I think I understand a psu's 80 plus medal ratings, questions

[yoshiii]

Hello

 

I think I understand a psu's 80 plus  metal ratings.

 

Since I am using a i7 4790k and will have a high end gpu, lots of ssd's and hdd's, lighting, etc. I need to have a good gold or silver rating with the correct wattage to ensure my system runs good?

 

So is it best to stick to silver and gold 80 plus pus's?

 

[C0LL0SS0S]

your system will run fine with gold or silver, the gold one is just more efficient

[minibois]

-snip-

Yeah. A rating like that will also kind of ensure quality from the product

What GPU's will you be running?

[Guest Kloaked]

From my understanding, the higher you go up the more heat tolerance the components have as well, so if it's not already a fanless PSU then the fan will not have to run as much.

Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong though.

[ShadowCaptain]

SNIP

 

Technically the rating is purely based on power efficiency and is not relevant to the usefulness, quality or longevity of the supply

 

HOWEVER, higher rated PSUs in 99% of cases have higher quality components in order to get their efficiency rating

 

[Coollok100]

From my understanding, the higher you go up the more heat tolerance the components have as well, so if it's not already a fanless PSU then the fan will not have to run as much.

Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong though.

While higher rated power supplies will typically have higher quality components, they are not necessarily more heat tolerant. The difference is that higher rated ones will be more efficient, meaning less of the electrical energy moving through the PSU will be wasted as heat, reducing total heat output and the need for a fan to spin up as much.

[Guest Kloaked]

While higher rated power supplies will typically have higher quality components, they are not necessarily more heat tolerant. The difference is that higher rated ones will be more efficient, meaning less of the electrical energy moving through the PSU will be wasted as heat, reducing total heat output and the need for a fan to spin up as much.

Yeah I guess "heat tolerant" was the wrong thing to describe it as.

[yoshiii]

Yeah. A rating like that will also kind of ensure quality from the product

What GPU's will you be running?

A 970 or 980ti

[Aniallation]

So is it best to stick to silver and gold 80 plus pus's?

Don't worry about 80 Plus. Worry about actual quality of the PSU, and what OEM it is made by.

 

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/10/04/80_plus_irrelevant_to_you_when_buying_psu/

[typographie]

Since I am using a i7 4790k and will have a high end gpu, lots of ssd's and hdd's, lighting, etc. I need to have a good gold or silver rating with the correct wattage to ensure my system runs good?

 

The 80 Plus rating system is about how efficient the PSU is with energy, so it has more to do with it's impact on your power bill. A well-rated 80 Plus PSU is likely to have better quality components, but it doesn't in itself tell you if it's trustworthy. I don't think it's well-policed, either, so one of the things usually done in a PSU review is test whether or not the product actually meets it's 80 Plus rating.

 

There isn't really a single, simple figure to look at to judge quality. It's more about who made the OEM components and what their reputation is.

[yoshiii]

Don't worry about 80 Plus. Worry about actual quality of the PSU, and what OEM it is made by.

 

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/10/04/80_plus_irrelevant_to_you_when_buying_psu/

trying to find the right one to purchase, but the ones in area where I live all seem to be low to mid level.

 

So I am trying to go buy the metal rating.  I want to make sure I have a good power supply for my system.  

[Aniallation]

trying to find the right one to purchase, but the ones in area where I live all seem to be low to mid level.

 

So I am trying to go buy the metal rating.  I want to make sure I have a good power supply for my system.  

 

Just because a PSU is rated high in efficiency does not mean that it's good quality for the money. Many people look at a PSU and think that because it's high 80 Plus that it's good but that's not always the case.

 

For example, EVGA G1, Corsair CS, FSP Aurum, Antec EarthWatts Platinum... they're all mediocre PSUs especially compared to other options that are even Bronze rated.

 

If you can give us a list or website of what you're able to buy, along with your budget, then we can tell you specifically which are good.

[yoshiii]

Just because a PSU is rated high in efficiency does not mean that it's good quality for the money. Many people look at a PSU and think that because it's high 80 Plus that it's good but that's not always the case.

 

For example, EVGA G1, Corsair CS, FSP Aurum, Antec EarthWatts Platinum... they're all mediocre PSUs especially compared to other options that are even Bronze rated.

 

If you can give us a list or website of what you're able to buy, along with your budget, then we can tell you specifically which are good.

Things within my budget that are available for me to buy here are:

 

Corsair CXM series

Enermax Revolution XT

Silver Stone SST-ST65F-G

Silver Stone SST-ST75F-GS

A Japanese brand called Kuroutoshikou which makes a 80 plus gold psu with a 50a 12v rail and claimed 90percent efficiency.

 

There are lots of lower level psu's as well as the ones you mentioned here too.

 

I only need between 500-600 watts. But there are few selections available for that wattage range.  There are lots of higher wattage more expensive psu's here but I don't need that much power.

 

The Silver Stones are expensive. 

[Aniallation]

The Silver Stones are expensive. 

The Kuroutoshikou ones are ATNG rebrands, like some of Fractal's options. There probably isn't much warranty support for them outside Japan so I wouldn't really look into them much.

 

On that list, it's Silverstone > Enermax > Corsair, so if you don't want to shell out the money for the Silverstone go for the Enermax. The Revolution X't are still good PSUs, slightly outperforming the Corsair RM.

[yoshiii]

The Kuroutoshikou ones are ATNG rebrands, like some of Fractal's options. There probably isn't much warranty support for them outside Japan so I wouldn't really look into them much.

 

On that list, it's Silverstone > Enermax > Corsair, so if you don't want to shell out the money for the Silverstone go for the Enermax. The Revolution X't are still good PSUs, slightly outperforming the Corsair RM.

I am in Japan so the Japanese would be ok for warranty.

 

Don't want to order from home, need a psu now.

 

So would the ATNG rebrand be any good?  

[Aniallation]

I am in Japan so the Japanese would be ok for warranty.

 

Don't want to order from home, need a psu now.

 

So would the ATNG rebrand be any good?  

No clue since ATNG makes a wide range of PSUs and there doesn't seem to be any internal shots or reviews for the rebranded platforms that Kuroutoshikou uses. I'd still go for the Enermax, at least there's reviews on it. 

[yoshiii]

No clue since ATNG makes a wide range of PSUs and there doesn't seem to be any internal shots or reviews for the rebranded platforms that Kuroutoshikou uses. I'd still go for the Enermax, at least there's reviews on it. 

Ok.

 

I know the psu I am using now is 5 years old and is a Scythe Kamariki 4 750 watt 80 plus(no metal rating) But with this new system I don't want to keep using the psu because I don't know how much longer it will last.

It has been on about 13-16 hours a day everyday  for 4 of the 5 years.

[79 Potatoes]

It just refers to efficiency, for example you can get some 80+ bronze rated PSU (85 % ef. at 50% load) that might become an useless brick in a month due to poor components. You should look at the manufacturer/OEM aswell. Easy to go are Antec, Seasonic, Super Flower, XFX, Some Corsair Cooler Master and EVGA PSUs, FSP, Cougar, blah blah blah, go search some reviews

[yoshiii]

Thanks everyone