Quality vs "el cheapo" power supply

[Denis54]

I am a newbie and want to build a 2.8 Ghz, 512 mb RAM P4 based system. Stability is my number 1 priority and I have no interest for overclocking. I will keep my old GeForce3 Ti200 video card as well as my WD 120 GB 7200 rpm 8 MB cache HD. I might be interested in a 10,000 rpm SATA drive in the near future.

In the past I have always used no name "el cheapo" power supplies that tipycally cost aroung $30. A local store I visited strongly suggest I get a high quality power supply like ANTEC or ENERMAX. These cost $60-$100. However, the salesman could not clearly explain the advantages the better units.

I would appreciate if someone could educate me as to why it would be advantageous to get one of the more expensive units.

 

[SilverLock]

I will point you to a couple of article on the subject, but the jist of everything is that a quality power supply will provide the voltage/watts required to run your PC with a very small variation. A cheap power supply could burn out before ever reaching its state output or could provide under or over voltage causing your PC to be unstable or worse it could actually cause hardware failure.

In building a PC the single most important purcahse is the case and power supply.

Read This for a good understanding of what could go on.

 

[Corporate Thug]

you can get a quality fortron PSU for ~$40 which isnt much more than a el cheapo one and the advantage is you never have to worry about it burning up all the hardware

 

[Jhhnn]

If you don't plan on loading it down with a lot of drives and geegaws, a quality 300w will do the job. 350w if you want serious headroom. Brands worthy of mention are Delta, Zippy/Emacs, Fortron/Sparkle, Heroichi/HEC/Compucase, Antec, Enermax and a few others, I'm sure. Any psu with the model designation of FSP-XXX is probably a Fortron, many of the Inwin Powermans are Fortron, as are at least some of the Zalmans. Quality psu's are heavier, provide more peak power, and will generally outlast cheapo units. They often provide better voltage regulation.

Brands best avoided include L&C, Austin, Allied and any other brand names of the Deer Group. If you're buying retail, pick 'em up- the heavier, the better, as a general rule.

 

[Tab]

You can have the best system ever, Crucial Ram, Asus MB yadda yadda. It can lock up on you if you dont have a good powersupply.

 

[Zepper]

Yep, always better to cut back somewhere else if necessary than skimp on the PSU. I always say, "If your PSU, keyboard, mouse, RAM and monitor are top-notch, it's easy to live with the rest."
. The brands that have already been mentioned are (except for Antec and Enermax) in the value sweet spot - more than adequate quality at usually economical prices. Beware that some of the brands like Sparkle (whose line used to be mostly made by Fortron) have started marketing lower line PSUs which are unknown quantities. Look for FSP in the model no. for the Fortron made units. You may also find the Channel Well brand out there at a good price. But most of their production is as OEM for brands like Antec and PC Power & Cooling...
.bh.

 

[Jeff7]

If you can, compare the weight of two similar wattage PSU's - one generic, one brand-name. The cheap one might weigh half what the brand-name one does - more power filtering components, better heatsinks, etc. Plus, in the unlikely even that a high-quality PSU does fail, it'll probably die alone, instead of taking out your system like a cheap one might do. And you get a warranty.
Other thing to consider: your PSU is not likely to be upgraded often. Invest more in a good one. Same goes for things like mice, keyboards, monitors, and maybe speakers too - and often overlooked things like the chair and desk you use. They last a long time - considerably more than the rest of the PC. This desk has been with me since the days when a Pentium II 300, 64MB PC66 RAM, and a motherboard cost $880. My monitor is a 21" Nokia - I don't see it going anywhere in the near future. And my power supplies - a 420W TTGI (don't know if it is officially a "brand-name" thing; it seems somewhere between high-quality and generic, but it works fine) in one PC, and an Antec Truepower 430W in the other PC, will likely be with me until the ATX formfactor dies out. Can't say that of my CPU, motherboard, RAM, or videocard.

 

[SpeedFreak03]

Yeah stay away from L&C PSUs. I had one from an el-cheapo ElectroSeller case, and it died, taking my DVD-ROM, CD-RW, and 2 80mm case fans. I'm lucky it didn't kill my HDD!

 

[stevennoland]

I'll say it again. Decide what you can spend on a power supply and double it! I have a Vantec 'Stealth' 520 Watt PS and it is whisper quiet. Also, I purchased a Monster Power Powerbar 1100 home theater power strip ($200.00 @ Best Buy). With the added filtration and protection of the Powerbar, my computer's power supply should (read should) last a tad longer. Are you willing to gamble with your hard earned dollar. If so, take it to Vegas.

 

[beatle]

A 300w Fortron w/120mm fan, $32 shipped @ newegg. Few would dispute the quality of Fortron, even fewer would dispute its silence. 300w is more than enough, considering many MicroATX PSUs are only 180w and still manage to power a hefty P4 and video card.

 

[bootoo]

I've run some systems stably but nervously on cheap power supplies (hey, 450 watts for $20 bucks, nice deal( and had some nice psu's too.

DON'T think about overclocking without a good psu. If that's even remotely in your future don't waste your money on a cheap one.

In fact, don't waste your money! I know it's not glamorous but everything else (as has been said above) depends on this and you'll sleep better.

 

[Cerb]

Get a PSU with a balance of power, price and quality, such as Fortron, Enhance, or Enlight (Fortron being the most recommended around here due to being proven the same PSU as Sparkle PSUs known to be excellent, and for a tomshardware roundup in which the 350w turned out to be as good as several $60 or more PSUs).

You could slowly kill your parts with a crappy PSU, due to erratic voltage changes and greater vulnerability to spikes and drops (often occuring during thunderstorms and such).

 

[Gravity]

Cheap can be loud. If sound is not an option then you prolly don't need to be concerned. I just got a seasonic 300s which is a 300w psu. I have 3 fans, 5 hard drives and the other standard stuff. It works very well. It's silent also. That's why I got it.

That's my .o2.

 

[beatle]

The Fortron w/120mm fan is also very silent. It makes my Antec Truepower 330 loud by comparison. Heck, it makes the L1a on my CPU seem loud.