The Power Supply Unit tier list Discussion thread

[U6b36ef]

I have narrowed it down to Seasonic S12G-650 650W 80+ Gold Certified Wired, or the 550W version. Both wired. Or the Seasonic M12-II EVO 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Full Modular.

I figure since I am pulling about 350W under load something around 620W to 650W is perfect. I may add another GPU later as a dedicated PhysX card. I think this would have quite low power demand.

I think, but don't know, that the gold plus use better parts, which makes them more efficient. I don't really mind if I have a fully cabled supply because I think there is room for them. My Fractal Design Arc Midi 2 has lots of cabling space. It's a dream design for building a PC.

I appreciate that there are many other manufacturers. However I don't want to go spending even more time looking. I am terrible at deciding so more choice makes it worse. These two Seasonic look OK.

Oddly, previously I thought Corsair were OK because they make good products. Their RAM in the past was rated amongst the best names. Anyway I have seen Seasonic well mentioned enough times to give them a go.

Anyway I just waffled on there in-case anyone wants to jump in give me a pointer. I laid out my ideas.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Many of Corsair's products are OK, but they're often priced highly. Some of the cheaper ones have corners cut.

Gold don't necessarily use better parts; the parts where quality matters don't really affect efficiency. You can still hit gold with crappy caps and no protection whatsoever.

 

[TNT27]

Is the psu that comes with silverstone sg07 case decent quality? And is it compatible with the haswell low power state?

 

[U6b36ef]

Many of Corsair's products are OK, but they're often priced highly. Some of the cheaper ones have corners cut.

Gold don't necessarily use better parts; the parts where quality matters don't really affect efficiency. You can still hit gold with crappy caps and no protection whatsoever.

Thank you for replying.

I started reading about Seasonic having noisy fans. Opinion seems to be divided. Some say they are quiet some say they are very noisy. I think it's pot luck really. The same story happens with Corsair. When I read the Amazon one star reviews of Corsair they say the same. Faulty units, noisy fans etc. It's kind of strange really because you'd expect Seasonic to have a lower rate of one star reviews.

The Seasonic issue seems to be that they run hot so need lots of cooling.

I did actually buy a Corsair CX 600W, but had to return it. It was perfect at first but after a week had a constantly clicking fan. Initially I thought it was my front case fan gone bad and replaced that. Anyway after opening the case to see where the noise was coming from, I found other noises coming from the PSU occasionally. It was making the odd screeching sound.

I am definitely looking for quality parts this time. I didn't know Corsair were regarded as using cheap components when I bought my CX430. However in all the PCs I have built or worked on I never saw a PSU or motherboard go down. All this still worries me though. TH say it should.

 

[dottorrent]

That tier list doesn't include the EVGA G2/GS series, which seem to be absolutely cleaning up in the reviews. I'm not sure it's been updated recently, and being an image means you can't search.

Everyone seems to have their own tier list, and sometimes they differ.

I don't think there's much of a benefit in only recommending PSUs you've owned. Unless you've pulled it apart, you're falling prey to both the reviewer problem mentioned above, and sample size of one issues.

The G2 is in Tier one and the GS is in Tier two.

 

[tiny voices]

I personally avoid Corsair due to their less than good business model and overall shadiness.

 

[U6b36ef]

I personally avoid Corsair due to their less than good business model and overall shadiness.

I am looking closely at the Corsair RM650x 80 Gold. It used all high quality Japanese capacitors, and reviews as having quiet fans. I don't know honestly, I am fed up looking. I wanted to get the Seasonic M12-II EVO 620W, and then freaked out because people say they are noisy. However I guess the only people writing about them in forums are people with complaints. When you google " Seasonic fan noise" I mean.

 

[tiny voices]

I would not be paying a premium for that PSU jest because it says Corsair on it, Personally.

I have built with the Seasonic M12-II 520 recently and it wasn't noisy at all.

 

[U6b36ef]

I would not be paying a premium for that PSU jest because it says Corsair on it, Personally.

I have built with the Seasonic M12-II 520 recently and it wasn't noisy at all.

The Seasonic Gold 80 is the same price as the Corsair, so it's not a premium price. It's just that the fans on Corsair seem to review as more quiet. I don't want a noisy one because it will drive me bonkers. If I got a noisy one I would probably return it, and I don't want to many returns on my Amazon account.

It's good you got a quiet Seasonic though. That's best case scenario. Good luck with it.

I did also look at whether we can replace the fans in a Seasonic. However I came across a couple of sticky points. Firstly the plugs are not standard. Secondly the fitted fans are high rpm model fans. To replace that with say a fast rpm noctua like the new industrial 2000rpm or 3000rpm, won't reduce noise. Even the fast Noctuas make quite a noise when turned up high. The issue is that the Seasonic seem to be producing a lot of heat.

 

[tiny voices]

I don't even own that Seasonic. It was put in a build I did for someone else.

I have replaced PSU fans in multiple units before. It is as simple as cut and solder. Most recently I did an Antec VP-450.

 

[10thmtnarty]

That tier list doesn't include the EVGA G2/GS series, which seem to be absolutely cleaning up in the reviews. I'm not sure it's been updated recently, and being an image means you can't search.

Everyone seems to have their own tier list, and sometimes they differ.

I don't think there's much of a benefit in only recommending PSUs you've owned. Unless you've pulled it apart, you're falling prey to both the reviewer problem mentioned above, and sample size of one issues.

The g2 is in tier 1, and as a current user of the 750w model, I have to say it screams quality. Now keep in mind that I switched from a tier 5 ultra 750w psu. Under max load it does get a bit noisy but nothing excessive. Check out this review though.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8051/evga-supernova-850-g2-power-supply-review

Edit: posted the wrong link initially

 

[TNT27]

Is the psu that comes with silverstone sg07 case decent quality? And is it compatible with the haswell low power state?

I found some reviews saying its good, but that is for the case and everything in it. I have not been able to find specifics on the psu, other than it was custom made. Made by silverstone, so I automatically assume its decent quality, but my question is what tier would it be placed in, and is it compatible with haswell's low power stuff?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=227

Here's a great review of case and PSU.

 

[TNT27]

I orderd sgo7 for 99$ after tax and shipping, i think i got a good deal, good psu, especially for a sff package.

 

[U6b36ef]

I went ahead and bought the Corsair RM650i. It's installed and fine at five minutes and counting. It uses 0dB cooling on low power. I also pressed the fan test button. It's as quiet as a mouse. I think the fan test makes it go full speed, and I was expecting it to make some noise or possibly even be slighty noisy at full speed - but nothing. Just an exceptionally faint air whoosh with ear next to it.

Anyway it's Japanese caps all round, modular, and 80 gold+. It's also very sexy. Looking inside you can see heatsinks and a gorgeous design. This must be how they are managing to keep the fan speed and noise down, with heatsinks. Tonight I will run the Corsair-Link software and find out just what power my GTX 970 system does pull.

The Corsair RM650i also appears to be represented in the Tier 1 on this list associated wit this page. (This page lists the RM750i in Tier 1 anyway.) Plus it appears in Tier 1 elsewhere. However I didn't even notice that until I had convinced myself it was a good PSU. I judged it by Youtube reviews and testing videos. It aces ripple tests and almost comes out platinum efficient.

At £92 I thought it a lot of money. I could have bought a £12 cheaper RM650x without the Corsair-Link application. However Amazon had it in stock and I was starting to itch so I bought it. (The RMx had a wait time on it.) Right now I am glad I bought the RM1. The Seasonic 620W 80 gold+ was non-modular and about the same price. I am not criticising the Seasonic in the slightest, because for me the Corsair was just right place right time. Currently owning a 100% perfect Corsair CX430, I thought it OK to give Corsair another try.

 

[tiny voices]

I personally am not a big Corsair fan, but the RMi units are quality. No doubt about it.

 

[U6b36ef]

OK, my bad time. I need to correct a mistake.

I read that pushing the test button on the Corsair RM-I tested the fan at 100%. That is incorrect. After getting the C-Link software I managed to see what speeds the fan can do. Also I managed to push the fan with the software.

I believe the fan can do up to 4000rpm, and any fan on max at that speed would make noise. However it's silent at the demands I use and more I found. 2000rpm is pretty whoosh noise though as you can imagine, but still good though.

Anyway the bigger question for me was how much power is my system drawing.

Asus GTX 970 (full load - stock clock)
Intel i5-4690 (40% load - stock clock)
8GB RAM
Four hard drives

Total = 270W draw from PSU.

I was fine with my trusty CX430. Better caps with the new PSU though, and possibly better protection.

 

[theX]

Can someone tell me more about FSP HYPER 700W PSU i want to power a r9 290/390 with it and a skylake or a haswell cpu at most.( No overclocking planned)

 

[dottorrent]

Lose it. It's a horrendous PSU.

 

[tiny voices]

Yeah, it is junk for sure.

 

[U6b36ef]

I am having a slight change of heart over the Corsair RM650i that I bought. It's not the PSU itself that I fault. It's the 0dB fan profile.

The fan works in two ways. Either permanently at about 40% of max speed 1500rpm. It should be running at 1500x0.4=600rpm, however it runs at about 730pm.

Second fan profile is 0dB fan switched off, until it reaches a particular temp and then runs PWM. That temp is about 43'C which is OK for the components. However it means the case of the PSU and gets quite warm. It is sitting right under the GPU too. Therefor it is radiating warmth straight up to the GPU.

It happens quite a bit with my system because I only pull max 280W with my GTX 970. It means I am gaming with the fan off. Usually I pull about 260W. When gaming and I open my case and put my hand on the PSU it's quite warm. Though it's not hot by any description. I can not decide if I really want to continue with this PSU. Sometimes I think '"don't be ridiculous", and other times it annoys me.

When I compare it to my previous PSU the Corsair CX430, that was always cool to the touch. It's fan spun all the time, and was silent.

Anyway I am just saying this here because I think it might be a factor when choosing a PSU for people. I have installed a floor case fan which helps, because it circulates air around that area.

The issue would be solved if I could alter the switch on temperature. If I brought it down from about 43'C to about 35'C I would be very pleased. However I looked up trying to contact Corsair and it's no easy feat. I need to give them a full postal address just to get to technical help.

What annoys me also is what I read when I reviewed this PSU. They say the RM750i and RM1000i do have high switch-on temps. However they say the RM650i doesn't, and I was assured.

Anyway I hope it helps people know what to think.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Fan speeds aren't linear with PWM duty cycle.

That radiated heat is going to be almost undetectable compared to what's coming out of your GPU itself.

 

[tiny voices]

I'm not a big Corsair PSU fan. Even their good ones I won't touch. I'm just not going to pay that much for a CWT unit, no matter how good it might be. My money will go to Delta, Seasonic, Superflower.

 

[U6b36ef]

@ Someone Somewhere, it is a little reassuring that it doesn't seem to alter temps on the GPU. I will check again though. The PSU is at 43'C max, and only inches from the GPU at 70'C.

@ tiny voices, please what do you mean by CWT.

I am not an advocate of Corsair. I was informed by reviews that Corsair's new top model PSUs have come on leaps and bounds. The RM650i is in Tier 1 of the PSU list on this page. The fan issue is going to be widespread over other PSUs that use this cooling.

It would be ace though if I could edit the temp the fan comes on. I looked at the Corsair Link software files and it's all in symbols, not even English. No go there. I think I will try reach Corsair by writing but I suspect it will be a dreaded nightmare.

I just really wanted to make people aware that this might not be what they want. For me it's borderline. It's nice knowing it has all Japanese caps and a seven year warranty. Granted though I do feel I wish I had gone Seasonic for a PWM always on fan.


Thank you both for writing.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I'm not a big Corsair PSU fan. Even their good ones I won't touch. I'm just not going to pay that much for a CWT unit, no matter how good it might be. My money will go to Delta, Seasonic, Superflower.

The only Corsair product I have owned in their RAM, which is very good, but I agree that their PSUs are overpriced. They do make some quality units, but they price themselves out of the competition! Fortunately for Corsair, they have a well-known name so people buy the cheap low quality units and their other products without considering the quality.