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Brand Names Take On Generics In PSU Showdown
The Raindog writes "The power supply is perhaps the most overlooked element of a modern PC, and yet it's the one component that can irreparably damage the rest of a system. The market is littered with generic PSUs that are often much cheaper than name-brand alternatives, but can you trust them? The Tech Report aims to find out in its latest power supply round-up, which compares the performance, efficiency, and noise levels of a collection of reputable PSUs with some budget, no-name competition. As it turns out, any money you save on a generic PSU purchase will likely cost you more in the long run."
And before you think that all your PSUs are failing because you bought them on the cheap, you should also check your UPS. I had 13 PSUs die at Suso and thought it was just horrible luck with power supplies, until I realized that the 5 year old UPS that those servers were on was having issues. Since I replaced it, haven't had any problems since. *knock* *knock*
Actually, some friends of mine had a no-name PSU explode, literally. One of the electrolytic caps decided it had had enough. I replaced it with an Antec and no problems for as long as they used it.
Oh, and the Antec PSU in my personal machine died one day, possibly because it was plugged into an 11-year-old surge protector. I got a free replacement (minus shipping), and the replacement is a nicer unit and handles more power.
Say what you will, but their service is nothing to complain about.
The difference between spam and poop is that you don't have to dig through septic tanks looking for real food. -- Me
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There aren't very many factories that actually make PSUs. You'll find that a great many PSUs share designs. So you can have cheapies that look like brand name PSUs. Ok so what's the money difference? Parts quality. The company making generics says "Ya give me the cheapest caps, fan controls, etc. I need lowest cost no matter what." The good brands say "Give us higher temperature parts, better quality, etc." Just because they look the same, doesn't mean they are built ot the same standard.
The difference between good and crap in electronics can often be as simple as the parts used. However, good parts cost more money so you are going to pay more for the finished product.
Personally, I'm a Corsair fanboy. They seem to spec really high grade electronics in to their powersupplies and those things do a great job.
They should have checked each power supply for a UL marking, and an entry in the UL Certification Database. Things seem to be getting better, though; the power supplies tested did not blow up or catch fire at full load. That's a big improvement from a few years ago.
The basic UL requirements are 1) no overload problems at full load, 2) no explosion or fire under output overload/short conditions, and 3) no single component failure can cause a fire (i.e. there should be a fuse of some kind in there.) It's permitted for an overloaded unit to fail and never work again; that's not a safety issue. Some no-name power supplies had real problems meeting those basic conditions.
This site has some really detailed stuff: http://jonnyguru.com
This techreport.com round-up is a joke. If you really want to read a detailed review check out Stephane Charpentier's review of 105 PSUs. Each of his reviews includes everything you'd expect plus a complete assessment of the electronics used in the PSU with very detailed explanations.
jonnyguru.com is probably the best site for power supply reviews. the guy does FULL disassembly, even removing rectifiers and diodes and stuff. Because of this he is able to determine what OEM manufactured every power supply he tests, and also gives you comments that, if you payed enough attention, would allow YOU to determine the layouts typical of each OEM. He's also the guy that started using an actual load tester to test power supplies, instead of testing them by placing them in systems. The ORIGINAL hard core power supply test site!
I KUT J00 M4NG!!!
Funny.
I've been "doing" computers since the early 90s. I've never had much problem with power supplies. And I do mean *never*.
I took an ancient, generic 286 computer, and upgraded it through 386SX, 486 DX/2, Cx 6x86, and AMD Athlon motherboards before finally switching to ATX. It was a cheezy, god-only-knows-who-made it power supply that came from a 'not-quite-aluminum-foil' AT case.
And I've done plenty of computers since. I've *always* bought the cheapest, craptastic cases and power supplies, and generally had years of excellent service before dying. I'd say my average life expectancy for a power supply is over 5 years, and I say that because I generally give up on the computer before the power supply dies.
What makes a computer last a long, LONG time?
1) Under-clock the CPU. Really. 10-20% makes a significant difference in reliability because it runs cooler, but almost never makes enough difference to notice for real-world, day-to-day usability. As you approach the thermal limits of our CPU, the longevity drops off sharply. 10% makes a *huge* difference.
2) Dust out the computer every year or so. Dust is an insulator, which causes heat "hot spots" that play hell with components.
3) Replace the fans regularly. I keep servers running for years on years on years by replacing the fans every other year or so. Along with dusting out the server, they keep on ticking far longer than you ever thought possible. I've had systems last well over 10 years with decent reliability by doing this when performance simply wasn't an issue.
4) Don't turn it off! Computers that are turned on/off every day last a few years. Servers that are babysat, running 24x7 at a consistent temperature run damn near forever. This costs money, so run the numbers to see what uptimes vs power consumption really costs you.
I've never noticed power supplies (cheap, expensive) being much of an issue. I've seen craptastically cheap hardware run under heavy loads for a very long time without complaint, and I've seen plenty of expensive, "high end" hardware die well before it's expected life time. /shrug/
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
If you look, that supply is only "UR" component recognition, i.e. it is not UL approved as a standalone item. UR just means that, if a UL tester finds it inside a computer being tested as a whole, he does not test the PSU individually but treats it as a single component. Replying to my own post, below, I should clarify that this seems to be a loophole that I have encountered before. Nobody should sell a UR assembly to an end user, it should only be sold to an OEM to replace an identical item in a UL piece of equipment. I hope this clarifies things.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Here's a partial list:
I've seen companies use components rated at or just below their stated current rating in order to save money (using 8 amp transistors in a 10 amp supply, for example). They'll often work right out of the box, but, since there's no margin built in they will run hot and eventually fail. As to component quality, take it from someone who designs and manufactures precision instrumentation, I can tell you that there can be an enormous difference in quality from one manufacturer to another. "considering all the parts are mass manufactured, anyway" is not a valid argument.
Sadly, PC Power & Cooling is no longer an independent company, but was bought by OCZ last year. I'm not sure how this might affect quality in the future, but I still buy PC P&C PSUs for now.
Yes, I agree that jonnyguru.com is the best review source for PSU stability (noise and transients are measured with oscilloscope and compared with ATX specs) and build quality (inside pics and commentary on components used). If you additionally care about the noise your PSU is making at various loads, silentpcreview.com has those measurements. I bought a couple of power supplies based on the review on to those two sites, and never had issues stability or noise wise.