Is there something called a cheap good PSU?

[red_devil]

Hi and thanks for reading this,

Lately, i was buying parts for my first build, and the only area where i didn't spend much money is the power area. I just didn't think it was worth it getting some uber-high end and high price PSU. So i got a 15$ EZCool 550W PSU.

After reading a few threads here & there, i noticed how people say the PSU is often overlooked and that a cheap PSU would cause all kinds off terrors on a system, so i began to panic, considering my built pc had a high power consuming GPU (7900GX2).

So I checked the 12V AMP rating of the PSU and found it to be a whopping 36A!! 8O , i was literally shocked cuz i expected something like 20A or so. the system is up and running and never had a problem with it, the only omission is two 6-pin connectors (it only has one) but i found an adapter for free. i'm now considering getting a 8800GTX and i'm not worried about the PSU

So why does people pay so much for Ultra expensive PSUs when one like this does the job so fine?

Specs:
AMD Athlon X2 4600+ @ 2.8Ghz
Asetek Waterchill CPU Watercooling Kit (can't remember the model no.)
2x1GB Corsair Value Select RAM
XFX Geforce 7900GX2 1GB
3x250GB Seagate Barracuda HDDs
19" Viewsonic VA1912W


- Pardon my lang, English is not my native.

 

[Zorg]

Because that $15 power supply is made with very low grade components. They will fail, therefore it will fail. When it fails it could just stop working and you can get another. Or, it could fail and spike your motherboard, and video card, and hard drive, and DVD and all other components in your system. this will cause many of them to fail completely or partially and you will have a lot of expensive fun. Also the PS could just provide very poor power and you will have hard drives, mobos etc. fail, and you will blame those parts when really it was the POS power supply. So get that piece of junk out of your system as soon as possible or suffer the consequences. Get it :?:

 

[Craxbax]

Yeah, what he said!

 

[red_devil]

I understand what u said, but it has been running for 6 months now 24/7 and didn't give me a single headache, also this is Sudan, in which the ambient temp is 40C so if it survived this torture, i think it will stay for a long time.

I still get ur point and i know that components wear out by time and 15$ is incredibly low, but maybe i was lucky with this one.

I respect ur opinion, though.

 

[reconviperone1]

You may live to regret getting a cheap psu, but your system wont, get a decent psu before its to late.

 

[marlborosmoker]

PSU - connected to everything, if it goes down it's taking something with it

I've seen those PSU's here as well in Aus

Read this article
http://www.overclockers.com.au/article.php?id=359867&P=1

Better quality PSU = better quality performance from your parts.

Granted you don't have to spend $300USD but $60 to $100 from the good PSU makers gets you great quality.

There's a saying "you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"

Also there's no indication if the advertised wattage is Peak wattage or real wattage, which is anything from 60-85% of peak.

But hey if you're confident in that good for you. I worked hard to pay for my PC and build it. I'm not taking a risk like that.

 

[red_devil]

Guys, i'm not arguing whether or not i will keep this PSU, i'm just saying a 15$ PSU powered a fairly high-end system 24/7 for six months. i just think it's a good result.

I don't mind getting a new decent PSU, but we don't have that luxory here. my country is technically challenged, PSUs are divided by Wattage and Video cards by Memory. No one here even knows the word AMD. so i believe i'm stuck with this for a while till my next trip to UK.

 

[Zorg]

Guys, i'm not arguing whether or not i will keep this PSU, i'm just saying a 15$ PSU powered a fairly high-end system 24/7 for six months. i just think it's a good result.

You should go bet the lottery before your luck runs out. You will need the money for a new computer.

I don't mind getting a new decent PSU, but we don't have that luxory here. my country is technically challenged, PSUs are divided by Wattage and Video cards by Memory. No one here even knows the word AMD. so i believe i'm stuck with this for a while till my next trip to UK.

Since you live in Sudan, the wall power is probably serious crap. I don't know how much cash you have, but if you are one of the lucky few, I would also buy a minimum 500-600VA uninterruptible power suuply UPS (battery backup). I hope you are able to change the PS before it blows up. Good luck.

edit: clean up