Corsair CX550M vs Cooler Master MWE 550

[WILL.I.AMS]

Hey everyone.

 

So I’m in desperate need of a PSU upgrade so that I can power my new GPU (specs below). The two PSUs that I can get for the best deals for in my country are the Corsair CX550M and the Cooler Master MWE 550.

 

My question is not which PSU is better, because I already know that answer, but rather which one is better for ME. The Corsair is around $50 more expensive than the Cooler Master one and I want to know if that price difference is worth it and why exactly it’s worth it for someone like me. Money is a scarce commodity for me and if I can save money anywhere, I’d rather do it. The Corsair one also has a much longer shipping time (2 weeks), versus the CM’s 2 days.  

 

I also only intend to make more upgrades and I’ve already calculated that I don’t need more than 550w whatsoever. I also don’t overclock and don’t intend to overclock. I’m a simple man with simple needs.
 

Thanks and stay safe!

 

Build:

Intel i5 3470 @ 3.2 GHz

MSI RX 570 GAMING X 4GB

Kingston 8 GB DDR3 @1600MHz

2 TB WD Blue 

Kingston 256 GB SSD

 

[Mateyyy]

MWE White, MWE Bronze, MWE Bronze v2, which exact model is it?

I'm inclined to say CX550M.*

Edited July 27, 2020 by Mateyyy
* missed the price difference

[Samfisher]

The CM is more than good enough for your rig, which isn't that power hungry to begin with.  Which MWE are you referring to however?  MWE is a range, not a specific unit.

[WILL.I.AMS]

2 minutes ago, Samfisher said:

The CM is more than good enough for your rig, which isn't that power hungry to begin with.  Which MWE are you referring to however?  MWE is a range, not a specific unit.

Oh I see, the MWE 550 Bronze

[Haro]

10 hours ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

Cooler Master MWE 550.

what MWE? 

if it's the bronze or the white (V1 OR V1), i would go for the cxm..

[Samfisher]

Just now, WILL.I.AMS said:

Oh I see, the MWE 550 Bronze

$50 price difference between the two is kinda insane....

[WILL.I.AMS]

1 minute ago, Samfisher said:

$50 price difference between the two is kinda insane....

I know, which is why I can’t decide which one is more appropriate, and whether $50 is warranted

[Mateyyy]

2 minutes ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

Oh I see, the MWE 550 Bronze

What country are you buying it from, or do you have a website we could use to check for other options? A $50 difference between them is quite ridiculous.

[Haro]

10 hours ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

the MWE 550 Bronze

is it the V2? as said above, 50 dollars is insane, if its the V2, while its not the best, it'll do the job.

[WILL.I.AMS]

1 minute ago, Mateyyy said:

What country are you buying it from, or do you have a website we could use to check for other options? A $50 difference between them is quite ridiculous.

I’m from South Africa, so if you can find any good deals, they would be more than welcome!

[WILL.I.AMS]

1 minute ago, TofuHaroto said:

is it the V2? as said above, 50 dollars is insane, if its the V2, while its not the best, it'll do the job.

The V2

[Haro]

10 hours ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

so if you can find any good deals, they would be more than welcome!

any site we can check?

 

10 hours ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

The V2

i mean if you are only limited to these two, it's certainly not a bad unit and will do the job. and what is the cx450 priced at? since that will be more than enough as well. 

[Spotty]

13 minutes ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

My question is not which PSU is better, because I already know that answer, but rather which one is better for ME. The Corsair is around $50 more expensive than the Cooler Master one and I want to know if that price difference is worth it and why exactly it’s worth it for someone like me.

Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 would be good for your system. There's absolutely no reason to pay $50 more for the Corsair CX550M.

[WILL.I.AMS]

2 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

any site we can check?

 

i mean if you are only limited to these two, it's certainly not a bad unit and will do the job. and what is the cx450 priced at? since that will be more than enough as well. 

The main sites here are:

https://m.takealot.com/
https://www.evetech.co.za/

https://www.wootware.co.za/

https://www.loot.co.za/welcome

There are others though.

 

I hadn’t yet looked at the cx450, but it’s about midway between the two in terms of pricing. I plan to upgrade to a Ryzen 2600, 16GB of RAM and a few more fans, if that makes any difference.

 

[WILL.I.AMS]

6 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 would be good for your system. There's absolutely no reason to pay $50 more for the Corsair CX550M.

If I can find a better deal for the CX550M, maybe try find one around $20-30 more, would it be worth it then? 
 

Is the MWE Bronze really as bad as people say?

[Haro]

7 minutes ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

if that makes any difference.

Yea even then a 450w is more than enough. 

 

5 minutes ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

Is the MWE Bronze really as bad as people say

The v2 is more than fine. It's decent especially for your build.

Edit. I looked at the sites you linked and I found a cx450m for 64 bucks. 

https://www.loot.co.za/product/corsair-cx450m-atx-power-supply-unit-450w-semi-modula/fynd-4114-g980

 

Edited July 27, 2020 by TofuHaroto

[5x5]

2 minutes ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

If I can find a better deal for the CX550M, maybe try find one around $20-30 more, would it be worth it then? 
 

Is the MWE Bronze really as bad as people say?

The V1 is abhorrent. The V2 is mediocre 

 

Check for a SeaSonic Core or Be Quiet Pure Power Gold

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

If I can find a better deal for the CX550M, maybe try find one around $20-30 more, would it be worth it then? 
 

Is the MWE Bronze really as bad as people say?

No, and I don't know what it is people are saying about it that you have read but I would say no it's not as bad as what they're saying if your impression is that the CX550M would be worth spending an extra $50 for.

There's 46 Cooler Master MWE units, 4 of which are "MWE Bronze 550W" units. Which one of these is the one you are looking at?

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-bronze-550/

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-550-bronze-v2/

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-550-bronze-v2-full-range/

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-550-bronze-v2-230v/

[WILL.I.AMS]

10 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

Yea even then a 450w is more than enough. 

 

The v2 is more than fine. It's decent especially for your build.

Edit. I looked at the sites you linked and I found a cx450m for 64 bucks. 

https://www.loot.co.za/product/corsair-cx450m-atx-power-supply-unit-450w-semi-modula/fynd-4114-g980

 

Is the 450w enough? Everyone always says to overshoot and get much more power than you need, just in case. Is this enough?

[WILL.I.AMS]

9 minutes ago, Spotty said:

No, and I don't know what it is people are saying about it that you have read but I would say no it's not as bad as what they're saying if your impression is that the CX550M would be worth spending an extra $50 for.

There's 46 Cooler Master MWE units, 4 of which are "MWE Bronze 550W" units. Which one of these is the one you are looking at?

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-bronze-550/

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-550-bronze-v2/

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-550-bronze-v2-full-range/

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/power-supplies/mwe-series/mwe-550-bronze-v2-230v/

The second one I think. But would the CX450 be good? It’s a great middle ground between the two, price-wise.

[WILL.I.AMS]

12 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

The V1 is abhorrent. The V2 is mediocre 

 

Check for a SeaSonic Core or Be Quiet Pure Power Gold

Unfortunately I can’t find those (or any EVGA for that matter) in my country.

[Haro]

21 minutes ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

Everyone always says to overshoot and get much more power than you need, just in case. Is this enough?

Yes it is. More then enough infact. 

A 450w unit. Can power a 2080ti and a 3950x for example. 

[WILL.I.AMS]

2 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

Yes it is. More then enough infact. 

A 450w unit. Can power a 2080ti and a 3950x for example. 

Oh damn, okay I didn’t know that! 
 

Is the CV series from Corsair even worth a look? 

[Haro]

3 minutes ago, WILL.I.AMS said:

Is the CV series from Corsair even worth a look? 

Don't consider the cv450/550 as they're group reg meh units. The cv650 is better but might be more expensive where you live. But over all. Grey cx is better. 

[WILL.I.AMS]

1 minute ago, TofuHaroto said:

Don't consider the cv450/550 as they're group reg meh units. The cv650 is better but might be more expensive where you live. But over all. Grey cx is better. 

Totally understandable! The calculator says I’ll need 410w in total even with all my planned upgrades, so I think I’ll go with the CX450M!

 

Thank you so much for your help!