Is the EVGA 600 W2 really THAT bad?

[LTTFan16538228]

So I have “recommended” that PSU because I use it and it hasn’t exploded on me YET. I chose this PSU a because it was cheap enough for my 230 dollar budget. But, is it really bad or it’s just okay? Should I get a different PSU?

[da na]

It's just OK. If you have already bought it that is fine but if not I wouldn't recommend buying it, there are other alternatives that can be found for about equal at that price point. I use a 500w EVGA in my workstation build and it's fine

[LTTFan16538228]

1 minute ago, Mel0nMan said:

It's just OK. If you have already bought it that is fine but if not I wouldn't recommend buying it, there are other alternatives that can be found for about equal at that price point. I use a 500w EVGA in my workstation build and it's fine

I got it open box, but the budget doesn’t include my GPU because I got it for free from a friend. I am asking because someone said that it was not far off “destroy your GPU bad”.

[MrMcMuffinJr]

try the tier list. it's pretty detailed. 

 

[Guest]

12 hours ago, LTTFan16538228 said:

Is the EVGA 600 W2 really THAT bad?

Double forward front end, group regulated, sleeve bearing fan, all cheap components.... 

[LTTFan16538228]

19 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

 all cheap components.... 

So does that mean bad?

[SavageNeo]

11 hours ago, LTTFan16538228 said:

So does that mean bad?

usually yes. in this case definetely yes

[Chiyawa]

This is purely my opinion, so here's my view:

 

The list provided is a reference guide, so when they put a PSU in lower Tier, like Tier D, it means you have to be caution if you want to use any of the PSU in that tier. Here's why:

 

The PSU may lack a few feature, such as OCP or OTP, which can be very dangerous if short circuit were to occur or the temperature go way to high until the solder joint melt or the component catch fire.

The PSU may have high ripple voltage. Ripple voltage is not good for your component because your voltage controller (VRM) will have to work extra hard to adjust the correct voltage to your CPU or GPU.

The PSU may trip itself thinking there's a short circuit when the GPU suddenly draw a lot of current to prepare running a game.

 

However, if your system is low end or a little mid-tier (Ryzen 5 5600G with no dedicated GPU AIC) and the power consumption is low, this PSU actually is not bad.

 

Hence this is why it is in Tier D.

 

The list, again, is provided as is, meaning it may not reflect your situation. This list serve as a guide for general PC builder. If you are building an RTX3080 with Intel 12900K, then you should not get a PSU in Tier C and below, and Tier B is only marginal, so you are recommended to get Tier A PSU for your build. Tier C PSU for those system may run fine initially, but it may put a lot of strain to your components which may end up failing prematurely. The Tier C PSU may trip its OCP thought it was a short circuit, but in actual fact, it was the GPU draw a lot of current all of the sudden while running a game.

 

So that's the reason why. Hope this gives you a clear view how this list works. Your PSU may not be bad if your system is quite low-end, but generally, it is bad for many situation, especially when you start to add a mid-range GPU. Your PSU life-span also not that great as well and it may be 'out of specification' after a few years of use (12V rail may drop to 11.5V)

 

Regards,

Chiyawa

[LTTFan16538228]

3 hours ago, Chiyawa said:

This is purely my opinion, so here's my view:

 

The list provided is a reference guide, so when they put a PSU in lower Tier, like Tier D, it means you have to be caution if you want to use any of the PSU in that tier. Here's why:

 

The PSU may lack a few feature, such as OCP or OTP, which can be very dangerous if short circuit were to occur or the temperature go way to high until the solder joint melt or the component catch fire.

The PSU may have high ripple voltage. Ripple voltage is not good for your component because your voltage controller (VRM) will have to work extra hard to adjust the correct voltage to your CPU or GPU.

The PSU may trip itself thinking there's a short circuit when the GPU suddenly draw a lot of current to prepare running a game.

 

However, if your system is low end or a little mid-tier (Ryzen 5 5600G with no dedicated GPU AIC) and the power consumption is low, this PSU actually is not bad.

 

Hence this is why it is in Tier D.

 

The list, again, is provided as is, meaning it may not reflect your situation. This list serve as a guide for general PC builder. If you are building an RTX3080 with Intel 12900K, then you should not get a PSU in Tier C and below, and Tier B is only marginal, so you are recommended to get Tier A PSU for your build. Tier C PSU for those system may run fine initially, but it may put a lot of strain to your components which may end up failing prematurely. The Tier C PSU may trip its OCP thought it was a short circuit, but in actual fact, it was the GPU draw a lot of current all of the sudden while running a game.

 

So that's the reason why. Hope this gives you a clear view how this list works. Your PSU may not be bad if your system is quite low-end, but generally, it is bad for many situation, especially when you start to add a mid-range GPU. Your PSU life-span also not that great as well and it may be 'out of specification' after a few years of use (12V rail may drop to 11.5V)

 

Regards,

Chiyawa

Nonono, I have an i5-2500k with an R9 270. AMD recommends 500W PSU as minimum, and when I will upgrade, I wanted this PSU because my budget was low (230 USD) and it was a little more expensive than the 500W version. Also open box.

[Chiyawa]

Okay, if you are using R9 270, then it might have issue in the long run. The PSU actually works, but your component will be put to strain. So you may need to watch out and be careful of your PSU. The last thing you want is for the PSU to fail catastrophically and bring your system down with it. We have too many incidents that the 'cheap' PSU brought everything down with it, the GPU, CPU, motherboard, storage.

 

So, yeah, there's a risk there. Your PSU might work fine for the rest of its life or can go kaboom within a few days of usage. It's a gamble in this case and more so since it's an 'open box'. But well, who knows, maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. Are you up for the risk? Are you willing to gamble with it?

[chocolatekarma]

15 hours ago, LTTFan16538228 said:

Nonono, I have an i5-2500k with an R9 270. AMD recommends 500W PSU as minimum, and when I will upgrade, I wanted this PSU because my budget was low (230 USD) and it was a little more expensive than the 500W version. Also open box.

You're using older inexpensive hardware, so I wouldn't worry.  Save your money for a better PSU when you build a modern system.

[LTTFan16538228]

9 hours ago, Chiyawa said:

Okay, if you are using R9 270, then it might have issue in the long run. The PSU actually works, but your component will be put to strain. So you may need to watch out and be careful of your PSU. The last thing you want is for the PSU to fail catastrophically and bring your system down with it. We have too many incidents that the 'cheap' PSU brought everything down with it, the GPU, CPU, motherboard, storage.

 

So, yeah, there's a risk there. Your PSU might work fine for the rest of its life or can go kaboom within a few days of usage. It's a gamble in this case and more so since it's an 'open box'. But well, who knows, maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. Are you up for the risk? Are you willing to gamble with it?

I already have this system from November 2021 and the retailer that I got it from (alza.cz) does have a system of handling open box. My mum has bought in ear headphones and they work great, despite being open box. I think this PSU is just a “stop gap” for now, and I am thinking of replacing it with an FSP Hydron PRO or something like that.

[chocolatekarma]

3 hours ago, LTTFan16538228 said:

I already have this system from November 2021 and the retailer that I got it from (alza.cz) does have a system of handling open box. My mum has bought in ear headphones and they work great, despite being open box. I think this PSU is just a “stop gap” for now, and I am thinking of replacing it with an FSP Hydron PRO or something like that.

You're thinking too much about it.  Again, for the level of hardware you have the 600w EVGA is fine.  While you can certainly do a lot better than that unit, you could also do a lot worse.

[LTTFan16538228]

3 hours ago, chocolatekarma said:

You're thinking too much about it.  Again, for the level of hardware you have the 600w EVGA is fine.  While you can certainly do a lot better than that unit, you could also do a lot worse.

Okay then!