[SOLVED] how to choose psu?

[edvards3]

I have calculated the amount of watts i need for my pc it is 368w i will be doing upgrades later so i want to get a 550w (i need 8 pin pcie. My friend recomended to get Corsair Builder Serie CX550M but i can get Thermaltake Smart BX1 RGB 550W Its 20 bucks cheaper and have aal i need . So is ith worth it to get my friend's recomended psu? If theres better psu i dont want to waste more than 80 eur on a psu.

 

[tennis2]

What country are you shopping in?

What is your current system spec?
What upgrades are you planning on?

 

[bignastyid]

The thermaltake is cheaper because its poorer quality. When it comes to a PSU build quality is very important.

 

[edvards3]

What country are you shopping in?

What is your current system spec?
What upgrades are you planning on?

Latvia-europe , Ryzen 3 3200g, rx 570 2x4 ram 2666mhz., planing to upgrade later 570 to 590 and cpu to ryzen 5 3600 and ram to 16gb.

 

[edvards3]

The thermaltake is cheaper because its poorer quality. When it comes to a PSU build quality is very important.

So if i want the psu to last more years better get the corsair?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Can you link the Corsair?

Builder usually refers to the old CX500 green units which were of poor quality.

The newer and far superior CX550 shouldn't be called builder.

 

[edvards3]

Can you link the Corsair?

Builder usually refers to the old CX500 green units which were of poor quality.

The newer and far superior CX550 shouldn't be called builder.

https://www.rdveikals.lv/products/l...0_0/Builder-Serie-CX550M-barošanas-bloks.html Its a store in latvia with this psu.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Just think the name is wrong. The picture and everything else seems correct.

The Thermaltake Smart is cheaper for a reason. Corsair is the better choice.

 

[bignastyid]

So if i want the psu to last more years better get the corsair?

Yes, I'd the Corsair CX the better chance of outlasting the TT smart.

 

[edvards3]

Yes, I'd the Corsair CX the better chance of outlasting the TT smart.

It is some kind of builder series psu the corsair Cx .
what does that mean?

 

[edvards3]

Just think the name is wrong. The picture and everything else seems correct.

The Thermaltake Smart is cheaper for a reason. Corsair is the better choice.

Theres the same with no builder serie https://www.rdveikals.lv/products/l...CX550-550W-CP-9020121-EU-barošanas-bloks.html

 

[tennis2]

Can you shop in Finland?
https://fi.pcpartpicker.com/product...ied-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-core-gm-500
The SS Core-GM series is the successor to their Focus (non +) series PSUs (gold label), whereas the Blue label Focus replaces the old (gold label) Focus + series.

Looks like that's roughly the same price as the Corsair CXM 550W

 

[Juular]

The SS Core-GM series is the successor to their Focus (non +) series PSUs (gold label)

No, it's not, it's a downgraded Focus but it's a budget model, with sleeve bearing fan, not on the same level as Seasonic Focus Gold. Which is nearly identical to Seasonic Focus Plus Gold aside of being semi-modular instead of fully modular. New Seasonic PSUs replacing them are Focus GM and GX respectively.

Blue label Focus

Excuse me ?

OP, i see these options there :
bq! SP9 400W for 50 EUR or Chieftec Proton BDF-500S for 52 EUR - both decent budget options
Chieftec BBS-500S for 63 EUR - somewhat better option, good if you have some higher end GPU as it's less likely to whine with them due to LLC topology, sleeve bearing fan tho so it's still budget stuff
Corsair CX550 for 80 EUR - pretty much budget too but rifle bearing fan and still LLC resonant so it's somewhat better than previous option, not sure if worth 17 EUR tho.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

No, it's not, it's a downgraded Focus but it's a budget model, with sleeve bearing fan, not on the same level as Seasonic Focus Gold. Which is nearly identical to Seasonic Focus Plus Gold aside of being semi-modular instead of fully modular. New Seasonic PSUs replacing them are Focus GM and GX respectively.

That's what I thought too.
https://seasonic.com/core-gm?__cf_c...Qw0W7Ln3aoZkZN8wF78TJAuKe0sNmAq#specification
Does say sleeve bearing fan but most if not all other specs are similar to focus. Couldn't find a review

Still semi-modular with a 7 year warranty and probably better than a CX550, though pricier and 50 less watts.

 

[Juular]

Couldn't find a review

There are some so-so reviews, looks like decent stuff but i can't say if it's better than Corsair CX, if it's cheaper tho - sure, but it's not.

www.coolenjoy.net/bbs/review/760163?spread=1
https://occlub.ru/testodrom/43849-s...or-vot-teper-sovsem-zamechatelno?singlepage=1

Seasonic CORE GC-500 и GC-650: обзор. 100% бюджета куда нужно - OCClub

OCClub.ru на Ваших экранах, и очередной обзор от Олега No1seBR. Но “очередной” – не совсем подходящие слово. Сегодня к нам на “Тест ’О’ дром” пожаловали блоки

occlub.ru

 

[NightHawkRMX]

There are some so-so reviews, looks like decent stuff but i can't say if it's better than Corsair CX, if it's cheaper tho - sure, but it's not.

www.coolenjoy.net/bbs/review/760163?spread=1
https://occlub.ru/testodrom/43849-s...or-vot-teper-sovsem-zamechatelno?singlepage=1

Seasonic CORE GC-500 и GC-650: обзор. 100% бюджета куда нужно - OCClub

OCClub.ru на Ваших экранах, и очередной обзор от Олега No1seBR. Но “очередной” – не совсем подходящие слово. Сегодня к нам на “Тест ’О’ дром” пожаловали блоки

occlub.ru

It looks similar to a focus, but not the same. Was comparing shots of a Focus 650 and a GM650.

I'd say its better that CX550

 

[Juular]

It looks similar to a focus, but not the same.

One major difference is that it uses single-layer PCB, impossible to detemine if it's actually performs worse than Focus and by how much without detailed reviews so i'd still refrain from buying it if there are more well reviewed units like Corsair CX. It still uses sleeve bearing fan in comparison with rifle on Corsair CX. So even if it's somewhat better electrically this is not a very good price for PSU with sleeve bearing fan.

 

[tennis2]

The Core-GM is better than the CX550M and they cost the same.

 

[edvards3]

.

 

[edvards3]

Can you shop in Finland?
https://fi.pcpartpicker.com/product...ied-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-core-gm-500
The SS Core-GM series is the successor to their Focus (non +) series PSUs (gold label), whereas the Blue label Focus replaces the old (gold label) Focus + series.

Looks like that's roughly the same price as the Corsair CXM 550W

No need to shop in finland i have cheaper in my country the psu . (;

 

[Juular]

The Core-GM is better than the CX550M and they cost the same.

Than CX-M ? Undoubtly, Than CX ? Not sure, probably not at least because of sleeve bearing fan. Corsair CX and CX-M are different.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I would not worry about the sleve bearing fan. Its unlikely to die. Even if it does,
The unit has a 7 year warranty. If it dies, you get a new one.

Id get the seasonic.

 

[Juular]

I would not worry about the sleve bearing fan. Its unlikely to die. Even if it does,
The unit has a 7 year warranty. If it dies, you get a new one.

Warranty doesn't cover a fan, and what do you mean by 'unlikely to die' ? It's a sleeve bearing fan, they're not known to live long, they certainly wouldn't live longer than PSU itself, 25.000 hours life expectancy is just about 3.5 years, it could be shorter, it could be longer but for 80 EUR PSU it's not a good thing.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Not all sleeve bearing fans are created equal. I would assume the Seasonic one is pretty decent. Even then, a sleeve bearing is similar to a rifle bearing, tho they are inferior.

I have 4 OEM PSUs sitting around. I would assume all use sleeve bearing fans. The ages are 6yrs,12yrs, 12yrs, and 16 years. Not one of them has had a fan failure, even the very old ones. PSU fan failures happen, but they are far less common than you would think.

I looked at the PSU warranty exclusions for SeaSonic. Nowhere does it say the fan is excluded. It seems like Corsair and other manufacturers specifically state fans are covered under warranty and they seem to have the same terms. See: https://forum.corsair.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130951&t=130951
Why would it be? A failed fan can cause the PSU to turn on and off (OTP), and a randomly restarting PSU would definitely be covered by warranty.

I shot them an email asking about if the fan is covered under warranty on that particular unit. I Will update when the response is received.

 

[Juular]

I have 4 OEM PSUs sitting around. I would assume all use sleeve bearing fans.

Why ? They can have ball bearings too.

I shot them an email asking about if the fan is covered under warranty on that particular unit. I Will update when the response is received.

Looking forward to that but again if you look at stated life expectancy for the fan and PSU itself, they're quite different and there should be some exclusions, it's very unlikely that it's just 'replace a fan if it fails within PSU warranty term' policy. In any case, even it is, would you really want to have a hassle of sending a unit for fan replacement and sitting without a PSU for a month or so after some years down the road when you could just get a PSU with a fan that has longer lifetime and otherwise comparable electrically (it's a budget PSU we don't expect it to perform on the level of high-end ones, don't we).