Part 2: Four Cheap 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supplies, Reviewed

[Onus]

I'd buy a CX-500M; not the CX-500, but the "M," yes.
I'm about to use a 300W InWin TFX PSU in a build. I haven't seen a full review of it, but the internals are supposedly ok, so it should be safe. The graphics card will be a HD7750, so I doubt I'll even pull 150W from the wall. At some point though, I will likely replace it with one of the 80+ Gold Seasonics.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

My 3 year old CX500 was a nightmare. Terrible voltage regulation and lots of issues with hardware that were solved by replacing with a Rosewill Capstone 750W. It finally died a week or two ago, giving me the excuse to upgrade to a better unit.

 

[DarknessRising]

In my main rig I got a 80+ bronze 500W for $20 awhile back for a black Friday sale the exact model is the Soranction Black82

 

[DarknessRising]

the best PSU for the money right now is the 550W Cooler Master 550W Gold Silent Pro

 

[Novuake]

the best PSU for the money right now is the 550W Cooler Master 550W Gold Silent Pro

M2 version yes, would never buy the normal Silent Pro.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

In my main rig I got a 80+ bronze 500W for $20 awhile back for a black Friday sale the exact model is the Soranction Black82

Good luck. It's been a looong time since I got no results on google for a brand name. Not a good sign.

 

[Onus]

Is it listed at 80plus.org? If not, don't trust it.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Nope.

Yay, printers. Not that hard to get a picture of a label.

 

[haschid]

Over at HardwareSecrets, there's a guy named c.hegge who is an Australian PSU reviewer. He has documented how bad the Samxon "GF" capacitors are. They don't like heat, and tend to fail. He has recapped Corsair "CX" PSUs with capacitor problems. This is also described on the badcaps.org forums. The Corsair CX reviews well, and looks great when new, but I won't buy or recommend them, especially in gaming PCs that tend to run warm.
Of this batch of PSUs, I'd take the Seasonic every time. As Vertexx points out, it offers sufficient wattage for most PCs with a single graphics card using just one PCIe power connector.

THIS.

I had a cx500 capacitor start smoking after less than 2 years of light use. Buying seasonic next.

 

[innovandrew]

Darn Corsair CX. Mine just failed. Only got three years out of it. A Seasonic would have doubled that.

When I bought the CX, I remember thinking "I will regret this not being a Seasonic." Every time!