What is the best Power Supply/PSU for you?

[Drazard]

Ok, so the truth is that there’s no such thing as a gaming power supply; however, there are certainly some power supplies which are more desirable for your gaming PC and what will you recommend or choose?

 

I'm going to observe for a while, haven't chose anything yet

 

but my vote will goes for Seasonic Gold 750w (5 Years Warranty) or Corsair Gold 750w (7 years warranty)

 

my Master Cooler 750W disappointed me he didn't survive in 1 year.

[Erik005]

I think if I had the extra money I would get a enermax platinum PSU

[FMod]

This shouldn't really be a matter of voting, since it's an objective question with objective answers.

 

Seasonic and Enermax are currently the top two makers, out of which Seasonic wins slightly on quality and price in the 0-1000W range, and Enermax wins in the >1000W range.

Corsair TX V2 and AX (except 1200) lines are made by Seasonic and cost less with the Corsair brand than from Seasonic itself.

 

These are also the only two companies on this list that actually make their PSU. A couple others design their PSU. The rest are plain resellers, so their quality depends entirely on what exact PSU they are reselling.

These are usually PSU from other makers like Channel Well, Delta, FSP, ETG, and aren't as good as high-end (Gold and Platinum) Seasonic and Enermax models. But a Gold-rated PSU from a second-tier maker may - or may not - be better than a Bronze/Silver one from S or E. E are usually sold under own brand, S are mostly sold under others.

[bben46]

There is a lot more that goes into selection of a PSU than just brand name - do you really need a 1000W PSU for a mid range PC? or will a 500W or even 450W work just as well for a lot less money? Then, every manufacturer makes good models, and not so good models. And a few make a very good model,or a very bad one. - Words like Gold, Platinum, Premium are just marketing terms and may not really mean much of anything beyond a higher cost.

[Illiad86]

Indeed.

 

Well, my choice is Rosewill. I've had the same 450W Rosewill Stallion for almost 5 years now, never had an issue. My boyfriend has a Rosewill Hive 550 and it's awesome as well. It uses the same parts as the OCZ PSUs.

 

It's kind of hit and miss with them, but I've never gotten a dead/defective PSU ever from Rosewill. We've had a Mushkin, Thermaltake, and Cooler Master PSU all blow out on us. They were of the "cheaper" variety of those brands, but I was quite surprised that they even died at all.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Illiad86

[FMod]

There is a lot more that goes into selection of a PSU than just brand name - do you really need a 1000W PSU for a mid range PC? or will a 500W or even 450W work just as well for a lot less money?

 

Then, every manufacturer makes good models, and not so good models.

For some manufacturers. Today it's as follows:

Seasonic - all very good, most best in their category

Enermax - most very good, some best, some good

Channel Well, Great Wall, Super Flower - some good, some very good, some mediocre

Delta, FSP, Sirtec, Enhance - some good, some not so good, some just bad

 

There's also a myriad of other makers, it's impossible to list them all. Anyway, it's enough that there are a few makers with stable quality.

 

 

Words like Gold, Platinum, Premium are just marketing terms and may not really mean much of anything beyond a higher cost.

"Premium" is meaningless. But Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum in regards to PSU refer to 80+ Certification levels, denoting efficiency.

 

To provide high efficiency, Gold or higher, a PSU has to be at least a decent quality unit. As a result of efficiency, it will produce less heat, and usually (not always - FSP Aurum is an exception) be less noisy than less efficient unit.

I believe that currently all PSU with Gold certification are good enough to be used. There's just a few Platinum units on the market, they are all very modern and high quality.

 

Since it's so important for OEM sales, today most manufacturers use 80 Plus rating to line up their PSU. That is, they'll have Bronze, Silver and Gold (and, if they can, Platinum) lines, also rising in overall quality level and kit as you go up.

This isn't a strict rule, but close to that.

 

For brands it isn't a rule at all. And efficiency isn't all and the difference in lifetime power use between different 80+ supplies is minor. Actual maker is far more important than the 80+ level.

Still, these levels are a convenient way to establish market positioning - like you would compare carmakers' lines of compact, midsize, full-size and luxury cars. For one, "category" above refers to comparing supplies within one efficiency certification level.