The Power Supply Unit tier list Discussion thread

[i7Baby]

any chance the Corsair AX series could be included?

Its already in Tier One

 

[Hi_im_JK]

Sorry misread that thanks.

 

[iAmAdrian]

How about this? Thermaltake Modular SmartSE 730w?

I'm about to buy it but need to confer with you guys first hand.

 

[i7Baby]

If its not in the first few tiers, then try something that is

 

[toyftw]

How about this? Thermaltake Modular SmartSE 730w?

I'm about to buy it but need to confer with you guys first hand.

Not certified (yet anyway) no trusted review, I'd keep looking. If you'd like suggestions, open
a thread on this forum.

 

[chimera201]

No update on Zalman PSUs?
I think this Tier list should be made by a non-American. Because non-115V PSUs are ignored completely.
And I have been seeing a lot of non-115V PSUs recently. This seems to be the new trick PSU manufacturers are using to sell low quality power supplies

 

[dottorrent]

No update on Zalman PSUs?
I think this Tier list should be made by a non-American. Because non-115V PSUs are ignored completely.
And I have been seeing a lot of non-115V PSUs recently. This seems to be the new trick PSU manufacturers are using to sell low quality power supplies

These are all switching power supplies. And plus, I am English. 😀

Also, there has been no reviews on those Zalman units for months, so I'll get rid of them.

 

[ko888]

No update on Zalman PSUs?
I think this Tier list should be made by a non-American. Because non-115V PSUs are ignored completely.
And I have been seeing a lot of non-115V PSUs recently. This seems to be the new trick PSU manufacturers are using to sell low quality power supplies

The Corsair VS Series is on the list and that series is strictly 200~240V AC input only.

 

[chimera201]

The Corsair VS Series is on the list and that series is strictly 200~240V AC input only.

That was asked for in this thread itself. Well that series is quite popular in my country atleast (It was launched in my country)

 

[iAmAdrian]

Sorry if I'm being such a noob but is the Seasonic S12ii 520w, the same right up there in tier one?
Someone offered me this at 66.44U$. Is that reasonable? With 5 years warranty.

S / M12 II Bronze series (Includes EVO series)
Platinum series (Fanless or not)
X series

 

[dottorrent]

Sorry if I'm being such a noob but is the Seasonic S12ii 520w, the same right up there in tier one?
Someone offered me this at 66.44U$. Is that reasonable? With 5 years warranty.

S / M12 II Bronze series (Includes EVO series)
Platinum series (Fanless or not)
X series

Yes. The EVO series is fully modular. That PSU is a fine choice, as Seasonic is the best at making Power Supply Units.

 

[ko888]

Tier one - The highest quality and most stable PSUs available on the hardware market today. Highly recommended for any situation

The Seasonic S12II Bronze Series does not meet the most stable and suitable for any situation criterion since its older group regulated design doesn't allow it to meet meet Intel Haswell compatibility. The +12V rail will go out of spec when using Intel's Haswell testing procedure. Seasonic also doesn't claim any Intel Haswell compatibility for the S12II Bronze Series.

 

[dottorrent]

Tier one - The highest quality and most stable PSUs available on the hardware market today. Highly recommended for any situation

The Seasonic S12II Bronze Series does not meet the most stable and suitable for any situation criterion since its older group regulated design doesn't allow it to meet meet Intel Haswell compatibility. The +12V rail will go out of spec when using Intel's Haswell testing procedure. Seasonic also doesn't claim any Intel Haswell compatibility for the S12II Bronze Series.

It doesn't have to meet Intel's Haswell pass for it to be stable. That test is to see if the PSU can hold a very low current state without a safety switch cutting the power. It doesn't have to pass that to be a stable and reliable unit.

 

[ko888]

Tier one - The highest quality and most stable PSUs available on the hardware market today. Highly recommended for any situation

The Seasonic S12II Bronze Series does not meet the most stable and suitable for any situation criterion since its older group regulated design doesn't allow it to meet meet Intel Haswell compatibility. The +12V rail will go out of spec when using Intel's Haswell testing procedure. Seasonic also doesn't claim any Intel Haswell compatibility for the S12II Bronze Series.

It doesn't have to meet Intel's Haswell pass for it to be stable. That test is to see if the PSU can hold a very low current state without a safety switch cutting the power. It doesn't have to pass that to be a stable and reliable unit.

You're the one that stated "Highly recommended for any situation". Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend an S12II Bronze Series for an Intel Haswell build because of the chance that the system won't wake up from C6/C7 power state.

Intel Haswell compatibility requires that the PSU not go out of spec during the test. If a rail exceeds spec then it's not completely stable. A good modern PSU, based on DC-to-DC design for its minor rails, remains completely stable and within ATX12V specs under all conditions and configurations it is subjected to and is what should be required for Tier 1.

 

[dottorrent]

Tier one - The highest quality and most stable PSUs available on the hardware market today. Highly recommended for any situation

The Seasonic S12II Bronze Series does not meet the most stable and suitable for any situation criterion since its older group regulated design doesn't allow it to meet meet Intel Haswell compatibility. The +12V rail will go out of spec when using Intel's Haswell testing procedure. Seasonic also doesn't claim any Intel Haswell compatibility for the S12II Bronze Series.

It doesn't have to meet Intel's Haswell pass for it to be stable. That test is to see if the PSU can hold a very low current state without a safety switch cutting the power. It doesn't have to pass that to be a stable and reliable unit.

You're the one that stated "Highly recommended for any situation". Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend an S12II Bronze Series for an Intel Haswell build because of the chance that the system won't wake up from C6/C7 power state.

Intel Haswell compatibility requires that the PSU not go out of spec during the test. If a rail exceeds spec then it's not completely stable. A good modern PSU, based on DC-to-DC design for its minor rails, remains completely stable and within ATX12V specs under all conditions and configurations it is subjected to and is what should be required for Tier 1.

Fair point. Moved to Tier 2 A. However, Seasonic's M12 650 / 750 / 850w models ARE confirmed Haswell Compatible, so they stay at Tier 1.

 

[IRONBATMAN]

What would be the best cheap 500-600 watt PSU that's pretty much universal and also works with Haswell ? Is there a " Haswell certified Seasonic M12ii 520w " ?

Any alternatives to this , at a similar price range ?
http://www.seasonicusa.com/M12II-Bronze-650-750-850.htm

 

[dottorrent]

XFX's 650w PSUs are Haswell certified. Made by Seasonic as well.

 

[damric]

I made this into a tutorial for easy use.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2185279/power-supply-tier-list.html

 

[Bubun Karmakar]

what about Cooler Master GX II 550 Watts PSU? Is it enough to power AMD FX 8350, R9 270x Toxic Boost, 8 Gigs of 2133Mhz RAM (single chip), Seagate Barracuda 2TB DM002? Please help!

 

[dottorrent]

what about Cooler Master GX II 550 Watts PSU? Is it enough to power AMD FX 8350, R9 270x Toxic Boost, 8 Gigs of 2133Mhz RAM (single chip), Seagate Barracuda 2TB DM002? Please help!

There's been no review on the GX II 550w as of yet, so it's unconfirmed how it will perform. However, any 600w PSU from Tier 3 and above will be just fine.

 

[Bubun Karmakar]

okay but PCPartPicker said it just requires 419Watts. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zjWdrH So maybe I would be able to run my rig just fine with my Cooler Master GXII 550 Watts PSU?

 

[Ultrabook Zhi Yi]

Oh yeah, should Cooler Master V Series (Seasonic KM3 platform) move to tier 1 because it has the same platform as Seasonic X?
And also, if Cooler Master i700 is in Tier 3, the same applies for i600 too?

 

[dottorrent]

Oh yeah, should Cooler Master V Series (Seasonic KM3 platform) move to tier 1 because it has the same platform as Seasonic X?
And also, if Cooler Master i700 is in Tier 3, the same applies for i600 too?

CM V series has been moved to Tier 1.

It's unconfirmed that the i600 is about as good as the i700. It's like the original GX series. The rest weren't great but the 450w model was the best. It's down to quality of the components and how stable the unit actually is.

 

[Ultrabook Zhi Yi]

Oh yeah, should Cooler Master V Series (Seasonic KM3 platform) move to tier 1 because it has the same platform as Seasonic X?
And also, if Cooler Master i700 is in Tier 3, the same applies for i600 too?

CM V series has been moved to Tier 1.

It's unconfirmed that the i600 is about as good as the i700. It's like the original GX series. The rest weren't great but the 450w model was the best. It's down to quality of the components and how stable the unit actually is.

But the i500, i600 and i700 should have the same platform?
RS-xxx-ACAA-B1? By the way B1 is what OEM manufacturer?

 

[ko888]

But the i500, i600 and i700 should have the same platform?
RS-xxx-ACAA-B1? By the way B1 is what OEM manufacturer?

Enhance Electronics in Taiwan.