Why do we need a good PSU/enclosure?

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pseudogeek

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Dec 7, 2012
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Hey.
I am new here and this is my first post. I know it's a bit long but please forgive me. I have been on here as an observer for the past 3 years and I see a lot of hype /importance given to good quality PSU or cabinets and cooling gear , fans etc.

I have had this system since June 2010....my cabinet cost me $ 18 only and it came with a 450w PSU(so it says on the label..i am not sure if its true). Till date i havn't had a problem with it...everything works fine....I even overclocked my core i3 530 to 3.4 GHz and it works like a charm. there is no intake fan in the case and only one rear exhaust fan (excluding the top mounted PSU fan). everything on the case is working well...the USB ports and the headphone/mic jack.

What I would like to know is why I should invest over 100$ in a nice case+PSU when this dirt cheap combo let me play Crysis 2 with average 8 fps (without any discreet graphics card) ...never once crashed though it sometimes went down to about 2 or 3 fps or went upto 16 or 17 fps....lol.

I know that if i ever decide to put in a graphics card i will need a new PSU (the dealer told me that)...but until then...Do i need to invest in this area at all?
 
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Onus

Those are good PSUs. If mounted at the top of the case, the fan faces down, and sucks air out of the case and exhausts it through the grill in the back.

I also agree with you about lower powered units, and power use coming down. For any graphics card with a single PCIe power connector, a quality 430W PSU is sufficient. You...
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wanderer11

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Jun 11, 2012
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Why buy a ferrari when a geo metro will get you around town? You should a good psu because cheap ones can fail and damage your hardware. A better case would simply look better and may have more fans to keep your stuff cooler, more hdd bays, more whatever else you want. You think 8 fps is playable? I don't see how. If you want to get any better fps you need a discrete card and a better psu to run it.
 
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Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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mi1ez beat me to it!
Read other PSU reviews on that site, and at HardwareSecrets. On the latter, pay particular attention to the no-name reviews, store brands, and cheaper models. It is possible to get lucky, especially if the power is really good in your area and the load you're putting on the PSU is well under what's on the label, but it is also possible to destroy your PC. Laws against consumer fraud are not enforced with regard to PC power supplies.
 
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Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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As to the case, it really depends. The job of a case is to hold all your other parts securely, and keep them cool enough. Even a dirt-cheap case can do that, and I often use cheap cases.
If you anticipate re-using a case, possibly for multiple builds, or opening it up for upgrades and part swaps a lot, you'll need something that won't easily fall apart. You'll need strength too, if you plan to move it around a lot, such as carrying it to LAN parties. And, it needs to be big enough to hold everything you plan to put in it, which may include future upgrades like another drive or two, and a longer video card (or two).
That you consider 8 FPS (or even 16FPS) playable tells me that, unfortunately, you don't know what you're missing. If you want a cheap upgrade (~$100) that will blow your mind, get a HD7750. Even if your "450W" PSU is only good for 300W, it will be able to handle that card. You'll play on lowered settings, but compared to where you are now it will be like going to Disneyworld vs. looking at someone else's vacation photos.
 
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k1114

k1114

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May 2, 2010
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For a low end/low power system such as yours, you are hardly using the capacity of that psu so it'll be fine. But if it fails, it has no protection so has a high chance of taking out your other components. That's just not worth the risk in higher end, more expensive pcs. With that low end cpu and no discrete card, there isn't much heat being produced so that 1 case fan is sufficient.

I'd have to agree, you don't know what you are missing. Until you play at decent settings with good fps, you never go back to low with 8 fps.
 
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pseudogeek

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Dec 7, 2012
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10,510
Hey.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to read and hammer some sense into me. I think more than the case...a good PSU is much more important and that the utility of a good case will come into picture when i put in a discreet graphics card into my system.

I am a Nvidia junkie..a lot of games say "best when played with Nvidia"..lol...so how does a corsair cx series (450 W) and a Nvidia 650Ti sound?

and one more thing....people say that Idle power consumption is a important factor ...and most PSU are not very efficient under 20% of their rated capacity. I think my PC is not more than 50W at idle. So does it mean that i have to suck it up and expect less efficiency with 450W PSU or their exist decent good quality brand name PSU under 300W?

 
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Onus

Onus

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Jan 27, 2006
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Idle power consumption is really only important to companies with lots of PCs. The efficiency of even an 80+ Gold PSU does drop off under 20% load, but it is still only going to amount to a few watts.
The low-end Corsair units are much better than what you have, but I've seen some articles calling their durability into question. They weren't made by Seasonic, but by CWT, using some inferior Samxon capacitors from a line known to experience early failure. They test quite well when new, but I'd be concerned about how well they hold up, especially if they are stressed a lot (which heats them up).
At the low end, an Antec Earthwatts (Delta-built), FSP Raider, Rosewill Capstone (Superflower), or Seasonic "G" series would be my preferred choices.
No convincing (i.e. non-fanboy) argument can be made in favor of either nVidia or AMD. Each have had driver issues, each have had some great cards, and each have unique features. I am currently running all AMD cards, but a couple years ago I was all nVidia. Go to the Best Graphics Cards for the Money article at http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html and choose based on your budget. You may also wish to check benchmarks for the specific game(s) you play, to see if they favor one card over the other. Be aware that any big difference may be a driver issue, that either company may improve in a future release.
 
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pseudogeek

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Dec 7, 2012
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10,510
The low-end Corsair units are much better than what you have, but I've seen some articles calling their durability into question. They weren't made by Seasonic, but by CWT, using some inferior Samxon capacitors from a line known to experience early failure. They test quite well when new, but I'd be concerned about how well they hold up, especially if they are stressed a lot (which heats them up).
At the low end, an Antec Earthwatts (Delta-built), FSP Raider, Rosewill Capstone (Superflower), or Seasonic "G" series would be my preferred choices.


How about a Seasonic ECO or Seasonic S12II 430?? and also these units have fans on their top side..(or bottom side whichever way you think) but my current PSU has a fan on the side where I connect the power chord to it..facing the outside of the case. So do you think there will be any problem as my case does not have a top vent or does there exist good PSU with fans on the side facing out from the case?
 
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pseudogeek

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Dec 7, 2012
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10,510
And also I think that companies should start making PSU with rated power as 250W to 350W also since the power consumption of major components like graphics cards and processors is going down and down. The companies must focus on providing ultra quality 80 plus gold PSU of 300W-500W too. I think there will be quite a few takers for them.
 
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Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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Those are good PSUs. If mounted at the top of the case, the fan faces down, and sucks air out of the case and exhausts it through the grill in the back.

I also agree with you about lower powered units, and power use coming down. For any graphics card with a single PCIe power connector, a quality 430W PSU is sufficient. You could use a 380W Antec Earthwatts too, or a Seasonic G-360.
Still, top-end cards still use a fair amount of power. Read this week's SBM build articles and look at the power usage for each one. Keep in mind that overclocking (which you may or may not choose to do) can significantly increase power usage. More moderate cards, such as the HD7750, can run on decent 250W PSUs. The manufacturers tend to list higher requirements in the [often futile] attempt to compensate for all the liar-labeled junk out there.

 
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