80PLUS Gold vs 80PLUS Bronze

[TorguL]

Which is better?

 

Has anyone used an EVGA psu before? Are they reliable?

I'm interested in this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YC3DKY/

[Guest]

Well you only linked one PSU so its hard to compare but in general the better 80plus rating you can get the more efficient your PSU will be, for example if you get a non-certified cheap PSU it could work at 70% peak effeciantcy meaning your not actually getting anywhere near the advertised wattage most of the time, whereas if you get an 80plus Bronze or Silver PSU it will be more efficient, better still with a gold certified PSU you are looking at about 90% efficientcy and then with platinum even better.

 

Never used EVGA myself so can't comment on how good they are, personally for PSUs I'd use OCZ, especially low watt PSUs like 650W

[That Norwegian Guy]

I think EVGA has rebranded internals in their power supplies just like Corsair and XFX, Rosewill, OCZ etc. The PSU vendors who make their own power supplies using their own parts are where I would look, namely Antec, Cougar, Enermax, Seasonic. I probably forgot a few. OK I probably forgot a lot.

 

Though if you just want power into your components and you don't care about noise, stability, longevity or thermal capabilities then like most consumers you will find something like that XFX just fine.

 

Note: High-end rebranded PSUs can and often are really good, I'm talking mainly about the cheaper end of the spectrum.

 

 

80 Plus is ordered from worst to best:

Not rated -> 80 Plus -> 80 Plus Bronze -> 80 Plus Silver -> 80 Plus Gold -> 80 Plus Platinum

[Owen]

Wow, didn't even know Evga made power supplies. I have an OCZ 1000w, it has some coil whine but other than that I would recommend it.

[joelthezombie15]

they arent bad PSU's but they arent great.

 

this isnt the exact same PSU but you can probably get a good idea from it http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story7&reid=311

[Neutronicsoup]

In answer to the topic title, That Rating only discloses the power efficiency of The unit. Therefore you should consider paying more for a higher rated power supply because your electricity usage will be lower the higher rated you go.

By the way just in case I'm going to define what efficiency means in this context: a large amount of power in power supplies Is wasted because it generates heat and does not directly pass on electrical energy to the components in your computer. The electrical energy supplied by the power supply taken as a percentage of the energy supply to the power supply. Is the efficiency of the power supply this percentage is represented in the rating 80 Plus. There for all 80 plus power supplies have more than 80% efficiency this is generally considered a standard In all modern power supplies.

Wow I said powersupply a lot I should really replace it with psu

[christoi]

I believe the NEX650 is a rebranded FSP Aurum Gold. It's decent, but it's not of particularly great value for $105 unless you specifically want the fully-modular cabling system. For around the same price there are better semi-modular options like the Rosewill Capstone 650-M, which I'd recommend instead.

[Fuzion]

Yes they are reliable I use myself the Nex1500 from EVGA has individually sleeved cables so I dont have to do it.

[brownninja97]

any idea has why the handle is there. It looks quite cool.

[FluffyNuggets]

The reviews on EVGA PSU's seems pretty terrible lately. The same goes for Corsairs i PSU's. I thought about buying the Corsair 860i till I read about how terribly unreliable they are. So instead I bought a AX850 and so far it's running like a champ! 

[TorguL]

The reviews on EVGA PSU's seems pretty terrible lately. The same goes for Corsairs i PSU's. I thought about buying the Corsair 860i till I read about how terribly unreliable they are. So instead I bought a AX850 and so far it's running like a champ! 

Could you post the links to the reviews please, so i can check them out?

[TorguL]

any idea has why the handle is there. It looks quite cool.

I do think it's pointless nevertheless. I wonder if it gets in the way when mounting the psu in the case...

[FluffyNuggets]

Could you post the links to the reviews please, so i can check them out?

Odd, I can't seem to find the negative reviews anymore. The EVGA PSU's seem to all be replaced on Amazon with new ones and the Corsair PSU's reviews are almost all positive now. I remember reading all the reviews on Amazon for both the EVGA and Corsair PSU's a few months back. I know people were saying the Corsair 860i had a fan issue where the fan was either extremely loud or would quit working all together. The EVGA ones were talking about the high failure rate on them according to a lot of reviews. 

 

Maybe Amazon is removing negative reviews? I know they've done this before so it wouldn't surprise me if they did it again. 

[Akula]

Not sure on the OEM of that, haven't heard much about their power supply lineup, personally id stick with the foundations of Silverstone, Corsair, Seasonic etc.

Check the OEM for each power supply you consider, and grab some reviews :)

[WoodenMarker]

I'd say that anything higher than bronze plus is a waste of money. 

This is because bronze plus and 80+ are usually the same price or very close and silvers/golds/platinums can get quite expensive. 

The money you save from the energy saved is minuscule. The biggest advantage of the ratings is not the energy saved but knowing that the psu will output a certain amount of wattage. Once you get to 80+ and bronze, you're fine. The silvers/golds/plats have premiums that aren't worth it.

 

Often, the only reason to get a gold is because the psu has a silence feature whether the fan turns off at a certain load. This isn't because the silvers/golds/plats are better for it; it's just that there are few bronze rated power supplies made with such features.

[mgsstar]

This power supply comes with a ten year warranty so its a pretty good deal imo. Never used EVGA power supplies but they do look aesthetically pleasing.