Expensive PSU, worth the money???

[Philgo]

We all tell people here that they must buy an expensive PSU, but are we wasting their money.

I've built loads of systems for people based on whatever PSU was in the case and they have all been utterly reliable. Lets face it Big manufacturers wouldn't spend out large amounts on the PSU, so why should we.

I know there are loads of sites talking about the perils of cheap PSU's but from my experience they are not a problem.

Having said that I have an Antec truepower in my main system which works beautifully, but so did the 400 watt cheapie that it replaced. I only bought it because I thought that I was missing out on something.

Of course I do agree that a good PSU is nice to have but only for us nutcases who have super machines and love to spend our hard earned cash on our hobbies.

All comments welcome, but please be gentle I have a bad back at the moment

[Calpitor]

I don't know Philgo I have replaced more than a fair share of dead power supplies and subsequent damaged system boards (which I blame on the power supply that failed). By comparison if they had doled out the extra $50 or so more for a quality supply it may well have saved them bigger dollars that they have needed to spend to get their systems back up and running.

[DrMDJ]

We all tell people here that they must buy an expensive PSU, but are we wasting their money.

Is an expensive PS needed? No. A quality one? yes. And the two don't necessarily have to equate. Lot's of recommendations get made (unfortunately) in terms of brand and even wattage that are frequently overkill, and limited. Also, a lot of times here "safe" recommendations get made. Sure a 450watt "xyz" PS will do the job, but so will other PSes that aren't that brand, wattage, etc.

As you say, there are plenty of more than adequate PSes out there that are not necessarily top of the line, limited to one or two brand names, and don't have to cost a lot of money.

[SuperSparks]

To me, this article sums up the risks of a cheap power supply:

http://www4.tomshardware.com/column/20011012/index.html

And don't forget, that there's more to power supplies than the stability of their outputs. Some of them are woefully inefficient, and that can add up to a lot of extra electricity used over the course of a year, especially for a PC that's left on 24/7. That cheap PSU may not work out quite so cheap after all when you take running costs into account.

[Philgo]

I just put "antec psu smoke" into Google and it came up with a lot of hits pointing to other forums where people suffered similar problems with Antec PSU's.

When you think that Antec probably make less than 1% of the worlds PSU's it would stand to reason that all other makes would have more problems.

So I'm not convinced, although I'd take the Antec anyday if I had to choose, but I dont think they are required in middle of the road machines.

[Calpitor]

Trust Tom's Hardware to hit the nail on the head and then tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

[DrMDJ]

Tom's is often quite good. But sometimes they miss the mark (and the facts). And sometimes they (like others) get in to things that for most people are not an issue, not particularly important. That's why no one source should be relied on totally.

[Rapmaster]

http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/power_supply/ -- got this link off this forum and I've posted it a few times before but its relevant here again...

[Philgo]

Rapmaster, your link tells you to read the lable on a PSU before buying, that would be nice if you can believe what you read.

So I'm none the wiser and can only go on my own experience.

Three years ago I started a thread that asked if anyone had ever bought a PSU that put out too much power and destroyed any part of a computer. I got a lot of replies from people and not one had experienced any problems in that way. Has that changed? I'd like to hear from anyone who is certain that a PSU damaged their machine and it wasn't a power spike or lightening.

EDIT found my original http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...hreadid=100066

[DrMDJ]

Like I said in that original discussion, it's always possible to get a PS that is defective and overvolts on one or more rails to an extend that is sufficient to cause damage. But to date I haven't personally experienced it (through many a power supply).

[Calpitor]

Originally posted by Philgo
I'd like to hear from anyone who is certain that a PSU damaged their machine and it wasn't a power spike or lightening.

I have seen many bargain basement PS go sour that have created havoc with their associated system from not powering up, not POSTing, not booting properly and in some cases causing blue screens. Did they damge the system board? No not in those cases. I have also seen many a system with both a crapped out PS and SysBrd with scorch marks surroungding the connection to the PS. As they aren't my systems and I wasn't there at the time can I say categorically that it wasn't a power spike or lightening? No. In several instances though the systems belonged to people who live within a few blocks and there was no storm, blackout\brownouts. So I would feel pretty safe jumping to my own conclusion.

[Philgo]

Calpitor, do you work with computers all day?

Have you had any big name PSU's fail in a big way?

[Calpitor]

Originally posted by Philgo
Calpitor, do you work with computers all day?Yes. I'm self employed.

Have you had any big name PSU's fail in a big way? A big way? No but I once saw a defective UPS (Belkin) that was defective from the get-go and after a couple of days after installed the battery had begun to melt. What a stench!

[techallenged]

Hello there,

Ok i am actually in the market for a new PSU, I have read this thread with interest, and am coming to the conclusion that the deadset cheapo psu's should not be touched with somebody else's bargepole...

I know that if I were to ask for a recommendation on which "brand" to buy the majority would say antec or enermax. But is there a middle of the road here? Cheapest antec I have seen in uk with about 400watts is gonna cost me £60 or so... I have seen unbranded (generics) for as little as £15..... surely there is something in the middle???

ta very much

Phil

[Calpitor]

Hi Tech! Tee Hee I made a funny!

I'm not terribly familiar with the marketplace in the U.K. but Thermaltake have a fairly good reputation and the prices over here are quite reasonable.