I can't fault the Antec CP-850W PSU. Granted, it's so huge (120mm tall) that it only fits in the Antec 1200 and the P183/190 cases, but it's dead quiet. and i'm pretty sure someone out there will modify another non-antec case to fit it
thanks for your help I got the Corsair 550, PC is quieter and cooler, plus I feel reassured it won't just die on me with the generic PSU that my PC was supplied with! Thanks again
I have one of these, great PSU, cool and quiet. Only thing is that it is only partly modular, some cables are perm, additional cables are modular. You do get loads of cables with it though and the price is great. Fingers66
It's a good idea tbh, it prevents you losing your main cables, if you lose a molex cable you can live with it but lose something vital and you won't be too happy
I've got the BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 650W - very stable and quite - bit old now I know but if you can pick it up for cheap then go for it.
Anyone here use seasonic s12II 330 psu? Is it true, this psu can power up 400W system, such as gtx 295 + i7 920?
I'm reasonably sure the new AX750 and AX850 from Corsair will make this list very soon. They are apparently based on Seasonic's X-series. The AX1200, which apparently is an in-house design in collaboration with Flextronics, seems a bit overkill for most users. Got a brilliant review on JonnyGuru, though.
Have you seen their prices though! More expensive than the Seasonic units. Sure they'd be lovely, but no way I can afford one.
Oh, so it's not just here in what I as an hommage will now refer to as "rip-off Denmark". When I noticed the prices for the new AX series I seriously thought someone at Corsair had been drinking massive amounts of Kool Aid. I'm reasonably sure that Seasonic's own X series pummels the AX series (maybe not the AX1200 as that's a different beast entirely).
The word from Corsairs own people on the Hard forums and elsewhere is that they are Seasonic built and based on the same design, but that (as always in their words) they uprate and add small things to enhance the longevity of their units over the Seasonic or CWT or whatever. In this case, they site the 7yr warranty, which is a fair point when Seasonic themselves only offer 5yrs. However, the extra cash is not inconsiderable and when X series is already awesome, I suspect AX is for the Corsair fanboys. Nothing wrong with that, just wouldn't go there myself. Also, if previous Corsair PSUs are anything to go by they will change the fan and they'll be louder than the Seasonic equivalents.
Well, that's pretty much it. You grab Corsair if you can't get Seasonic at a good price. Considering that (at least this time around) Seasonic's own offering is cheaper than Corsair's there's really no reason to look at Corsair's. That being said I'm still very fond of my HX520W and also of Corsair's customer service (sending me complimentary PEG cables for a 3 year old PSU!)...
Totally, I put a 620 in my Dad's 939 system several years ago and it's spot on and should see him through his next system (if he ever upgrades!). Lots of people praise their service, and tbh I was a little freaked out when I saw that Seasonic just have an email address and no UK offices listed on their extremely shoddy website. But then, if their product is the best, I suppose that's less of an issue. I would love to know what Enermax are like for service, because they're really the only other player in the high-end, low noise market.
After reading the CPC PSU Review I realised it's unreasonable to recommend several PSUs in one range when there is only one best PSU, as a result I will be overhauling the whole list, and will highlight the best budget, midrange and top end PSU in each power range so you better get your recommendations in
When buying my PSU I did a bit of web research on PSUs. Firstly, only trust review sites that use a proper load tester, rather than just putting the PSU in computer and poking a voltmeter around in it. Hardware secrets & Jonny Guru are two good sites for PSU reviews. I only researched the 400-700W range, and came away with these favourites: Antec Basiq BP500U OCZ StealthXStream 500w SilverStone Strider ST50F 500 W 500W OCZ ModXStream Antec Basiq Plus 550W Modular Corsair VX450W 600W OCZ ModXStream Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600 W Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Corsair TX 650W This is in price order, cheapest first as I could find them, starting around £40 to about £80. First few are more solid budget affairs (rather than the cheap tat with big claims that they compete with for price). The last two PSUs are very highly regarded. I didn't bother looking at the more expensive items, such as Enermax and Be Quiet's latest offerings, but these are regarded as being the mutts if you don't mind paying. I decided to save a tenner and get the Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600 W. It's group regulated, rather than independently regulated, but still a recommended buy according to Hardware secrets
