PSU tier list 2.0

[Turb0Yoda]

Oh the Delta. Well that's not too surprising. Even their OEM models are usually pretty fair and many are excellent, for what they are. If you can dig up the model number off the unit we can probably tell you exactly what you've got there. Then again, a lot of OEM units don't have a lot of review data, if any, on them. Usually something at least can be found though if it's a worthwhile builder.

Yeah, Everything was put to 100 during some intense scenes in TF2(yeah, somehow that happened.... Everything was on high and I sorta was in about 100 explosions at once xD. No explosions, I'm good.

 

[corndog1836]

what tier is an 80plus seasonic 400w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151076

got someone trying to go low budget and I am not sure about this psu

 

[Onus]

I don't think I'd put any Seasonic below Tier-2. I've used a 300W model from that line, and afaik it's still running fine.

 

[corndog1836]

Thanx onus

 

[RCFProd]

Watch this review about it though:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2697/30

''The OEM Seasonic 400W is surprisingly well equipped with a 4-pin and 8-pin connector and a 6-pin PEG connector at decent lengths. However, all of the peripheral connectors are short, which means you had better have a chassis where the PSU is mounted in the top and not the bottom. It will be easier (possible) to reach the components this way.''

And remind you this is a bulk unit.

 

[Darkbreeze]

In most instances, these units would be used in proprietary, SFF or micro-ATX cases though. Systems requiring larger cases will most likely contain hardware requiring a larger power supply that does not have cabling issues.

 

[corndog1836]

Good. Its for a dell desktop micro atx optiplex 745 that will require alittle modding. But if the psu is good then i am good.

 

[tpallred]

Anyone that just looks at the PSU's wattage to determine if it can power the graphics card in a specific system doesn't have a clue what they're doing.

Yes! That's me! (I mean, other than the 25 years I spent in IT - mostly software but hardware too including some builds - but I've been out of IT for 10 years.) I'm putting together this video editing system http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vZxnVn and never would have believed the PSU and case would become my most difficult choices. The SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V was suggested to me but it isn't Haswell ready. Here are some others that appear to fit the requirements:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%20600014006%204027%20600014002%20600014078%20600014081%20600014085%20600014094%204026%20600473331%20600473536&IsNodeId=1&Description=seasonic&bop=And&CompareItemList=58%7C17-151-107%5E17-151-107-TS%2C17-151-118%5E17-151-118-TS%2C17-151-125%5E17-151-125-TS&percm=17-151-107%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B17-151-118%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B17-151-125%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%20600014085%20600014094&IsNodeId=1&Description=psu%20xfx&bop=And&CompareItemList=58%7C17-207-034%5E17-207-034-08%23%2C17-207-031%5E17-207-031-TS&percm=17-207-015%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B17-207-014%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B17-207-034%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B17-207-031%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24
I thought this Antec would be a good choice with the $20 rebate but a couple of reviews complain about it dying after a few months. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-371-066
Can anyone offer a couple of specific recommendations for this build? Thanks in advance.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Any unit of sufficient capacity will work fine with haswell as long as you turn the c-states off in the bios.

This Seasonic built Antec unit, based on the S12II platform, is only 39.99 after the mail in rebate, and IS Haswell compliant.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $59.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 02:27 EDT-0400



Haswell complaint according to the product page:

http://www.antec.com/product.php?id=706503&fid=5022086&lan=ec

 

[Kisianik]

In most instances, these units would be used in proprietary, SFF or micro-ATX cases though. Systems requiring larger cases will most likely contain hardware requiring a larger power supply that does not have cabling issues.

I wonder if there are power supplies for really SFF, DT and Slim form factors from Dell and probably HP models like below

Optiplex

Inspiron 660S

Latest Inspiron 3000 Small Desktop

Those PSUs looks like that one with some variations in size

Any ideas?

 

[Darkbreeze]

What is the model number listed on your current power supply? There are some, but very few of any quality and even fewer with that form factor and any substantial capacity for use with upgraded GPU cards. Seasonic and Delta make a couple of units but there are several smaller form factors.

 

[Kisianik]

It is not for me, but for users here.
I know about Seasonic, but there are so few of them, and it was checked for older Dells, for newer, i guess no one has any ideas.
Oh well, lets wait for miracle or something.
I was hoping that those TIERs would one day include especially awkward size power supplies.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Those kinds of units are rarely used in enthusiast or gaming builds, which is why they lack focus here. Tom's is focused on enthusiast and gaming systems, although questions regarding all kinds of systems is of course welcome. Most those small form factor units use TFX form factor power supplies or micro-ATX versions, with a scattering of Flex-ATX and some proprietary form factors as well. None of which aside from micro-ATX units are going to have many offerings that reach beyond a tier 3 standing.

 

[tpallred]

Any unit of sufficient capacity will work fine with haswell as long as you turn the c-states off in the bios.

This Seasonic built Antec unit, based on the S12II platform, is only 39.99 after the mail in rebate, and IS Haswell compliant.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $59.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-06 02:27 EDT-0400

Haswell complaint according to the product page:

http://www.antec.com/product.php?id=706503&fid=5022086&lan=ec

Thanks. And only $39.99 with rebate at newegg!

 

[Kisianik]

Tom's is focused on enthusiast and gaming systems, although questions regarding all kinds of systems is of course welcome.

That is what I do here with Dells, upgrading old crap into something playable and useful, LOL. And it works

None of which aside from micro-ATX units are going to have many offerings that reach beyond a tier 3 standing.

I wonder where this Seasonic can be placed.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, I don't know about tiering, but I'd trust it a LOT more than the majority of TFX units available. This is another unit that can be used in some small form factor cases, depending on the case design and requirements. Might be hard to find at times though.


http://www.seasonic.ru/products/items/30

 

[Onus]

Those small systems generally take TFX PSUs. Seasonic and FSP both produce units that review well; I'd say not less than tier-2; their limitations are based on capacity, not quality, which is why they're better than tier-3.
The stock InWin TFX PSU is probably a tier-3. C. Hegge at HardwareInsights tested one (I'd like to believe thanks to my goading) and found it reasonable, although there's a Samxon cap in it. I used one for months in Gypsy, a PC I built a year or so ago with an i5 and HD7750. It only drew around 126W from its UPS while gaming though.
FSP also makes some SFX PSUs that have reviewed well, and might also be tier-2.

 

[Kisianik]

Thanks for advices, I did not know about FSP power supply, will add to my list.
FSP provides good, easy to follow metric dimensions for their Flex and TFX form factor PSU.
At least now I know what are my choices.

Case closed for me.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Do not however make the mistake of thinking all FSP units are worthy, they are not. They have some pretty terrible units as well, like the Raider series units.

 

[Onus]

I'm not sure I'd call Raider "terrible," although some were worse than others. Didn't Anandtech give a pretty good review to one of them? For a budget PSU to be in tier-3 isn't "terrible," though one of the higher-wattage ones probably deserved tier-4.

 

[Daniel Charneskey]

Hi, I currently have the Corsair CX 430w. Would it be a good idea to upgrade to an Antec High Current Gamer HCG-520M, 80 PLUS BRONZE, 520 Watt Modular Power Supply? I have a Gtx 750 ti along with an Amd fx-4300. I plan on upgrading to a current gen i5 in January. Should I buy this power supply now? Or should I just wait?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Even with the new CPU the CX unit is enough for the 750 TI, however, they don't seem to have great long lifespans, so I'd probably wait until you upgrade your other hardware, THEN upgrade the PSU as a preventative measure unless you have issues with the PSU before then. Might as well get as much life out of it as you can unless there's another system you plan to use it in in which case by all means, upgrade now.

 

[Daniel Charneskey]

Even with the new CPU the CX unit is enough for the 750 TI, however, they don't seem to have great long lifespans, so I'd probably wait until you upgrade your other hardware, THEN upgrade the PSU as a preventative measure unless you have issues with the PSU before then. Might as well get as much life out of it as you can unless there's another system you plan to use it in in which case by all means, upgrade now.

Alright, sounds good. I'm going to do exactly what you said pretty much. I'll just keep it until I upgrade my cpu and then ditch it. Thanks

 

[Darkbreeze]

I don't think I'd ditch it. Just use it in a lower end system that doesn't have a gaming card or is overclocked. It's probably perfectly fine and almost certainly better than what most prebuilt units come with so it should be good for those kinds of machines.

 

[Daniel Charneskey]

I don't think I'd ditch it. Just use it in a lower end system that doesn't have a gaming card or is overclocked. It's probably perfectly fine and almost certainly better than what most prebuilt units come with so it should be good for those kinds of machines.

Yeah, I meant to say that I wouldn't use it in my gaming PC anymore. Sorry for the misunderstanding.