[SOLVED] Which Brand Of Budget PSU Would Likely Be Most Durable ?

[worstalentscout]

hi,

i'm getting someone to build a really budget desktop for me and only recently realized that a lousy PSU can destroy the Motherboard & other parts...........

my cheapo system will be a ASRock B450m Pro-4 or B450m Steel Legend (which one is better ?).....with 1pc of 8GB of RAM and a SSD..........Ryzen3 3200G with no graphic card at all.........i won't be over-clocking and i don't play games at all.....

i was thinking of the below PSU choices since their pricing are quite close....... (from all the reviews i've read, seems all budget PSUs are junk)



Thermaltake = Smart RGB (500w) (80+ White) (5-yr warranty)

Corsair = CV450 (450w) (80+ Bronze) (3-yr warranty)

CoolerMaster = MWE (450w) (80+ White) (3-yr warranty)

CoolerMaster = Masterwatt (550w) (80+ Bronze) (Semi-Modular) (5-yr warranty)

Seasonic = S12III (550w) (80+ Bronze) (5-yr warranty)......> i might get the 450w if i can find it <

 

[Archaic59]

hi,

i'm getting someone to build a really budget desktop for me and only recently realized that a lousy PSU can destroy the Motherboard & other parts...........

my cheapo system will be a ASRock B450m Pro-4 or B450m Steel Legend (which one is better ?).....with 1pc of 8GB of RAM and a SSD..........Ryzen3 3200G with no graphic card at all.........i won't be over-clocking and i don't play games at all.....

i was thinking of the below PSU choices since their pricing are quite close....... (from all the reviews i've read, seems all budget PSUs are junk)



Thermaltake = Smart RGB (500w) (80+ White) (5-yr warranty)

Corsair = CV450 (450w) (80+ Bronze) (3-yr warranty)

CoolerMaster = MWE (450w) (80+ White) (3-yr warranty)

CoolerMaster = Masterwatt (550w) (80+ Bronze) (Semi-Modular) (5-yr warranty)

Seasonic = S12III (550w) (80+ Bronze) (5-yr warranty)......> i might get the 450w if i can find it <

The Seasonic is probably the one I'd pick but none of them are good choices. You'll get a little better performance with a 2 x 4 memory kit than a 1 x 8. Either of those motherboards are fine.

 

[DSzymborski]

Either the SeaSonic or the Corsair.

As noted above, you really want to use dual channel RAM, not a single stick. You're giving away a bit of performance for no gain. And make sure it's not super-slow RAM either, which matters for Ryzen.

Also, if you can't verify that the motherboard's BIOS has been updated, you may have trouble getting the 3200G working on either since they didn't work with these out of box. You'll either need to verify a motherboard's BIOS before purchase or you ought to save the headache and just get a B550 motherboard.

 

[worstalentscout]

The Seasonic is probably the one I'd pick but none of them are good choices. You'll get a little better performance with a 2 x 4 memory kit than a 1 x 8. Either of those motherboards are fine.

many thanks for your quick reply.........yes, i reckon none of the budget PSUs are any good, just hope can be reliable.....surprisingly, my old cheapo Acer small factor desktop's PSU lasted 9 years !

i know about the 2 x 4GB RAM being better but a single stick 8GB is cheaper and i'm on a tight budget

 

[worstalentscout]

Either the SeaSonic or the Corsair.

As noted above, you really want to use dual channel RAM, not a single stick. You're giving away a bit of performance for no gain. And make sure it's not super-slow RAM either, which matters for Ryzen.

Also, if you can't verify that the motherboard's BIOS has been updated, you may have trouble getting the 3200G working on either since they didn't work with these out of box. You'll either need to verify a motherboard's BIOS before purchase or you ought to save the headache and just get a B550 motherboard.

many thanks for the quick reply.......well, i'm on a really tight budget so i decided to go for a single stick of 8GB RAM..........it's a Crucial and either 2400mhz or 2666mhz......

a B550 motherboard would cost quite a bit more, right ?

 

[DSzymborski]

many thanks for the quick reply.......well, i'm on a really tight budget so i decided to go for a single stick of 8GB RAM..........it's a Crucial and either 2400mhz or 2666mhz......

a B550 motherboard would cost quite a bit more, right ?

Not really.

Cheaping out on the RAM is a really bad idea. You're literally talking a few extra dollars to maximize your performance from your budget rig. The more you strip away, the more just finding some refurbished business desktop with a 3770 or 4770 sounds like a better idea.

 

[worstalentscout]

Not really.

Cheaping out on the RAM is a really bad idea. You're literally talking a few extra dollars to maximize your performance from your budget rig. The more you strip away, the more just finding some refurbished business desktop with a 3770 or 4770 sounds like a better idea.

roger........many thanks.....perhaps i can add another stick of RAM later on ?

 

[Archaic59]

roger........many thanks.....perhaps i can add another stick of RAM later on ?

It may be possible, but RAM modules are sold together in kits for a reason as they are guaranteed to be compatible. Adding another may or may not work. They don't always play nice together if they're not from the same kit, even if they are identical brand and model.

 

[worstalentscout]

It may be possible, but RAM modules are sold together in kits for a reason as they are guaranteed to be compatible. Adding another may or may not work. They don't always play nice together if they're not from the same kit, even if they are identical brand and model.

wow.......i never knew that......all these years, i've been mixing Kingston RAM of different capacity and even speeds.......LOL

 

[Archaic59]

wow.......i never knew that......all these years, i've been mixing Kingston RAM of different capacity and even speeds.......LOL

If you have the experience to manually set timings you can probably make it work. Most people who come here don't know how to do that. The forums are full of people with system problems for this exact reason, mixing different modules. The best recommendation is to tell them to get a matched kit.

 

[worstalentscout]

If you have the experience to manually set timings you can probably make it work. Most people who come here don't know how to do that. The forums are full of people with system problems for this exact reason, mixing different modules. The best recommendation is to tell them to get a matched kit.

many thanks indeed, i certainly don't know how to set the timing......by the way, which of the below PSUs would be mostly to be most durable ?

i reckon safer to get a 5-yr warranty than a 3-yr warranty PSU, right ?



Thermaltake = Smart RGB (500w) (80+ White) (5-yr warranty)

Corsair = CV450 (450w) (80+ Bronze) (3-yr warranty)

CoolerMaster = MWE (450w) (80+ White) (3-yr warranty)

CoolerMaster = Masterwatt (550w) (80+ Bronze) (Semi-Modular) (5-yr warranty)

Seasonic = S12III (550w) (80+ Bronze) (5-yr warranty).

 

[Archaic59]

many thanks indeed, i certainly don't know how to set the timing......by the way, which of the below PSUs would be mostly to be most durable ?

i reckon safer to get a 5-yr warranty than a 3-yr warranty PSU, right ?



Thermaltake = Smart RGB (500w) (80+ White) (5-yr warranty)

Corsair = CV450 (450w) (80+ Bronze) (3-yr warranty)

CoolerMaster = MWE (450w) (80+ White) (3-yr warranty)

CoolerMaster = Masterwatt (550w) (80+ Bronze) (Semi-Modular) (5-yr warranty)

Seasonic = S12III (550w) (80+ Bronze) (5-yr warranty).

• The smart series are not good....at all. I think there's one gold model that's acceptable but the rest are garbage.
• The Corsair CV are actually their VS series, which are bottom of the line, that have been slightly upgraded to achieve Bronze efficiency.
• The only Cooler Master models worth buying are their most expensive for the most part.
• Seasonic S12III was outsourced to some other chinese company and are not even made by Seasonic. Quality has proven to be low on those units. I'm surprised (and disappointed) Seasonic put their name on them.

I'd spend another $20 to get something better myself. I honestly can't recommend any of them. Originally I said to get the Seasonic, in my first reply, but I thought you listed the better quality (but older) S12II, not the S12III. My mistake.

If I was really stuck I guess I'd take the Masterwatt 550. The best low budget model right now is the Corsair CX series.

 

[worstalentscout]

• The smart series are not good....at all. I think there's one gold model that's acceptable but the rest are garbage.
• The Corsair CV are actually their VS series, which are bottom of the line, that have been slightly upgraded to achieve Bronze efficiency.
• The only Cooler Master models worth buying are their most expensive for the most part.
• Seasonic S12III was outsourced to some other chinese company and are not even made by Seasonic. Quality has proven to be low on those units. I'm surprised (and disappointed) Seasonic put their name on them.

I'd spend another $20 to get something better myself. I honestly can't recommend any of them. Originally I said to get the Seasonic, in my first reply, but I thought you listed the better quality (but older) S12II, not the S12III. My mistake.

If I was really stuck I guess I'd take the Masterwatt 550. The best low budget model right now is the Corsair CX series.

many thanks for your detailed reply.....so none of my choices will last ?

so in the worst case scenario, the Coolermaster Masterwatt 550 would be better than the MWE series ?

by the way, with a 5-yr warranty.....will i get a refurbished or new replacement PSU if the original one i bought were to kic kthe bucket ?