How much money should I spend on a power supply?

[S_Juanita]

I am currently looking for a power supply for my build. So far the total wattage is 347W so I'd need something around 650-750W right? I've seen people say that you should not buy "cheap" power supplies for less than $100, but I've also seen people say that spending over $100 (say $130) is too much and unnecessary. I'm pretty confused about what to get. I don't want to spend too much, but I don't want to get something too cheap either...

 

[Guest]

Don't look at the price, look at the company's reputation. You should go for something like:-

■Corsair
■Cooler Master
■EVGA

There are many more out there, but I found them the best (yet budget friendly) options available right now...

 

[Geekwad]

There are two things to keep in mind: wattage rating and quality of components.

For output rating, you can use this as a guide:

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

For quality, and especially for users with demanding applications (like games), this is a useful guide:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

With tier 1 and 2 PSUs offering the best, most stable current supply with robust undercurrent and over current/surge protection.

This site is also useful to get more in depth reviews on what may be available to you:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Review_Cat&recatnum=13

 

[gondo]

I'll use EVGA as an example. For wattage a 550W will run most systems. It depends on the video card. If you ever plan on doing dual video cards you'll need a 750-850w. 850w is usually a big jump in price from 750w so 750w is popular. For single video cards 550w is the most popular.

Now with EVGA you have different series. B, G, P, T. Bronze, gold, platinum, titanium. That refers to the efficiency of 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%. Nothing to do with quality. A Titanium will be the same quality as a platinum, just more efficient. They also have a B1 and a B2, and a G1 and G2. The 1 series is made by 1 OEM, and the 2 series are the good ones from superflower. So the best value is the B2 or G2. The 1 series should be avoided.

Other brands that are good are Seasonic who make their own. And some other companies like XFX and Antec who use Seasonic and Delta as OEMs. You would have to do the research to see which power supplies are good. Toms has a list of Tier 1,2,3 power supplies somewhere. You can also check www.jonnyguru.com for reviews. So look at what's available from where you're buying, and if there is a sale on a Corsair, Zalman, etc... check out the reviews and see if it's worth buying. You would want something in the Tier2 at least and equivalent to an EVGA B2 or G2.

When I bought I got a P2 on sale for cheaper than a G2, and the P2 has the 10 year warranty compared to 7 or 5 I believe with the G2.

 

[MrFebie21]

I just bought this one at NCIX.
Seems like a good deal with rebate and a good review too.

 

[Guest]

I just bought this one at NCIX.
Seems like a good deal with rebate and a good review too.

Nice one, so can we close the thread now?

 

[S_Juanita]

I just bought this one at NCIX.
Seems like a good deal with rebate and a good review too.

Nice one, so can we close the thread now?

Yep! Thanks for the help!