The truth about cheap and bad power supplies
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All people think cheap power supplies are bad, but they can be good if you need a temporary power supply for the next couple days. These power supply brands are horrible, so only use them temporarily.Most run at 65 to 70 percent efficiency, so I am going to devote this thread to making a list of corrected power supply wattage. All power supplies are good quality, they are all just overrated.KEEP IN MIND, THESE ARE SUGGESTIONS OF THE MAX WATTAGES. SUGGESTIONS, NOT COLD HARD FACTS.
Logisys
480 watt; 336 watts
550 watt; 385 watts
350 watt; 245 watts
575 watt; 403 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
Diablotek
300 watt; 210 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
450 watt; 315 watts
380 watt; 266 watts
600 watt; 420 watts
650 watt; 455 watts
675 watt; 473 watts
HeC
485 watt; 340 watts
585 watt; 410 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
400 watt; 280 watts
Athena Power
300 watt; 210 watts
400 watt; 280 watts
220 watt; 154 watts
350 watt; 245 watts
Apevia
450 watt; 315 watts
300 watt; 210 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
700 watt; 490 watts
250 watt; 175 watts
680 watt; 476 watts
800 watt; 560 watts
650 watt; 455 watts
520 watt; 364 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
900 watt; 630 watts
1100 watt; 770 watt
RAIDmax
380 watt; 266 watts
450 watt; 315 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
530 watt; 371 watts
600 watt; 420 watts
630 watt; 441 watts
730 watt; 511 watts
700 watt; 490 watts
850 watt; 595 watts
1000 watt; 700 watt
1200 watt; 840 watt
That is all for now. Next time I will do Coolmax and Apex.
Logisys
480 watt; 336 watts
550 watt; 385 watts
350 watt; 245 watts
575 watt; 403 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
Diablotek
300 watt; 210 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
450 watt; 315 watts
380 watt; 266 watts
600 watt; 420 watts
650 watt; 455 watts
675 watt; 473 watts
HeC
485 watt; 340 watts
585 watt; 410 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
400 watt; 280 watts
Athena Power
300 watt; 210 watts
400 watt; 280 watts
220 watt; 154 watts
350 watt; 245 watts
Apevia
450 watt; 315 watts
300 watt; 210 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
700 watt; 490 watts
250 watt; 175 watts
680 watt; 476 watts
800 watt; 560 watts
650 watt; 455 watts
520 watt; 364 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
900 watt; 630 watts
1100 watt; 770 watt
RAIDmax
380 watt; 266 watts
450 watt; 315 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
530 watt; 371 watts
600 watt; 420 watts
630 watt; 441 watts
730 watt; 511 watts
700 watt; 490 watts
850 watt; 595 watts
1000 watt; 700 watt
1200 watt; 840 watt
That is all for now. Next time I will do Coolmax and Apex.
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Orlean
February 28, 2013 2:04:28 AM
Hate to be harsh but those numbers don't look very convincing. The truth is cheap no name brand power supplies actually are pretty bad - there are several websites dedicated to testing this subject and compared to reputable brands - no name brand cheap power supplies use inferior components and lack protection circuitry. Not only is actual wattage output a factor but noise and ripple, hot and cold testing, efficiency etc,.. In the end you usually get what you pay for.
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Orlean said:
Hate to be harsh but those numbers don't look very convincing. The truth is cheap no name brand power supplies actually are pretty bad - there are several websites dedicated to testing this subject and compared to reputable brands - no name brand cheap power supplies use inferior components and lack protection circuitry. Not only is actual wattage output a factor but noise and ripple, hot and cold testing, efficiency etc,.. In the end you usually get what you pay for.+1 Absolutely. When it comes down to choosing the one component that has the ability to convert my machine into a smoldering piece of plastic and silicon I have come to trust only a few select manufacturers.
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quas
February 28, 2013 2:30:31 AM
Orlean said:
Hate to be harsh but those numbers don't look very convincing. The truth is cheap no name brand power supplies actually are pretty bad - there are several websites dedicated to testing this subject and compared to reputable brands - no name brand cheap power supplies use inferior components and lack protection circuitry. Not only is actual wattage output a factor but noise and ripple, hot and cold testing, efficiency etc,.. In the end you usually get what you pay for.+2 ^
The high ripple and noise and poor voltage regulation on a cheap power supply like the models you listed can cause instability and even damage capacitors on motherboards and graphics cards. This post is not only wrong it is dangerous because someone might not realize you have no clue what you are talking about and take your post as fact.
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quas said:
It would be far easier to just list the few power supply brands you can trust.Corsair, Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling, XFX, Silverstone, Enermax, OCZ, Antec and the higher efficiency Rosewill models.
There are other brands less common in the US that can be added to the list but you can buy any currently produced model from any of the brands I listed and be guaranteed a pretty good to excellent unit.
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the efficiency has nothing to do with what it can output compared to its rating plate.
its your equipment that you are risking, unless anyone follows your lead. It's the foundation of a system, make it a strong foundation. Vs spending an extra 20-30 on a case because of non-functional aesthetics, 20-30 on a PSU is well worth it.
+1 to everyone else, and i notice that the OP has a good PSU, care to swap it out?
its your equipment that you are risking, unless anyone follows your lead. It's the foundation of a system, make it a strong foundation. Vs spending an extra 20-30 on a case because of non-functional aesthetics, 20-30 on a PSU is well worth it.
+1 to everyone else, and i notice that the OP has a good PSU, care to swap it out?
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tigerg
February 28, 2013 7:17:34 AM
13thmonkey said:
the efficiency has nothing to do with what it can output compared to its rating plate. its your equipment that you are risking, unless anyone follows your lead. It's the foundation of a system, make it a strong foundation. Vs spending an extra 20-30 on a case because of non-functional aesthetics, 20-30 on a PSU is well worth it.
+1 to everyone else, and i notice that the OP has a good PSU, care to swap it out?
I had a Logisys PS480D2 in my system before the Corsair. It worked fine. And, thanks to all of the comments.
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Orlean said:
Hate to be harsh but those numbers don't look very convincing. The truth is cheap no name brand power supplies actually are pretty bad - there are several websites dedicated to testing this subject and compared to reputable brands - no name brand cheap power supplies use inferior components and lack protection circuitry. Not only is actual wattage output a factor but noise and ripple, hot and cold testing, efficiency etc,.. In the end you usually get what you pay for.^ +3
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TheN00bBuilder said:
All people think cheap power supplies are bad, but they can be good. Most run at 65 to 70 percent efficiency, so I am going to devote this thread to making a list of corrected power supply wattage. All power supplies are good quality, they are all just overrated.KEEP IN MIND, THESE ARE SUGGESTIONS OF THE MAX WATTAGES. SUGGESTIONS, NOT COLD HARD FACTS.Logisys
480 watt; 336 watts
550 watt; 385 watts
350 watt; 245 watts
575 watt; 403 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
Diablotek
300 watt; 210 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
450 watt; 315 watts
380 watt; 266 watts
600 watt; 420 watts
650 watt; 455 watts
675 watt; 473 watts
HeC
485 watt; 340 watts
585 watt; 410 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
400 watt; 280 watts
Athena Power
300 watt; 210 watts
400 watt; 280 watts
220 watt; 154 watts
350 watt; 245 watts
Apevia
450 watt; 315 watts
300 watt; 210 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
700 watt; 490 watts
250 watt; 175 watts
680 watt; 476 watts
800 watt; 560 watts
650 watt; 455 watts
520 watt; 364 watts
750 watt; 525 watts
900 watt; 630 watts
1100 watt; 770 watt
RAIDmax
380 watt; 266 watts
450 watt; 315 watts
500 watt; 350 watts
530 watt; 371 watts
600 watt; 420 watts
630 watt; 441 watts
730 watt; 511 watts
700 watt; 490 watts
850 watt; 595 watts
1000 watt; 700 watt
1200 watt; 840 watt
That is all for now. Next time I will do Coolmax and Apex.
I hope there is no next time - I'm afraid some newcomers to this site will see what you posted
above here and purch one of those known to be bad brands
and to suggest that all power supplies are good quality, suggests you don't read
respected lab reviews
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TheN00bBuilder said:
As they can supply.Good then, my 3570k with two spinning disks, SSD and a 7850 all over clocked can be easily served by nearly all of these models. There are really only a few really low rated ones that it wouldn't work with. I guess that's good info that for a fair mid-range gaming rig then people really just don't need to care about power supplies anymore.
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Traciatim said:
Good then, my 3570k with two spinning disks, SSD and a 7850 all over clocked can be easily served by nearly all of these models. There are really only a few really low rated ones that it wouldn't work with. I guess that's good info that for a fair mid-range gaming rig then people really just don't need to care about power supplies anymore.I'm sure you said this tongue n cheek, but in case there's newcomers reading this,
this is a sampling of what you can expect from some of those PSU's listed above,
courtesy of johnnylucky.org:
Logisys
Model Watts Problems and Issues Reviews
PS350MA 350 Not 350 watts as advertised. Could only deliver 220 watts. Efficiency, voltage regulation, ripple, and noise suppression all out of spec. Hardware Secrets
PS480X2 480 Not 480 watts as advertised. Could only deliver 290 watts before shutting down. Efficiency, voltage regulation, ripple, and noise suppression all out of spec. Major solder ball issues. Scary thin wall plug cord. Secondary rectifiers woefully undersized. Overclockers
PS600A12 600 Fake 80 Plus logo on box. No PFC circuit. Thin cable wires not to spec. Not 600 watts as advertised. Burned at 375 watts. Efficiency, voltage regulation, ripple, and noise suppression all out of spec. Hardware Secrets
Apevia
Model Watts Problems and Issues Reviews
Turbolink
ATX-TL450W-BK 450 Not 450 watts. Can only deliver 240 watts. Ripple and noise suppression out of spec. No required filtering coils in secondary. No Efficiency. Only one SATA power connector and no video card power connector. Hardware Secrets
Warlock Power 900 Not 900 watts as advertised. OCP and OTP missing. Terrible voltage regulation. Died four times during testing. Out of ATX spec on several tests. jonnyGURU
Aspire Beast 680 Not 680 watts as advertised. Advertised voltages and amperages are incorrect. Shut down during testing. Mediocre efficiency. jonnyGURU
Aspire X-Qpack 420 False power supply label. Not 420 watts as advertised. Delivered less than 300 watts. No PFC. Poor efficiency. jonnyGURU
Diablotek
Model Watts Problems and Issues Reviews
RPM-1050 1,050 Does not meet advertised specs. Can barely do 600 watts at room temperature. Failed hot box test at 42C. Voltage regulation and ripple suppression out of spec. Cable wires too thin for 1,050 watts. Questionable quality of capacitors. jonnyGURU
PHD650 650 Failed load tests. Terrible build quality. Poor component selection. Hard OCP
Athena Power
Model Watts Problems and Issues Reviews
AP-MFATX35 350 High Ripple and noise suppression levels. Failed temperature testing. First unit burned one minute into testing at 350 watts Hardware Secrets, KitGuru
AP-TFX40 400 Specifications on retail box and psu do not match. Loose 12V Connector contact. Standoff screw hole missing for upper left corner of mainboard. Plastic insulator worn down due to soldering. Loose screw securing heatsinks. jonnyGURU
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toyftw said:
I'm sure you said this tongue n cheek, but in case there's newcomers reading this,this is a sampling of what you can expect from some of those PSU's listed above,
courtesy of johnnylucky.org:
Not really, even under as full load as I can get it my machine only pulls 220 watts from the wall, and is on an 80plus bronze power supply. So that's pushing about 180 watts on the machine side... so pretty much any of these would do just fine. Only the really low rated ones would even come close, and most of the 400+ rated ones can easily supply 180 watts. If anyone read the requirements on the video card and got a 500w or higher from this list in a machine like mine it would most likely perform just fine.
In the days of the 300 watt video cards I'm sure it was a huge issue, but for a mid range gaming rig like mine it doesn't seem worth caring about. Though personally I've been sticking with Antec lately, but historically I've bean a Seasonic only.
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Traciatim said:
Not really, even under as full load as I can get it my machine only pulls 220 watts from the wall, and is on an 80plus bronze power supply. So that's pushing about 180 watts on the machine side... so pretty much any of these would do just fine. Only the really low rated ones would even come close, and most of the 400+ rated ones can easily supply 180 watts. If anyone read the requirements on the video card and got a 500w or higher from this list in a machine like mine it would most likely perform just fine.In the days of the 300 watt video cards I'm sure it was a huge issue, but for a mid range gaming rig like mine it doesn't seem worth caring about. Though personally I've been sticking with Antec lately, but historically I've bean a Seasonic only.
you can lower your wattage requirements, but you should not lower your quality requirements.
what else are they doing if they say 450 but actually its only 300, is the CE stamp real, their UL cert, what else that you'll only find when it literally burns.
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Traciatim said:
Not really, even under as full load as I can get it my machine only pulls 220 watts from the wall, and is on an 80plus bronze power supply. So that's pushing about 180 watts on the machine side... so pretty much any of these would do just fine. Only the really low rated ones would even come close, and most of the 400+ rated ones can easily supply 180 watts. If anyone read the requirements on the video card and got a 500w or higher from this list in a machine like mine it would most likely perform just fine.In the days of the 300 watt video cards I'm sure it was a huge issue, but for a mid range gaming rig like mine it doesn't seem worth caring about. Though personally I've been sticking with Antec lately, but historically I've bean a Seasonic only.
Ah, your missing the point then.
Things like: Cannot deliver, burned, failed, false, shutdown,
thin wires, missing protections, poor soldering, etc., are not
anything you should see regarding a unit you are going to put
in your system.
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toyftw said:
Ah, your missing the point then.Things like: Cannot deliver, burned, failed, false, shutdown,
thin wires, missing protections, poor soldering, etc., are not
anything you should see regarding a unit you are going to put
in your system.
All which happened at power requirements far above what my (and most) machines use. Like I said, any of the 500watt units could easily supply my machine 180 watts and would probably hum along just fine (I mean literally, they would probably hum).
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Traciatim said:
All which happened at power requirements far above what my (and most) machines use. Like I said, any of the 500watt units could easily supply my machine 180 watts and would probably hum along just fine (I mean literally, they would probably hum).I hope that you don't leave it switched on overnight, or possibly even plugged in.
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tigerg
February 28, 2013 10:14:53 PM
Some people just don't get it . If they lie about rating what else is a lie ? There are good supplies out there for around $40.00 on sale , why waste money on crap that can ruin a computer , or worse cause a fire in your house ? All the PSU listed in rge 1st post should be avoided , all a waste of money
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