PSU tier list 2.0

[LucoTF]

At no point have I said the nex should be in tier one or two, but I did over simplify my point in that post.

 

[dottorrent]

...

:/

Let me put this another way then. Why aren't the N1 and W1 EVGA's in tier 4? They don't have any jap caps in them, it's all taiwanese

so under that theory the corsair CS line with its Nippon 85c caps should be tier 1 or 2

There's a weird capacitor choice in the unit, ranging from Nip Chemicons, Teapos and the pretty apalling Elite caps. Plus, the 12v rail didn't do that great in the hot box.

As stated in a segment of Tier 3 -

"Some capacitors maybe Japanese, but can include the Taiwanese capacitors"

It could of got into tier 2 if it wasn't for the crap Elite caps, which if swapped for say, Teapo, could of lowered the 12v ripple by a fair amount.

And now on why EVGA's Bronze lineup is in line with the NEX G1 / B1 lineup.

The NEX G1 series was based off the Aurum platform. True. But Capactiors don't always justify a good PSU. TechPowerUp reported some pretty bad voltage regulation on the 5v rail and crossloading was poor.

HardOCP reported loose voltage regulation on the 12v rail and average ripple suppression.

This is possibly because FSP's Aurum platform isn't the best to start off with. And manufactures do change some parts from those platforms, so don't say they're all the same.

 

[TravisD]

Where is the Corsair HX series?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

https://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx?Redirected=true
HX is tier 2 on newegg.

 

[ko888]

Okay, firstly, the XFX TS line bronze and gold lines have been mentioned, TS in gold and the other 2 being bronze.

Secondly, this list shows the true 80+ efficiency rating. Ecova may have rated the Corsair HXi series platinum, but in numerious tests, it didn't reach the required ratings for platinum.

Which reviews' numerous tests showed that the HXi didn't reach 80 PLUS PLATINUM? All of the reviews of the HXi, that I've read, show that it maintained its 80 PLUS PLATINUM efficiency even during hot box testing.

 

[dottorrent]

According to HardOCP's review, it didn't. And I read the reviews very carefully and I have some pretty tight tolerances. Just one thing different from the rest can mean I grade it gold.

In the case of the HXi 1000w, it missed Platinum due to 88% Efficiency at 100% load, according to HardOCP's review of the HXi 1000w.

However, this no longer applies to my rules, in which strong evidence is required to justify it's true 80+ efficiency rating, safety of the unit and stability. One review is now no longer enough. It has to be reported in numerous tests from the best of the testers of the internet, not counting reviewers with insufficient equipment.

Maybe I misread the reviews, which is possible. But the HXi is now back as a Platinum unit.

But please, next time don't shout at one mistake. Everyone makes them from time to time.

 

[ko888]

According to HardOCP's review, it didn't. And I read the reviews very carefully and I have some pretty tight tolerances. Just one thing different from the rest can mean I grade it gold.

In the case of the HXi 1000w, it missed Platinum due to 88% Efficiency at 100% load, according to HardOCP's review of the HXi 1000w.

However, this no longer applies to my rules, in which strong evidence is required to justify it's true 80+ efficiency rating, safety of the unit and stability. One review is now no longer enough. It has to be reported in numerous tests from the best of the testers of the internet, not counting reviewers with insufficient equipment.

Maybe I misread the reviews, which is possible. But the HXi is now back as a Platinum unit.

But please, next time don't shout at one mistake. Everyone makes them from time to time.

I did read more than one reputable review on more than one model of HXi and they all measured that it met the certification.

Who's shouting?

What do you see on this label? It's all in upper case letters.

 

[dottorrent]

It's just the capitals in your message. Either I read it in the wrong tone or i'm just being stupid.

 

[cst1992]

I sometimes do that with labels of NVIDIA(see?) cards in my posts. Especially the TITAN and TITAN X.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Shout all you want, he's KO888, he can take it. JK.

Just wondering, as an aside, why you dropped the VP-450 to tier 3 when it was so highly reviewed and only lacks the 80plus certification, which we all know is dubious at best anyhow, due to no PFC circuit. It was ranked tier 2 on the previous incarnation of the list. Has something about this unit changed or does it just not meet the criteria anymore due to the changes you've made. I have yet to hear of a single case of this unit exhibiting similar issues as the majority of the other tier 3 units experience when used in demanding configurations, but I also understand there not being a Tier 2B anymore might not allow it to be listed higher. Maybe there should actually be an additional tier to allow for slightly higher ranking of borderline units that aren't quite Tier 2 but are better than the surrounding company in Tier 3. Maybe 6 tiers instead? Dunno, just a wild hair thought that I'm sure you've already considered anyhow.

 

[Tarek Itani]

I'm interested in the Rosewill ARC M550. I noticed it was on the list that hasn't been reviewed/tested or whatever you call it. Does anyone know what Tier it would be under?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

ARC series should be Avoided.

 

[trandoanhung1991]

Why is sharkoon models to be avoided? I'm thinking about going for the Sharkoon WPM 700W and from what I've seen of the reviews for their WPM 500 and 600W models they're pretty decent.

Why are they to be avoided?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Sharkoon are also very poor.

 

[Tarek Itani]

ARC series should be Avoided.

Why is that? I haven't seen any professional source say it should be avoided. I'd be pairing it with a 970 and a non-OC i5.

 

[Darkbreeze]

The fact that no professional review sites have found that or ANY OTHER Sharkoon unit to be of high enough quality to warrant a review says pretty much all you need to know. If it was worth reviewing, it would have been at least MENTIONED somewhere on a major site. The only sites that DO mention it or offer reviews, are piddly little "backwater" sites with no actual testing facilities or experienced PSU techs.

The WPM series units are made by Channel Well, so they might not be extremely terrible, then again they might as Channel Well makes some good units but some equally terrible supplies as well, but without a verifiable professional review from a solid lab, I would not advise making the investment in one as it's just too risky.

But it's your money and your hardware. If you want to roll the dice with both your cash and your components that might be damaged, that's your call.

 

[Tarek Itani]

The fact that no professional review sites have found that or ANY OTHER Sharkoon unit to be of high enough quality to warrant a review says pretty much all you need to know. If it was worth reviewing, it would have been at least MENTIONED somewhere on a major site. The only sites that DO mention it or offer reviews, are piddly little "backwater" sites with no actual testing facilities or experienced PSU techs.

The WPM series units are made by Channel Well, so they might not be extremely terrible, then again they might as Channel Well makes some good units but some equally terrible supplies as well, but without a verifiable professional review from a solid lab, I would not advise making the investment in one as it's just too risky.

But it's your money and your hardware. If you want to roll the dice with both your cash and your components that might be damaged, that's your call.

I take it this applies to the ARC series too?

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, that unit is an ATNG made unit. I'd avoid it as well like Blackbird said.

 

[Tarek Itani]

No, that unit is an ATNG made unit. I'd avoid it as well like Blackbird said.

Please elaborate.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Ok, most of the units made by ATNG suck. How's that? Power supplies made by ATNG are sold under the brands of Coba, Coolmax, Enlight, GTR, In Win, Jeantech, Mutantmods, Nexus, Rosewill (Who we all pretty much know has no decent units aside from the Capstone models for the most part), Scythe, Startech, Tuniq, Ultra, X-factor and X-spice.

Are you seeing a pattern here, because I am. They are all, with the exception of Rosewill and Scythe, no name companies that either offer units that are known to be terrible, or are not known at all, because they're just that bad. There are also a few models made by them, or used to be made by them, for Cooler Master and Fractal design, again, not really companies well known for having a lot of outstanding power supply models but well known for have some pretty bad ones. All of the models, from what I see, made for Rosewill, Scythe, Cooler Master and Fractal design, by ATNG, are bad.

The other companies, I wouldn't use one of their products in the most dire of situations. You'd probably be better off just connecting straight AC power to the motherboard with no regulation at all. Same effect for some of those units. Anyhow, you get the idea. They're mostly very bad and if they make some units that aren't very bad, they're still likely somewhat bad. I can't find a single ATNG made unit that's worthwhile, although I'm sure there's probably at least one, and if I need to power a light bulb and somebody gives me that unit for free, maybe I'll use it.


Here's the OEM who's who list. You can see who makes what for yourself:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-psu-brands,3762.html

 

[trandoanhung1991]

The fact that no professional review sites have found that or ANY OTHER Sharkoon unit to be of high enough quality to warrant a review says pretty much all you need to know. If it was worth reviewing, it would have been at least MENTIONED somewhere on a major site. The only sites that DO mention it or offer reviews, are piddly little "backwater" sites with no actual testing facilities or experienced PSU techs.

The WPM series units are made by Channel Well, so they might not be extremely terrible, then again they might as Channel Well makes some good units but some equally terrible supplies as well, but without a verifiable professional review from a solid lab, I would not advise making the investment in one as it's just too risky.

But it's your money and your hardware. If you want to roll the dice with both your cash and your components that might be damaged, that's your call.

The reason I was confused is because in fact I found quite a few reviews for their units here http://www.techpowerup.com/reviewdb/PSUs/Sharkoon/

Especially the WPM 500W review by Computer Base(de) and the WPM 600W review by Hardware Haven. They're both pretty reputable sites, at least AFAIK.

Though aparently the units I was looking at was V2, which sucked.

 

[FALC0N]

I wouldn't go so far as to say ATNG sucks. Average to mediocre.

 

[Darkbreeze]

To my knowledge, and if somebody wants to correct me and show the evidence, I'll happily stand corrected, but neither of those sites does any lab testing. They are doing basic use testing only, without any specialized equipment or hot box. Stick to reviews from jonnyguru, Hardwaresecrets and sites that have folks who are actually knowledgeable in this field.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Why-99-Percent-of-Power-Supply-Reviews-Are-Wrong/410

 

[FALC0N]

I'm willing roll with sharkoon on the name alone. Anyone willing to combine a Shark AND a Raccoon can't be all bad.

 

[Darkbreeze]

HA HA HA HA, whooooow. Sci Fi channel, here we come! Move over Sharknado!