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Hardware 600 - 700W PSU Review Round-Up

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Sifter3000, 22 Feb 2010.

  1. Lizard

    Lizard @ Scan R&D

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    Corsair is very insecure about its PSUs and so doesn't agree with our testing methodology (despite the fact we use industry standard measurements) so won't send us any PSUs for review at the moment.
     
  2. rickysio

    rickysio N900 | HJE900

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  3. tonyd223

    tonyd223 king of nothing

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    you aint adding any money to the Dennis coffers - so how is your opinion valid in this case?
     
  4. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

  5. TomH

    TomH BELTALOWDA!

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    I think I really preferred the old format of PSU reviews. These results aren't nearly as clear, or helpful.

    What does a 0 mean? Below measuring threshold, or was it an outright failure? Or does it mean that the rail didn't exist? If the latter is true, then the amount of entries doesn't always equal four per PSU, which it should.

    Also, your previous PSU reviews included reference to the ATX specifications on the tables - i.e. the result was green if within tolerance, red if the result was outside of the tolerance and yellow if it was within 1% of the tolerance.

    And as already pointed-out, no noise measurements?

    Bottom line, why change a really, really good thing? I'm still happy to see decent PSU reviews, but I can't help but think that the CPC integration has pulled down the standard somewhat.
     
  6. Goty

    Goty Minimodder

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    That piece of plastic is placed there intentionally to help direct airflow, a technique that was used in many a high-quality PSUs, though I'm not sure how popular it is to do so now.
     
  7. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    We can see the pages people read and basically the old style didn't do as much traffic as most other reviews and people just skipped to the last two pages. The majority of readers voted with their clicks that they didn't care for the other stuff or told us they found tables of numbers confusing and just wanted to know if it worked. For the time it took to do, full fat reviews of PSUs just don't generate the traffic: this is more short and punchy, tested the same but to the point. We'll see how the traffic reacts to it, if it isn't positive then we'll rethink it again :)

    Our graphing method on site is somewhat limited and better in the mag: the +12V stuff showing ZERO means no rail, but anything in red means a failure. :) We tried to make it as clear and directly comparative as possible, but it's not easy. We'll rethink the approach for the future.

    As for noise measurements? We never did this because it requires specialist equipment and facilities.
     
  8. memeroot

    memeroot aged and experianced

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    everyone asking for noise measurements AGAIN......

    I have an idea...
    1 make a big box out of mdf
    2 stick sound proofing all round the inside
    3 stand it on cut tennisballs
    4 stick a platform inside (on cut tennis balls)
    5 buy some sound testing equipment (or beg borrow steal)
    6 do sound testing reviews

    or alternatively continue moaning about being in london and having a tube network
     
  9. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

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    The noise comments are subjective. To be able to measure the noise levels to any meaningful level (ie sub 30dBA) needs VERY expensive equipment and a quiet room. Which is why we went to a sound proofed lab about 50 miles north of London to test the fans we reviewed recently which clearly have a need for proper sound testing. Even there the background noise was nearly 20dBA. We simply can't do this properly in our lab not to mention not having the room to do it if we did. We had to settle with comparing them using four mark one ears
     
  10. salesman

    salesman Minimodder

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    That sucks with Corsair. I have their 750 watt I bought back a few years ago when Bit-tech gave it the excellence award, and I have no complaints. It is sad though because there is not one Corsair product in your review that can be used to compare companies.

    Like I said though Corsair's power supply has made me happy and even though it cost a lot, especially when I bought it 2 years ago, I feel there was no better choice of power supply to but at the time.

    The one complaint though is it is not modular :-[ so I got a lot of spare cables taking space in the corners of my case.
     
  11. trig

    trig god's little mistake

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    not only should you, but you better. or the utility company will kidnap ur mother :eyebrow:

    i figured it was due to the fact they already had a few seasonic psu's in the mix. i've seen corsair units go through much tougher tests, so not sure why they would freak on this. maybe because it was done at a rival psu manufacturer's site? lol

    and if i remember correctly, the antec p182b
     
  12. SMIFFYDUDE

    SMIFFYDUDE Supermodders on my D

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    I bought a corsair tx650w 2 weeks ago, its very quiet but the cables are incredibly long and i've had to cram them into unused drive bays. So if your in the market for a PSU i'd suggest you go for a modular one if you value a tidy case.
     
  13. javaman

    javaman May irritate Eyes

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    Thats strang considering corsair usually come out very well in any review Ive seen of them. Ah well, if it isn't tested, then it can't make any recommended list and ultimately not in any PC I build.
     
  14. killboy57

    killboy57 What's a Dremel?

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    Just wondered why no Corsair PSU's have been featured?

    I believe Corsair currently have 3 PSU's in this category all of them sit in between the price brackets in this round up. Also Corsair is seen as one of the better PSU manufactures, any thoughts?
     
  15. killboy57

    killboy57 What's a Dremel?

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    Fail myself for not reading above!
     
  16. Phil Rhodes

    Phil Rhodes Hypernobber

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    In what way?
     
  17. NuTech

    NuTech Minimodder

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    If you guys ever get some money to expand, I for one would love to see you guys invest in a proper sound testing lab. If, like myself, you work and play on the same computer then you already know how much silence is worth. Whenever I'm thinking about upgrading, I always find myself checking between Bit-tech and these guys to find the perfect compromise between good performance and reasonable noise levels.
     
  18. adidan

    adidan Guesswork is still work

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    I have a Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 650W, love it to bits.

    Now, it's disappointing that you didn't get your hands on one of these rather than review the inferior Straight Power range.

    What you say is also nonsense, you can buy the new P8 version right now from Scan and Ebuyer for just under £125. Surely when you wrote the piece, even if it wasn't in stock then, you could have tried harder to get your hands on one?

    Shame boys, shame.
     
  19. TWeaK

    TWeaK Minimodder

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    I know what you're saying, but I think the point that the article was trying to get across was high-end users might want more flexibility. While you might not max out the overall wattage of a PSU, it can be fairly easy to max out a few rails with a few HDDs and fans on a sub-500Watt PSU. Also, I think the maximum efficiency for most PSUs is at 50% load, so it is a nice power load to run at.

    @NuTech, while I agree with you and I'd really like Bit-Tech to do some real sound testing, the reality is it's not gonna happen. Anechoic chambers cost a hell of a lot of money, with each single cone of sound absorbing material costing in the order of £10,000. Then you've got equipment, which in itself isn't cheap. All in all, I think there are better ways for Bit-Tech to spend money - like more giveaways to us loyal readers :)
     
  20. John_T

    John_T Minimodder

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    Same as me - silence is golden! (And worth a lot more to me than a couple of extra fps).

    I tried the Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 650W, but after sending back two that were DOA, I instead opted for the Cooler Master Silent Pro M700.

    I'm pretty happy with the Silent Pro as it is quiet, though the bundled silicon rubber end pads were an entirely ridiculous gimmick as:
    - They wouldn't even stay on when holding up the PSU
    and
    - It was irrelevant if they would've stayed on, as they wouldn't have fitted in the case anyway!

    I'm disappointed I couldn't get a working Be Quiet, as I really liked the idea of it keeping all the case fans going for a minute after shutdown to cool everything off, but like I say - the M700 is good. (The 12v rail is a little on the strong side, but then I'm not even running it at 50% which may be the reason for that...)

    By the way, I prefer the new format tables myself. Lots of info is good, but too much just gives sensory overload! Nice & simple, I like...
     
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