Is this a high quality PSU?

Krister Arvesen · Jan 26, 2014

I've been looking for a good PSU to go with my upcoming build which will include a FX-8350 and a MSI R9 280X Gaming, I might not overclock straight away, but I will probably do some cooling upgrades in the future and I want a PSU which can handle that...
So I looked around quite a bit and found the ThermalTake Smart SE M 630W which is 87% efficient and semi modular. another good thing about it is how all the cables are of the flat black kind which will most definately look better and it's fairly cheap ;D

I know it has enough power for my system, but is it a good quality PSU?

unksol · Jan 26, 2014

I wouldn't label anything sold by thermaltake "high quality" but it seems to be OK.

www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Thermaltake-Smart-630-W-Power-Supply-Review/1481/11
(psst there is this thing now called Google)

minerva330 · Jan 26, 2014

Agreed. Thermaltake is not considered high quality (some would go so far as to say their crap) but it should meet your needs, unless you are planning on crossfire down the line

Being a little bit cheeky but here is a good link: http://bit.ly/1lebv3U

Krister Arvesen · Jan 26, 2014

Reason I asked here is because I couldn't find any proper reviews on this unit and the one unksol linked to is not the modular one and I don't know if there's any differences between the two

toyftw · Jan 26, 2014

Krister Arvesen :

Hi - what's your PSU budget and where are you located? I'm sure there's better alternatives available.

Krister Arvesen · Jan 27, 2014

toyftw :

I'm from Norway and my budget is max 100$ for the PSU, but electronics and PC parts in general are more expensive here than many other places such as in the US... currently I'm considering the CX600, but I've heard that you should stay away from cooler master and the Corsair CX series

My build:
- bitfenix shinobi
- Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P (rev. 1.0)
- AMD FX-8350
- Crucial BallistiX Sport 8GB 1600MHz
- Gigabyte R9 280X Windforce
- Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB SSD
- Western Digital Scorpio Blue 750GB (from old laptop)
- Western Digital Scorpio Blue 320GB (from old laptop)

This is pretty much the whole build but I want at least 600W PSU to go with it just so I can upgrade a little later with some better cooling and overclock my CPU...

toyftw · Jan 27, 2014

Krister Arvesen :

Hi - I'll recommend some in a few min, & keep under 545krone. There is some truth to
Coolermaster and the CX series. The CX series is a budget/entry level PSU and uses mostly
budget level internal parts, there is nothing wrong with it otherwise tho.
I try to steer people to a little better quality PSU with systems having mid range to upper range
GPU's, such as your 280x.

Coolermaster does have some worthy PSU,s, however you would have to post the model & get feedback.
Generally, their Silent Pro and V series are good quality, and the V series (not VS) are actually very
good units.

Give me a couple minutes to find you some to cindiser.

This is less than 600w(but it's at your budget limit), but more than enough +12v amps for your system.
http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=657685

the cx600 is 619krone. I'll try another site & see if there's any better selection/price.

the XFX is less here:
http://www.mpx.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=657685

The best on a good 650 is 699 krone:
http://www.mpx.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=657686

http://www.mpx.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=635819 - cx600

CX600 522kr here: https://www.deal.no/deal/default.asp?page=vare&ProdusentID=CP%2D9020048%2DEU

the XFX 550 518kr- https://www.amentio.no/amentio/default.asp?page=vare&ProdusentID=P1%2D550S%2DXXB9

Krister Arvesen · Jan 28, 2014

toyftw :

Krister Arvesen :

Hi - I'll recommend some in a few min, & keep under 545krone. There is some truth to
Coolermaster and the CX series. The CX series is a budget/entry level PSU and uses mostly
budget level internal parts, there is nothing wrong with it otherwise tho.
I try to steer people to a little better quality PSU with systems having mid range to upper range
GPU's, such as your 280x.

Coolermaster does have some worthy PSU,s, however you would have to post the model & get feedback.
Generally, their Silent Pro and V series are good quality, and the V series (not VS) are actually very
good units.

Give me a couple minutes to find you some to cindiser.

This is less than 600w(but it's at your budget limit), but more than enough +12v amps for your system.
http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=657685

the cx600 is 619krone. I'll try another site & see if there's any better selection/price.

the XFX is less here:
http://www.mpx.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=657685

The best on a good 650 is 699 krone:
http://www.mpx.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=657686

http://www.mpx.no/k/ki.aspx?sku=635819 - cx600

CX600 522kr here: https://www.deal.no/deal/default.asp?page=vare&ProdusentID=CP%2D9020048%2DEU

the XFX 550 518kr- https://www.amentio.no/amentio/default.asp?page=vare&ProdusentID=P1%2D550S%2DXXB9

So the XFX Core Edition PRO550W will be enough for my system? I'm pretty sure it's enough for what I have planned for now, but will it do the job later on as I might slap on some better cooling and OC the CPU to around 4.8-5GHz ;D

toyftw · Jan 28, 2014

Krister Arvesen :

toyftw :

So the XFX Core Edition PRO550W will be enough for my system? I'm pretty sure it's enough for what I have planned for now, but will it do the job later on as I might slap on some better cooling and OC the CPU to around 4.8-5GHz ;D

Hi - Yes, you are OK with more cooling and OC. It's all about +12v rail amps more than total wattage. Your system
requires 30 +12v amps, the XFX core 550 has 44 +12v amps(or 168 watts more than you need), plenty of headroom
to add cooling and OC.

That's a good feature of good quality modern design PSU's, the power is where it's needed most, the +12v rail(s).
The CPU, GPU, HDD, etc draw their current from the +12v rail. A lot of amps/watts on the +3.3 & +5 rails won't help much with components that require 12v.

Krister Arvesen · Jan 28, 2014

toyftw :

Krister Arvesen :

toyftw :

So the XFX Core Edition PRO550W will be enough for my system? I'm pretty sure it's enough for what I have planned for now, but will it do the job later on as I might slap on some better cooling and OC the CPU to around 4.8-5GHz ;D

Hi - Yes, you are OK with more cooling and OC. It's all about +12v rail amps more than total wattage. Your system
requires 30 +12v amps, the XFX core 550 has 44 +12v amps(or 168 watts more than you need), plenty of headroom
to add cooling and OC.

That's a good feature of good quality modern design PSU's, the power is where it's needed most, the +12v rail(s).
The CPU, GPU, HDD, etc draw their current from the +12v rail. A lot of amps/watts on the +3.3 & +5 rails won't help much with components that require 12v.

Thanks ;D

Search

Is this a high quality PSU?

Krister Arvesen

Honorable

toyftw

unksol

Splendid

minerva330

Honorable

Krister Arvesen

Honorable

toyftw

Dignified

Krister Arvesen

Honorable

toyftw

Dignified

Krister Arvesen

Honorable

toyftw

Dignified

Krister Arvesen

Honorable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page