PSU tier list 2.0

[jimmysmitty]

That's kinda true with many reviews though. I remember someone reputable did a review of the old green CX, found it to be really decent for its intended purpose. Nothing saying it's average lifespan was @18 months or less yet some fortunate souls had a unit last 4 years or more in a moderate gaming rig. Corsair at least on their website stated it was not intended for gaming rigs, yet even that was taken down in favor of stating the R series was intended for gaming rigs.

So I'm guessing that guessing at lifespans is determined by load, platform, OEM, experience. The Hive might be a damned good factory replacement in a pre-built, but has no place in a $1000 custom gaming rig.

When I did repairs we used the CX series for budget builds that were for basic use. Mainly because they were decent and lasted a long time. We had almost none come back due to random failure, mostly they would come back dead from a power surge from lightning. Or in one guys case lightning that hit his house and fried every last electronic in his home. Even melted his TV.

 

[Karadjgne]

Exactly. And the 430 was the best of the bunch. Didn't help that gpu demands on anything decent well exceeded the ability of the 430, so it rarely saw the inside of a gaming rig. The 500/600 was the same platform, but saw much higher usage, in gaming rigs, and burned out fast.

Shame is #1 reason you saw no returns, just as Corsair almost never got RMA's. Nobody wanted to brag about their $30 psu dieing after a year, and it was more time/effort to RMA than simply replace on the sly. Drop $300 on an AXi and you better believe it got RMA'd.

 

[logainofhades]

CX430 was ok for budget gaming rigs that were using say, at that time, a 750ti. As long as the GPU used doesn't require external PCI-E power, and the cpu isn't a power hungry beast, it is an ok unit. I would still recommend replacement, but I wouldn't say it has to be replaced, before it burns your system up.

 

[Karadjgne]

Well, to be fair, Corsair units don't really blow up, at least I've never seen one or heard of one. They just die a quiet death, one day full of life and the next... nothing.

 

[USAFRet]

Well, to be fair, Corsair units don't really blow up, at least I've never seen one or heard of one. They just die a quiet death, one day full of life and the next... nothing.

Except when, in their death throes, it takes something else with it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Which you and I both have seen. I mentioned QUITE a while back, when the CX450 in my mom's system died and took out both the motherboard and memory. Had to build her a new system. Replaced it with the old style manually switched VP450, which failed about three months later. The replacement from Antec has been running perfect for about two years now.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Exactly. And the 430 was the best of the bunch. Didn't help that gpu demands on anything decent well exceeded the ability of the 430, so it rarely saw the inside of a gaming rig. The 500/600 was the same platform, but saw much higher usage, in gaming rigs, and burned out fast.

Shame is #1 reason you saw no returns, just as Corsair almost never got RMA's. Nobody wanted to brag about their $30 psu dieing after a year, and it was more time/effort to RMA than simply replace on the sly. Drop $300 on an AXi and you better believe it got RMA'd.

We warrantied the parts and most were put into new builds. We never recommended putting them into a gaming system at all just basic machines.

For gaming systems I would always push towards the better end Corsair or higher end Seasonics. I don't think Antec had a good line at the time so we stayed away from them mostly. Hell we had a super cheap one for those that wanted to just be super cheap and I tried my best to steer people away from them. They were like $25 bucks but the CX430 was $40 at the time and I pushed hard to get people to spend $15 bucks more.

. I am very much a quality PSU pusher. I never shy away from spending a good amount of money on a PSU. I have a AX860i in my rig for that reason and have the SF600 in my HTPC because I want quality for the most important part on the PC. I am contemplating building my GF a new system and will still go with a high end Corsair or Seasonic for it. Have been thinking of doing an ITX build and now that AMD has a decent CPU and ITX board it might be a Ryzen rig but first thing I will buy is the PSU and I will probably put a good amount towards it to make sure its quality.

 

[Karadjgne]

I know. It's almost sad when the first items chosen are cpu, mobo, gpu, frills, bells, whistles and if there's anything left over in the budget, a psu that's barely large enough and never quality enough..

 

[jankerson]

I know. It's almost sad when the first items chosen are cpu, mobo, gpu, frills, bells, whistles and if there's anything left over in the budget, a psu that's barely large enough and never quality enough..

It doesn't help that a bunch if morons keep recommending them either.

Here and on YT etc.

Gives me a headache every time I see it.

It's not sad, it's completely idiotic.

 

[tuananh13522]

Does the Cooler Master V1000 still good? Planning to buy one tomorrow.

 

[woahwoahwilly]

Which you and I both have seen. I mentioned QUITE a while back, when the CX450 in my mom's system died and took out both the motherboard and memory. Had to build her a new system. Replaced it with the old style manually switched VP450, which failed about three months later. The replacement from Antec has been running perfect for about two years now.

Which Antec unit did you use?

 

[woahwoahwilly]

Replaced the NZXT with a Focus Gold 450W. Now I just gotta save up $430 USD. And get permission from my parents.

Any other ideas? https://pcpartpicker.com/user/woahwoahwilly/saved/mj3xGX

 

[TendaCrusher]

Seasonic 650 watt focus gold plus PSU or
EVGA Supernova 650 watt G3 80+gold?

 

[smeariestpeak]

Hey Folks,
I've been looking over this thread for a "list", and don't see one anywhere. Is there actually a list of PSUs somewhere, or is that just what we call this thread?

Thanks

 

[jimmysmitty]

Hey Folks,
I've been looking over this thread for a "list", and don't see one anywhere. Is there actually a list of PSUs somewhere, or is that just what we call this thread?

Thanks

This thread is mostly dead as we have decided to stop doing a tier based system. We have a few reasons.

1. its hard to get someone who can consistently maintain it
2. Not every PSU gets a proper review

Typically if you want advice you can start a thread in the PSU sections and people can give you that. There are other sites that have a list. Some are similar, others are complex. I always say if you plan a build put more into the PSU than you would normally as its the heart of the system. Most any Seasonic is good and the higher end Corsairs, which are what I typically buy.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Hey Folks,
I've been looking over this thread for a "list", and don't see one anywhere. Is there actually a list of PSUs somewhere, or is that just what we call this thread?

Thanks

You didn't look very hard, because I've posted the fact that I upped the last version of the list as it was before it was ended, three times over the last few pages of this thread. If you really care to see it, even though it's terribly outdated by now, you can find it here:

Legacy PSU tier list (Archival purposes only)

So, due to the overwhelming number of people who have asked about, or complained, that the tier list created by one of our members and maintained over the years had been deleted, I am returning it in all its imperfect glory for the sake of those who wish to have access to it. It will not be...

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