PSU tier list 2.0

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Actually those Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB (gold) PSUs are some of the best-valued PSUs on the market. They have a 10 year warranty, adjustable RGB fan, good performance and build quality. The 650W one sits at $90 on Newegg right now and $90 on Amazon w/ Prime shipping.

For that price it's pretty good since its main selling point is having that RGB fan, but everything else is good about it, too. here is a Tomshardware review of the 750W version, got an editor's award even.
 
Sirfa/Sirtec makes the full range of psus, everything from junk to 3rd party OEM to excellent. So kinda depends on exactly what you get into. The TPG's are quite good units, just often times over priced for the quality/ability when compared to similar, if not better, units like the Corsair Rx etc.
 


They should be priced about equally to the RMx, have same warranty and all. The Toughpower gets you an LED fan, though.
 
Psu sits upside down. Fan is totally hidden, at most you might see a little reflected light from under the back of the case. That's 90% of new cases, very few run interior fan design. Really makes the Led fan a sales gimmick in most pc's. 'Ooo! An led fan, sweet! Gonna look great!' But how?
 


Maybe by placing the case on top of a mirror.
 


And in a month, a dusty, dusty mirror.
 


If there is a filter on the bottom of the case then the RGB LED gimmick is even more useless.
 
If psus would come with acrylic sides, an led fan would be an interesting idea for sure. And instead of stickers, use etched symbols. Could still use metal sides at the back and end caps, and fan cover, which none of which are visible anyways, or use a mirrored side for the mobo side of the psu, which could have the pertinent data still on a sticker. But top and window side could be clear. Of course that'd also mean QC, soldering, component placement would also need to be spot on, or crappy construction would be quite noticeable.
 
Most new case designs have the psu as an independent source. Fan points down, drawing air from under the case, exhausted out the back. That's not to say that many smaller cases, mATX in particular, don't also have top mounted psu, where the fan points down, and is used as either secondary or in some cases as primary source of exhaust. An led fan in that situation would be similar in usage as a top mount led fan, so would be useful. But to be fair, there's also only a small percentage of mATX case users who have the needs for the more powerful psus, so when all is said and done its a very small percentage of users who would see any benefit from an RGB psu. A $10 RGB strip would see far greater usage and have better lighting capabilities and looks.
 


Umm.... In all of those cases, you can mount the PSU with the fan pointed up OR pointing down. The only time the LED fan doesn't make sense is if the case has a shroud.
 


Since you have access to information the average user doesn't, are there any studies that show how the extra heat intake of mounting it up affects the longevity of a unit? Is it statistically significant?

If the case allows for a bottom mount I always use it in the assumption cool intake is better than warm intake.
 
It's not a matter of inside information. It's a matter of common sense.

Quality PSUs are rated to output maximum capability continuously at 40 or 50°C (depending on what the manufacturer actually claims... and it's a true statement and not made up for marketing sake), therefore the PSU can point up and pull in "hot air" from inside the chassis without risk. That is... if the internal temperatures of your chassis aren't greater than 40~50°C. But if it's THAT HOT in there, you've got bigger problems.

Keep in mind that's the rating of the PSU at full load. Since most people never have their PSU at full load, that temperature can be much higher.

That all said... De-rating curve of the components used in a PSU tend to be -10W for ever +1°C over specified operating temperature. So even if you're OVER operating temperature, odds are you're not going to have an issue.

If the PSU has any kind of "hybrid mode" or "Zero RPM mode", it's best to have the PSU with the fan grill up because grill up means PCB down and that allows the PSU's heat to rise away from the PCB.

The only valid argument mounting the PSU with the fan that down makes sense to me is if the PC is water cooled and there's a chance that a leak could drip into the PSU. Obviously, the results of that would be disastrous.
 
And as I said earlier, there are quite a few cases where the psu is top mounted, not on the bottom. This tends to make the psu the primary exhaust unless there's also a exhaust fan below, next to the cpu. So in effect, the psu sees the entire heat output of both cpu and gpu, possibly. Not a fan personally of that design, which was something to think about when Asus revealed its Ryzen cpu build that included a R7 1700x and gtx1070 in an mATX case with a top load psu and a single intake fan.
And while correct in stating its upto the user, that's only mostly true. It can depend on the case and the psu itself. I've seen plenty of older case styles where if you used a psu with a switch in back, the case frame would need to be modified since the mounting hole is off center or not large enough. Sometimes it's even a cutout for the power connection. So occasionally there are limitations as to psu orientation.
There still remains a considerable amount of ppl, especially on the indo-asian markets that are still using older FX cpus, with older amd cards like the 290 or 290x, so with summer heat, and no ac, where ambients can hit close to, if not over, 40°C on the outside of the case, adding in the cpu/gpu heat output on top of that just makes for a electronic oven. A fan down psu would make a lot of sense there, especially as the number 1 selling psu in those markets is the Corsair CX, which unfortunately isn't a 40°C unit. The old style anyways.

Never crossed my mind about the hybrid/eco being affected by orientation. Is that something that taken into consideration during design planning and settings choice? Or is it just a blanket number assigned, someone deciding 'oh, we'll kick the fan on at 35°C' etc?
 


So even if we place the PSU vertically besides a radiator it shouldn't be a problem unless the air blown into it gets hotter than 40-50°C.
 


I can't picture what you're describing... but.... as long as the PSU isn't intaking thermals greater than what it's rated at (assuming you'd ever need its full load capability), it doesn't matter how the PSU is oriented.
 
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