Buy...you will get less quality for more money.
 
the main problem with newegg reviews is people putting the blame on perfectly good equipment when the user was to blame.

When you read a review and someone claims to have received 3 DOA motherboards consecutively, I know they're just an idiot who can't assemble a PC.


 
I plan to use 4gb ram, e5200 and a radeon 3850 or 4830. Is 430 enough? ATI specs want at least 450. There is a EA500 for $70 with free shipping also.
 
The 450W recommendation is exaggerated to account for all the crappy PSUs which are available. 430 is plenty.
 
Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
Originally posted by: wjgollatz
$40-50 was what I was hoping to pay for a decent PSU. As for BestBuy, if its DOA I can have it settled the same day, or at least get my money back. BFG - 450-Watt ATX CPU Power Supply $68
Click to expand...

You need to be careful of the early BFG PSU`s.......threy were not of the same quality as the newer ones are.
Click to expand...

GS series is a newer one, just a lower end SKU.

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
WAY overpriced
Click to expand...

That's Best Buy's fault for always wanting their margins. 😛

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
1) GS series are rated at Peak not Maximum stustained
2) GS series are rated at 25C instead of 40C-45C
Both of the above mean it likely isn't capable of 450W in a running system
3) It is likely not very efficient at all
Click to expand...

1) Yes
2) Yes
It won't sustain 450W, but will power moderate dual core systems with one GPU that doesn't need more than a single PCIe plug.
3) It isn't 80+ "certified" but efficiency is supposedly in the 80% range.

The GS450 is heads and shoulders above some really popular cheap PSUs like the Thermaltake TR2 430W, has a much better fan, around 15% better efficiency (TR2 has 65%), around 7A more on +12v and I'd take it over a $50 Dynex any day.

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
You could get a LS550 online for that price
Click to expand...

Absolutely, and it is a much better unit in all ways.
 
Originally posted by: Zap
.

The GS450 is heads and shoulders above some really popular cheap PSUs like the Thermaltake TR2 430W, has a much better fan, around 15% better efficiency (TR2 has 65%), around 7A more on +12v and I'd take it over a $50 Dynex any day.
Click to expand...

No doubt and I wasn't disparaging the GS450 as a unit at all, but the only place I have seen it for sale so far is Best Buy...and it is far too overpriced at nearly $70...when you can get the LS550 for less than $70 from buy.com and a number of other sources.

$45-$50 would be a much better price IMO
 
Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Yes some of the cheap ones, are really that bad. If you go to WorstBuy, don't buy their house brands Dynex or Rocketfish. Not only are they over priced and complete shit, the Dynex destroyed the test equipment when it was reviewed. Does being able to return a power supply matter if it fries out you computer?

Check the good review sites and buy something half decent from a company known for their power supplies. Last time I looked Antec Earthwatts were on sale at Newegg.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link. It was a funny article to read. Hey, the Dynex would have powered a 100W Pentium II system nicely, and if it cost $1.75 it would be just about right. 😉
 
Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
Originally posted by: Zap
.

The GS450 is heads and shoulders above some really popular cheap PSUs like the Thermaltake TR2 430W, has a much better fan, around 15% better efficiency (TR2 has 65%), around 7A more on +12v and I'd take it over a $50 Dynex any day.
Click to expand...

No doubt and I wasn't disparaging the GS450 as a unit at all, but the only place I have seen it for sale so far is Best Buy...and it is far too overpriced at nearly $70...when you can get the LS550 for less than $70 from buy.com and a number of other sources.

$45-$50 would be a much better price IMO
Click to expand...



LS450 I found on newegg for $70 and free shipping.
 
Originally posted by: wjgollatz

LS450 I found on newegg for $70 and free shipping.
Click to expand...


Not to disparage your choice of power supplies, but why would you even consider that one when for quite a few dollars less is its equal, the Antec Earthwatts 430?

That EA430 is no slouch, either. Got a rig being powered by one of those that has a Phenom X4 9850 (Black) OC'd a tad, 4GB RAM, 3 hd's, and a Radeon 3870, just humming away happily.

For the $$, I don't think you can beat that ps......and why would you buy the LS450 from Newegg when Buy.com sells the LS550 for $67 shipped anyway? Newegg has rarely been the cheapest place to buy from lately. Heck, even MicroCenter clobbers Newegg's prices in many instances.......like an i7 920 cpu for $229 vs. $280+ at Newegg.
 
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