The (new) Official PC building thread!

I just ordered one of those corsair 620 watt PSU's yesterday from zipzoomfly for $146.99 with the same $20 MIR and free shipping ($126.99 after rebate). my 8 month old hiper type-r $hit the bed and is only warranted through the manufacturer which is in England. no more hiper PSU's for me. I'm on my laptop now.

 

That seems to be happening increasingly often now, what happened to it?
I think I'm going to stop recommending Hiper PSUs now, given how many reports of premature failures there have been. Not experienced any yet, but then I suppose mine did come with a seriously faulty set of cables (one of the molex extensions fried my hard disks, and the kettle lead started arcing inside after a few months).
I think I'm going to promote Corsairs with all moderately high end builds, that leaves me looking for a brand to choose for lower end builds. Has anybody had any experience with these?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171018&Tpk=Coolermaster+500W

 

I have no idea. I came home from work monday and went to power up my pc and nothing happened. I checked it with a PSU tester. no power to any rails. 3.3v, 5v, 12v all dead.

 

Hmm, interesting. Lol have you changed the kettle lead?

 

tried everything. different power cord, different wall outlet. I was fairly sure those weren't the problem since the rocker power switch was lit up in the on position. I'm really gonna be pissed if it took out any other components.

 

Hmm, oh well. That sucks.

 

sam this looks like a good deal for the money. Thermaltake PurePower 500

mikeh0303 I'm still looking at some deals and fitting parts. Hopefully I'll have something for you to look at this evening.

...gm

 

Hmm I've always been a bit wary of the Purepower as it's a unit that Thermaltake made themselves, rather than contracting to CWT, so is it so well made?

 

If you want a Monster Power Suppy...Go with the "PC Power & Cooling" 750...One of the best P/S made...They are the only Power Supply that I would use in a High End build...Buy it once...and you will never have to worry about your P/S again...Just my 2 cents...


Here is a review of the P/S
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=1&artpage=2119&articID=511

$159 from case-mod.com shipping was $6.70 for me so they have reasonable shipping...
http://www.case-mod.com/pc-power-co...0-quad-power-supply-copper-p-2590.html?src=fr

 

HEY sammmorris I was looking at some more "low end" build PSU's and thought these 2 were possible candidates. Please take a look and see what you think. Can you tell me what you look at in the SPECS to make sure we're on the same page. TIA.

Link to psu's

...gm

if the link doesn't work let me know and I'll post them individually.

 

What I think of when I see those PSUs is:
"What do Rosewill and nMediaPC make other than PSUs and cases?"
Nothing as far as I'm aware. That goes for a lot of PSU manufacturers, but a lot of those are reputable PSU manufacturers. These two brands aren't. I wouldn't buy either, on the strength that they're not well established brands in the field. As for the PC power & cooling, perhaps, but I hear they're very loud, and not everybody disregards PC noise as an issue. The Corsair HX unit seems to be the best power supply all round, it's the quietest PSU of that rating ever made, and it's a top quality unit, and the manufacturer is very reputable at making solid quality components. However, I was actually asking which PSUs for a low price are good.

 

@sammorris
I don't know where you heard that they were loud...They are known for there Raw Power and Quietness...
They are quieter then the OCZ 700 Gamestream...or the Hyper 580...and PC Power & Cooling actually manufacture's their own P/S...which I doubt Corsair does...
I haven't researched the Corsair line yet...I know they are new to Power Supply's...which would make me nervous...

Whats your price range?..
I thought you quoted $150 on your first post...

I did a little research...
$169.99
($149.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002
I looked at the Corsair 620 (3) 12volt rails 18A each...

$144.99
($109.99 after $35.00 Mail-In Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
The OCZ 700 has (4) 12volt rails 18A each...
The OCZ is a much better deal for your $ then the Corsair...

Me I am not a big fan of multiple rail P/S...it is just a marketing gimmick...Its cheaper to build multiple rail P/S with a higher 12volt total...then it is to build a one rail P/S with a high 12volt total...

 

Lp531,

the corsair HX series PSU's have a 5 year warranty, use 105 degree celsius rated industrial grade capacitors delivering 4 times the lifespan of 85 degree capacitors (that most other manufactures use), and of course have the excellent customer service that corsair is known for.

I read several reviews and none of them had anything bad to say except that they were a little costly but that was when they 1st hit the market at around $170+.

for these reasons and at only $126.90 after MIR for a modular PSU I'm willing to give one a try. I guess time will tell.

sure can't be any worse than the hiper and it was around $110 with shipping and has a $hity warranty (3 years but it has to be shipped to England where it is made).

I'm not just siding up with sam as I had already ordered a corsair 620HX PSU before he even mentioned it.

BTW: here's a better price. $126.90 after MIR and free shipping http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373110

I also considered the OCZ 700 watt PSU but opted for the corsair due to it's modular design and warranty.

 

@Mort81
No problem...I was not slamming the Corsair P/S...I just looked at the specs...and the specs for the OCZ were better...as was the price...
I have not read any reviews of the Corsair...which obviously you have...and obviously you were impressed by them...
I will check out the Corsair line...and keep us posted on your impression of your new P/S...

 

Lp531,

no problem my friend. 620 watts is more than adaquate for my system and being I'm a neat freak I wanted a modular PSU and the corsairs look to be far better than any other modular PSU's available (bound to be better than an ultra).

under the circumstances I'm thinking a power surge took out my hiper (although I do have it going through a good surge protector). I know, time to get a UPS. that's on my list with another hdd. to many expenses lately.

a PSU with over current/voltage/power protection was a must this time around. a couple other features I liked was: 1) advanced circuitry design that automatically enables power sharing between the three 12v rails in an event of overload of any single 12v rail. 2) guaranteed compatability with dual GPU configurations in case I ever decide to go SLI or crossfire.

here's corsairs spec page. there's several reviews too but you can google those at your leisure if you so desire. this particular review gave it top pick even over the OCZ 700 watt PSU.

 

@Mort81

I might question this statement from Corsair...The rails are either isolated...or they are not...and they look like they are isolated from the review and the pictures of the insides...and I did not see anything in that review that rated the Corsair over the OCZ...I might have missed it...any way keep us posted on your impression of Corsairs new product line...

 

The OCZ's OK, but from what i've seen has bad ripple because it's an FSP. You were saying how companies don't make their own PSUs?
I don't know who makes the Corsair unit, but from what I've heard so far it looks like Corsair.
Also, the Corsair is the quietest PSU you can buy.
The Hiper and OCZ aren't great for noise, but I bet the PC Power & cooling isn't as quiet as the Corsair. Run a 120mm case fan at 1000rpm in a vibration-free environment, that's the sort of noise you're looking at, barely any at all.

 

Here is an excellent article on the Corsair P/S...They seem to like it...
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article692-page1.html

At the end of the article it suggest that the Corsair & Seasonic share the same manufacturer...

So...Odds are Corsair is not the Manufacturer...

The PC Power & Cooling is a very silent P/S...when not under 60% or above load...Just like Corsair and most High Quality P/S...the Corsair is No different...
I would not be surprised...if the PC Power & Cooling is equal in noise to the Corsair...under equal power loads...during normal daily operations...

The Reason I have been promoting the PC Power & Cooling 750 Quad is the addition of the (4) PCI-E Connectors...(The Quad stands for the Connectors...Not 12v Rails)and the resent ability to find them in the $160 range..
When they first came out they were in the $280 range..
Which made them un-affordable to most builders...
They are a no Gimmick P/S...No Leds...No Windows...No Modular connectors...just Brute Raw Power...and lets face it...that is all you really need from a P/S...

For Me ...I'll take my 60A on (1) rail...vs 50A on (3) rails...
Multiple Rails are not necessary...they are simply a gimmick...and that s JM2C on the matter..

 

Lp531,

nice review. I wasn't and never did bash the PC Power and Cooling 750 Quad. I'm sure it is one of the better P/S's. different strokes for different folks as stated above, one of the main reasons I opted for the corsair is it's modular design. I don't like cables everywhere or gobbs of wire ties.

 

Modular doesn't do much for me simply because I often use all the connectors!
As for the Corsair and Seasonic being the same underneath, is that a bad thing? They both perform well, and while the Seasonic may have a slight cooling edge, the 60mm fan has to spin pretty fast to match the airflow coming from the 120mm underneath (otherwise it'd be impeding cooling) and that makes it loud. The single 120 arrangement for the Corsair seems to work just fine, and as of yet I haven't heard of any issues with either of those units.