[SOLVED] Budget Psu

Hi there,

Well, sadly that PSU you've linked isn't a great one. It's not the worst, but after your experience with the crappy one, you can get a much better unit than that for not much more price.

Where are you located?

This would be a much better buy:

PCPartPicker Part List

Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $77.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-07 13:35 EDT-0400


Or this if you can spare more cash:

PCPartPicker Part List

Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $99.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-07 13:33 EDT-0400


You've learned your lesson already. Don't skimp on the PSU. Getting something that's made with quality parts, has a 5-10 yr warranty will serve you well.

The PSU is the heart of your system. Keep that in mind. You buy one of those two, and they will last for years, and still be able to power a good system down the line.
 
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Oct 7, 2019
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I’m located in Orlando, Florida. the same psu that I linked is the same one that failed after 4 years but I was just curious to see if it was terrible or not but is Thermaltake ok or is it don’t touch with a ten foot pole?


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Oct 7, 2019
10
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10
Hi there,

Well, sadly that PSU you've linked isn't a great one. It's not the worst, but after your experience with the crappy one, you can get a much better unit than that for not much more price.

Where are you located?

This would be a much better buy:

PCPartPicker Part List

Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $77.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-07 13:35 EDT-0400


Or this if you can spare more cash:

PCPartPicker Part List

Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $99.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-07 13:33 EDT-0400


You've learned your lesson already. Don't skimp on the PSU. Getting something that's made with quality parts, has a 5-10 yr warranty will serve you well.

The PSU is the heart of your system. Keep that in mind. You buy one of those two, and they will last for years, and still be able to power a good system down the line.


Is this bad ? https://www.bestbuy.com/site/therma...us-power-supply-black/6339087.p?skuId=6339087
The only reason I link Best Buy is because I have one near me.


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Some of the more expensive Thermaltake PSUs are good, but the ones in the budget range you are looking at are not.

In your budget range, I'd recommend the Seasonic S12ii.
Alternatively, as already suggested, the Corsair CX is good too.
However, the Thermaltake Smart is not such a good choice. What the Thermaltake has in watts, it lacks in build quality, and is something most people here would not recommend in a gaming build.
 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
Some of the more expensive Thermaltake PSUs are good, but the ones in the budget range you are looking at are not.

In your budget range, I'd recommend the Seasonic S12ii.
Alternatively, as already suggested, the Corsair CX is good too.
However, the Thermaltake Smart is not such a good choice. What the Thermaltake has in watts, it lacks in build quality, and is something most people here would not recommend in a gaming build.

The older Seasonics aren't great for modern systems. The Corsair CX is . . alright I guess.

See the link at the end of my sig:
 
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Whilst I don't disagree with any of the budget recommendations, for the extra $20 approx, I would much prefer to have a better PSU, that will power the system for longer, and allow more power hungry hardware, and/or overclocking.

On a sidenote, the word budget together with a PSU, is something I can't grasp. But do realise that sometimes budget is king. I'd just rather not go replacing my PSU every 3 years or so.
 

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
In your budget range, I'd recommend the Seasonic S12ii.
Alternatively, as already suggested, the Corsair CX is good too.

The S12II is extremely dated at this point. It can be the best option available (for reasonable money) in some regions.... but the US isn't one of them. I'm optimistic about the S12III's but, until there's reputable reviews, I won't recommend them either.

PSU prices are creeping up - and you won't be doing yourself any favours by limiting your purchase to BestBuy.
BB is a jack of all, master of none - and prices reflect that. They're not moving the volume of PSUs that NewEgg does... or have the overall buying power of Amazon etc...

Looking at BB, the cheapest quality PSU they have is the CX650-M at $90 which is ridiculous.
The "CX-M" are a step down in quality from the "CX" (although the -M gives you modularity).
For $90 in the non BB market, nets you a 550W Focus+ Gold from SeaSonic via Amazon. One of the true top tier units.

If you simply had to go buy a PSU from BB today, the EVGA 550W G3 is pretty fairly priced at $95.
You could save $5 via Amazon, or ~$25 after factoring in rebate cards from NewEgg, but it's a great unit for a not ridiculous price.
 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
I'm optimistic about the S12III's but, until there's reputable reviews, I won't recommend them either.

I could've sworn that somewhere on these threads, someone mentioned that the S12III was actually fairly bad. Like, not terrible, but that, even by today's standards, the S12II would be a better choice than the S12III. Kind of a disappointment if I'm remembering this correctly.
 
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Barty1884

Retired Moderator
I could've sworn that somewhere on these threads, someone mentioned that the S12III was actually fairly bad. Like, not terrible, but that, even by today's standards, the S12II would be a better choice than the S12III. Kind of a disappointment if I'm remembering this correctly.

Oh, I'm sure it's come up. I'll wait for reputable sources to confirm one way or another though.
The biggest gripes against it (that I've seen) is that it's outsourced, and rumoured to not be DC-DC on the 3.3 and 5V rails.

Case in point:
Its not made by Seasonic, instead, some other Chinese company i think.

Not to take this off topic, but outsourcing isn't inherently "bad", provided SeaSonic maintain overall QC responsibilities.

Given they've clearly built the unit to hit a pricepoint, MSRP (~$40-$60, for 450-650W) without having to go the rebate route you need to see on half-decent competitor units (Corsair, EVGA etc), outsourcing is inevitable.

A 5 year warranty speaks to at least some degree of confidence in them by SeaSonic.
Given their competitors at the pricepoints (Corsair's VS, EVGA "white", BR and BT) all carry 3 years.
 

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
But its taking a dated PSU and removing a lot of why people still buy them.

The name. The known reliability. Plus worse design.

Except it still has the name, has a better warranty than competing offering and moved to (at least partial) DC-DC.
Let's be honest though, the only reason people buy an S12II in 2019 is price/availability. In a lot of regions, it was the best available for any modicum of a 'reasonable' pricepoint. The S12III hits the same or lower pricepoint.

As I mentioned, until independently reviewed by reputable sites (preferably multiple), I won't be recommending them - but personally, I'd opt for an S12III before I opted for some of the "budget" offerings I mentioned above.

Happy to continue the discussion via PM if you want @NightHawkRMX
 
Oct 7, 2019
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I’m happy to see more discussion about psu’s I don’t want to replace one every four years if possible and from what I have heard the most reputable brands are evga, Seasonic and Antec.


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I’m happy to see more discussion about psu’s I don’t want to replace one every for years if possible and from what I have heard the most reputable brands are evga, Seasonic and Antec.


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That's why I would advise you to go with a PSU that has a track record for reliability. I think everyone here would agree with that.

A Corsair CX grey model or the slightly inferior CXM are a reliable choice. My CX550m has survived a lot of abuse lately and still works great.\

Sadly Best Buy doesn't seem to have any good units under around $75.

I would look for a unit on amazon so you can get shipping in a day or 2.
 

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Even then, a review cannot truely say how reliable the S12iii will be.

The S12ii is tried and true.

No, it can't. But it can shed some light onto the likelihood. A review can't tell you a SuperNOVA G2 or Focus+Gold will outlast the rest of your components useable lifespan, but can give you the insight to know thats likely to be the case.

nevermind i can just go with this the max ill be pulling even ocing gpu will be around 320w

With a 3600 and 1660? Might be able to spike to ~300W under extreme torture workloads, but you'd be unlikely to see the true power draw of that system breach 250W very often IMO.
 
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