Is it okay to use a Tier 3 PSU for a mini-ITX gaming rig?

[zack_falcon]

I've read from the PSU tier list 2.0 that Tier 3 PSUs are not ideal for gaming rigs, and that some of them aren't Haswell compatible.

Unfortunately, my location limits my possible choices. I could order online, but it would take almost 4 months to get it here*, with zero warranties or anything.

So far, here are my choices (I'll update whenever possible):
- FSP Aurum Gold 500w
- Silverstone Strider 500w
- Thermaltake Toughpower XT Modular Bronze 575w

Most of these are on the 500w side. I'm powering a mini-ITX rig with core i7 4790, 16GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 970, one SSD, up to two HDDs, and one ODD. I've been told that 500w is enough for that (I'm unlikely to add more), but I suppose a second opinion wouldn't hurt.

Would a 500w Tier 3 PSU be okay for that?

Thanks.

 

[drixkarasu]

Yes, it would be ok to power your system, the FSP Aurum Gold is a decent PSU and you shouldn't have any problems with it.

 

[burritobob]

A little bit of googling searching later I've come up with a couple of things; the first is that you should definitely NOT get the Thermaltake PSU, seems to have some issues, there's very little information, and it's the worst rated out of the three. Second the FSP PSU has some known incompatibilities, they're not super well documented but I feel like that's a pretty compelling reason why you shouldn't get one, though it's a good second choice if our last option doesn't work, the Silverstone PSU. This one seemed to have the least issues, most of the reviews just stated it had a loud fan, don't know if that's a huge issue, but if it isn't then you shouldn't have a problem.

TLDR; They all *should* work also Silverstone > FSP > Thermaltake

 

[Kiril1512]

Before I bought my tier I psu (XFX XTR Modular 650W 80+ Gold) I used an tier V psu (tecens mars gaming 700W), with setup like yours (my setup is in my signature) and for 1 year it was ok and have not one problem with that... So I belive that tier III psu is not that bad... Just search if your psu that you want is haswell compatible.

 

[zack_falcon]

A little bit of googling searching later I've come up with a couple of things; the first is that you should definitely NOT get the Thermaltake PSU, seems to have some issues, there's very little information, and it's the worst rated out of the three. Second the FSP PSU has some known incompatibilities, they're not super well documented but I feel like that's a pretty compelling reason why you shouldn't get one, though it's a good second choice if our last option doesn't work, the Silverstone PSU. This one seemed to have the least issues, most of the reviews just stated it had a loud fan, don't know if that's a huge issue, but if it isn't then you shouldn't have a problem.

TLDR; They all *should* work also Silverstone > FSP > Thermaltake

I'm leaning towards the FSP because of it's 'Gold' status on the tier list, whereas the Silverstone Strider is a 'standard'.

I'll be honest though, I truly have no idea what those mean - durability? Efficiency? The Silverstone Strider is cheaper, though, and if it means nothing, I'd happily get that.

And I'll take your word on Thermaltake, thanks.

 

[drixkarasu]

The ratings are efficiency ratings, so the FSP is the most efficient of the 3 options.