Your thoughts on Dynex

[techtechie]

Im looking to buuying a psu from my system.
specs:
i5 3570
msi z77a GA45
radeon 6770
500gb hdd
1 optical drive
2 stick ddr3
Is dynex a good enough brand. I'm not looking to spending to much on a psu (i know "never skimp when buying psu" but......) just looking is it anygood. the model im looking at is DX-520WPS. Just need your thoughts and opinions.

 

[lehtv]

No, Dynex is a not a good brand. I'm guessing you found it at BestBuy (that's the first google result for that model number)? It says it has one year warranty. You wouldn't want to use power supply with one year warranty to power a relatively costly PC like yours, even if you got it for free. You should aim for 3 years minimum, preferably 5 years, and a brand that's known to be trustworthy.

Are you buying online or local? Do you have a budget?

 

[techtechie]

No, Dynex is a not a good brand. I'm guessing you found it at BestBuy (that's the first google result for that model number)? It says it has one year warranty. You wouldn't want to use power supply with one year warranty to power a relatively costly PC like yours, even if you got it for free. You should aim for 3 years minimum, preferably 5 years, and a brand that's known to be trustworthy.

Are you buying online or local? Do you have a budget?

im buying online from ebay i spotted 2 exact same ones and they work well for my budget which is tight since i let the psu be the last part of my build.

 

[CA19100]

It's Best Buy's house brand. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

 

[Torn Mind]

If you're buying on EBay, used Antec Earthwatts, Neo Ecos, or even a Basiq are better buys. A Sparkle is also a better choice.

 

[jacktesterson]

I've used a bunch of these for cheaper builds - it would work fine for you. 80+ Bronze too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151076

 

[techtechie]

If you're buying on EBay, used Antec Earthwatts, Neo Ecos, or even a Basiq are better buys. A Sparkle is also a better choice.

you know its a coincident that I was just coming into check up on my thread and ask about an antec earthwatts that im looking at.

 

[lehtv]

Why eBay? I would much, much rather buy from Amazon (not marketplace) or newegg.

Looks like the Dynex unit is about $30 on eBay. For that price you can't really buy a good power supply - except if you take rebates into account. Without rebate, I believe $40 is the lowest you could find a new good quality unit for.

With rebate: Corsair CX430 $50 ($30 AR)
Without rebate: Antec VP450 $38

The CX430 has been well under $30 after rebate plenty of times in the past but this isn't one of those times, unfortunately. So there's no going lower. Since neither of these units have long warranty, I'll just put this here too for you to consider:

Rosewill Capstone 450W $60
7 year warranty. 80 Plus Gold efficiency (makes a difference of a few dollars per year). Compared to the above, it uses higher quality components, stays quieter, has more power, and is rated for higher operating temperatures. The only downside, obviously, is the cost. But I believe it's a better long term purchase.

 

[techtechie]

Ok those look like very good units but what about an Ultra brand i see them around pretty good as im searching around.

 

[lehtv]

Ultra is in the same league with Dynex, not worth even considering. I'm telling you, don't cheap out - no unit cheaper than the ones I've recommended is worth buying at all (EDIT: except perhaps second hand).

 

[techtechie]

Ive seen antec go for fairly cheap on ebay and im wondering if they are soemthing i hear its a good name.

 

[JDG1980]

If you want a cheap PSU that won't catch fire or damage your components, I'd suggest one of these:

Corsair CX430
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139026
$49.99, but has a $20 rebate, so assuming you jump through that hoop, you're only $29.99 out of pocket.
This is usually the recommended cheap power supply. It's not perfect but it is a solid and stable design.
You can also get a modular version (CX430M) for the same out-of-pocket price on Newegg, but that one only comes with a $10 rebate. Still, if you have a small/cramped case, it's definitely worth it. I have one of these in the system I'm using right now, in fact.

Antec EarthWatts EA-380D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371033
$44.99, plus a $10 rebate. Lower wattage and an older design, but it should be adequate for the system you described. And it's made by a very reliable OEM (Delta). I used one of these for a couple of years with no problems.

You've spent at least a few hundred dollars on just your CPU and motherboard (I'm assuming your 6770 is probably left over from a previous build). Don't cheap out here and risk damaging them. Your system isn't particularly power-hungry so you don't need to go to the $100+ price range, but if you try to go cheaper than Corsair or Antec's low end, you're going to wind up with problems down the road.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I suppose they're ok, but it's not something I'd buy for myself unless it was for another purpose than my main computer (ex: a lower end machine I don't care much about).

It's not as bad as Diablotek though. There's a few hilarious reviews of those floating around the internet. :biggrin:

 

[Torn Mind]

The Rosewill Capstone is certainly a better unit than its cheaper companions; the Japanese caps reduces the probability of premature failure(imo, any failure under 3 years) and the 7 year warranty is truly a steal. It is one I'd strongly advise to get unless circumstances are such that compromise must be made.

But since one's budget can be tight, it is perfectly understandable to want to spend less. I personally sense no real difference in terms of risk of premature failure, issues, etc when buying a used quality unit versus a new ~$40 like the CX430, VP-450, an OEM Seasonic(no Japanese caps in them), Sparkle, etc. Those PSUs vs used Earthwatts or Earthwatts D? The Earthwatts might have a few years of use, but they still should deliver well-regulated and well-filtered power comparable to them for another 3 years. No warranty, but even with one, you still have to add on shipping to the cost of the unit if it does fail.

Obviously, one must be picky when buying on Ebay though. Year of manufacture, reason why it is being sold, return policy, information about the units performance, should be checked to sift out the chaff.

 

[techtechie]

The Rosewill Capstone is certainly a better unit than its cheaper companions; the Japanese caps reduces the probability of premature failure(imo, any failure under 3 years) and the 7 year warranty is truly a steal. It is one I'd strongly advise to get unless circumstances are such that compromise must be made.

But since one's budget can be tight, it is perfectly understandable to want to spend less. I personally sense no real difference in terms of risk of premature failure, issues, etc when buying a used quality unit versus a new ~$40 like the CX430, VP-450, an OEM Seasonic(no Japanese caps in them), Sparkle, etc. Those PSUs vs used Earthwatts or Earthwatts D? The Earthwatts might have a few years of use, but they still should deliver well-regulated and well-filtered power comparable to them for another 3 years. No warranty, but even with one, you still have to add on shipping to the cost of the unit if it does fail.

Obviously, one must be picky when buying on Ebay though. Year of manufacture, reason why it is being sold, return policy, information about the units performance, should be checked to sift out the chaff.

Thank you u just put a few more things to consider. greatly appreciated.

 

[bryanl]

Huntkey has made Best Buy's Dynex and Rocketfish brand PSUs, and some reviews have revealed internal markings with power ratings lower than advertised.

 

[007ELmO]

i do not like best buy brands, save for another month and get a propery UPS battery backup. it has saved my PC multiple times, I lost a 7970 from a surge without it.

 

[vshah]

don't skimp on the PSU. bad psu fails, and your nice mobo/cpu/video card can go with it. not a risk worth taking. save up for a few more weeks if needed and get one of the supplies recommended in this thread.

and DON'T buy from ebay. who knows how warranty coverage will work.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Dynex (Huntkey, as mentioned) is crap.

I've been running Antec Earthwatts 650W (Delta) on some of my beefier rigs for some time, and also some Antec VP-450 units on my Q9300 @ 3.0 w/4850 512MB card PCs. Been holding up fine.

 

[Blain]

don't skimp on the PSU. bad psu fails, and your nice mobo/cpu/video card can go with it. not a risk worth taking. save up for a few more weeks if needed and get one of the supplies recommended in this thread.

and DON'T buy from ebay. who knows how warranty coverage will work.

Words of wisdom many times fall on deaf ears.

 

[evident]

Can't go wrong with seasonic. Spend extra money to make sure you don't fry all your other more expensive components.

 

[Torn Mind]

Buying a used Earthwatts is not skimping and since they've been used in a system, passed the DOA test.

Skimping involves sacrificing something. The only skimping done when buying on Ebay AND being extremely selective of what you buy will result in just a shorter lifespan due to the product being used for some amount of time, but there is still high quality performance in regards to the voltage output and circuit protections. There is no warranty, but if the PSU didn't break then, it won't be breaking until the first capacitor dies.

Superflower, FSP, and Delta also make reliable PSUs.