Nice looking glass or RGB, cheap , and somewhat reliable PSU?

[fortheandros]

Hello, Sorry for creating new thread but older are too old or don't coincide.

I`m making a RGB gaming PC and i'm looking for an "interesting" looking PSU but also cheap and reliable (PC doesn't restart or shuts down forcefully, but works in normal parameters without any overclocking to anything). Normally these 3 don't go together.

To my surprise, found an "interesting" looking and also a cheap one, but no reviews or tests or benchmarks or discussions on it so have no idea if its somewhat reliable: the InterTech Argus RGB-750W CM that has RGB and also glass side panels which probably go well with the case.

The PC specs would be the following (hopefully they are compatible one another)
MB: in progress
CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 5 1500X or AMD Ryzen™ 5 1600X with DeepCool GAMMAXX GT
GPU: Asus ROG STRIX-GTX1060-O6G-GAMING
HDD: Seagate (Barracuda? Firecuda?) + SSD
RAM: ADATA XPG Spectrix D40 RGB 2x8GB DDR4 3000Mhz CL16
Case: Thermaltake Versa H26 Tempered Glass Edition
FAN: 5X Cooler Master MasterFan Pro Air Balance 120mm
PSU: ?

Is the above PSU somewhat acceptable or can i get some recommendations of "interesting" looking PSU but also cheap and reliable (that is compatible)?

 

[DSzymborski]

Hard-to-say, while inter-tech has occasionally used some non-horrid CWT platforms, they've also used cheap Chinese ones too. I can't remember the time someone tested one; people are usually not keen to test off-brands on their expensive equipment and the dodgier brands are equally not keen to supplying review units.

It may not be the worst PSU in the world -- the 80plus badge not matching up with the one PSU that Plugload gave certification to does set off some alarms as does the fact that it's a *lot* cheaper than the Thermaltake Toughpower RGB. But the general rule is to consider power supplies guilty until proven innocent as their function is too important in a PC.

Pretty much all the reliable PSUs that are in normal price ranges aren't blinged out. It's fine to be wanting to put together an interesting looking PC, but the PSU is far too crucial a part to prioritize this. This case has a PSU shroud anyway, so you'll only be seeing a small chunk of the PSU anyway.

 

[fortheandros]

For the configuration I think the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 650W is good, maybe, but it's kind of expensive, don't know if it's worth or maybe a W cheaper/lower
Update: it's actually the lowest for toughpower grand, no idea if others are OK (smart edition) because of the GPU consumption, any other suggestions or recommendations? different brands?
e.g.:
Sharkoon - SilentStorm Icewind
ZALMAN - ZM600-GVM
Chieftec A-80 CTG-750C
Chieftec Proton 650W
Chieftec GPS-650C

 

[DSzymborski]

For the configuration I think the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 650W is good, maybe, but it's kind of expensive, don't know if it's worth or maybe a W cheaper/lower
Update: it's actually the lowest for toughpower grand, no idea if others are OK (smart edition) because of the GPU consumption, any other suggestions or recommendations? different brands?

The Smart series is much, much lower quality. You'll have to choose between quality+rgb, quality+price, or rgb+price. The third option is by far the worst.

 

[fortheandros]

Id rather go with quality+price even so quality+rgb+price would be somewhat the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 650W, though maybe there are similar PSU's? e.g. AeroCool also has RGB but seems more expensive. Are there also cheaper? Is chieftec good or the other mentioned?

 

[DSzymborski]

Id rather go with quality+price even so quality+rgb+price would be somewhat the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 650W, though maybe there are similar PSU's? e.g. AeroCool also has RGB but seems more expensive. Are there also cheaper? Is chieftec good or the other mentioned?

I didn't recommend th e Aerocool RGB because it's one of their few high-end ones and even more expensive. Chieftec sells a lot of low-quality PSUs and isn't generally a recommended brand. Sharkoon sells mainly garbage PSUs.

There's no RGB+low price+quality option. RGB largely hasn't hit the quality power supply market yet like it has other components and in fact, it's something you see once in a while in low-quality power supplies to try to differentiate themselves from better inexpensive quality power supplies.

Your option is essentially the Thermaltake Toughpowers that are Gold/Platinum/Titanium rated as those are on good platforms, mostly by CWT (and Sirtec's high-end platforms are fine).

But honestly, as I said before, I'd just buy something like the below PSU and not worry about the RGB of a PSU on a case with a shroud that almost entirely hides the PSU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $69.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-16 03:09 EDT-0400

You can put $60-$80 to *way* better use on a build that isn't in the high-end category. It can mean the difference between getting a GTX 1060 and a GTX 1070. Plus another $100 thrown into RGB fans.

It's your money, of course, but down the road I think you'll regret building a midrange PC with a ridiculous amount of RGB instead of a PC with significantly better specs that has a moderate amount of RGB.