- Apr 10, 2006
- 14,620
- 3
- 41,465
Hello all. This is an early stage project. I'll let you know when that changes.
It is a collaborative effort being done by several of us here on the forums. You get to view our progress here:
https://rankedpsulist.dabbledb.com/page/rankedpsulist/aninOXDN#
Until we say so, this is all "rough draft" status and should not be fully trusted as a reference.
------------------------------------
Ranked Power Supplies
The purpose of this list is to provide good information that will help anyone decide what PSU to purchase.
For a few years there has been a Tiered PSU List that gets used to place various brands and model lines into categories. This has helped the community a great deal but it does have some problems. There have also been some attempts at updating this, but they have not been successful.
For a long time I considered the Tiered PSU List as sacred, but I eventually realized it was just an excellent early attempt to classify the various PSUs on the market. It is not an official document, and indeed this is not an official document. This list is the result of testing, opinion, and consensus. Nothing more.
We also have a few other lists, that represent a lot of work and thought:
DavidHammock200 at Extreme Overclocking forums
Diaz at OC Forums
We need some logical ranking system that will be easy to read and follow.
PSU Criteria
There are many respected references regarding PSUs, and I am supplying a few of my favorites:
These stickies at the top of this jonnyguru forum.
Everything You Need to Know About Power Supplies @Hardware Secrets
These help us determine the following criteria.
1. Performance under stress. High operating temperatures combined with heavy loads can bring many supposedly good power supplies to their knees. Most so-called reviewers fail to properly stress a PSU during testing.
2. Longevity. This is not an easy thing to judge. Sometimes the historical performance of a particular OEM or design can be used, but mostly expert evaluation of the various internal parts and assembly is the only way to predict how long a given unit will last.
Beyond these two are more specific criteria, but these may change in importance depending on the user. I list here my personal order and yours may be different. However, all of these items are important, and none of them should be ignored.
3. Warranty. Not only duration but actual service quality.
4. Voltage Regulation. The ability of the unit to supply stable voltage under different demands, from low to high.
5. Voltage Ripple. The amount of fluctuation remaining in the DC current after conversion from AC. Can only be seen and measured on an oscilloscope or such.
6. Efficiency. The more efficient a power supply is, the less heat it generates and the lower your power bill.
7. Noise levels. The plural is there because this can change depending on load and ambient temp. Usually this is only the fan noise, but even passively cooled units can generate some noise.
7. Cabling. Cable length, modularity, sleeving, cable type.
8. Aesthetics. Color, fan lighting, etc.
In modern desktop computers, especially those used at least partly for graphically intense games, total wattage is not as important as maximum amperage on the 12V rail(s). For this reason, this list is broken down not by wattage, but by 12V amps.
The ranks will be as follows in each amperage range:
Rank 1 - Will contain a maximum of 5 units. If another is added that causes 6 in this rank, one must be removed to rank 2. As power supplies become increasingly sophisticated and of higher and higher quality, the contents of these ranks must also shift.
Rank 2 - Will contain former rank 1 PSUs plus any current models that compete well with them. This list will be large, but somewhat self-limiting as older models go out of production.
Rank 3 - Will contain recommended PSUs that can't quite compete with the better ones but may be desireable for budget or availability considerations.
All rank 1-3 PSUs will have at least 80 Plus certification. There may be a few initial units that do not have this, but they are expected to quickly be replaced or certified, and will be noted.
Rank 4 - Will contain barely adequate PSUs that should only be selected in desperate circumstances. These need not be 80 plus but should have some basic protections and be at least ATX spec as to voltage under whatever load is expected to be placed on them.
Rank 5 - Will have units with serious flaws in design, parts, or performance. Not recommended for any desktop. Any serious violation of ATX specs will land a unit here.
Unrated - Any PSUs on the list that do not have a rating are simply not yet researched, or no good information exists. We may supply some clues to these as we can, for instance who the OEM is, without rating them. It is expected that most of the units listed without a rank will be poorer quality.
---------------------
A number of volunteers are currently working on this project, but we do have room for a few more. Some knowledge of PSUs is expected, and certainly those with good reps here on these boards are encouraged to PM me if you would like to help out.
0-21
22-34
35-42 jtt283
43-54 (Proximon for now)
55-64 Hunter315
65-75 Proximon
76 - 120+ Skora
It is a collaborative effort being done by several of us here on the forums. You get to view our progress here:
https://rankedpsulist.dabbledb.com/page/rankedpsulist/aninOXDN#
Until we say so, this is all "rough draft" status and should not be fully trusted as a reference.
------------------------------------
Ranked Power Supplies
The purpose of this list is to provide good information that will help anyone decide what PSU to purchase.
For a few years there has been a Tiered PSU List that gets used to place various brands and model lines into categories. This has helped the community a great deal but it does have some problems. There have also been some attempts at updating this, but they have not been successful.
For a long time I considered the Tiered PSU List as sacred, but I eventually realized it was just an excellent early attempt to classify the various PSUs on the market. It is not an official document, and indeed this is not an official document. This list is the result of testing, opinion, and consensus. Nothing more.
We also have a few other lists, that represent a lot of work and thought:
DavidHammock200 at Extreme Overclocking forums
Diaz at OC Forums
We need some logical ranking system that will be easy to read and follow.
PSU Criteria
There are many respected references regarding PSUs, and I am supplying a few of my favorites:
These stickies at the top of this jonnyguru forum.
Everything You Need to Know About Power Supplies @Hardware Secrets
These help us determine the following criteria.
1. Performance under stress. High operating temperatures combined with heavy loads can bring many supposedly good power supplies to their knees. Most so-called reviewers fail to properly stress a PSU during testing.
2. Longevity. This is not an easy thing to judge. Sometimes the historical performance of a particular OEM or design can be used, but mostly expert evaluation of the various internal parts and assembly is the only way to predict how long a given unit will last.
Beyond these two are more specific criteria, but these may change in importance depending on the user. I list here my personal order and yours may be different. However, all of these items are important, and none of them should be ignored.
3. Warranty. Not only duration but actual service quality.
4. Voltage Regulation. The ability of the unit to supply stable voltage under different demands, from low to high.
5. Voltage Ripple. The amount of fluctuation remaining in the DC current after conversion from AC. Can only be seen and measured on an oscilloscope or such.
6. Efficiency. The more efficient a power supply is, the less heat it generates and the lower your power bill.
7. Noise levels. The plural is there because this can change depending on load and ambient temp. Usually this is only the fan noise, but even passively cooled units can generate some noise.
7. Cabling. Cable length, modularity, sleeving, cable type.
8. Aesthetics. Color, fan lighting, etc.
In modern desktop computers, especially those used at least partly for graphically intense games, total wattage is not as important as maximum amperage on the 12V rail(s). For this reason, this list is broken down not by wattage, but by 12V amps.
The ranks will be as follows in each amperage range:
Rank 1 - Will contain a maximum of 5 units. If another is added that causes 6 in this rank, one must be removed to rank 2. As power supplies become increasingly sophisticated and of higher and higher quality, the contents of these ranks must also shift.
Rank 2 - Will contain former rank 1 PSUs plus any current models that compete well with them. This list will be large, but somewhat self-limiting as older models go out of production.
Rank 3 - Will contain recommended PSUs that can't quite compete with the better ones but may be desireable for budget or availability considerations.
All rank 1-3 PSUs will have at least 80 Plus certification. There may be a few initial units that do not have this, but they are expected to quickly be replaced or certified, and will be noted.
Rank 4 - Will contain barely adequate PSUs that should only be selected in desperate circumstances. These need not be 80 plus but should have some basic protections and be at least ATX spec as to voltage under whatever load is expected to be placed on them.
Rank 5 - Will have units with serious flaws in design, parts, or performance. Not recommended for any desktop. Any serious violation of ATX specs will land a unit here.
Unrated - Any PSUs on the list that do not have a rating are simply not yet researched, or no good information exists. We may supply some clues to these as we can, for instance who the OEM is, without rating them. It is expected that most of the units listed without a rank will be poorer quality.
---------------------
A number of volunteers are currently working on this project, but we do have room for a few more. Some knowledge of PSUs is expected, and certainly those with good reps here on these boards are encouraged to PM me if you would like to help out.
0-21
22-34
35-42 jtt283
43-54 (Proximon for now)
55-64 Hunter315
65-75 Proximon
76 - 120+ Skora
Color coding/noting for the 80+ ratings of Bronze, Silver & Gold is another useful tool which kind of falls under your 4 & 5 criteria's.
Color coding I should be able to pull off, and I'll definitely try that now.
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