power supply Best Power Supply 400w or under

[amardilo]

I bought a 2nd hand Intel Core i5 Asus M11AD desktop PC for my parents to use as an Unraid server (I wanted to give them a "server" so they could back up their laptops, store files on and run some Docker containers to do some automated tasks for them). I put in a few extra hard drives and removed the GPU (as it wasn't needed) and it's all working well but I noticed the power supply is a 250w power supply from a brand I haven't heard of before (the ASUS site says it should come with a 350w power supply but the one in my parent's PC is a 250w power supply so maybe it's been replaced) and as this machine is on 24/7 I want to replace it with something that as safe as possible.

 

When I look online most reviews and lists are for power supply unit's that tend to be over 450w. Are there any recommended and safe (read so much about cheap no brand units going pop I am a little concerned about it) units 400w or under?

[GoldenLag]

Pure Power 10 400 watt from bequiet.

 

And only 400 watt or above. The 350 watt models a shut and you should avoid those by any means. 

 

You can also grab a cx450 (2017) from Corsair. 

 

One of those will be wellpriced in most regions. Leaning if one is badly priced the other one is wellpriced. 

 

Dont go with PSUs with less wattage they are usually so bad you should avoid them.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, amardilo said:

When I look online most reviews and lists are for power supply unit's that tend to be over 450w. Are there any recommended and safe (read so much about cheap no brand units going pop I am a little concerned about it) units 400w or under?

It doesn't cost any less to make a good 350W PSU vs. a good 400W PSU vs. a good 450W PSU, so companies tend to start at 450W.  In PSUs with newer topologies/technologies, the scale is even greater.  It doesn't cost any less to make an LLC resonant mode 550W PSU than it does to make a 650W version of the same thing, so why bother making the 550W?

 

So now my question to you is... Why are you "locked in" on a "400W or under" PSU?

[fluxdeity]

If your max load is 300-400W you'll want a 650-800watt PSU. Half load is generally where PSU's supply best efficiency.

[seon123]

16 hours ago, fluxdeity said:

If your max load is 300-400W you'll want a 650-800watt PSU. Half load is generally where PSU's supply best efficiency.

You do realise there is more to a PSU than the efficiency? Have you also actually looked at the difference in efficiency in terms of numbers? It is absolutely not worth it to get a higher wattage PSU for higher efficiency. If you want a more efficient PSU, get a more efficient PSU.

Here's a database, feel free to have a look.

https://www.cybenetics.com/index.php?option=power-supplies

[Stefan Payne]

6 hours ago, fluxdeity said:

If your max load is 300-400W you'll want a 650-800watt PSU.

No, you want a GOOD QUALITY PSU and we don't live in the Stone Age where most PSU purchasable by consumers were shit or garbage. And a couple of somewhat OKIsh FSP and CWT units. But the good stuff was OEM Only.

 

That shit comes from 20 Years ago or so. 
Todays PSU are far better, especially the besser quality ones. They are designed for 100% Load at increased ambient temperatures, usually 40°C, sometimes even 50°C.

So no, its bogus.

Quote

Half load is generally where PSU's supply best efficiency.

I've seen that shit mentioned in a Hardware Unboxed Video recently.

But no, thats also wrong.

ANd its a dumb argument for higher wattage, especially if you don't look into PSU more and read real reviews. And think about it.

 

If you look into real reviews, the Difference between usually 30-60% is negligable, often even 70%. Negligable = 0,5% or less.

 

And generally its not at half load. Its at 30-40%. That is far from Half Load. I don't give you +/- 10% Tolerance on that statement, 5 at most!

 

[amardilo]

16 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

It doesn't cost any less to make a good 350W PSU vs. a good 400W PSU vs. a good 450W PSU, so companies tend to start at 450W.  In PSUs with newer topologies/technologies, the scale is even greater.  It doesn't cost any less to make an LLC resonant mode 550W PSU than it does to make a 650W version of the same thing, so why bother making the 550W?

 

So now my question to you is... Why are you "locked in" on a "400W or under" PSU?

Just thought if you don't need that much it would be better to stick to a lower wattage power supply. I was thinking if it's running on a 250w power supply why would I need to go for something that is 200w higher as that might be overkill.

 

My main concern is safety so would going with a 550w or 650w power supply be better?

[comicsansms]

3 hours ago, amardilo said:

Just thought if you don't need that much it would be better to stick to a lower wattage power supply. I was thinking if it's running on a 250w power supply why would I need to go for something that is 200w higher as that might be overkill.

 

My main concern is safety so would going with a 550w or 650w power supply be better?

He's saying that lower wattage PSUs are often not great, because they need to reduce cost significantly, so use cheaper platforms.

 

He's saying you should be asking for a PSU suggestion, not a PSU suggestion within a range of watts.

 

A lot of PSUs use a lesser platform for PSUs lower than 400W (assuming they have PSUs that low). Though that's not a rule, just a trend. The Seasonic S12II 430W uses a different platform the the S12II 520/620W (Not recommending the S12II/M12II of any wattage), and there'll be cases the other way around too.

 

Also, keep in mind OEMs like HP, Dell, ACER... live in their own little bubble where they aren't marketing the PSUs wattage, so only get what they need, so will save the 10's of cents to get what they need. So just because they have a 350W PSU, doesn't make them bad.

 

Don't get a 650W supply. They almost never make any sense. Should you get a 550W supply over a 450W? It really depends on what's available in your market.

[ayazam]

get a quality PSUs bro

id choose 450 platinum from a quality brand (if it even exists) over 550 bronze even with the same brand

ive been running my current PC about 5 years, with a ok RM 550 (2014), 24/7 only restarts when needed, with the specs in my profile

[seon123]

3 minutes ago, ayazam said:

id choose 450 platinum from a quality brand (if it even exists) over 550 bronze even with the same brand

The 80+ rating says nothing about how good a PSU is. Just compare the absolutely aweful 80+ Gold rated EVGA G1 NEX to the quite decent 80+ Bronze rated EVGA B2. 

[ayazam]

2 minutes ago, seon123 said:

The 80+ rating says nothing about how good a PSU is. Just compare the absolutely aweful 80+ Gold rated EVGA G1 NEX to the quite decent 80+ Bronze rated EVGA B2. 

yeah, sorry i just generalize it... usually, a good rating PSUs is a better one

fact, EVGA doesn't exist in my country until 2017 i think hahaha, because no distributor here could keep up with the aftersales quality north American get

[Guest]

6 hours ago, amardilo said:

Just thought if you don't need that much it would be better to stick to a lower wattage power supply. I was thinking if it's running on a 250w power supply why would I need to go for something that is 200w higher as that might be overkill.

 

My main concern is safety so would going with a 550w or 650w power supply be better?

Just in case you're convinced of a few myths:

 

1.  A PSU only puts out the power demanded of it.  You can put a 1000W PSU in a system that would run on 250W and the PSU will only put out 250W. 

 

And on the flip side of that....

 

2.  As Stefan pointed out:  A higher wattage PSU is not always more efficient at 50%.   What people SHOULD look at is where it's least efficient and how bad is that?  For example, if the efficiency is great at 20% load, but only 50% efficient at 10% load, that's a problem.  Unfortunately, there's no "80 PLUS" for that (since they typically only start testing at 20% load).  You have to either read a review or use a site like Cybenetics to figure that out.

 

2 hours ago, ayazam said:

fact, EVGA doesn't exist in my country until 2017 i think hahaha, because no distributor here could keep up with the aftersales quality north American get

Yeah.. We don't know where that is.

[LukeSavenije]

6 hours ago, amardilo said:

My main concern is safety

boy oh boy do i have something for you

PSU tier list, if your main concern is safity, get a tier b or higher, whatever is availible

 

[Guest]

On 3/29/2019 at 5:46 AM, amardilo said:

I bought a 2nd hand Intel Core i5 Asus M11AD desktop PC for my parents to use as an Unraid server (I wanted to give them a "server" so they could back up their laptops, store files on and run some Docker containers to do some automated tasks for them). I put in a few extra hard drives and removed the GPU (as it wasn't needed) and it's all working well but I noticed the power supply is a 250w power supply from a brand I haven't heard of before (the ASUS site says it should come with a 350w power supply but the one in my parent's PC is a 250w power supply so maybe it's been replaced) and as this machine is on 24/7 I want to replace it with something that as safe as possible.

 

Ok.  Let's get back on topic......

 

The Asus builds use the shittiest PSUs possible.  They don't even have PFC.  Don't think they're even allowed to sell them in EU or California.

 

You don't need a lot of power.

 

I don't know how well a PSU with a fan to a right angle to the exhaust is going to work in that thing, so we should stick with something with an 80mm in the back like the original PSU.

 

That REALLY narrows it down.  Pretty much the Seasonic SS Series (like an SS-350ES) or one of the HEC units like the HEC-350TA-2RK would work great.  Neither of these are super PSUs as both are double forward front ends with group regulation (no DC to DC), but for this build that's fine.

 

Alternately, you could get a nice SFX or SFX PSU with an SFX to ATX bracket (like the Corsair SF450 SFX or the SilverStone SST-SX500G) and fan position won't matter because the PSU is much smaller than the Asus unit.  But then you have to make sure the cables reach.  To do that, you want to open up their PC and measure what's in there.