Hardware What is the Best 600W+ PSU?

We put ten 600W+ PSUs to the the test to see which is most worthy of your cash.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/09/21/what-is-the-best-600w-psu/1

 

Where is the conclusion? The final graph of percentages? Do i need to read all of the article about each psu to know which received the highest result?

 

what happened to "your reviews are only 2 pages - i want more info!"

 

How can you judge a PSU by it's design. It's so stupid. Better judge them by Stability / Efficiency / Price

 

I remember when I'd spend £15 on a power supply, it looked like a birds nest of wire and it lasted the whole life of the computer and into the next one lol.

 

You might have to read the article to find the information you're looking for, yes. It turns out our subliminal messaging system (SMS) is currently down, so you can't get all the info you'd want by just scanning the pictures and then going to the forums as you'd usually do.

 

These PSU round ups, although much appreciated, are very frustrating.

First let me say that I love seeing a good round up, currently waiting to see one with monitors what with dell releasing a new IPS series of monitors at decent prices (hint hint).

My problem with these round ups however is what is included. Lets just take this PSU one for example. Are you seriously recommending a £150+ 750W PSU!!! That's absurd, I don't care how good it is. If you look at the Corsair Gold series (i.e. AX750 etc), you will find a 750W PSU at 90% efficiency for £25 less that is fully modular and silent at under 20% load as the fan doesn't spin by design.

Also not to include the new Antec Truepower 650W, which from what I can see reading around many forums, is one of the more popular +600W PSUs, comes highly recommended in those places and costs a fraction under £65,make it appear that you don't have an ear to the ground in terms of what people are buying/recommending themselves.

Furthermore what about the noise these PSUs make. This is an important factor to many system builders now and to forgo even a subjective test seems just lazy.

I know you cannot include all PSUs in this test but it would be interesting to know how you selected the PSUs to test that you did, at a guess I would say that you told the companies who make/supply PSUs that you were doing a mass test and they sent you whatever - please say that this isn't the case.

Again, however I would just like to say that these types of round ups are fantastic, if done right. I personally feel that the last few on PSUs have missed the mark slightly and this, as I a stated at the beginning, is frustrating as it's so difficult to find a review site doing these roundups.

 

This isn't a games review... you can't just skip to the end and look at the score without reading any of it...

@Joe I'm not having a go at your reviews...

EDIT:

Yes it's expensive but they felt it was worth the premium and said as much in the review, I personally think it's a touch expensive but the PSU is one area I wouldn't cut corners.

That PSU may not have been available when the tests were done and ultimately they can only test what the companies send out.

As Lizard pointed out in the last roundup, sound tests would be nigh impossible because the testing equipment makes one hell of a racket.

It most likely is the case, bit-tech can only review what the companies choose to send out.

 

It's fine if they genuinely think it's worth the premium. However I would like to think that as people who review equipment everyday they know value when they see it and would also have a basic idea of what else is on the market. At +£150 it is not fully modular and doesn't appear to offer anything that PSUs costing up to £50 less do. What stumps me therefore is the 17/20 for value! There is no justification for the high price in the review other than that it is stable, but then so are so many other PSUs which more features for a lot less.

The main reason I mentioned the AX750 is because I am looking to buy it in the next 2 weeks and I was just a bit disappointed that no AX series PSUs have been included (selfish reasoning I know), but more than this it is just a good example that I know of as to why I believe that the Antec HCP 750 is just not a 94% PSU. The AX is cheaper, equally efficient, fully modular, has flat cables, completely silent at low loads and has a 7 year warranty.

If BT genuinely think that this is a 94% PSU then I can't really argue however as I have not had the pleasure of using one, but I do know that a score like that needs a little more justification, at least for me anyway.

 

not one Seasonic? tsk tsk

 

Well... the Corsair is a Seasonic in drag so....

 

fwiw alphaangel, the ax is an amazing unit and you will be very happy with it...get it...

 

Corsair HX650 is an 80+ silver unit and 650w. None of Seasonic's self-branded PSUs are 80+ silver or 650w.

The one candidate for "the best 650w psu" you're missing is Seasonic X-660/X-760. But Seasonic S12II 620W would've been nice to include as well. Or Antec HGC-620 which is based on that platform.

 

@trig

I plan to,just deciding if i need the 750 or 650, or maybe invest in the 850 for the future.

I think my main point here is that calling this article "What is the best 600W+ PSU?" is completely misleading.
Although it doesn't count for 99% of the people who frequently this site regularly, some people rely on articles like this to make their choices when they buy their equipment, especially if they just go to google and type in "best 600W PSU".

I find that this article is therefore somewhat counter productive and doesn't really tell anybody anything.

PSUs don't change that often and a good one now will be a good one in three years, therefore if you really want to do a 'best of' type article spend 2,3 or even 4 months doing one and do it properly so it really has some value. Thats why this type of site exists and that is what it is relied upon for.

This 'best of' feels cheap and half arsed in comparison to some other website I have read and having seen many comments on here about the testing of monitors, graphcs cards and the like being poor in comparison to other places I think that maybe those people have a valid point.

Of course I can go and read those sites, and I recommend that anybody looking to buy something looks and reads around, but thats not the point really. The point is if people keep leaving BT to read better reviews on other sites where does that leave BT.

As I always say, do the job properly or don't do it at all, and this article has not done its job properly in my opinion.

 

Cutting corners is one thing, over-paying is entirely another.
There are plenty of good PSU's in that range, for far less, that are more than up for the job. Will you actually notice a difference once the box is closed up? Probably not.




Also, why is the Antec Earthwatts such a massive difference between US and UK pricing? The next Antec, the High Current is only a $2 difference. If that is a special price, shouldn't it be noted?
UK price (as reviewed): £68.96 (inc VAT)
US price (as reviewed): $125.99 (ex tax)

 

Hello, it would have been nice to see a couple of Winpower and CIT power supplys included, just to what happens.......

 

I was wondering that too why the next Antec PSU on test has a pound and dollar price almost equal. What's up with that? Somebody is getting the fist.

I felt in actually "reading" the whole article I now have a good idea on what to look for in future PSU if and when I need a new one. Thanks for the article BT.

I will say though that I bought a Corsair 750W on Bit-tech's recommendation way back when Corsair first entered the power supply market and I have never received trouble for it. Only thing about it is it's not modular, which in my case I only had to deal with when I first put the PC together, like 3 years ago. It mostly just sits quietly in a dark comer not even humming to itself.

 

The Thermaltake Tough Power Grand TPG-650M page doesn't list the cables it comes with.
Good roundup though. I'd like to see more like it about other components (haven't seen a mechanical harddrive review in a long time).

 

Yes, very disappointing,

 

For the record, we notified all the PSU manufacturers that we were doing this spate of testing and when and where they needed to send their PSUs.

We tested everything that turned up, so if a certain manufacturer or product isn't represented, that was their call.