PSU tier list 2.0

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do u know any other good 600+ psu for under 700 bucks thanks
 
Hmm, I have a thermaltake 750w, not sure which exact model though. At least its not in the "do not buy ever" list. My last PC had an Ultra PSU in an Ultra case... PSU fan completely failed right after the year warranty ran out.
 


Actually, Thermaltake has several units in the trashpile list. They just aren't being manufactured on the same platforms anymore and there are not currently any reliable enough reviews to re-tier them yet. I am still unconvinced the newer versions are any better than the old ones, and personally, would not ever spend my money on ANY Thermaltake power supply, especially models older than this year. If it's a smart series or TR2, chances are good that it's a pile of dung.
 


I'm assuming you meant under 70 bucks, not 700, and any of these would be good choices. The B2 EVGA unit is probably the better choice.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/compare/evga-power-supply-110b20750vr%2Cseasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze%2Cxfx-power-supply-pro650wp1650snlb9/
 


Oh, yeah it's actually a 700w TR2. Well it has been running seemingly fine for a bit over 2 years now so maybe I got lucky. I guess I will have to suspect it more next time I have problems.
 


Here we go again with the TR2 units. How old is your unit?
 


Bought in July 2013
 
Well.. I'm not convinced on what seems like a miniscule sample. Not saying you might not be right but my experience so far with this PSU has been fine. The fan is very quiet and has been extremely stable when I'm not trying to overclock my FX-8350. Although in the last few months I seem to have found some tweaks that have given me a totally stable 4.4Ghz. Also I'm running an MSI 970GTX at a decent OC over the stock OC. I guess maybe I'd have more headroom with a more expensive PSU but there's no point in upgrading at this time in it's life for minuscule gains :). I just hope it lasts another couple of years.
 
Miniscule?

https://www.google.com/search?num=50&safe=active&q=Thermaltake+TR2+failure+tom%27s+hardware&oq=Thermaltake+TR2+failure+tom%27s+hardware&gs_l=serp.3...93954.100139.0.100695.15.15.0.0.0.0.211.1651.1j11j1.13.0....0...1c.1.64.serp..8.7.861.0UjN_bc4hCY

And those are just the Tom's hardware results. There are about 64,000 other similar results on other sites.

Honestly, I'm surprised it lasted one week if you're overclocking, and even more so if you have a discreet GPU card installed. The investment it would take to replace it with a reliable unit is not worth taking the chance it would ruin any of the rest of your hardware, which are a much larger investment. Every professional review of that unit has the same indication. Replace or avoid. I've personally replaced about 15 TigerDirect purchased TR2 units on my workbench, from client units that failed. Three required motherboard replacement. One required a GPU card replacement and one took out pretty much everything. The others simply died. You HAVE been lucky, but there are no guarantees your luck will hold out, especially once it starts to break down.



Tier Five - Replace immediately. These units are NOT recommended for any system, no matter the purpose. Reference to higher tiered models for a better and potentially money-saving unit


A-TOP technology
Apevia
Apex (SUPERCASE/ALLIED)
Artic / Ace (They're the same company)
Aspire (Turbocase)
ATADC
ATRIX
Broadway Com Corp
CIT
Coolmax
Deer
Diablotek
Dynapower
Dynex
Eagletech
Enlight
Evo labs
EZ-cool
Foxconn
G7
HEC / Compucase Orion
HEDY (should be WAAAYYY lower down than these units. They're that bad)
iStar computer co.
Jeantec
JPac
Just PC
Linkworld electronics
Logisys computer
Macron
MSi (just stick to their GPUs and motherboards)
NMEDIAPC
Norwood Micro/ CompUSA
Okia
Powercool
Powmax
Pulsepower
Q-tec
Raidmax
Rocketfish
SFC
Sharkoon
Shuttle
Skyhawk
Startech
Storm
Sumvision
Tesla

Thermaltake -
BronzeMunich 430w
Purepower NP / RU
TR2 and TR2-RX

Trust (Stick to their peripherals)
Wintech
Winpower
xTreme (Cyberpower PSUs)
Youngbear
Zebronics
 
Yeah, ignoring the collective of the internet is a bad idea. your PSU is trash and honestly it is a miracle it has lasted this long. This is a fact, not an opinion. It is built with junk components and fails PSU tests left and right.

If you care about your PC, replace it before it takes everything out.
 


This is why I, for example, never would look at Amazon or Newegg for a PSU review. The reviewers on there give it 5 stars if it runs the first time and is quiet. Basically, 5 stars if it works. But forget all about the ripple suppression, voltage regulation, bad capacitors, (probably) poor efficiency, lied-about wattages and temperatures.
 
What's important about the tier list is what's not actually said. There are ppl with extensive electronic backgrounds who actually do the testing under many different conditions. Take, for example, many of the users in India. Very few actually maintain their pc's in a 20-25°C environment, Indian summers will see ambient temps in the 40°C range. Yet many psus who receive 5 stars on amazon etc don't see this. Their great running, 5 star psu was tested to perform within a 25-30° range and going over that sees a major drop in reliability, performance, longevity etc.

What most don't understand, is that the 5 star users in amazon etc are The miniscule sample. The psu they bought works for just them, under their conditions, at the time of their purchase. You could take the absolute worst tier5 500w psu, subject it to a 200w load in a 22°C ambient pc, and it'll work great. Change 1 condition and you are replacing anything from the psu to the entire pc, or as proven by history, the entire house the pc was in, after a psu exploded, starting a fire in the pc, which spread to the house because the pc was left on and the user was at work.

The tier list isn't just about what's good or not, it's about value, safety, longevity, reliability, performance, pc health etc. It's a project put together by ppl who give a damn, based on testing and research by those who know their stuff, so ppl who care don't end up with crap.

Ignore it at your own risk.
 
Don't be too tough on Seeingeyegod. I think some skepticism is healthy, enough research will point him to the right direction. I have had 3 TR 500w in the past, and, interestingly, none has failed.

I believe that they are low end units, but that's still contradictory to my own experience. I eventually replaced all 3 knowing that I don't want to take the chance. However, if a core 2 duo office PC needed a PSU, I wouldn't hesitate to slap one of those TR2 in it. Quality can be relative.
 
Thanks for your concern (I mean desire to prove you are correct). However, from searching a bunch of threads it still seems to me the models most people are complaining about are 500 and 600 watt, not 700 like mine, and also that the new/old timeline is not exact. I'm not going to replace this PSU until it dies.. which probably won't be for years despite this list. I've had cheaper PSU's die in the past and none has ever taken out my PC with it either so I'm not really worried.
 
That's entirely your decision. We just inform you of what we know. What you do is up to you. I could honestly care less if you believe the data or not, at least in regard to anybody being "right". I just know what I know, what review sites say and what the consensus on these units is.

Nobody ever had a problem with ANYTHING, until they did. Unfortunately, in some cases, like cars with faulty airbags, ignition switches that shut off at the wrong time or really poor quality power supplies, it can kill you once the problem surfaces. Of course those are rare circumstances, but it does happen, and even if it doesn't kill you it can still create a tremendous issue for you and end up costing you hundreds of dollars in hardware or other damages. That's not FUD, it's fact. So good luck either way. I hope you'll never have any issues to be honest. I'm just not confident you won't. If your unit is a newer TR2 you may not have any issues, but it's still not a high quality unit. If it's an older TR2, you'll have problems sooner or later.
 
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