Should i buy a great CASING with PSU or buy them separately

[Dark_Placebo]

im quite confused up until now... even with reading the PSU 101, im having a hard time deciding... thanks alot !!

 

[stefx]

My suggestion is to pick the case that best suits your needs and the best power supply that suits your needs.

 

[Dark_Placebo]

hwoah! i didnt know that, so.. even if i buy a quality branded casing, the PSU doesnt necessarily mean its branded or even good ?

on a side note, should i buy a good cooling system? or stock cooling ? i wont do overclocking.. thanks !!

 

[Dark_Placebo]

just to clarify... when u say stock cooling... its the cooling or fan that comes with the system or box right ?


i didnt quite get when u said... quieter system.... can u expound on that ? thanks!

i didnt know branded casing includes crappy psu... thx for the info!

 

[haywood]

Buy whatever case you want, If it includes a PSU sell it on ebay. Then take that money and put it on a good PSU.

 

[NightlySputnik]

Overall any PSUs that are bundled with cases tend to be very cheap and low end. It's best to buy them separately. If you like a case that has a PSU with it that is fine just don't use the PSU. On occasion you can find a case that comes with a quality PSU but they are few and far between. It would be best to buy them separately.

Better then I would have put it. The only "case" for which I'd get the integrated PSU would be for a living room system used only for web-browsing with only low-end, low-power parts. Otherwise, don't skip on the PSU, you have more to loose then to gain, including parts.

 

[Dark_Placebo]

up until recently i havent realized the value of a GOOD PSU ... why is that ? whats the difference ?

 

[apt403]

Between a high quality psu and a low quality one? The parts used to build it, low quality units are built with low quality parts, high quality ones with high quality parts. Low quality psus tend to die faster, have lower efficiency, and have less rail stability then high quality units.

 

[avarice]

Just to add a bit more clarity, the lifeblood of your computer is the electrical power which is supplied by the PSU to the various parts of your build. The quality of the components used to build a PSU, and the quality of the power supplied by it are both very important.

The quality of the components is fairly straight forward - better parts are more expensive and generally have higher capabilities and specifications which result in a longer life for the PSU.

The quality of the power is related to the better parts in that components built to better specifications/tolerances will provide more consistent current flow. In other words, you will reduce the spikes and dips in current as additional power is needed for your drives and other peripherals.

This may be a bit over simplified, as there is also quite a bit of engineering that takes place - but you want a power supply that will last a long time, and that will react precisely to your system's power needs while minimizing fluctuations.

If this clarification wasn't clear - then go back to the 101 guide and buy something on the second tier which meets your wattage needs - those models will do a great job for you.


As for cases with power supplies, the only company I would consider a bundle from is Antec - and even their bundled power supplies are not their best - but they are Antec. There may be other quality case and PSU makers out there - but they probably do not put their best PSU in their cases either.


If you still need some hand holding - get the Antec P180 and the FSP FX600-GLN - over kill for even my build, but I haven't had a problem with either.

Cheers.

 

[Dark_Placebo]

w00t w00t! thanks alot ! so let me take this thing str8...

its better to have a good psu with cheap casing.... than a great casing with cheap psu...

so.... just get a good psu that woul really last for years ?

 

[Ankira]

Placebo - you need to look at what fits with the build you're looking to get. I've been going through a similar learning experience as you on PSUs, and have taken advice on what to get; see my thread here:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Advice-PSU-system-ftopict231907.html

It doesn't need to be massively expensive, but it does help to have quality and to know that it's going to stand up to your particular system load.

(Interestingly, I'm moving from my current 450W PSU to a new 400W PSU which will handle my new system load better!)

As you'll see from that thread, I've given up on the idea of getting something that will last for a long time on the assumption that whatever I get now will be defunct anyway within a couple of years when I'll be looking to move to the next best GPU/etc!

The comments from mpilchfamily in my thread are particularly helpful - take his advice!

 

[randomizer]

w00t w00t! thanks alot ! so let me take this thing str8...

its better to have a good psu with cheap casing.... than a great casing with cheap psu...

so.... just get a good psu that woul really last for years ?

Well with cheap casing you can mod it easy without the thought in the back of your mind "I dont want to take a dremel to my $300 baby "

 

[Dark_Placebo]

aight ! thx alot !! gotta check it ryt now!

 

[joex444]

A good case and a good PSU both have their merits. Only the PSU will affect your computer's stability and the case can only really affect the aesthetics, expandability (ie drives), and noise level.

Depending on your budget, get a good PSU then whatever you can afford on the case, get the best one for that amount.

I went with an Antec P180, which cost $100 US without PSU, which was another $100 US 600W. The PSU has enough amps on the +12V to power the system even if I had an SLI setup, so it shouldn't have any troubles with one video card (BTW, PSUs have a non-linear efficiency curve. The efficiency is defined as the ratio between output watts and input watts, as a value between 0 and 1. The input watts is simply the outlet volts (120V/230V) * outlet amps, and it's actually a higher efficiency in 230V parts of the world. Point is that if you get about 50% more watts than you need at load you will have peak efficiency at load.)

Now, the P180 also has some fairly quiet 120mm fans installed, which would be about $40-$50 total if you bought them seperate. The side panels are quite thick and do a good job at reducing noise.

So, I'd rather have a slightly noiser system (low quality case) and know it's going to be stable than risk a quieter system (high quality case) and be unsure about its stability with a low quality PSU.

It all depends on your budget, because in theory we would all have high quality cases with high quality PSUs

 

[randomizer]

Sure would 8)

230V is da bomb!