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Thread ID: 109639	2010-05-16 21:31:00	Good PSU - too good for "consumers" ?	Nomad (952)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
885489	2010-05-17 03:55:00	About 8 months ago I came home and could smell a strong electrolytic burning smell. Two PC's were off, server on. It took about 10 minutes to figure out what it was. The problem turned out to be a off computer (passive power on) for the wife that had a cheap PSU was actually glowing on the inside basically jumping a resistor. From that moment on I decided cheap PSU's are not worth the risk even on a low end rig, could have burnt down the house and killed the dogs if we came home an hour later. So yea I changed my mind, buy a decent PSU on ANY PC not just the higher end rigs.	Battleneter2 (9361)
885490	2010-05-17 08:31:00	Corsair are all just rebranded from other manufacturers(& possibly Silverstone,??). REAL performance varies on model to model with most brands, doesnt matter for 90% of us. Corsair are made by Seasonic actually. There are 2 very good sites that do real testing on PSUs, as in taking them apart not just plugging one into a PC. I've seen too many cheap crap PSUs take out components to ever use one again.	pctek (84)
885491	2010-05-17 08:35:00	Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've always used crappy PSUs in my PCs and have never had any problems.	somebody (208)
885492	2010-05-17 08:43:00	...and offices use a lot of Dell. Surely, the fault rate is not astronomical.The difference is that those dell-using offices mostly use the business models, which are designed to have a low failure rate throughout a typical business working life. Sadly, the same can't be said for their 'consumer' models. Disclaimer: I work somewhere that uses many thousands of Dell desktops & laptops.	Erayd (23)
885493	2010-05-17 13:25:00	The problem with PSUs now is that all the lower powered ones aren't decent quality any more. Most people who want a decent PSU also want it to power a Phenom II or i7. There's not much of a market in high-end PSUs that can only run an Athlon XP. Yeah but .. most people out there buy supermarket computers and offices use a lot of Dell. Surely, the fault rate is not astronomical. Dell are pretty bad in my opinion, I wouldn't want to buy one that's for sure. I do have an ATX Dell PSU though and while it's only 125 watts it's more well built than any Hyena i've seen. But then again, I doubt Dell actually made it... :p All OK (from memory: Antec? OR Thermaltake? have had a few dud cheapy models ,rebranded a 350w as a 450W) Antec, Thermaltake, Corsair are all just rebranded from other manufacturers(& possibly Silverstone,??). REAL performance varies on model to model with most brands, doesnt matter for 90% of us. Enermax may have had reliablity issues recently???, one of the local shops no longer stocks them because of increasing failure rates, they should know as they would have sold alot of them. They were Very reliable 2+ years back. 350W is OK: on a descent brand PSU with just onboard graphics I personally wouldn't use Antec because while their designs are good they have a habit of using useless brands of capacitors. Thermaltake I don't like much either, for pretty much the same reason, but I think some of their designs are just plain bad too. Enermax had some problems with Liberty PSUs exploding a while back, it was caused by glue that went conductive over time and caused short circuits. I'm not aware of any problems currently though (except that they are a bit overpriced maybe) Corsair uses Channel-Well as one of their OEMs, and maybe Seasonic as well?	Agent_24 (57)
885494	2010-05-17 20:23:00	Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've always used crappy PSUs in my PCs and have never had any problems. Yes, it's been luck. One day when that luck fails you'll get the point.	pctek (84)
885495	2010-05-17 21:41:00	Yes, it's been luck. One day when that luck fails you'll get the point. Yep, ive had 1 power supply (junk brand cant remember it) take out a motherboard here, was approx 1 year old	Gobe1 (6290)
885496	2010-05-18 03:57:00	I've had a 386 1992 and the PSU didn't break until I switched it to 120V and turned it on :D we got a replacement under warranty and that didn't break ever until we gave it to eDay maybe 2007. The current iCute without the motherboard still works since maybe ~ 2003.	Nomad (952)
885497	2010-05-19 06:06:00	I'd personally go for the Antec Earthwatts 380w . Its just under $100 and a solid PSU, stay away from the 380D one as its the 'improved' version (just get the plain grey 380) . Improved as in using cheaper parts . Stay away from Hyena and in my opinion any of the new chinese companies until they actually become main stream . Huntkey, Ikonik, Aywun to name a few . Thermaltake are pretty bad IMO . Their ToughPower series is good . Vantec are fairly good for a cheap PSU . Same goes for Silverstone . Some of Gigabyte/Cooler Master PSU's can be good but their cheaper ones are apparently very loud . I haev a 350w Cooler Master here, brand new but it is not a very stable PSU at all . Its shocking really, came with a case though so its fairly cheap . Corsair and Seasonic are both good but a bit of a premium if you are not using a video card or on a budget . About as solid as solid comes to be honest . Enermax are probably way out of your price range . NZ gets the short end of the stick here and prices are way way over what they should be . Australia gets normal prices . Corsair are made by Seasonic actually . Their later PSU's are by Channel Well but nothing wrong with that .	trinsic (6945)
885498	2010-05-19 06:50:00	Their later PSU's are by Channel Well but nothing wrong with that. Depends which design. Some Channel-Well are good, some are bad. I'm sure Corsair use the good ones though, but still.	Agent_24 (57)
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