is this psu - Thermaltake TR-500 TR2 500W - good for me?

[guest555]

i was looking at Thermaltake TR-500 TR2 500W for about $50. is this a good psu for my budget build?

my parts:
cpu: amd fx 6300
gpu: amd r7 265
mobo: asus m5a97 r2.0
ram: patriot viper xtreme 8Gb

 

[Guest]

One thing to NEVER cheap out on is the PSU. As in the future its a big hassle to upgrade and deal with if it should ever break on you. I would suggest a PSU form Corsair as they are very well known for their quality PSU's and CS. For you I would take a look at there TX or CS line in PSU's as for the quality they are very affordable.

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/power-supply-units

 

[ahmad01000]

For psus you should definitely not be cheaping out, like xTwitch said, Corsair, Antec, and Seasonic make very good power supplies

 

[guest555]

One thing to NEVER cheap out on is the PSU. As in the future its a big hassle to upgrade and deal with if it should ever break on you. I would suggest a PSU form Corsair as they are very well known for their quality PSU's and CS. For you I would take a look at there TX or CS line in PSU's as for the quality they are very affordable.

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/power-supply-units

Most articles also claim that psu is the most important thing to invest in. however, i never heard of a story where a bad psu caused big problems. are you speaking from experience? do you know someone that went through such an experience? or are you just basing that off of what you read in articles or something?

I really want to know, because I dont want to pay much more than I actually have to.
still thanks for answering me though!

 

[Pondering]

The $10 - $20 between quality power supplies and everything else is that it won't degrade over time. Quality power supplies are rarely swapped out when other components are upgraded, so it is worth the $10 to $20 extra.

If you have to get something cheap, go with a EVGA 500B after that it is XFX 550, XFX 650, EVGA 750 G2, EVGA 850 G2. Past 850 Watts is Corsair AX or EVGA P2 depending upon sales, budget and preference.

That is how my list goes but I always feel uncomfortable recommending any of those specific units unless if people need a power supply unless there is a sale going on but everyone hops onto the forums 3 seconds after a sale is over to ask for power supply recommendations or comparisons.

 

[guest555]

The $10 - $20 between quality power supplies and everything else is that it won't degrade over time. Quality power supplies are rarely swapped out when other components are upgraded, so it is worth the $10 to $20 extra.

If you have to get something cheap, go with a EVGA 500B after that it is XFX 550, XFX 650, EVGA 750 G2, EVGA 850 G2. Past 850 Watts is Corsair AX or EVGA P2 depending upon sales, budget and preference.

That is how my list goes but I always feel uncomfortable recommending any of those specific units unless if people need a power supply unless there is a sale going on but everyone hops onto the forums 3 seconds after a sale is over to ask for power supply recommendations or comparisons.

thanks a lot i was actually looking for an answer like that! however, I am still unclear about something: i came across the corsair cx 500. that was recommended to some people for a cheaper gaming computer. however, on this forum i've heard the cx series isn't good for gaming. know anything about that?

 

[Guest]

The $10 - $20 between quality power supplies and everything else is that it won't degrade over time. Quality power supplies are rarely swapped out when other components are upgraded, so it is worth the $10 to $20 extra.

If you have to get something cheap, go with a EVGA 500B after that it is XFX 550, XFX 650, EVGA 750 G2, EVGA 850 G2. Past 850 Watts is Corsair AX or EVGA P2 depending upon sales, budget and preference.

That is how my list goes but I always feel uncomfortable recommending any of those specific units unless if people need a power supply unless there is a sale going on but everyone hops onto the forums 3 seconds after a sale is over to ask for power supply recommendations or comparisons.

thanks a lot i was actually looking for an answer like that! however, I am still unclear about something: i came across the corsair cx 500. that was recommended to some people for a cheaper gaming computer. however, on this forum i've heard the cx series isn't good for gaming. know anything about that?

CX is used for light gaming. TX is used for gaming. If you look around enough, trust me you will find horror stories on cheap PSU's causing problems. Remember, almost everything is upgradable and usually cheaping out of something to hold you over until you could buy something thats better can be a good idea, but for the PSU you want to get a good quality one. If you ever had to change your PSU like I did, you have to unplug everything, which ruins any cable management you ever had. Plus if a cheap one ever fails it can take a lot of components with it. The Power Supply pumps your machine with energy to make it run, you want something that pumps in clean, safe energy into your system. Also I would look into a 650 watt and maybe a 750 watt PSU just for upgrading purposes in the future.

 

[guest555]

so people are talking about other power supplies, but the closest anyone has gotten to answering my question is "dont cheap out! pay $10 more!"
let me ask another more clearer, perhaps a more ignorant question

can someone help me find a psu under $50 that shouldn't fry my computer when it goes bad and has at least a 2 yr warranty?
i dont care if it doesn't last long for many people. i dont care how reliable it is. i dont care about quality. just something that fits the description i gave above.

 

[Guest]

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Builder-Watt-EPS%C2%A0-CX500/dp/B0092ML0MY/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1403149886&sr=1-3&keywords=power+supplies

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Made by one of the best = SEASONIC.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $44.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 23:58 EDT-0400

 

[guest555]

I just bought the cs550m. this should be alright, right?

 

[nostall]

I just bought the cs550m. this should be alright, right?

Better then the TR2.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

AMEN ^

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Thermaltake tr2 series are questionable, although i think the newer versions are ok, there are better psu's available. The coolermaster is ok, but again, better things are available for the same $$$. The trick with PSU's are not to look at the 3 digit number that is on them and take the manufacturers word for it that it will produce that wattage. Find a review where they load test the psu, you will find many cheaper psu's fail to produce their rated power.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Here's what happens when you use poor supplies like Raidmax and TR2's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezk9OA7aKOE

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Here's what happens when you use poor supplies like Raidmax and TR2's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezk9OA7aKOE

something i would like to add to this, i owned 2 tr2 470w units nearly 10 years ago and they are still going despite bad reviews, powering moderately powered core 2 quads with 8800gts and amd 6850 gpu's. But it would only have been pulling 70-80% of their rated load at the most, which is probably the most you should aim for, for short periods. If you plan on punishing any psu near its load limit of course your going to run into issues. Not saying they are fantastic units, they arent, but i certainly dont think on the same lower level as radimax or diablotec or any of the super happy best max tech super cool generic psu's. Of course, modern thermaltake tr2 psu's under the same name are of different design from the ones i bought years ago. You will actually find many of thermaltakes psu's, even in the same model series, are of different manufacturer and design, so you cant pick one xxxW unit from a range and expect them all to be the same quality.