Im told to get a corsair brand... but why??

[heroofspirits]

hi all, a quick question about psu's

i have a thermaltake toughpower 850w psu. i like it. its just people keep telling me to go with corsair brand.

i dont know why this is. does it matter what kind of brand you have? if say i did have a dodgy brand, how would it compare to a well known brand of psu.

can a dodgy brand hurt the components in my computer??

i have no knoledge in psu's so please, enlighten me with tales of good psu's and what bad ones compared to good ones do to the computer.

thanks!!

 

[mi1ez]

Corsair a widely regarded as one of the most reliable PSU manufacturers in the world.

A PSU failure has the potential to break any/every component in a system short of the case it's sat in.

Your PSU may not be the best but it's still one of the better brands out there, I shouldn't worry too much.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Corsair has a solid reputation for high quality power supplies. They consistently earn high marks in technical reviews. They are stable, reliable, and come with a 5 year warranty. I think the newer models now come with a 7 year warranty.

A cheap low budget power supply with inferior components could ruin your system.

Your Thermaltake Toughpower 850 watt power supply should be able to power a system adequately. It's an okay power supply.

 

[jsc]

Actually, we get a kickback from Corsair ...

Kidding.

There are other very good brands and a few specific models within a brand. But Corsairs are readily available, at least in the U. S. They have full over- and undervolt and overcurrent protection. They are very conservatively rated at full output power at 50 C, not just 25 C or 40 C. "Full output power at 50 C" is a pretty difficult specification to meet.

And across the whole line, you can generally pull 15% - 20% more than the rated power and still stay within specs. A 750 watt Corsair has nearly as much usable power (60 amps @ 12 volts) as the 850 watt ThermalTake (62 amps @ 12 volts) and the 850 watt Corsair has a lot more (70 amps @ 12 volts).

 

[AMW1011]

Corsair PSUs, while not always the best, are always good PSUs. The Thermaltake Toughpower 850w was a great PSU in it's day, a Corsair PSU would not be any better.

 

[Shadow703793]

The Thermaltake Toughpower 850w was a great PSU in it's day, a Corsair PSU would not be any better.

Umm yeah...
Toughpower review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=172

Corsair 850HX review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=153

 

[AMW1011]

The Thermaltake Toughpower 850w was a great PSU in it's day, a Corsair PSU would not be any better.

Umm yeah...
Toughpower review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=172

Corsair 850HX review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=153

I never said the Toughpower was better, just that it was good enough that the Corsair isn't an upgrade. A Great PSU is still a great PSU even if there is one that is slightly greater. Also the only complaint the reviewer had was the appearance of the Toughpower, it was a great PSU. It comes down to this, the OP would notice NO DIFFERENCE between the two.

 

[AMW1011]

Corsair 850HX review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=153

Oh and that isn't a very good review.

It gets TEN for aesthetics!? It looks like every other power supply in the world.

The value is obviously only OK, not a 9 in the least.

The PC Power and Cooling 910w and Seasonic M12 both perform better.

Not to mention the review of the Silencer 910w is very confusing since he says that it is loud... I've used a 910w and a boat load of 750w and they are pretty damn quiet, and the fan hits full RPM at about 60% load so I have heard it on full blast. I think there was something up with his unit.

 

[andyKCIUK]

I always use "no-name" PSUs. Have I ever had a problem with them? No.

 

[obsidian86]

Actually, we get a kickback from Corsair ...

Kidding.

There are other very good brands and a few specific models within a brand. But Corsairs are readily available, at least in the U. S. They have full over- and undervolt and overcurrent protection. They are very conservatively rated at full output power at 50 C, not just 25 C or 40 C. "Full output power at 50 C" is a pretty difficult specification to meet.

And across the whole line, you can generally pull 15% - 20% more than the rated power and still stay within specs. A 750 watt Corsair has nearly as much usable power (60 amps @ 12 volts) as the 850 watt ThermalTake (62 amps @ 12 volts) and the 850 watt Corsair has a lot more (70 amps @ 12 volts).

they actually pulled over 1000 watts from the hx 850 a near 25% more then rated

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/power_supply/corsair_hx850w_850w_atx_psu/4

 

[jonpaul37]

PC Power & Cooling PSU's are another brand that's up there with Corsair.

To put it in prospective, i had a XION 500w PSU in a rig that i ordered from Cyberpower PC 3 years ago for my little brother, it spins louder, occasionally causes freeze-ups to certain hardware and one day it decided to pick up the habit of smoking. Once i put in a Corsair PSU (about 6 months after the XION PSU started acting up) ALL problems went away and there has not been an issue since.

Ps. the Corsair PSU is only a 400w PSU but it can handle MUCH more than the XION 500w PSU.

This argument compels you!

 

[walshy155]

you thermaltake is just as good

 

[rodney_ws]

I always use "no-name" PSUs. Have I ever had a problem with them? No.

There are exceptions to every rule. Hope yours continues to work well for you. Anyone that has had a bad/defective PSU will quickly change their thinking.

 

[sonic-boom]

Thermaltake is NOT just as good.

 

[lumpy]

The Thermaltake Toughpower 850w was a great PSU in it's day, a Corsair PSU would not be any better.

Umm yeah...
Toughpower review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=172

Corsair 850HX review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=153

Umm ya..Those reviews are a joke.

 

[redgarl]

hi all, a quick question about psu's

i have a thermaltake toughpower 850w psu. i like it. its just people keep telling me to go with corsair brand.

i dont know why this is. does it matter what kind of brand you have? if say i did have a dodgy brand, how would it compare to a well known brand of psu.

can a dodgy brand hurt the components in my computer??

i have no knoledge in psu's so please, enlighten me with tales of good psu's and what bad ones compared to good ones do to the computer.

thanks!!

Corsair is highly overrated IMO.

OCZ, Seasonic and Enermax are doing power supplies of the same quality.

If there is a surge, any good power supply will have almost the same results in term of security. If your PC is to burned during an incident with a good power supply, there is a good chance that no power supplies would have been able to save your components.

Corsair power supplies cost twice the price of it's rivals... with sometime worst efficiency... something I cannot understand.

This week, the OCZ-Z series 500W cost 50$... and it's certified 80 plus silver, you cannot find better than this for 50$.

 

[redgarl]

There are exceptions to every rule. Hope yours continues to work well for you. Anyone that has had a bad/defective PSU will quickly change their thinking.

I was using a generic power supply with my Athlon Thunderbird. The power supply died after 4 years and I didn't get any problem with the rest of my hardware. My PC has worked for 7 years, but the motherboard went bad after that. I gave the parts to someone willing to have them.

On the other hand, someone that I know who I repaired it's computer after a surge, a Dell, lost it's motherboard and it's power supply.

Like I said, if your PC is due to die, it will. It's not only a question of power supply, but also of the quality of your motherboard. If the juice just get in and burned the chips, you are screwed.

 

[philologos]

Corsair is very high quality, and often a great value. There are some manufacturers that make even better units, but they carry a bit of a premium. I think the best PSUs available in NA are:

Seasonic X650 / X750
Antec Signature 650w / 850w

I'm sure I'm leaving out some worthy units. I'm very smitten with the Seasonic X Series. Check them out!

80 Plus GOLD!!

 

[hunter315]

Which OCZ Z series are you talking about that costs $50? Even their ModXStream 500W costs $60 before rebates
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016
while the corsair 550VX costs $80 before rebates but also gives you an extra 6A, or 14% more power.

The reason good PSUs like Antecs, Corsairs, Seasonics, and PC Power & Coolings seem to cost more is because they provide more power than their competitors that are rated similarly. Its POS PSUs like raidmax's that you need to worry about, because one like this seems like a pretty good deal for a 700W PSU,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152037
until you realize it only provides at best 5 more amps, or 60W of power more than the corsair 550VX. Thermaltake is a pretty good brand, its not great, but its still pretty good, the jonnyguru reviews are tough to root out the great PSUs from the good PSUs, there isnt a need for you to replace your PSU you will be fine.

 

[cjl]

Umm ya..Those reviews are a joke.

Did you not read the reviews, or are you just clueless?

 

[Shadow703793]

^Yup. lumpy is just a noob.

Anyways, you all DO realize that SeaSonic,CWT,etc makes most of the internals for Corsair, PC Power, and Antec right? Only SeaSonic has their own OEM units directly(AFAIK).

@AMW1011:

A Great PSU is still a great PSU even if there is one that is slightly greater.

Yes, I completely agree with that and that OP wouldn't notice it. However, as far as sound goes, it's up to individual user's tolerance really.

 

[philologos]

Umm ya..Those reviews are a joke.

OklahomaWolf is my idol... well maybe not quite. He knows his way around the innards of a PSU, he writes exceedingly well, and scientifically to boot. Show me anyone who does it better; I dare you!

 

[AMW1011]

@AMW1011:

A Great PSU is still a great PSU even if there is one that is slightly greater.

Yes, I completely agree with that and that OP wouldn't notice it. However, as far as sound goes, it's up to individual user's tolerance really.

Yeah that's true, but considering the big deal he made I'm going to have to say there might have been something wrong with his unit. The thing I love about PC P&C is that any problem has to happen after it leaves the factory since EVERY PSU is tested before it leaves.

As for the SeaSonic thing, it is true but only for the designs. Some of the actual parts are picked by Corsair and PC P&C, such as the capacitors which make a large difference.

 

[AMW1011]

OklahomaWolf is my idol... well maybe not quite. He knows his way around the innards of a PSU, he writes exceedingly well, and scientifically to boot. Show me anyone who does it better; I dare you!

I have spent a long time researching PSUs over the years and I find him to do some great work, but recently I am beginning to look elsewhere. His newer articles just don't have the thoroughness and detail of his better work. Sure he will tell you a PSU is rock solid, but he doesn't mention how it compares or how it effects the overall package. The full 10 grade seems to be easy to get even if, between two "tens", one has a clear advantage. Also he has been letting more of his opinion flow into his work. All and all I am still a fan, like you, but I would really like to see a return of his better work.

Besides, I never take one source as proof, even if it was Jesus himself I would want some confirmation.

 

[philologos]

Certainly good advice. I've only been reading his reviews for several months. It's true that after the Antec Signature Series came out he's been giving way too many "tens" for performance. He should definitely raise his standards. What other sites do you recommend? Hardware Secrets?