Quality Of PC Power and Cooling PSU's

[Slickrick214]

I'm taking a class to prepare for the A+ cert exam. Part of the class is you pretty much get a free computer, the "catch" is you have to build it and if you mess something up use what you learned in the class to trouble shoot the problem. This week we finally got to see what we were getting. This is what we get

Thermaltake case with a cheap Thermaltake 400 Watt PSU
H61 motherboard
I5 2500
Optical drive
HDD

The Thermaltake PSU seems pretty cheap my guess is its junk and won't last more than a year. I wanted to get a cheap modular PSU and one that I was looking at from PC Power & Cooling. How are their power supplies? Are they good quality, will they last a long time? The one I was looking at is 80 plus bronze so will it really put out the stated power?

 

[mcnumpty23]

PC Power & Cooling are quality units and they have been around a long time

i thought they had sold out to ocz--didnt realise they still produced psus under their own name

 

[Slickrick214]

They did sell out to OCZ in 2007. I'm not crazy about OCZ I have heard alot af bad things about the stuff they make. Poor quality power supplies, poor quality SSD's...and stuff like that. My worry was that this buy out to OCZ means that the quality of PC Power and Cooling has gone down the toilet.

 

[mcnumpty23]

i tend to buy quality psus like corsair,seasonic etc

may cost more but the psus the most important part of the pc to me

plus you get a 5 year warranty-- some corsairs even 7 years now

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Buying PSU's by brand is oft a "Fool's Errand" because most of them build to meet various market niches. For example, ask 10 peeps which of the following do you think is true ?

Antec makes crappy PSU's
Antec makes good PSU's
Antec makes very good PSU's
Antec makes great PSU's

The correct answer is ... all of the above. Manufacturer's are in business to make money ... the more they sell the more they make. Targeting a single market segment limits the number of customers you can sell to, limiting the amount of sales. So most vendors sell to multiple market segments:

Great PSU's
CP-850 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142
SG-650 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=113
SG-850 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=101

Very Good PSU's
HCG-900 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=211
HCP-1200 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=198
CP-1000 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=173
TP-750 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=140
TPQ-850 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=58
EA-500 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=35

Good PSU's
HCP-850 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=215
TPQ-1200 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=177
EA-750 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=173
EA-650 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=110


Crappy PSU's
NP-650 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=117
TPT-650 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=1
TP2-550 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=22

You will see it oft claimed that Corsair is good "because they are made by Seasonic". The fact is, most Corsair PSU's are made by Channelwell...who makes:

The entire CX series except for the 400
The entire GS series
HX750, 850 and 1000
Entire TX Series except for 650

Seasonic makes their :

AX750 and 850
HX650 and smaller
VX450 and TX650

Their flagship AX1200 is made by Flextronics.

Granted there are numerous brands you should completely stay away from but most brands have great lines, average lines, crappy lines and even within thos elines there are exceptions.....The Corsair HX line is a great line for example ..... except for the HX1000 and HX1050.

There are no "easy answers"; start with a brand name know for good customer service...... learn the differences between their various product lines ..... once ya pick the line ya want, check to make sure you're not buying the one or two poor examples in the product line.

 

[Guest]

Buying PSU's by brand is oft a "Fool's Errand" because most of them build to meet various market niches. For example, ask 10 peeps which of the following do you think is true ?

Antec makes crappy PSU's
Antec makes good PSU's
Antec makes very good PSU's
Antec makes great PSU's

The correct answer is ... all of the above. Manufacturer's are in business to make money ... the more they sell the more they make. Targeting a single market segment limits the number of customers you can sell to, limiting the amount of sales. So most vendors sell to multiple market segments:

Great PSU's
CP-850 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142
SG-650 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=113
SG-850 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=101

Very Good PSU's
HCG-900 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=211
HCP-1200 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=198
CP-1000 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=173
TP-750 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=140
TPQ-850 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=58
EA-500 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=35

Good PSU's
HCP-850 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=215
TPQ-1200 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=177
EA-750 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=173
EA-650 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=110


Crappy PSU's
NP-650 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=117
TPT-650 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=1
TP2-550 http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=22

You will see it oft claimed that Corsair is good "because they are made by Seasonic". The fact is, most Corsair PSU's are made by Channelwell...who makes:

The entire CX series except for the 400
The entire GS series
HX750, 850 and 1000
Entire TX Series except for 650

Seasonic makes their :

AX750 and 850
HX650 and smaller
VX450 and TX650

Their flagship AX1200 is made by Flextronics.

Granted there are numerous brands you should completely stay away from but most brands have great lines, average lines, crappy lines and even within thos elines there are exceptions.....The Corsair HX line is a great line for example ..... except for the HX1000 and HX1050.

There are no "easy answers"; start with a brand name know for good customer service...... learn the differences between their various product lines ..... once ya pick the line ya want, check to make sure you're not buying the one or two poor examples in the product line.

The new V2 corsair PSU's are made by seasonic not CW.

 

[hunter315]

While that is true ivan, the TX, TX-C, and TXM are all CWT based. Seasonic makes 13 models for corsair, CWT makes 25, and flextronic makes 1. Corsairs reputation was heavily built on the successes of the CWT platforms.


Jack is still right though, buying by brand isn't a good plan, figure out what you need, then you can find a good unit to fit that bill. The cheap thermaltake units that come with their cases are usually pretty bad though so you are correct on wanting to replace it. Even something like the Corsair 430CXV2 would work better.

 

[Guest]

While that is true ivan, the TX, TX-C, and TXM are all CWT based. Seasonic makes 13 models for corsair, CWT makes 25, and flextronic makes 1. Corsairs reputation was heavily built on the successes of the CWT platforms.


Jack is still right though, buying by brand isn't a good plan, figure out what you need, then you can find a good unit to fit that bill. The cheap thermaltake units that come with their cases are usually pretty bad though so you are correct on wanting to replace it. Even something like the Corsair 430CXV2 would work better.

This is the review of the 750tx v2 from hardware secrets http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-TX750-V2-Power-Supply-Review/1227/9 if you look at the real manufacturer you can see that's it's seasonic. From techpowerup oem is from seasonic http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/TX750_V2/4.html

 

[Deleted member 217926]

This is the best database of power supply manufacturers I have seen.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page541.htm

To answer OPs question PC Power and Cooling is a very good brand with the Seasonic manufactured power supplies the best and the Sirtec units a step down but still very good.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page1418.htm

 

[Slickrick214]

I think I'm just going to go with the Pc Power and Cooling it seems like a pretty decent power supply. It has pretty much everything I want especially a modular design. It's cheap, modular and seems perfect for a budget build.

 

[Proximon]

While that is true ivan, the TX, TX-C, and TXM are all CWT based. Seasonic makes 13 models for corsair, CWT makes 25, and flextronic makes 1. Corsairs reputation was heavily built on the successes of the CWT platforms.


Jack is still right though, buying by brand isn't a good plan, figure out what you need, then you can find a good unit to fit that bill. The cheap thermaltake units that come with their cases are usually pretty bad though so you are correct on wanting to replace it. Even something like the Corsair 430CXV2 would work better.

Jack's info and his list are out of date. Corsair has moved from CWT back to Seasonic, over a year ago. Hence the V2 everywhere.

Antec Signature series WAS the best.... 4 years ago. The high end units are mostly either Seasonic or Superflower these days, with some others thrown in.

But yeah, never just blindly trust a brand... we have several hard-working reviewers out there to tell you what a good PSU is.

 

[Slickrick214]

Best answer selected by Slickrick214.