What is the definition of a good PSU?

[HeroOfPellinor]

I don't know much about the electrical part. I've heard about combined wattage and 5.0v etc. What's the most important thing(s) to look for in a PSU?

 

[thorin]

1) It provides enough Wattage for your use. (Spec)
2) It provides steady voltages (no spikes or dips). (You can't really control this except to buy a trusted brand).
3) It runs cool.
4) It runs quietly.
5) It has a warranty.

Thorin

 

[Metalloid]

It is made by Enermax, Antec, or another name brand. Before buying my Antec, I bought about 10 cases that came with generic power supplies. As of now, 7 or 8 of them have needed to be RMA'd. Some people would disagree and say getting a cheap PSU with a lifetime warranty is the way to go, but I have spent more money on shipping so far than the extra money I paid for my Antec. If you want a nice PSU that won't die quickly, get a name brand, especially if you are planning on doing any overclocking.

The other important things to look for were already mentioned by Thorin. Wattage is very important, especially if you have a lot of case fans, extra drives, or a high-power consumption video card like a GF4 or Radeon 9700. Over 350w should be ok for most systems, but you might want to go higher if you have more stuff in your PC.

 

[Whitedog]

One that goes to church regularly and does not sin too much.

😉

 

[Kingofcomputer]

A good PSU is one made by a real manufacturer that doesn't lie on the spec or cut corner on the components.
Brand name is nothing if it's just a rebadge of something made by a real manufacturer, hard to tell how good is it easily.

My recommendation is Compucase/HEC, they're a real manufacturer, many brands rebadge it, Compucase/HEC does sell their PSU under the brand HEC, the price is right, in between low quality cheap xyz brand and overpriced high quality Enermax, Antec brand.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Kingofcomputer
A good PSU is one made by a real manufacturer that doesn't lie on the spec or cut corner on the components.
Brand name is nothing if it's just a rebadge of something made by a real manufacturer, hard to tell how good is it easily.

My recommendation is Compucase/HEC, they're a real manufacturer, many brands rebadge it, Compucase/HEC does sell their PSU under the brand HEC, the price is right, in between low quality cheap xyz brand and overpriced high quality Enermax, Antec brand.

I couldn't agree with you more. I have been using an HEC 300 AR-T in my other rig for quite some time now, and it's a solid unit.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

I'm using 350LD-T (like Enermax, dual fan, gold plated fan guard, and clear color fan) with Compucase 6919 case.
IMO, this case is designed better than those rebadged UNEEC cases, it has 2 front 80mm fan (1 is at the hard drive cage), 1 rear 120mm fan, rubber inside the hard drive cage screw hole for shock absorbing, front audio/usb/firewire connected to the motherboard directly instead of going outside of the case to connect to the output jacks, front removable filter for easy cleaning.

 

[Bad Dude]

Hi Metalloid15,
How long before those cheap PSU died?

 

[Daovonnaex]

Originally posted by: Bad_Dude
Hi Metalloid15,
How long before those cheap PSU died?

They usually don't die. In fact, they usually work fine. It's still a risky proposition. Don't look for any overclocking with a cheap, low-quality brand. Most good PSUs are AMD recommended, if you're looking for a guage. PC Power and Cooling makes the best in the industry, but they're extremely expensive.

 

[Metalloid]

The ones that I had usually broke sometime between 6 and 9 months from when I bought them.