Should we only use Gold rated PSUs?

[whm1974]

Should most DIY builds only use 80+ Gold rated PSUs? I'm thinking that a 550W 80+ Gold PSU should be able to cover the vast majority of use cases with room to spare. Am I wrong in thinking this? I mean I think that 1000W PSUs are rather silly unless the user is building a HEDT with multiple dGPUs and storage devices...

I have seen plenty of builds online that have really expensive hardware and the builder used an El Cheapo case bundled with the PSU...

 

[Rifter]

Should most DIY builds only use 80+ Gold rated PSUs? I'm thinking that a 550W 80+ Gold PSU should be able to cover the vast majority of use cases with room to spare. Am I wrong in thinking this? I mean I think that 1000W PSUs are rather silly unless the user is building a HEDT with multiple dGPUs and storage devices...

I have seen plenty of builds online that have really expensive hardware and the builder used an El Cheapo case bundled with the PSU...

I think 550-650 is the sweet spot for sure. And yes gold rated is a good idea as well.

My system in my sig draws 400w now that i under volted my Vega GPU, it drew 460w total system power with GPU @stock voltage. I feel this still leaves me some breathing room, and my PSU fan still stays off most of the time so is silent.

 

[whm1974]

I think 550-650 is the sweet spot for sure. And yes gold rated is a good idea as well.

My system in my sig draws 400w now that i under volted my Vega GPU, it drew 460w total system power with GPU @stock voltage. I feel this still leaves me some breathing room, and my PSU fan still stays off most of the time so is silent.

I have a Seasonic 550W 80+ Gold that I brought when i built my system.

 

[UsandThem]

Personally gold would be the minimum I would go with, but as long as people buy a good quality unit with safety features and can actually output its stated wattage, that is "good enough". No $25 850w mystery units from Amazon full of fake reviews.

That said, PSU pricing has really bottomed out since the mining crash, and a person can get a good gold unit for $10 - $20 more, and while saving some money and heat by wasting less power, they usually come with a warranty length double of a bronze rates unit or below.

 

[whm1974]

Personally gold would be the minimum I would go with, but as long as people buy a good quality unit with safety features and can actually output its stated wattage, that is "good enough". No $25 850w mystery units from Amazon full of fake reviews.

That said, PSU pricing has really bottomed out since the mining crash, and a person can get a good gold unit for $10 - $20 more, and while saving some money and heat by wasting less power, they usually come with a warranty length double of a bronze rates unit or below.

I learn my lesson back in 2001 after I used the PSU that came with the cheap case I brought for my build in 2000. It was a Deer PSU that didn't even last a whole year....

 

[UsandThem]

It amazes me that people spend a good amount on building a PC, but when they get to the PSU, they figure any PSU will do. One of the bigger junk PSU sellers on Amazon is 'Shark Technology'. One of the units they sell there is a 750w unit for $39.50. A knowledgeable person knows there's no way it can output anywhere near the stated power without even testing it, as it only comes with one PCIe cable , and four SATA connectors.

https://smile.amazon.com/Technology-Braided-Sleeving-Cables-Connector/dp/B00VB29GMO/ref=sr_1_31?s=pc&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1543605434&sr=1-31&keywords=power+supply&refinements=p_85:2470955011

Hopefully when it dies in a person's PC, it doesn't take other components with it.

 

[UsandThem]

Another thing of interest when I was looking at what Amazon offered in PSUs, was their top 100 best sellers in the PSU category.

https://smile.amazon.com/Best-Selle...pc/1161760/ref=zg_bs_pg_1?_encoding=UTF8&pg=1

-Seasonic only has 3 units total on the list, and not appearing until #46.

-EVGA was by far the best seller on the list, but that's not too surprising since it seems they offer 100 different kinds of PSU.

-Corsair also had a good number of units on the list (24).

-Thermaltake and Cooler Master had more units on the list than Seasonic, while Apevia had one less unit than Seasonic (2).

 

[VirtualLarry]

It amazes me that people spend a good amount on building a PC, but when they get to the PSU, they figure any PSU will do. One of the bigger junk PSU sellers on Amazon is 'Shark Technology'. One of the units they sell there is a 750w unit for $39.50. A knowledgeable person knows there's no way it can output anywhere near the stated power without even testing it, as it only comes with one PCIe cable , and four SATA connectors.

The Rosewill Capstone (80Plus Gold, Jpn. caps, modular, 5-year warranty) 650W is now $44.99, 750W $49.99, and 850W $69.99. Seems worth it?

Edit: Of which, I've paid in the past a similar amount for a ThermalTake TR2-430 430W ("new model") from BestBuy on ebay. Granted, those also had a 5-year warranty, and as long as you're not over-loading them, I've had those TR2-430 (various models) last a good long time. Not so great on the efficiency front either, though.

 

[whm1974]

The Rosewill Capstone (80Plus Gold, Jpn. caps, modular, 5-year warranty) 650W is now $44.99, 750W $49.99, and 850W $69.99. Seems worth it?

Edit: Of which, I've paid in the past a similar amount for a ThermalTake TR2-430 430W ("new model") from BestBuy on ebay. Granted, those also had a 5-year warranty, and as long as you're not over-loading them, I've had those TR2-430 (various models) last a good long time. Not so great on the efficiency front either, though.

Personally I wouldn't go over 550W unless I actually need to do so. A 550W 80+ Gold PSU can actually power a great deal of hardware.

 

[killster1]

Should most DIY builds only use 80+ Gold rated PSUs? I'm thinking that a 550W 80+ Gold PSU should be able to cover the vast majority of use cases with room to spare. Am I wrong in thinking this? I mean I think that 1000W PSUs are rather silly unless the user is building a HEDT with multiple dGPUs and storage devices...

I have seen plenty of builds online that have really expensive hardware and the builder used an El Cheapo case bundled with the PSU...

a post just to make a post I think people should only use triple platinum psus.

Ive never seen anyone build a "really expensive hardware" pc and use el cheapo case with bundled psu. where have you seen this?

i have multiple pc's that i have given away with Elcheapo psu. the PSU eventually turns black with dust clogging the vents and they all still work fine. Ripple and overload protection should be important but we all have different uses.

most likely 90% of people would say 550w is way to much (onboard video) and the other 10% will say 550w is not enough for them. my last psu purchases.. hmm 5x750/850hx corsair.

 

[Campy]

Yes, I think most people building a gaming rig that costs around $1000 or more should get a gold rated PSU that's 500W+, they only cost $50-60 usually.

Spending ~5% of your total budget on a quality PSU with a 10 year warranty seems very reasonable to me.

 

[DigDog]

The correct answer is: read Jonnyguru's blog.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/

Gold rating isnt something that magically happens - it's a direct result of the PSU being built better. Higher quality components, which generally tend to come with better soldering and better design (broadly speaking) mean better efficiency, longer lifetime, and lower chance of disastrous failure; and better thermals, too.

Modern PSUs are ... just so cheap. You can get a 700w Gold that actually scores higher than gold, lasts forever, has additional features such as smart fan, for $80.
We're talking ten years of service minimum.

You already save more than $5 a year on electricity alone. You'll replace this unit due to compatibility way before it fails, so why on earth would you risk using a higher-maintenance, risk-prone unit instead.

Im the proud owner of a EVGA G2 1000W 92% efficiency PSU, i have never regretted spending the money on it. At some point ill give it a clean (it's been 4 years) but every day that i run it, i save a little bit of money. And it's indestructible.
(It will likely be in my next build 2 years down the line, and again possibly in 2025~2027 ... thats how frikin long this thing is gonna last).

 

[DrMrLordX]

I learn my lesson back in 2001 after I used the PSU that came with the cheap case I brought for my build in 2000. It was a Deer PSU that didn't even last a whole year....

Yes! All hail the might of the Deer PSU! Did it have any ballast in it to make it appear to weigh more?

If we ever have to cut military spending, we can just replace our munitions with old crappy PSUs that explode/catch on fire during testing. It'll be great, nobody will know the difference.

Gold rating isnt something that magically happens - it's a direct result of the PSU being built better. Higher quality components, which generally tend to come with better soldering and better design (broadly speaking) mean better efficiency, longer lifetime, and lower chance of disastrous failure; and better thermals, too.

There you have it, folks. It's difficult to build a truly "bad" unit that actually meets the gold rating. It's possible that someone might lie about their ratings, so reading a review on a unit before purchasing it would be a good idea.

Personally I would not look at an unrated or a Bronze unit again, given how cheap Gold units are today.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Personally I would not look at an unrated or a Bronze unit again, given how cheap Gold units are today.

That's how I'm starting to feel, although I recently also picked up some Rosewill Glacier Bronze modular, and Seasonic S12II Bronze modular PSUs for customer builds too. But for my personal stuff? Gold or better from now on.

 

[killster1]

SOoooo for me i didnt go out and purchase these psu's, they came with a OEM pc like dell or sony, i never checked the power rating they could be amazing but i highly doubt it. Did i feel the need to put a 80$ psu into a box i am giving away to someone that would rather have a 80$ monitor to go along with it then a gold rated psu. (since poor people pay less for electricity anyway)

 

[whm1974]

SOoooo for me i didnt go out and purchase these psu's, they came with a OEM pc like dell or sony, i never checked the power rating they could be amazing but i highly doubt it. Did i feel the need to put a 80$ psu into a box i am giving away to someone that would rather have a 80$ monitor to go along with it then a gold rated psu. (since poor people pay less for electricity anyway)

For a low cost machine then a decent bronze PSU should be fine. I would stick avoid no name power supplies however.

 

[killster1]

For a low cost machine then a decent bronze PSU should be fine. I would stick avoid no name power supplies however.

you think sony and dell use no name brands? I will double check a brand but i remember.. lets see
DELL 790 Micro PSU is:

Standard 265W PSU
or optional 265W
up to 90% Efficient
PSU; Energy Star 5.0
compliant, Active PFC

pure crap right i should buy a 550w gold right?

next dell psu said 80+ silver
next up el cheapo case hipro 500
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=148 i cant read the review just teh first page.
there is the review, i believe it was 10$ for case and psu 9 years ago? still running fine.

I think if have a heavy or any overclocking, close to limit of psu, or running in very hot / cold conditions then it matters a whole lots more.

 

[whm1974]

you think sony and dell use no name brands? I will double check a brand but i remember.. lets see
DELL 790 Micro PSU is:

Standard 265W PSU
or optional 265W
up to 90% Efficient
PSU; Energy Star 5.0
compliant, Active PFC

pure crap right i should buy a 550w gold right?

next dell psu said 80+ silver
next up el cheapo case hipro 500
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=148 i cant read the review just teh first page.
there is the review, i believe it was 10$ for case and psu 9 years ago? still running fine.

I think if have a heavy or any overclocking, close to limit of psu, or running in very hot / cold conditions then it matters a whole lots more.

I was referring to DIY builds not OEMs PSUs.

 

[killster1]

I was referring to DIY builds not OEMs PSUs.

and i was talking about a diy build with a oem case and i also showed the psu from a 10$ case+psu combo. the review is right there. you choose to do a fast reply with out reading the review at all i see
Summary
"My first Hipro unit came looking to put on a good show, and ended up making a mostly good impression. Voltage stability was very good for a cheaper group design, ripple suppression was adequate to very good, and the unit is in general very good at its price point. "

hipro make alot of the el cheapo case psu's you mentioned.

Hey just saying sorry to point out we all dont have extra $$ to give away. If you dont drive on a race track you dont need racing brakes right? same with a psu light work no overclock most any psu is fine.

 

[whm1974]

and i was talking about a diy build with a oem case and i also showed the psu from a 10$ case+psu combo. the review is right there. you choose to do a fast reply with out reading the review at all i see

Oops, sorry.

 

[Iron Woode]

here is mine in the rig in my sig:

Corsair TX 650

 

[DrMrLordX]

SOoooo for me i didnt go out and purchase these psu's, they came with a OEM pc like dell or sony, i never checked the power rating they could be amazing but i highly doubt it. Did i feel the need to put a 80$ psu into a box i am giving away to someone that would rather have a 80$ monitor to go along with it then a gold rated psu. (since poor people pay less for electricity anyway)

If you are giving away the machine then it's up to you what you want to put in there. Not much anyone can do to argue with "free". But Gold+ PSUs don't cost $80:

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#e=4&sort=price&page=1

$45 for a Gold 650W semi-modular Capstone or a fully-modular Antec EDGE.

Plus OEM PSUs and "free with the case" PSUs are a whole 'nother ballgame. You're more likely to get a low-power unit from Dell/Lenovo/etc. than you are a Codegen nightmare PSU. OEMs are cheap, but they aren't incredibly stupid. They need to keep failure rates down below a certain level so that warranty claims don't eat too heavily into profits. Case sellers are under no such pressure. Who can tell what you're going to get with a cheap DiY case?

 

[KentState]

I don't feel that 550w is sufficient for every build. A 9900k and 2080Ti for example can pull 450w combined alone. A 550w @ 80-90% load is just going to cover that without any other devices drawing a load. For me, a 650-750w is the bare minimum I have built with over the last 10 years. Now I go with 1000w supplies so that I can easily go SLI and draw no more than 80% or 800w from the PSU. As far as efficiency rating, a Gold or Platinum is what I look for.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Is SLI really going to be a thing moving forward? I think NV and AMD both wanted to get away from SLI/Xfire. It costs a lot in driver team management to make it work, and the additional revenues from supporting it make it hard to justify those expenses.

 

[KentState]

Nvidia and AMD have had plenty of chances to kill multi-gpu in their product lines and it has happened yet.