Who's Who In Power Supplies: Brands, Labels, And OEMs

[tom thumb]

Seasonic X750 FTW!

It's essentially perfect... silent operation, extremely high efficiency, 6 year warranty, fully modular... it even comes in a freaking velvet bag.

Only catch is price- $170 when I got it. But if you're powering a grand or more of hard ware, it isn't wise to skimp on quality.

 

[tom thumb]

In retrospect I wish I didn't have to pay for that velvet bag, but then I couldn't find any other PSU that could compete.

 

[jdamon113]

One of the best articles, im2thecrowe.... look at the color chart.
stay away form the grayish blue fabs.
I always use seasonic. that is a safe bet.

Toms next time. Let see how many pc's dies from a bad psu.
I have seen quite a few psu's blue and take the board with them.

 

[chriskrum]

Great article! More like this, please. I'd love to see even more detail about power supply manufactures, etc. The UL lookup tip was probably obvious to everyone but me--already bookmarked that page.

 

[megamanx00]

Just want to point out that Fortron is FSP

 

[hixbot]

I've always trusted fortron or seasonic manufacturing, regardless of vendor.

 

[shushikiary]

Chaz_music hit the nail on the head. There is no security chip for a PSU, and the PI filter (common mode choke and some caps) does not really decide the end efficiency of the device, but it sure does keep the input power nice and clean from noise. I've seen a passive PI filter like that on almost EVERY PSU I've ever owned, including the corsairs. Only the supper cheap ones dont have them that I've seen, and the mid range ones uses smaller caps and a ferrite bead instead of a true common mode choke as there PI filter.

 

[Guest]

Here is a list of 80 Plus power supplies over on "about.com". I think I would avoid any company without a least a few 80 Plus GOLD level power supplies.

http://compreviews.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=compreviews&cdn=compute&tm=131&f=00&su=p504.1.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//80plus.org/manu/psu/psu_join.aspx

 

[tom thumb]

Just throwing this out there, but is there any company that manufactures better power supplies than Seasonic?

 

[Guest]

@ DK: "Please list PSUs manufactured by and branded as fsp. Their PSUs are good and the saga II series is great vfm. "
FSP is one of Fortron's brands. Look at the chart.

 

[someguynamedmatt]

...Huh. So my OCZ ModXStream was made by Sirtech. Didn't know that. I guess all that matters is that it's still humming happily right along; I know some expert reviews say otherwise, but it's probably my favorite modular PSU so far.

 

[Guest]

Hey where is Chiefmax? I wanted to see some fireworks

 

[cmartin011]

I'm using. A nzxt gold rated 650 Watt when my 295 gtx and quad core are spun up I've figured out just over 92% efficient and haven't had any hiccups with it 4 months in

 

[eojhet]

Just a quick comment. I bought a BFG Tech GS-550 in '09 to power the new GTX 260 graphics card that my old PSU couldn't handle. Less than a year later, something burnt out. Without thinking I bought a new PSU, only to find out that the PSU wasn't the problem. In actuality my GTX 260 OC from MSI was the culprit. Anyway, I got a replacement from MSI and kept in the new PSU that i bought. This PSU is a SIGMA Shark SP-585. Is Sigma such a bad brand that it hasn't been included in this article?? Its cheaper than the BFG that I replaced it with, and now I'm about to switch back to my BFG. Thoughts?

 

[Proximon]

A lot of good stuff here, although obviously there is a lot yet to be said.

Providing the ATX specs in regards to regulation and ripple would be a good start

 

[lp231]

Can't seem to find the answer so I hope you guys can answer it.

If a power supply does not advertise its first +12v rail being dedicated only to the CPU, does it automatically assume it's shared with other devices such as a video card?

example:
Lets say a video card needs 23A on the +12v rail. The power supply only has dual +12v rails and each are rated at 18A with a peak load of 425w out of 500w total. If the first +12v rail is indeed independent and only for the CPU, then it won't have enough amps to run the card since the 2nd +12v is only at 18A. If it's not, then the power supply can run the card because the combination of both rails will give out 35A and that's plenty.

So is it A or B?

A: No matter what, the very first +12v rail is always used for the CPU and nothing else.

B: The +12v rails are used for all required devices, first +12v rail being independent (used only for the CPU) is only if the power supply specifies it.

Thanks!

 

[karthik_11]

How about zebronics brand? in which category does it come?

 

[dEAne]

Thank you for the information.

 

[agent_link_dark]

Thank you tom's
trying to explain this crap to customers is a pain.
"no that 500w PSU isnt any good, the 400w SPI puts out more power."
"why would you carry it if its junk"
"because i dont do the purchasing"

i will now refer them to this article.

 

[martel80]

I'm not sure about US but where I live (Europe) the power company does not charge retail customers for idle current/power (their power meter measures only the active power). So power factor is no concern for one's electricity bill.

 

[spike_spiegel]

what about Colorsit? i dont see that in the list

 

[rebturtle]

Nice article. I know it's outside the scope of normal Tom's reporting, but I'd like to see a related article regarding proper source wiring. Consult with an electrician and perhaps an electrical engineer about the most common wiring and equipment mistakes/troubles. Proper grounding, loose connections, overloaded circuits, harmonic resonance, power strips (taps) versus surge protectors, UPS systems, etc.

As an electrician myself, I have seen many instances or old, poor, or overloaded wiring that was causing issues that had been blamed on various internal components - everything from minor memory errors to multiple hardware failures.

 

[hans_pcguy]

I have been building PC's since 1994. I have used the cheapest junk available. I have also used broken, burned up junk power supplies, and rebuilt them. I have seen many many power supplies fail. But never one start a fire. To me the reason you need a good psu is because a cheap one will potentially ruin everything else in the PC. Low power and inconsistent power are the greatest problems. I have recapped many power supplies. I have improved the heatsinks, improved airflow etc. Never saw one catch fire. I am using a rebuilt "Allied" power supply in my personal PC right now. It isnt on the list. This article helps by telling you to physically look at them. Open them up! They wont bite you. There are large capicitors but you can just short them if you are scared.

 

[maban]

Doesn't Super Flower make the NZXT Hale90 PSUs?

 

[hannibal]

It was allso good that they mentioned in the article that same manufacturer can make good and bad products depending on how much in can cost.
The idea about PSU list like there is for GPU and CPU would be really nice! But because there are so many models around, it would be really hard job to keep it up! All I can hope that there would be a little bit more often complete PSU tests allso in TomsHardware and other relative trustworthy websites just for reality checks.
One thing that Toms Hardware could do, would be a monthly internet portal for good PSU tests. It would no reguire as much time and money as intensive testing on it's own.
Ofcource it can be Tomshardware inclusive, but then the list would be guite shallow compared to all those PSUs' that are on the market.