Do you really need Active PFC power supply?

[kapul4]

As the title says, is it worth spending extra money on APFC PSU? I read somewhere that only big companies benefit from it,and to take advantage of APFC you need good UPS. Some people say that APSU have higher efficiency over Passive PFC power supplies,but I know that is partialy true.APFC can have efficiency of up to 95%,while PPFC have about 75%,but there are alot of PSU,even from some companies like Cooler Master with APFC that have efficiency of just 70-75%. I want to buy this PSU:http://approx.es/image/data/downloads/APP650PS/APP650PS%20EN.pdf
It looks high quality,has efficency of 75%,has 1x6pin and 1x8pin, can output alot of power on 12v and has all the features you can find on some more expansive brand. Should I give it a chance? I can get it cheap from some web shop in my country with 2 year warranty.

 

[americanbrian]

I would not plug that PSU into my system. It is not worth risking my MOBO/RAM/GPU/CPU to power them with a cheap PSU. You could save a few bucks right now, but end up spending much more later when it goes "POW"

Look at the wire gauge going into the PCI-E connector. That can't carry 30amps safely in a warm environment (inside the case).

Just say no.

 

[hilltopmonk]

cheat, get a small home UPS system. will also save you in the case of a powercut.

some people have dodgy mains supplies, either fluctuating frequency, voltage or current. so they should try and smooth this out in some way. most people will never notice it and with the hardness or those tiny silicon chips and fault prevention measures we have today, will never experience problems.

really, every PSU has some form of correction. its one of their main functions. generally the heavier the PSU the better, due to it being a series of capacitor and resistors. - this is generally why people shout about not getting cheap (and therefore crappy) PSUs

the reason i say to get a UPS is this adds another layer of smoothing by providing an extra, less refined layer of compensation

http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/circuits/diode-rectifier/rectifier-filtering-smoothing-capacitor-circuits.php - this briefly explains it if you want to know more.


As for the PSU you asked about, I have never heard of them. Personally I would go for one of the reputable brands, simply because I have heard of them and know them to be reliable


hope that clears some things up

 

[kapul4]

I would not plug that PSU into my system. It is not worth risking my MOBO/RAM/GPU/CPU to power them with a cheap PSU. You could save a few bucks right now, but end up spending much more later when it goes "POW"

Look at the wire gauge going into the PCI-E connector. That can't carry 30amps safely in a warm environment (inside the case).

Just say no.

As I said,this PSU has almost every feature other good brand PSU have.I was using MS Industrial PSUs for many years and none of them fried anything,I have few of them,just one of them got broken.Also my friend had one old MS Industrial PSU,he plugged it in the PC and it made a loud sound like it exploded.After changing the PSU,PC booted up fine,no components vere damaged.

 

[americanbrian]

Lucky you, so, two failures in how long? Sounds like they explode? It seems like the perfect PSU. Go ahead.

You can see in the picture that the wire gauge is the absolute minimum they can get away with, just look at how thin the wiring to the PCI-E connector is.

You can buy and use whatever you want, but my advice won't change. Just because it didn't catch fire THIS time, doesn't mean it won't eventually.

 

[kapul4]

Lucky you, so, two failures in how long? Sounds like they explode? It seems like the perfect PSU. Go ahead.

You can see in the picture that the wire gauge is the absolute minimum they can get away with, just look at how thin the wiring to the PCI-E connector is.

You can buy and use whatever you want, but my advice won't change. Just because it didn't catch fire THIS time, doesn't mean it won't eventually.

Mine actualy didn't break,it is still working,only power switch is broken.My friend PSU was in a bad condition,painted with some blue spray and had damage on the casing,no wonder it "exploded". But maybe you are right, but I don't think all PSUs from non-famous brands are bad,I saw a test of those so called "no-name" PSUs,some of them failed and burned out at just 70% load,but there were also those instances where some of them managed to have up to 79% efficiency,on 100% load it was 75% even if they were Passive PFC.