Don't get the EVGA BR/BT just because of brand.

[LienusLateTips]

LAST REVISED 6 APRIL 2021

 

These two units are $40-60 units that are meant for budget builds. However, it doesn't meet it's goals of being a good value.

 

The unit is group regulated. This means that the 12V and 5V are regulated together, and the regulation is averaged. This was because the internals were designed long ago, when most system power was on 3.3V and 5V. However, nowadays, power consumption is mostly on 12V. This means that, at heavy loads, the power can easily go out of spec, which may cause instability and lead to long-term failure of components.

 

This is where units like the Corsair CX, Pure Power 11, and Segotep GP pop in. They have DC-DC regulation, where all rails are regulated separately. This makes sure that even if there's extremely heavy load only on one rail, all of them won't go out of spec. These units are at extremely similar prices to the BR/BT, which makes sure that they have no reason to exist.

 

Another issue of the BT/BR is that they have low temperature tolerance. They are rated at an ambient temperature of 30C, which is even surpassed in Canada in the summer. The Corsair CX is rated at 40C, which is quite a bit higher, and you're less likely to exceed that.

 

TL;DR the BR/BT doesn't have a reason to exist because of the Corsair CX and Pure Power 11, and the Segotep GP where it's available. The EVGA B5 and Rosewill Capstone can also be good options.

If you are in a country where none of these available, try searching for a SeaSonic S12III or EVGA B3/B5 instead.

Edited April 7, 2021 by LienusLateTips
Revision

[LukeSavenije]

i wouldn't say no buy

 

like... it's on par with a vs, and will do with a simple system, but yeah, pure power/cx is better

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, LukeSavenije said:

i wouldn't say no buy

 

like... it's on par with a vs, and will do with a simple system, but yeah, pure power/cx is better

issue: the vs is often cheaper and it's usually the same price as a CX

[dcgreen2k]

I can definitely recommend the Corsair CX series, my CX450 is super quiet and I've had no problems with it so far. In some cases, you can even get a CX series PSU for less than a BT/BR PSU of the same wattage depending sales and rebates. In the end, my CX450 cost only $20 which is a pretty nice saving over the $50 base price.

[LukeSavenije]

4 minutes ago, LienusLateTips said:

issue: the vs is often cheaper and it's usually the same price as a CX

well... i'd say around 25 dollar i'd buy it, but not much above that

 

hence i want to make clear it isn't a s12ii/m12ii/g3/focus threat, just cheap

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, Genwyn said:

Average psu for the masses vs high end psu for the enthusiast

????

 

the issue here isn't that it's cheap

 

it's that there are much better psus for literally the same price

[-rascal-]

13 minutes ago, Genwyn said:

Average psu for the masses vs high end psu for the enthusiast

 

The EVGA B-series is not even enthusiast tier though.

It is more entry / mainstream then anything else.

These are the PSUs that would go into office workstations (e.g. i5/i7 16 or 32 GB of RAM, low to mid power workstation GPU, etc).

 

The G / P / T - series would be it if you want enthusiast.