BonzaiDuck
Lifer
I've searched all over for comparison reviews on this BFG GS-550
BFG GS-550
Is there any intel among you forum gurus about this unit?
BFG GS-550
Is there any intel among you forum gurus about this unit?
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What's the skinny on the BFG GS-550?
- Thread starter BonzaiDuck
- Start date
Zap
Elite Member
It is shiney and puts out more power than those relabeled 700W Ultra PSUs. 😀 I have a couple that I use as test units, and they work fine for whatever I throw at them (which isn't much). I got mine for $35 (scratch/dent units) during the BFG Anniversary Sale.
IMO they are a hell of a lot better than those Thermaltake 430W units people seem so fond of. They have a decent warranty (if you get the retail version, not the OEM or scratch/dent) and they won't blow up on you. For $40 go for it! FWIW Best Buy used to sell these for $100. :Q
I'm looking forward to Oklahoma Wolf's review (at jonnyguru.com).
DISCLAIMER: I work for BFG, but I still had to pay for those PSUs. 😱
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
Wow. Thanks for your responses, folks.
I'm [slowly, very deliberately] rebuilding a household file-server, currently powered by an Antec NeoPower 500/550. I'm sure the NeoPower has plenty of life left in it -- it's only a couple years old.
But the rebuild replaces a Win 2K-Pro installation for an old P4T533-R Asus (Rambus) motherboard. The replacement OS is Win Home Server. Before I take the existing server off-line, I want to test the new hardware (GA-EP45-UD3R mobo, E6600 C2D, 2x(2x512MB) DDR2-800 OCZ RAM.) Then, I'll move the Highpoint 454 PCI card and RAID5 to the new system.
I've agonized for the last two days over modding an old vintage 1998 ATX full-tower case, versus just ordering a HAF 932 (which I can get for about $131 before shipping -- don't tell Arnie -- no tax unless I declare it). I have an old test-case chassis, though, and I can test the hardware in it and wait to decide what to do about the old server case.
So this is a convenience. I just want the BFG for testing so I can leave the server on-line for the time being. If it's as good as y'all say, then I can find plenty of use for it either way.
By virtue of the advice here, I'm going forward to order it. I've been constraining my parts-purchases this year -- banging down my credit-cards and waiting to see if a tenant renews the lease for my property back east. $40 is chump-change.
Thanks again --
BonzaiDuck
I'm [slowly, very deliberately] rebuilding a household file-server, currently powered by an Antec NeoPower 500/550. I'm sure the NeoPower has plenty of life left in it -- it's only a couple years old.
But the rebuild replaces a Win 2K-Pro installation for an old P4T533-R Asus (Rambus) motherboard. The replacement OS is Win Home Server. Before I take the existing server off-line, I want to test the new hardware (GA-EP45-UD3R mobo, E6600 C2D, 2x(2x512MB) DDR2-800 OCZ RAM.) Then, I'll move the Highpoint 454 PCI card and RAID5 to the new system.
I've agonized for the last two days over modding an old vintage 1998 ATX full-tower case, versus just ordering a HAF 932 (which I can get for about $131 before shipping -- don't tell Arnie -- no tax unless I declare it). I have an old test-case chassis, though, and I can test the hardware in it and wait to decide what to do about the old server case.
So this is a convenience. I just want the BFG for testing so I can leave the server on-line for the time being. If it's as good as y'all say, then I can find plenty of use for it either way.
By virtue of the advice here, I'm going forward to order it. I've been constraining my parts-purchases this year -- banging down my credit-cards and waiting to see if a tenant renews the lease for my property back east. $40 is chump-change.
Thanks again --
BonzaiDuck
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
I'm not too worried about Zap's credibility. He didn't need to say he worked for BFG.
I'll be able to tell -- given my immediate purposes -- how good it is. Their higher-rated model got a good plug at TechReport or some other reliable review site.
As for "sustained" vs "peak," I'm guessing the sustained wattage is closer to 500W. Even if I find it convenient to use this for permanent replacement of the Antec, that's more than sufficient. I shouldn't be running more than about five or six drives, a single 7600-GT PCI-E card, and maybe four or five fans. I rather doubt that the power draw will exceed much over 300W.
On the test conditions: If it's truly "80 to 85% efficient," ordinary conditions for me shouldn't much exceed a case ambient of 25C.
Tell you what: I'll post my own assessment to this thread, once I've received the unit. I can test the nominal voltages with a PS-tester -- one of two digital units that I have. Somebody else will have to evaluate ripple and other factors, though.
On the matter of getting freebies from employers: My bro' is a chef at a school. Part of the bargain for his not-so-great salary is a food-allowance. Another employee -- a former Hell's Angel and self-proclaimed "minister," began pilfering food from the kitchen, donating large boxes of it to his "church." The school's administration put the kibosh on that -- really quick! The biker-evangelist joined the ranks of the unemployed long before the DOW started tanking last year. :laugh:
I'll be able to tell -- given my immediate purposes -- how good it is. Their higher-rated model got a good plug at TechReport or some other reliable review site.
As for "sustained" vs "peak," I'm guessing the sustained wattage is closer to 500W. Even if I find it convenient to use this for permanent replacement of the Antec, that's more than sufficient. I shouldn't be running more than about five or six drives, a single 7600-GT PCI-E card, and maybe four or five fans. I rather doubt that the power draw will exceed much over 300W.
On the test conditions: If it's truly "80 to 85% efficient," ordinary conditions for me shouldn't much exceed a case ambient of 25C.
Tell you what: I'll post my own assessment to this thread, once I've received the unit. I can test the nominal voltages with a PS-tester -- one of two digital units that I have. Somebody else will have to evaluate ripple and other factors, though.
On the matter of getting freebies from employers: My bro' is a chef at a school. Part of the bargain for his not-so-great salary is a food-allowance. Another employee -- a former Hell's Angel and self-proclaimed "minister," began pilfering food from the kitchen, donating large boxes of it to his "church." The school's administration put the kibosh on that -- really quick! The biker-evangelist joined the ranks of the unemployed long before the DOW started tanking last year. :laugh:
I wasn't questioning Zap's credibility at all. I 100% believe everything he says. I was just questioning why BFG apparently made him buy products that he is using in his job working for them....especially products that the company actually sells.
BTW I already knew he and jonnyguru work for BFG...and their workstations are right next to each other
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
I guess it would depend on what he does for BFG, and whether what he does has anything to do with their PSU business.
I don't think any firm is going to turn its employees loose to pilfer inventory without limit. He apparently got a good deal on the "scratch and dent" sale.
Well -- I just have to wait for the unit to arrive. Then I'll unwrap the old mid-tower test-chassis that's been sitting outdoors, clean off the dust and kill the spiders, and hook up the PSU, mobo (with RAM and CPU) and graphics card with floppy, DVD burner and a single hard disk. I should know a lot more in a couple weeks.
Zap
Elite Member
I use them for testing stuff at home on my own time (not for work purposes). Have you read any of my "Zap's Mini Reviews" in the Motherboard forum here? In the past couple months I've posted reviews on three G31 chipset boards, and am waiting on a fourth one from Newegg that I ordered over the weekend.
At work I use an ES800 for my normal test machine, and have access (through jonnyGURU) to several, ahem, "unknown" PSUs of various wattage if I need MO' POWAH! Of course I don't have to pay for any of them.
Heh, you're thinking of that pic'n'post from last year of an ES800 powering three GTX 280 cards? For a while I was shoehorned into a little room around 12'x12' with jonnyGURU (the PSU product manager) and the graphics card product manager.
Soon afterwards the product managers got their own offices (real rooms with doors and their own light switch!) and I got moved to a cubicle with two others in my department. Funny thing is the cubicle is larger than that room. 😱
That anniversary sale was available to the general public through BFGstore.com for about two weeks or so. It was not special employee pricing. Now don't get me wrong. Employee pricing can be pretty good. However, I'm pretty active in the Hot Deals forum here and let's just say I can spot a hot deal when I smell it. 😀
I've been pretty pleased with my super cheap GS-550 units. About the only time I had a problem with it was when I tried to run it on TOO LITTLE output, and it refused to power on. I guess some PSUs have a minimum load and apparently I had a setup that was below the minimum of the GS-550. Same setup would also not power up a Corsair 650W and I think I even tried some Antec unit. I got it to power up with some really old 200W SFX power supply made by TTGI (Superflower?).
BTW that setup was an undervolted/underclocked E5200 with integrated video and no hard drives. With that TTGI it pulled around 42W or so from the wall. Guess it wasn't enough to "wake up" the higher output units, heh.
Oh yeah, I also encountered this same problem at work using one of the older BFG 1000W PSUs (those Topower units) when trying to power a system with a simple PCI video card. I finally got the PSU to power on by loading it up with a few 80mm fans, LOL. The ES800 had zero problems powering up with that low load (without fans). Maybe it was that vaunted "Frequency Conversion" mumble jumble? 😉
BonzaiDuck, yes please report back with your opinion on these budget units. Suprisingly it got a near perfect review record at Newegg (FWIW, I usually take Newegg reviews with a grain of salt). I guess people don't expect too much for the low cost and are pleasantly suprised.
Oh yeah, and watch out for them spiders. I used to live in SoCal and the typical spider was a black widow.
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
Yeah -- I tend to look at my obsessive enthusiast preoccupation as both a technical challenge and an economic challenge. I make "trade-offs" in selecting hardware -- with price on one of the axes defining the "indifference curves."
For instance, for a long time, the "best" PSUs according to some were those PCP&C "Turbo-Cool" 510 models. I'd delve into the latest product reviews, and avoid paying PCP&C prices. I think the first time I spent more than $100 on a PSU was in late 2004, when I got an OCZ PowerStream 520 based on a TechReport bench comparison review. Then, I discovered Seasonic, and discovered again that PCP&C Silencers were rebadged Seasonics.
But I try and keep an open mind. Especially, if the computer is being built for normal use and nothing more than <= 12% over-clocks, I've used Antec NeoPowers and EarthWatts.
When I can see the innards of a PSU, I know there are certain "quality" features to look for, like beefy heatsinks. And quality usually costs more -- or so it is touted.
But markets change. It used to be that 500W models were the beefiest you could get. Now -- that sort of wattage is pretty mainstream, and 1000W is now considered to be "beefy" and high-end. If more OEMs, casual builders and enthusiasts purchase 500W units, then increased quantity-demanded in a competitive market would temper MSRP price offerings, with quality fairly well established for those types of units.
All I can say at the moment -- [having just got the shipping notice from BFG] -- it's going to be interesting, for the $40. $40 bucks used to buy me a primer-gray "ALLIED" PSU OEM-wrap from a local computer store -- with one-year warranty and after-the-fact expectations of crapping out after a couple years or so.
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
OK -- for anyone interested -- the GS-550 arrived today. It neither feels nor looks like cheap schlock.
Looks fairly promising. I'll post back here once it's powering the components and running . . .
Looks fairly promising. I'll post back here once it's powering the components and running . . .
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
TO: Sandorski, makken, Zap, Hoofan1, magreen, brxndxn and all other posters
SUBJECT: Panic with the GS-550
I had the server all configured and connected. Made the mistake of reversing the signal floppy cable on the floppy-drive, but that shouldn't cause the symptoms I experienced.
I hooked up to a power line from my APC 1200 BACKUPS. A monitor for another computer is powered by the BACKUPS. The BACKUPS also provided power to another system {Seasonic 650, eVGA 780i, OCZ RAM, eVGA 7600 GT and E6600}. I simply moved the power cable from one system to the other. I booted into the BIOS setup, and set the multiplier on the E6600 to its maximum at 9.
Several times before I discovered the floppy-cable reversal, I rebooted through system post -- even starting up the Windows XP splash-screen from the old installation on the hard disk. I powered the system OFF, waited, and unplugged the AC and all other cabling before turning the floppy-cable plug around.
When I finally shut down the system and attempted to power it up again, the fans went on, and the APC BACKUPS red wiring fault LED was bright red, with a solid tone produced by the UPS. The monitor powered for another computer went off.
I had to shut off the GS-550 and connected equipment, then reset the UPS. When I moved the power cable back to the 780i system, I could boot it just fine and there was no site-wiring fault. The UPS shows 100% charge, providing the idle wattage of 252 W to the Seasonic/780i system.
INSIGHTS WILL BE APPRECIATED. IN THE MEANTIME, I OFFER THESE REMARKS DISPASSIONATELY:
It appears to me that I have a problem with the GS-550 PSU. Unless there is some other reason for the UPS behavior, I have either caused myself an inconvenience (and would even have to register the PSU with BFG within the deadline as I might plan to pay postage for an RMA), or an extra expense and delay, while I look for another PSU to test the system and confirm that the PSU is indeed the problem.
AGAIN -- INSIGHTS WILL BE APPRECIATED. This is only the second time in 10 years when I had a PSU problem (as I currently suspect for the second case), and the symptoms were different.
Thanks -- and maybe you'll thank me. I'm sorry that I have to report this for the GS-550 (unless, of course, the problem lies elsewhere.)
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
How would a short on the DC-side of the PSU cause a site-wiring-fault on the AC side?
I've used the case before, and I don't think there are any contact points with this new motherboard other than those of the mounting screws. The only possibility that I can imagine for a short is the backside mounting bracket for the CPU cooler, but it is insulated with both a foam rubber and a one-mil-thick vinyl plastic shield. There were no protruding solder pins where that plate was installed.
Insights appreciated -- magreen or anyone else . . .
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
Apparently, the APC models address AC wiring faults from both sides. I have another PSU coming tomorrow -- a Seasonic 550HT. I'll know something for sure then.
To re-cap -- if it booted and rebooted properly with the reversal of the floppy-signal cable, it wouldn't cause this problem with the APC-UPS -- even as the floppy-cable was corrected in the end. But in order to make that correction, I had to unplug everything and move the test-case to my "work-bench."
Other than reconnecting PS/2 cables, a VGA plug and an RJ-45 LAN connection, hooking it back up involved re-connecting the three-prong AC cable from the UPS, and it's obvious that the cable is not damaged -- a system with a Seasonic 650HT works as it did before with that power cable and the APC UPS.
I strongly suspect a weak solder-joint behind the cover-plate where the power cable connects to the GS-550 PSU.
Maybe I'll RMA it this week. But it hardly seems worth the trouble. Or -- I could void the warranty and have a look myself. Not something we usually recommend around here.
Not entirely sure as to how I take JediYoda's point, but we've gone full-cycle from my asking about the GS-550, to ordering it, briefly (if casually) evaluating it, and . . . . here we are.
Here's where customer reviews from a site like NewEgg can be useful. Ask yourselves "What is a reasonable failure-rate with a decent quality-control test-program?" [Or -- what are reasonable tests? As with "strength of solder joints."] If there are enough observations (number of reviewers), you have an idea.
For instance, there were 134 units reviewed for a $90 Seasonic 550HT -- approximate equivalent to this GS-550 (BFG) unit. Of those, about 7 involved DOA, instant failure or whatever else would make the unit inoperable. That's about 5% from a sample of 134. A similar PCP&C "Silencer" (supposedly rebadged Seasonics) shows a rate of 3% from a slightly smaller sample. The 2% difference could either be "statistically insignificant," or it means that OCZ/PCP&C is retesting the units before rebadging and/or shipping them. But 3 to 5% sounds like a reasonable QC objective, given the time and money it takes to test during or after production.
For those who may be puzzled with "Why do even 3 to 5% slip by?" -- it's because it is only practical to random-sample inventory, choosing sample size that assures no more than a 5% (or 3%) failure rate. And the chosen sample-size and resulting failure rate may have a margin of error -- like "+/- 2%."
I think I'll take another look at the BFG GS-550 customer-reviews at NewEgg. It seemed as though the "sample-size" for my own evaluation was only some 15 reviews when I last looked.
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
There are currently 21 reviews at Newegg for the GS-550, and no DOA or infant-failure experiences. To match the Seasonic or Silencer record, there would need to be only a single review showing DOA or infant-failure. So, with that sort of sample size, there is a much wider margin of error. Just 2 bad reviews would mean a 10% failure-rate.
Question then is: "Will NewEgg post my review if I bought the unit directly from BFG?"
Question then is: "Will NewEgg post my review if I bought the unit directly from BFG?"
Zap
Elite Member
Probably.
I think you should, to give BFG a chance to make it right.
BTW, did you get it from Newegg or straight from BFGstore?
That sounds about right as an industry-wide figure. About the only thing that seems to have a lower failure rate is CPUs, and of course there are crappy brands or a bad manufacturing run that can have really high failure rates.
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