500W PSU Help

[Havoc2510]

Hello all,

I am building a PC for my brother, and he is on quite a strict budget. We tried to save some money and went for an Elite 430 with Elite 500W PSU bundle. But only after it arrived have I had a proper look at it and, to be honest, it doesn't look like the best power supply in the world.....

So how bad is it, honestly. I know now that it isn't 80+ certified, but my bro needs it for a low/mid range AMD build for gaming. Will it be ok, at least for a year or two?

I've always said that the PSU is the part you want to spend a bit more on cause its the part you want peace of mind in. After all, it is supplying power to every component in the machine, and this peace of mind is not something I have for the Elite 500W at the moment.

A CX500 from Corsair is a much better option, but now we actually have the power supply in our hands it will cost £20 to return it with the case (because of the bundle) and another £20 extra to get a CX500 and the Elite 430 case.

So basically, how bad is the Elite 500W? (I really don't know anything about PSUs)

Thanks in advance .

PSU: http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/product.php?product_id=6696
Build: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2v4Pb

 

[Steve1404]

Hello,
PSU looks ok, it's branded (coolermaster) that's a plus. The power output on that will be enough for the system listed as long as there is no overclocking going to be happening

I would save up to get a better PSU when you can, the CX500 is good, the PSU is the one area I would always spend a bit more money on, not necessary the amount of wattage (500,600,700 etc) but the quality of the PSU.
I have a seasonic G series 550 and that is Gold rated 90+ and it's rock solid running an intel system with an AMD R9 280X.

If it was a no name no brand 500 watt PSU I would not use it.

Hope that helps some

 

[toyftw]

Hello all,

I am building a PC for my brother, and he is on quite a strict budget. We tried to save some money and went for an Elite 430 with Elite 500W PSU bundle. But only after it arrived have I had a proper look at it and, to be honest, it doesn't look like the best power supply in the world.....

So how bad is it, honestly. I know now that it isn't 80+ certified, but my bro needs it for a low/mid range AMD build for gaming. Will it be ok, at least for a year or two?

I've always said that the PSU is the part you want to spend a bit more on cause its the part you want peace of mind in. After all, it is supplying power to every component in the machine, and this peace of mind is not something I have for the Elite 500W at the moment.

A CX500 from Corsair is a much better option, but now we actually have the power supply in our hands it will cost £20 to return it with the case (because of the bundle) and another £20 extra to get a CX500 and the Elite 430 case.

So basically, how bad is the Elite 500W? (I really don't know anything about PSUs)

Thanks in advance .

PSU: http://www.coolermaster.co.uk/product.php?product_id=6696
Build: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2v4Pb

Hi - It is a very bad PSU. There are 11 CM PSU's on The Lemon List (johnnylucky.org) and more than
half of those are the elite & extreme series.

However, that system can run on a decent quality 430w PSU, so you may be OK for a while.

Start saving for a new PSU, as I said a decent quality 430 - 500w unit will run your system.

Here's some of the issues with CM elite PSU's, courtesy of johnnylucky.org from reviews
by Hardware Secrets and jonnyguru:

Elite Power 350 Lousy efficiency. Does not have two +12volt rails as advertised. No Over Current Protection as advertised. No Over Power Protection as advertised. Hardware Secrets
Elite Power 400 Poor efficiency. Noise and ripple levels very high. Hardware Secrets, Hardware Info
Elite Power 460 Not 460 watt as advertised. Identical to Elite Power 400 watt model. No over current protection as advertised. Hardware Secrets

And these are retail PSU's, not those included with a case, which may be even more hazordous.

 

[Havoc2510]

Thank you both! Sorry for the late response but he decided to go ahead and get a CX 500 to save the pain later down the road. Once again thanks for the help .

 

[toyftw]

Thank you both! Sorry for the late response but he decided to go ahead and get a CX 500 to save the pain later down the road. Once again thanks for the help .

Wise choice - One of the reason's I'm on the forum is I had a Coolermaster elite 460 & luckily I found out
about it before I bought a GPU. Read a few accounts of faulty PSU's damaging other components.
Bought a new PSU 1st & waited a couple month's before I got the GPU.