Corsair VX550W vs competition

[varis]

Is there anything that speaks against the VX550W?

http://www.corsair.com/products/vx/default.aspx

Looks like a great PSU for midrange systems, got some very positive comments in 2007 when it came out. In particular I like this:

Whisper quiet, absolutely damn quiet, even with my OC, I do have excellent case airflow/temps so that might be a contributor as internal case temps are very low and helps keeps the power supply fan from spinning up, but its damn quiet and I run the OC in my sig all the time. I actually cannot hear it over my low speed case fans, note to me, 7V those fans.

Source:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1229008

I took a look at packaging, as I recall they had a noise graph showing it should be under 30dBA up to the 50% power point, and slowly rises after that, peaking just under 40dBA - so should be a bit under my GPU cooling, that could come around 40-41dBA or so at peak. How reliable is that information? 😛 Efficiency is best around 50% draw. Should be perfect for my mid-range gaming system, I doubt that draws over 400W continuous under full gaming steam.

Review:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&file=print&reid=62

I'm planning to get it for this build:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/298615-13-decisions-range-intel-gaming

Price for this is mere 70eur (no rebates or any discounts!) and it's readily available off the shelf.

Compared to Antec's EA-500D EarthWatts Green, it has 20e lower price, larger fan (VERY good from the noise perspective I assume) and slightly lower efficiency, being just 80+ vs Antec's 80+ Bronze.

Seasonic has the S12II-520, which might be a good competitor, is 80+ Bronze certified, 120mm fan. Any opinions, might this be a better unit in other respects, not just efficiency?

 

[delluser1]

Are you paid by corsair to promote there psus?

Don't you work for Coolermaster ?

 

[hunter315]

I would go for the 550VX or the Seasonic S12II 520W over the EA500D unless they are significantly more. Between the two of them i would go for which ever one is cheaper, they are both good units.

 

[HansVonOhain]

Coolermaster PSUs quality is non comparable to the Corsair or Seasonic brands. Heck, even antec is better. coolermasters suck a nothing.

 

[jsc]

Coolermaster does make good cases.

 

[Emperus]

Availability can be the only factor against the VX 550.. And I agree on the Seasonic S12II 520 being a tough competitor.. Its relatively cheaper also..

 

[thechief73]

Just going to throw in my 2cents on the question. I would go for the Seasonic S12II 520 first, Seasonic have a reputation right now as being the best quality out there. Second, the Corsair CMPSU-550VX, Corsair PSU's are usally Seasonic designs and have the same high degree of quality also. Lastly the Antec's EA-500D EarthWatts Green, I do not know the manufacture of this PSU, but Antec still make a good PSU's also. This of course is based on the presumption that these are all within your budget, and are relatively around the same price.

 

[shovenose]

Coolermaster PSUs quality is non comparable to the Corsair or Seasonic brands. Heck, even antec is better. coolermasters suck a nothing.

the extreme power series sucks. and so does the 430w tr2, aka "purepower"...interestingly enough all the other tr2s are fine, just the 430w tr2 sucks

 

[hunter315]

no, that proves that not some of the units coming out of the factory are good and do what they say, that is incredibly different from quality. There will always be some good units and some bad units, quality is about the ratio of good to bad and if it can do what its expected to, not whether or not your system is stable, if your system isnt stable than its truely crap but as long as its staying within ATX spec which is fairly loose your system will be pretty stable. Just because an $18 logisys unit can consistently run a super low power system stably doesnt make it quality, its still total crap, its just crap that hasnt been pushed to its limit yet.

 

[hunter315]

Read all the way through, one good egg in a dozen doesnt make the whole dozen good, nor does one bad egg make the whole dozen bad, looking at a single example from a company doesnt tell you about their quality.

Look at their 750GX when it got reviewed at jonnyguru, that thing is far from a quality product, and the second review sample they sent was even worse. If two in a row that you send in for review cant even stay in spec that doesnt speak high quality to me, they removed the second review because they felt the first one was damning enough.

 

[reccy]

I wouldnt go as far as saying Coolermaster are awful quality, but i do agree with the fact that there PSU's are of an average/buyable quality, there are way better brands out there, and surely there are way worse.

Section 1 - Quality/Decent Brands - Corsair, XFX, Seasonic, Enermax, Antec...
Section 2 - Buyable/Average Brands - Thermaltake, Coolermaster, Zalaman...
Section 3 - Avoidable Brands - Pretty much the rest which are not listed apart from a few (im not listing all PSU Brands as i would be here for days, above is a example of some of the brands)

Yes i have a Coolermaster GX750w PSU, i rate this highly as i havent had a problem with it as yet and was recomended it by a few people i spoke to who have them.. These are cheaper than alot of the other brands out there, and i couldnt justify spending an extra £50 for the same 750W Corsair/XFX/Antec versions of a PSU.. May i regret this statement later on? Who knows..

 

[thechief73]

Hi varis,

I do not know what the going price for the VX550w or what county you may be in, but I thought I would post this up for you to take a look at: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W , it is ~$70 after MIR and discounts.

 

[shovenose]

^I use extreme power plus 600watt to power a 5850 and q9550 system stock.My system is rock stable from day 1.That's proves about there quality.

that proves absolutely nothing

 

[varis]

Is there anything that speaks against the VX550W?

This was not a rhetorical question! The thread is about whether this PSU is an excellent choice, or not. If you want to push another brand you'd have to suggest a suitable competitor from that and give some reasons why it would be better (or at least equivalent to the Corsair model).

I'm not paid by Corsair and I don't own their shares 😀

Anyway, Enermax seems to have a very nice 80+ Gold rated model that is affordable. It's priced some 55e higher than the Corsair here, and of course not really a competitor as it's in a different price/quality range as the Corsair. But my decision envelopes are broad 😉

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/294094-10-enermax-pro87-500w

 

[hell_storm2004]

no, that proves that not some of the units coming out of the factory are good and do what they say, that is incredibly different from quality. There will always be some good units and some bad units, quality is about the ratio of good to bad and if it can do what its expected to, not whether or not your system is stable, if your system isnt stable than its truely crap but as long as its staying within ATX spec which is fairly loose your system will be pretty stable. Just because an $18 logisys unit can consistently run a super low power system stably doesnt make it quality, its still total crap, its just crap that hasnt been pushed to its limit yet.

Really well put there. I have had numerous cases, sometimes even one a day on other forums where i have read/replied to posts about cooler master PSU's blowing up. Really cheap quality of the capacitors and design are the main culprits.

Add me to the Corsair 550W +1 list.

But in the mid 500W's region nothing beats the Seasonic X560W

 

[thechief73]

Here are a few websites that list PSU manufacturers by thier reputation and proven quaility record. I cannot say how these particular site came to these conclusions, but they all seem to follow the gerneral consensus that you see everywhere else. This may help you get an idea of what brands to look for and how they rank against eachother.

The PSU Ranked List and Guide - By Proximon
Eggxpert Tiered Power Supply List - By CompWiz
Tom's - Who's Who In Power Supplies: Brands, Labels, And OEMs
Database of PSU OEMs, websites and UL numbers

 

[shovenose]

the toms power supply orm list is actually missing a lot and very outdated nd just gengerally WRONG.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDArticles&op=Story&ndar_id=24
heres one actually worth reading, its CORRECT