Budget PSU - what to look for, limited brands on Offer

[Katarn]

Hello,

 

I am interested in the reliability of these brands: Deepcool, Sharkoon, Chieftec, and Energon; and their price-to-performance value.

I am in no position to purchase online.

If you cannot inform me about the brands themselves, at least help me understand what it is that I am looking for in a good PSU.

 

I am trying to build a PC. It will most likely be an i-5 8400, RTX 2060, 16GB DDR4 2400 build. The MB is the basest card that supports it, namely AsRock H310M LGA 1151, 2666.

Since the build is around $560-$1000 (regional equivalent, 560 is without GPU, 1000 is with the 2060); I am looking for budget parts.

I have several questions:

 

1. The PSU I was offered was Energon 750W, EPS-750W 13,5cm silent fan, 8Pin PCIe x 2

Not only could I not find reliable reviews online, but the only forum post I did find was of a person complaining that it had blown up (literally). So it seems like an unreliable PSU.

My other choices within the range (~$80) are options by Sharkoon, Deepcool and a CoolerMaster 700W 20+4Pin (this one is out of stock).

Which of these (Energon, Sharktoon, Deepcool) is the most reliable brand - I understand that the answer is most likely CoolerMaster, but it has a 4-pin connector, and I don't think that will work.

 

2. Do I really need 750W? Can I get away with less? What is the minimum I would need for this system? And should I?

 

3. For my present build (i5-7400, 16GB DDR4 2133, GTX 1060 6GB), I use a a Chieftec 500W CPS-500S. I don't understand what most of that means. But the PSU has been satisfactory. Should I try to get another Chieftec?

 

3. Should I invest in a better brand motherboard? (Gigabyte or MSI)?

 

I know how this sounds... I am overpaying for a mid-range system; and I still have to make budget cuts on some of its elements so as not to exceed the $1000 line. But that's how things are where I live. This is the best deal I can get.

So I would appreciate it if I don't get flack for "being cheap", unless you are positive that none of these brands are a good idea.

 

Thanks,

Katarn

[Alex Atkin UK]

I can tell you the advice you are going to get, DON'T get a budget PSU!

 

The PSU is the most important part of your PC as if it fails can destroy every component in your PC.

[LukeNukem9]

3 minutes ago, Katarn said:

Do I really need 750W? Can I get away with less? What is the minimum I would need for this system? And should I?

I would saw minimum 550W. I would go 600W tho.

[Fasauceome]

5 minutes ago, Katarn said:

Do I really need 750W

Nope, you can get a 450 watt PSU and have plenty of room.

See my signature for reference.

[GoldenLag]

keep your current ram. then get an r5 2600 and a B450 Pro4 board or MSI or Gigabyte equivelent or better. watch tutorials on how to manually OC the memmory to 2933mhz. its relativly simple.

 

the i5 8400 is not worth it and the mobo you are pairing it with isnt a good mobo. 

 

do you have the Corsair cx 550 (2017) as an option in terms of PSU??

 

 

 

edit: i wrote CPU instead of PSU

[Origami Cactus]

Just now, fasauceome said:

Nope, you can get a 450 watt PSU and have plenty of room.

Yes, try to get a good low wattage PSU, not cheap "high" wattage.

[aisle9]

Chieftec PSUs are arson boxes. Source: I had one blow up on me. I don't know Energon, but I can't imagine they're anything more than a rebrander of cheap Chinese firecrackers.

 

Of the brands you mentioned, Cooler Master and Deepcool both make some good PSUs and a lot of shitty ones. I'm only vaguely familiar with Sharkoon and can't speak to them.

 

Where are you located and where are you shopping? You don't need 750W, but you do need more than the 250W that "750W" unit is capable of sustaining for more than a minute without becoming a fire.

[NunoLava1998]

A list of some good power supplies!

 

Corsair:

CX450

CX550

CX650

CX450M

CX550M

CX650M

CX850M

TX550M

TX650M

TX750M

TX850M

RM550x

RM650x

RM750x

RM850x

RM1000x

HX750

HX750i

AX760

AX860

AX860i

HX1000

HX1000i

HX1200i

AX1200i

AX1600i

 

Seasonic:

 

FOCUS GOLD 450W

FOCUS GOLD 550W

FOCUS PLUS GOLD 450W

FOCUS PLUS GOLD 550W

PRIME ULTRA GOLD 550W

PRIME ULTRA GOLD 650W

PRIME ULTRA PLATINUM 550W

PRIME ULTRA PLATINUM 650W

PRIME ULTRA TITANIUM 650W

PRIME TITANIUM 600W

PRIME TITANIUM 1300W

 

Chieftec:

Deepcool:

Sharkoon:

CoolerMaster:

V650

V750

V850

V1000

MiJ 1200W

Chieftec:

Energon:

[Stefan Payne]

7 hours ago, Katarn said:

I am trying to build a PC. It will most likely be an i-5 8400, RTX 2060, 16GB DDR4 2400 build. The MB is the basest card that supports it, namely AsRock H310M LGA 1151, 2666.

Since the build is around $560-$1000 (regional equivalent, 560 is without GPU, 1000 is with the 2060); I am looking for budget parts.

That's like a 250W PC.

PS: look into VEGA as well. They are rather cheap. Right now a Sapphire Vega 56 is on sale here for 300€

 

7 hours ago, Katarn said:

1. The PSU I was offered was Energon 750W, EPS-750W 13,5cm silent fan, 8Pin PCIe x 2

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

Whoever did that, tell him he's a bad person for offering that PSU in whatever words you like.

Its a very low quality PSU that doesn't even does the specified load.

Meaning it is NOT a 750W PSU! its a 300W PSU at best 400W.

And yes, there are some Reviews from time to time but they get burried...

7 hours ago, Katarn said:

My other choices within the range (~$80) are options by Sharkoon, Deepcool and a CoolerMaster 700W 20+4Pin (this one is out of stock).

Which of these (Energon, Sharktoon, Deepcool) is the most reliable brand - I understand that the answer is most likely CoolerMaster, but it has a 4-pin connector, and I don't think that will work.

None. They are all not desirable and low quality.

You need to look into QUALITY, NOT wattage. whoever told you that 700W was needed for that low end System has no idea what he/she's talking about.

 

7 hours ago, Katarn said:

2. Do I really need 750W? Can I get away with less? What is the minimum I would need for this system? And should I?

Of course not!

A 400W PSU would be fine, if we talk about good quality.

For example be quiet System Power 9 400W and up if you want it good.

 

7 hours ago, Katarn said:

3. For my present build (i5-7400, 16GB DDR4 2133, GTX 1060 6GB), I use a a Chieftec 500W CPS-500S. I don't understand what most of that means. But the PSU has been satisfactory. Should I try to get another Chieftec?

No, chieftec is shit, they don't seem to know what they are doing or care about certain aspects of their products.
For example implementing a fan controller that constantly turns the fan on/off.

 

7 hours ago, Katarn said:

3. Should I invest in a better brand motherboard? (Gigabyte or MSI)?

If you don't have it, hold out until Summer. YOur system isn't that bad.

If you want to upgrade, you should look into Ryzen 5 or 7 as well.

Why do you want to upgrade to Intel right now when there is no upgrade path? Just a couple of months before AMD is said to release their new 7nm Chips??

I don't get it.

 

 

[Spotty]

7 hours ago, Katarn said:

It will most likely be an i-5 8400, RTX 2060, 16GB DDR4 2400 build.

Okay so... 250-300W max.
 

7 hours ago, Katarn said:

2. Do I really need 750W? Can I get away with less? What is the minimum I would need for this system? And should I?

No, you do not need a 750W PSU for a system that will use 1/3rd of that. So 450W since that's where the decent stuff start.
 

8 hours ago, Katarn said:

For my present build (i5-7400, 16GB DDR4 2133, GTX 1060 6GB)

Why are you 'upgrading' from an i5 7400 + GTX 1060 6GB to a i5 8400 + RTX 2060? Really not worth spending the money for the minor performance increase you will get.

[Katarn]

Hi,

Thank you all for replying.

I have decided against purchasing a new system until summer.

Now, to address some questions raised in the replies:

 

First, and this is a "global" one... I see that the requirements of the RTX 2060 mention a 500W PSU. How is it then that the system would be ok with a 300W PSU? And how does one know how much of the PSU is actually used, i.e. that a bad PSU would not be able to achieve the wattage stated?

 

@Stefan Payne

Thank you for the elaborate reply.

Quote

  PS: look into VEGA as well. They are rather cheap. Right now a Sapphire Vega 56 is on sale here for 300€

Where I live, that card is over $600.

Quote

Why do you want to upgrade to Intel right now when there is no upgrade path? Just a couple of months before AMD is said to release their new 7nm Chips??

 

I don't get it.

 

I wanted the upgrade partly because the i5-7400 is essentially an i3-8300 (slightly weaker), which means that I would need to replace it sooner rather than later (seeing how it lags in Premiere probably sooner), but it is still new enough to have a decently high price if I were to sell it. As for the preference for an Intel chip, partly because I am actually referring to two configurations, and the owner of one of them is Team Blue all that way; and partly because of the store, where an Intel chip was supposed to grant me a somewhat better discount.

But I have decided against buying, so I guess I probably won't. When would you say is a good time to buy/upgrade though?

 

@Spotty

Quote

Why are you 'upgrading' from an i5 7400 + GTX 1060 6GB to a i5 8400 + RTX 2060? Really not worth spending the money for the minor performance increase you will get.

The idea of having the power of an i7-7700 for half the price appealed to me; moreover, the fact that the i5-7400 is weaker than the i3-8300 annoyed/annoys me.

 

@aisle9

Quote

Chieftec PSUs are arson boxes. Source: I had one blow up on me.

Wow... did you put it under excessive strain? Sounds scary.

How soon should I replace the one that I currently have? It's ~1.5 years old.

[aisle9]

16 minutes ago, Katarn said:

Wow... did you put it under excessive strain? Sounds scary.

How soon should I replace the one that I currently have? It's ~1.5 years old.

Replace it ASAP. It's garbage. My Chieftec issue was with an old HP slimline. Long story short, I bought an old HP Slimline with a Chieftec 250W Flex ATX unit replacing the OEM. Took it home, tested it out for a few hours running normal tasks, got lots of crashes, slowdowns and a handful of BSODs. Put it aside figuring the guy had sold me a system with a bad motherboard, and decided to run a few more tests the next day and figure out whether to salvage parts from it or just call the guy up and ask why he sold me a computer that he had to have known was broken. I turned it on and while I was looking up BSOD codes to see if it was software or hardware, there was a moderately loud pop followed by hissing and magic smoke, and that was that. When I went to grab the thing and take it out of the case, it was freaking hot. Like, dangerously hot to the point that I couldn't touch it. And that's when Chieftec made it to my shit list.