When it comes to buying power supplies, how can I know which ones are the most reliable and the highest quality to buy? Which manufacturers make good quality power supplies for mid-range workstation (e.g. 300-500w range)?
I see Antec, Corsair, Enermax, Thermaltake, Cooler Master, OCZ, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, and then a whole slew of no-name brand PSUs by companies I don't recognize. All these manufacturers rank about equal in my mind right now.
Anybody like to share their experience?
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look for a high effifciency one : http://www.codinghorror.co
here a list : http://www.silentpcreview.
antec : http://www.pcper.com/artic
if you decide on one, google it to be sure ! (may be listed with bad capacitors problem)
I've also used only Antec, Coolermaster or Thermaltake's. Taking a chance with something else, considering the cost difference is relatively minor, was never an option for me. I demand a reliable PSU which generates stable power. Let's face it, with the plethora of things that can go wrong with a system build, why take a chance on the PSU, one of the most relatively inexpensive parts of the entire system.
I would consider PC Power & Cooling and Seasonic as the best, while Antec Earthwatts and Enermax are also good. Some of the characteristics of a high quality power supply are the amount of current provided on the +12v rails (over 36a at least) and active power factor correction, along with a high efficiency (>80%). Since a power supply that fails can destroy everything connected to it, it makes sense not to cut corners on this, and a good power supply can last many years.
now what happens if your cheap no name PSU blows a gasket, and puts in 220volt in to a 5 volt line?
everything else you put your extra money into, will release smoke.
and we all know what happens when electrical things release smoke - they dont work anymore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
The problem with your advice, ConsultPC, is that warranty ONLY covers the damaged/defective part. In this case the PSU. The PSU warranty does not cover components damaged by a failing/faulty PSU. The 'Half' price difference your referring to is $30 or so ? The cost to replace a CPU and /or a Motherboard, is about 5x that.
Garbage in Garbage out.
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by: leewPosted on 2009-10-19 at 00:01:05ID: 25603023
I would suggest checking out Tom's Hardware and other review sites for opinions on these.
For example:
http://www.tomshardware.co