A list of recommended PSUs

[Proximon]

A list of currently recommended power supplies

This list is intended as a supplement to the PSU guide. It will be kept simple and will include only those PSUs currently being recommended. Unless I happen to disagree
This list will be fairly short and easily maintained. This list includes all the different classes of PSU, so let's take a minute and discuss some different classes. These are just convenient ways of looking at the various types of PSUs, and not anything official:

High-end PSUs
Are always the most efficient (80Plus Gold or Platinum) and often fully modular. They provide the very highest quality power and so usually cost the most. A fully modular PSU can have any cable replaced without replacing the entire unit. Hard core modders like to sleeve their cables to make them look better, and this is best done with modular cables.

Enthusiast PSUs
These are usually very efficient and high quality. The quality of power they supply is almost as good as the most expensive PSUs. They are often partly modular, with some cables hardwired.

Gamer PSUs
This is not a well defined area, and usually PSUs that want to be considered as belonging to this group don't get recommended. Other PSUs that probably belong here are good quality and non-modular. They are a step up from a budget PSU and may have better efficiency and warranty.

Budget PSUs
They produce power that falls cleanly within ATX specifications, and are almost always certified 80Plus. They should be able to shut themselves down if something goes wrong and should be reliable.

Because the above is how WE think of power supplies, the following recommendations have varying prices. If we are recommending a higher priced PSU it's probably because it's worth it.

We link to newegg here because it's easy and they carry just about everything. We do not mean to recommend newegg exclusively of course. In countries outside the US there are better places to shop for sure, and it is always good to compare with other online retailers in the US.


380-400W

Antec ea-380D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033
Delta made. 28 amps 12V power. $45 atm. 3 yr warranty no power cable included.

420-480W

Antec VP450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371045
FSP built, 30 amps 12V power, $40 2yr warranty

Rosewill RG430 S12 430W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182202
ATNG built. 33 amps 12V power. $45 2yr warranty

Corsair CX430 V2 (longevity and safety of this PSU has been called into question)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
CWT made. 28 amps 12V power (just like the ea-380D). $45 3 yr warranty
I prefer the Rosewill given same prices

Rosewill Capstone 450W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182066
Superflower made - 80Plus GOLD - Excellent quality - 37 amps 12V power. $60 FIVE YEAR warranty
This is simply top of the line at a modest price

Seasonic S12II 430W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074
Seasonic made. 30 amps 12V power. Only 80Plus bronze. $75 5 year warranty.
Doesn't compete well with the newer Rosewill Capstone, but it is Seasonic and brand loyalty is understandable.

500-560W

Corsair CX500 V2 (longevity and safety of this PSU has been called into question)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
CWT made. 34 amps of 12V power. $60 before rebate. 3 year warranty
The Rosewill Capstone 450W delivers more actual 12V power.

Rosewill RG530 S12
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182199
ATNG made. 41 amps 12V. $55 and 2 year warranty.

Antec Neo Eco 520C
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030
Seasonic made. 40 amps 12V power. $60 and 3 yr warranty

Seasonic 520W S12II
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094
Seasonic. 40A. $60 5 year warranty

Seasonix X series 560W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151098
80Plus Gold, 46A 12V power, fully modular, 5 year warranty, A good high end unit for conservative builds

 

[Proximon]

620-700W

Antec HGC M 620W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371059
Seasonic made, 80Plus Bronze, modular, 48A of 12V power, 3 yr warranty

Seasonic M12II 620W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095
Partly modular, 80Plus Bronze, 48A on the 12V rail, 5 yr warranty

Rosewill Capstone 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182071
Superflower made, 80Plus Gold, 54 amps of 12V power, 5 year warranty

OCZ ZS 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341048
Sirtec made, only 46 amps 12V power, 80 plus bronze, 3 yr warranty

Corsair 650TX V2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
Seasonic made, 53 amps 12V power, 80Plus bronze, 5 yr warranty

Seasonic X650
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088
80Plus Gold, 54 amps 12V power, 5 yr warranty, FULLY modular

740-800W

OCZ 750W ZT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341052
Great Wall made, 62 amps of 12V power, 80Plus Bronze, FULLY modular, low price, 5 yr warranty
An interesting unit that was much liked in reviews.

Rosewill Hive 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182133
Sirtec made, 54amps on the 12V (low), partly modular, 3 yr warranty

Corsair 750TX V2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021
Seasonic made, 62 amps on the 12V, 3 yr warranty

Seasonic X750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087
80Plus Gold, 62A 12V power, 5 year warranty, fully modular

 

[Proximon]

850W range

Seasonic SS-850HT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151100
Flat grey ugly, 3-year warranty only, 80Plus Silver. "OEM"

XFX Core Edition PRO850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011
Basically like the Seasonic SS-850HT, only Bronze rated, better looking, and a 5 year warranty.

OCZ ZX 850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341044
Great Wall built, 80+ gold, 70A of 12 V power, $130 before rebate, 5 year warranty

NZXT HALE82 HALE82-850-M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116016
Seasonic built, 80+bronze, Partly modular, 70A 12v power, 5 year warranty

Corsair AX850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015
Seasonic built, 80+ Gold, fully modular, 70A 12v power, 7 year warranty


900-1000W

OCZ ZX 1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341045
Great Wall built, 80+ gold, 83 A of 12 V power, $200 before rebate, 5 year warranty


Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121089
Superflower built, 80+ platinum, 83 A of 12 V power. $230 and 3 year warranty
Superb unit, right on par with the Seasonic unit, 3 year warranty is the only downside

XFX/Seasonic 1000W Platinum
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207019
Seasonic built, 80+ platinum, 83 A of 12 V power, $250(XFX)/$260(Seasonic), 5/7 year warranty(XFX/Seasonic)
The XFX unit is the same as the Seasonic unit, only the fan and outer housing are different, get which ever is cheaper if they are your choice.

 

[chesteracorgi]

What, nothing for Xfire or SLI?

 

[Proximon]

Give it some time Rome was not built in a day.

 

[hunter315]

What other grouping are you planning? I figure at least a 600-650, a 700-750, and an 800-850W, maybe an 850+ group for 1kW and bigger units? That last grouping will be easy to fill out right now(6 of jonnyguru's last 10 reviews were 1kW)

 

[Proximon]

Yep all that.
If you or anyone else wants to post some recommendations in the same general format, I'll paste them right in. In fact, you have permission to edit anything in you like

 

[a4mula]

I really wish there was a way to query price from newegg. PSUs seem to be one of the parts that really get tossed around a lot. One day I'll recommend a Corsair only to find that the next day an ABS psu has been put on sale and offers a better value. Something like the CM SilentPro RS850 is only 139.99 right now which really undercuts a lot of the other 850-950w psus at the $150 range. Of course at its normal price of 179.99 it's not really something I'd suggest over the offerings at $150.

Good luck with your list. I'm sure if nothing else you can round up the most common recommendations, and give us something that will be nice to refer people back to.

 

[Waam]

I really wish there was a way to query price from newegg. PSUs seem to be one of the parts that really get tossed around a lot. One day I'll recommend a Corsair only to find that the next day an ABS psu has been put on sale and offers a better value. Something like the CM SilentPro RS850 is only 139.99 right now which really undercuts a lot of the other 850-950w psus at the $150 range. Of course at its normal price of 179.99 it's not really something I'd suggest over the offerings at $150.

Good luck with your list. I'm sure if nothing else you can round up the most common recommendations, and give us something that will be nice to refer people back to.

http://camelegg.com/

 

[RedJaron]

I've been very happy with my FSP Aurum 650. Quiet, efficient, reliable. I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

[hunter315]

900-1000W

OCZ ZX 1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341045
Great Wall built, 80+ gold, 83 A of 12 V power, $200 before rebate, 5 year warranty


Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121089
Superflower built, 80+ platinum, 83 A of 12 V power. $230 and 3 year warranty
Superb unit, right on par with the Seasonic unit, 3 year warranty is the only downside

XFX/Seasonic 1000W Platinum
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207019
Seasonic built, 80+ platinum, 83 A of 12 V power, $250(XFX)/$260(Seasonic), 5/7 year warranty(XFX/Seasonic)
The XFX unit is the same as the Seasonic unit, only the fan and outer housing are different, get which ever is cheaper if they are your choice.


You can split the XFX and the seasonic one if you want, they are just so identical i felt like grouping them together. I'll work on a 750W and 850W range later. If you agree with them just copy paste them in. Once Enermax releases its 1000W gold unit that will get added to this list, primarily for its good performance and excellent low load efficiency. Also, do we want to do a link to a review of it too or will that get too confusing for new people?

References for mine
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=238
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=271
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=267
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=264

 

[Proximon]

Thanks! added.

 

[Proximon]

I've been very happy with my FSP Aurum 650. Quiet, efficient, reliable. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I'll look at it. I had heard they were decent, but thought they were not priced competitively.

 

[RedJaron]

I'll look at it. I had heard they were decent, but thought they were not priced competitively.

My mistake, I've got the 700W FSP Aurum ( here's Tom's review of it. ) The 650W model has modular cables ( my 700W doesn't, ) and both are available around $120. Both are 80 Gold certified.

 

[Proximon]

Sadly, that's a good example of a review to ignore. There is not even any voltage regulation test listed, and of course no ripple test.

Hardware Secrets did a full round of tests though. It's a good PSU and can be added... although for just a little more the Seasonic X650 has better regulation. Newegg users looking for a bargain will buy the Rosewill Capstone here as well, as it's similar in quality and performance but costs less.

 

[totalknowledge]

The other Capstone units are (presumably) good as well. I got the 750W Capstone unit for my wife's computer, and am quite happy with it.

Rosewill Capstone 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182073
Superflower made - 80Plus GOLD - Excellent quality - 62 amps 12V power.

Here is the Jonnyguru write up on it.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=266

Other Capstone Units
Rosewill Capstone 550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182068
Superflower made - 80Plus GOLD - Excellent quality - 45.5 amps 12V power.

Rosewill Capstone 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182071
Superflower made - 80Plus GOLD - Excellent quality - 54 amps 12V power.

 

[Proximon]

The other Capstone units are (presumably) good as well. ...

Thanks, I will likely fit those in in a few days.

 

[zerokontrol]

I cannot wait for the ~750W section, looking to get one around there for SLI and the better the PSU is good.

 

[Proximon]

I made some more suggestions, that's enough for tonight.

 

[Onus]

Nice list! You might want to include a category for the "micro-ATX" (including SFX and TFX form factors). Both Seasonic and FSP have a few units of this type which have reviewed well; I'm not sure I've seen a review of the 450W FSP model yet though.

Another thing that may be worth noting is that there are frequent deals on one of the larger Antec Earthwatts units; sometimes the 430W model is cheapest, and iirc there was a good deal on the 500W version last month.

 

[Proximon]

Rosewill Capstone is the NewEgg private label for a PSU

http://www.hardcore-games.tk/wp/psu.php

my page represents a lot of work

Nice page

Some good data there and I'll add it to my list of references in the PSU guide.

 

[king smp]

Awesome thread
I was able to purchase a Antec Earthwatts EA-380
it was brand new from a wholesaler who broke up antec cases/psus
and sold seperately
new unit but is the older Seasonic made Anted EA-380 no "D"
I got it for $29 free shipping

How was the Seasonic EA-380 compared to the newer Delta model?
for $29 and powering a HD 5770 did I do okay?

if you want me to edit this out and start a new thread let me know

 

[Proximon]

Sure, it's a Seasonic version and should be good. Max 12V load would be 324W and original stock 5770 stays below 100W, yes that's safe.

And I can always delete posts if I feel the need

 

[Proximon]

Coming along well I think I have made multiple changes and additions today, although we need more additions to the actual list yet.

 

[Onus]

I'd put the other Seasonic "X" models in whatever wattage range fits.