Selection of PSU's by company is not a good idea.
Also, advice about brands should be taken with a few pounds of salt
. Which of the following do you think is true ?
Antec makes crappy PSU's
Antec makes good PSU's
Antec makes very good PSU's
Antec makes great PSU's
The answer .... all of the above. Manufacturer's are in business to make money ... the more they sell the more they make. Targeting a single market segment limits the number of customers you can sell to, limiting the amount of sales. So most vendors sell to multiple market segments:
Great PSU's
CP-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142
SG-650
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=113
SG-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=101
Very Good PSU's
HCG-900
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=211
HCP-1200
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=198
CP-1000
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=173
TP-750
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=140
TPQ-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=58
EA-500
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=35
Good PSU's
HCP-850
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=215
TPQ-1200
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=177
EA-750
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=173
EA-650
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=110
Crappy PSU's
NP-650
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=117
TPT-650
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=1
TP2-550
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=22
So where you want to be looking is not what brand but what "line".
1st tier readily available PSU's:
Antec SG series
Antec CP Series
Corsair HX Series
Corsair AX Series
Seasonic X Series
XFX Black Edition Series
2nd tier, readily available PSU's
Antec HCP Series
Antec HCG Series
Antec TP New Series
Antec TPQ Series
Corsair TX Series
XFX Core Edition Series
As for Coolers, before ya go taking any particular web site's stats as gospel, check out their test system. Is it based upon an old outdated CPU technology ? For example:
http://www.frostytech.com/testmethod_mk2.cfm
FrostyTech's Mk.II Platform delivers a 150W and 85W heat load to socket 775 compatible Intel Pentium 4/D/Extreme Edition, Celeron, Core 2 Duo & Core 2 Quad class heatsinks by way of a 30mm x 30mm copper interface die.
Are you building a system w/ a LGA 775 CPU ? If so, you found a good site ....if not move on.
As for TIM's ..... AS5 does indeed have very good thermal performance .... in fact the only TIM that matches that performance is Shin Etsu's 751. However, AS5's web sit states that it takes 200 hours of curing time plus a unspecified number of thermal cycles. Those thermal cycles, according to at least one reviewer, take up to a year under "normal conditions".
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=5
So by my estimation of this statement it would take almost a year of normal use to properly cure the AS5 compound, or almost nine days of continuous power cycles to meet their recommendation.
My approach is, skip the curing issues and just go with Shin Etsu.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
Here's the top 5 (lower is better)
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12
Tuniq TX-3 (0) Aluminum Oxide Moderate 37.65°C A+
Gelid GC-Extreme (0) Aluminum Oxide Low / Thin 37.65°C A+
Thermaltake Grease A2150 (4) Polysynthetic Silver Low / Thin 37.65°C A+
Arctic Silver 5 Polysynthetic Thermal Compound (4) Polysynthetic Silver Low / Thin 37.55°C A+
Shin-Etsu MicroSi G751 (0) Aluminum Oxide Moderate 37.55°C A+