[SOLVED] Are Gamemax PSUs any good?

[necroheadbanger]

So I'm currently looking everywhere I can, trying to find a good budget PSU that will support the build I plan to buy (most probably tomorrow), which is an i3-9100f. H310M Pro-VDH (With upgraded bios), GTX 1050, WD Blue 1TB and 2x4GB DDR4.

Looking at my preferred page to buy components I found some PSUs manufactured by Gamemax. I've never heard of this brand before but their models are quite cheap (for my country's prices at least), here are the two available:

Gamemax VP500 at $41 USD.
Gamemax VP600 RGB at $50 USD.

They fit my budget, but I don't know if they are reliable at all, maybe I can use them and they'll rekt my whole computer after a couple of hours.

I'm concerned about getting a new PSU because I just can't afford any really good one, and the only brands I'm finding for budget PSUs are LNZ, Gigabyte, Aerocool, Sentey, Thermaltake, Cooler Master and Deepcool, and AFAIK I should avoid those brands at all costs. I've searched for a Corsair CX pretty much everywhere but I can't find it, and I'd love to buy it from eBay and get it shipped but the shipping costs, customs tax and the newly adopted %30 tax for everything bought outside of the country it's just gonna make it stupidly expensive.

I've been told that the Thermaltake Smart Series are reliable and work well, but I've seen some reviews on Amazon that claim that it stopped working days or even hours after purchase, so I'm concerned that could happen, and I can't find any review from a reliable site to back (or not) these claims.

Anyway, what do you guys think of all of this? And any PSU suggestion would be cool.

 

[Phaaze88]

Gamemax is bad, Thermaltake's Smart series is also bad, and so are a number of the other brands you listed.

But if that's all you can afford to work with... then you might be ok with that build, but any externally powered gpu upgrades will be a no-no.

Oh, and another heads up: that H310 motherboard does not support 9th gen Intel cpus out of the box. A bios update needs to be performed first using an 8th gen model, or the 9th gen won't POST.
Only B365 and Z390 boards work out of the box with the 9100F.

 

[Simran Jeet]

corsair vs 450 is a good option if you are looking for a good quality budget power supply

 

[necroheadbanger]

Oh, and another heads up: that H310 motherboard does not support 9th gen Intel cpus out of the box. A bios update needs to be performed first using an 8th gen model, or the 9th gen won't POST.
Only B365 and Z390 boards work out of the box with the 9100F.

Yeah, I know, I can buy it and for a small fe I can get it upgraded. I could get a B365 (one of the cheapest models) for a couple of bucks more but I don't know if there's any big difference.

 

[necroheadbanger]

corsair vs 450 is a good option if you are looking for a good quality budget power supply

I'd love a Corsair but I can't find any in here, the only ones I can find are overpriced as hell and for that price I could get a better PSU.

 

[necroheadbanger]

But if that's all you can afford to work with... then you might be ok with that build, but any externally powered gpu upgrades will be a no-no.

Forgot to answer to this. I'm running a GTX 1050, and I don't plan on upgrading it for a while because the most expensive thing here are GPUs (they are stupidly expensive).

Asking somewhere else I've been recommended a Gigabyte PW400 or an EVGA 500W 100w1-0500-KR. Are any of these two reliable?

EDIT: What about a Seasonic S12II or M12II, or a VS450 (I've managed to find a place that sells them)

 

[Phaaze88]

Yeah, I know, I can buy it and for a small fe I can get it upgraded. I could get a B365 (one of the cheapest models) for a couple of bucks more but I don't know if there's any big difference.

Mainly feature sets. Some B-series are equipped with better power delivery. Either one should be fine with a 9100F.
https://www.quora.com/Whats-the-difference-between-the-Z-series-B-series-and-H-series-motherboard

I'd love a Corsair but I can't find any in here, the only ones I can find are overpriced as hell and for that price I could get a better PSU.

Not a whole lot you can do about it. The country's economy plays a part.
You're screwed into buying low quality psus because even the bare minimum good ones are jacked the hell up.
The other part is the companies who make more profits from selling their cheaper units, which due to quality, people will replace more frequently(more $$$ spent) than if they had a decent unit.
And they'll replace with another cheap psu, because again, the actual good ones are price hiked on purpose.

Asking somewhere else I've been recommended a Gigabyte PW400 or an EVGA 500W 100w1-0500-KR. Are any of these two reliable?

No better than the Gamemax.
What are the warranty periods like? If you're stuck with cheap models, I'd at least suggest you go with one with the longest warranty.

 

[Archaic59]

Forgot to answer to this. I'm running a GTX 1050, and I don't plan on upgrading it for a while because the most expensive thing here are GPUs (they are stupidly expensive).

Asking somewhere else I've been recommended a Gigabyte PW400 or an EVGA 500W 100w1-0500-KR. Are any of these two reliable?

EDIT: What about a Seasonic S12II or M12II, or a VS450 (I've managed to find a place that sells them)

The Seasonic is an older design but better than the others you listed.

 

[DSzymborski]

Forgot to answer to this. I'm running a GTX 1050, and I don't plan on upgrading it for a while because the most expensive thing here are GPUs (they are stupidly expensive).

Asking somewhere else I've been recommended a Gigabyte PW400 or an EVGA 500W 100w1-0500-KR. Are any of these two reliable?

EDIT: What about a Seasonic S12II or M12II, or a VS450 (I've managed to find a place that sells them)

A Seasonic S12II/M12II is far better than any of the other PSUs you've mentioned! The newest Corsair VS PSUs (if they're in gray and black lettering on the PSU) are better than any of the previous series, which were extremely shoddy, but I'd still prefer the Seasonic.

Now, the Seasonics are older designs, being group-regulated, so I'd make sure to not use the C6/C7 sleep states, but they're solid implementations of the older design. Most of the PSUs you've linked are also group-regulated, but nowhere near as good.

 

[necroheadbanger]

No better than the Gamemax.
What are the warranty periods like? If you're stuck with cheap models, I'd at least suggest you go with one with the longest warranty.

They vary, the Gigabyte PW400 has a 3-year warranty, the EVGA has only a 1-year warranty. No idea about the VS450.

 

[Phaaze88]

They vary, the Gigabyte PW400 has a 3-year warranty, the EVGA has only a 1-year warranty.

A 1 year warranty does not inspire confidence in the unit...

No idea about the VS450.

Is it the model with yellow letters(worse), or black letters(improved version)? The latter is usually 3 years. Might be less in your country.

Seasonic S12II/M12II: usually 5 years.

 

[necroheadbanger]

Is it the model with yellow letters(worse), or black letters(improved version)? The latter is usually 3 years. Might be less in your country.

I can only find the one with the VS in yellow, and it doesn't has that decorative line on the name that the black one has.

I did more research, and I found a VS550, some Cooler Master MWE and a Gigabyte GP-PB500. What about those?

 

[DSzymborski]

Yup, the VS in yellow (or green) is a no-buy. They significantly upgraded the VS line because the old ones were so garbagey.

The Seasonic is easily the best one linked here. The newer MWE Gold is OK-ish, but if that was the one you were looking at, you wouldn't find it at the same price as these other ones. Older MWE units range from as poor as the old VS to even worse than the old VS.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

No to gamemax. Just run away.
The Thermaltake SMART units are just very very poor quality and use an old group regulated design. Not the worst units and probably better than some of the other PSUs listed, but Id avoid them.


CM MWE gold would be my pick. They are pretty decent for just a GTX1050.
The Seasonic S12ii/M12ii are older designed units, but they have proven very reliable and solid over the years.