is $300 doable?

[Tsuki]

CM elite have been good in my experience - my old CM elite 460W, while missing all sorts of protections, lasted me for 4 years and lived through over 20 power surges. It's still going btw.

i might end up just buying myself a new case, and giving him my air 540. then i can get him an actual psu, evga 500w or something decent

[k1llampt]

CM elite have been good in my experience - my old CM elite 460W, while missing all sorts of protections, lasted me for 4 years and lived through over 20 power surges. It's still going btw.

I'm not saying that CM is a bad company however the PSU that they put in there is REALLY bad. I had a CoolerMaster V750 which was amazing however they probably have Chinese or Taiwanese capacitors in there and poor power design. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/406160-psu-ranking-and-tiers/ Please OP do not go with a case/power supply combo they are sub-par and will lead to your components dying.

[k1llampt]

i might end up just buying myself a new case, and giving him my air 540. then i can get him an actual psu, evga 500w or something decent

XFX TS Edition PRO650W this is one of the best psus you can get wihout spending alot

[don_svetlio]

I'm not saying that CM is a bad company however the PSU that they put in there is REALLY bad. I had a CoolerMaster V750 which was amazing however they probably have Chinese or Taiwanese capacitors in there and poor power design. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/406160-psu-ranking-and-tiers/ Please OP do not go with a case/power supply combo they are sub-par and will lead to your components dying.

Chinese caps are not always bad - they use to always be bad 10 years ago - most crappy capacitor OEMs have been weeded out nowadays + the build uses around 260-300W but the PSU is rated ar 400W so it should be okay but yeah, EVGA 500W is the way to go.

[Tsuki]

Please OP do not go with a case/power supply combo they are sub-par and will lead to your components dying.

dont worry lol i know better than to get a case/psu combo and actually use the psu. they are always a cheap POS.

 

EDIT: although im also dumb enough to be using a refurbished CX750.. waiting to save up for a fancy superflower psu

[k1llampt]

Tier 4 (Meh)
Antec - Basiq VP
Be Quiet - Dark Power Pro, Pure Power L8, Straight Power E9
Bitfenix - Fury
Cooler Master - Elite series
Corsair - VS, CX
EVGA - 430/500 W1, 500/600 B, NEX-B (B1), NEX-G (G1)

 

Actually the EVGA 500 isnt that good, its a Tier 4 PSU. 

 

Tier 2 (Good)

Antec - High Current Gamer, Neo ECO, EarthWatts/EA Green
Be Quiet - Power Zone, Straight Power E9, E10
Corsair - RM, HX
Cooler Master - VSM ("V-series" Semi modular)
EVGA - B2
Fractal - Tesla R2
Enermax - Platimax, Revolution X't

NZXT - Hale90 V2
OCZ*1 - ZX
PC Power & Cooling*1 - Silencer Mk III, Turbo Cool*2

Rosewill - Capstone, Lightning, Silent Night, Tahyon
Seasonic - M12II, M12II EVO, S12II
Silverstone - Gold SFX, Gold Evolution, Strider Gold
Super Flower - Golden Green
Thermaltake - DPS Gold
XFX - Core, ProSeries Bronze, TS Bronze

 

The  XFX TS Edition PRO650W is a Tier 2 

[don_svetlio]

dont worry lol i know better than to get a case/psu combo and actually use the psu. they are always a cheap POS.

you could get fractal > thier PSUs are at least going to work properly without fireworks

[don_svetlio]

Tier 4 (Meh)

Antec - Basiq VP

Be Quiet - Dark Power Pro, Pure Power L8, Straight Power E9

Bitfenix - Fury

Cooler Master - Elite series

Corsair - VS, CX

EVGA - 430/500 W1, 500/600 B, NEX-B (B1), NEX-G (G1)

 

Actually the EVGA 500 isnt that good, its a Tier 4 PSU. 

 

Tier 2 (Good)

Antec - High Current Gamer, Neo ECO, EarthWatts/EA Green

Be Quiet - Power Zone, Straight Power E9, E10

Corsair - RM, HX

Cooler Master - VSM ("V-series" Semi modular)

EVGA - B2

Fractal - Tesla R2

Enermax - Platimax, Revolution X't

NZXT - Hale90 V2

OCZ*1 - ZX

PC Power & Cooling*1 - Silencer Mk III, Turbo Cool*2

Rosewill - Capstone, Lightning, Silent Night, Tahyon

Seasonic - M12II, M12II EVO, S12II

Silverstone - Gold SFX, Gold Evolution, Strider Gold

Super Flower - Golden Green

Thermaltake - DPS Gold

XFX - Core, ProSeries Bronze, TS Bronze

 

The  XFX TS Edition PRO650W is a Tier 2 

I know a guy who has a tier 5 PSU that's been powering a system for 10 years now. trust me - not all are going to burn.

[Tsuki]

you could get fractal > thier PSUs are at least going to work properly without fireworks

FREE FIREWORKS WITH PURCHASE OF PSU?!?!??!!? SOLD!

[don_svetlio]

FREE FIREWORKS WITH PURCHASE OF PSU?!?!??!!? SOLD!

Firecracker time

But yeah - if he can get a good PSU from EVGA, Super Flower, SeaSonic then by all means do it - Avoid Corsair as at that price point (VS and CX) they are mediocre at best and firecrackers at worst.

[k1llampt]

I know a guy who has a tier 5 PSU that's been powering a system for 10 years now. trust me - not all are going to burn.

Just because he has a tier 5 PSU and it worked for him doesn't mean it's good. That is luck. Seasonic makes alot of EVGA, Fractal, and XFX power supplies, however the ones that they put in cases are usually tier 4/5 psus and I would never trust my system to it. 

[don_svetlio]

Just because he has a tier 5 PSU and it worked for him doesn't mean it's good. That is luck. Seasonic makes alot of EVGA, Fractal, and XFX power supplies, however the ones that they put in cases are usually tier 4/5 psus and I would never trust my system to it. 

well, i've used TT smart series and replaced it cause of coil whine - I guess you're right but if you are this tight on a budget then some people use them, if only temporarily.

[Tsuki]

well, i've used TT smart series and replaced it cause of coil whine - I guess you're right but if you are this tight on a budget then some people use them, if only temporarily.

yeah, its one of those things where if he HAS to skimp on the psu now, then itll only a be a month before i personally replace it for something that isnt shit

[k1llampt]

well, i've used TT smart series and replaced it cause of coil whine - I guess you're right but if you are this tight on a budget then some people use them, if only temporarily.

Yea but it's better just to get a better power supply right away and not risk it. the TT smart series are pretty bad btw.... lol. The  XFX TS Edition PRO650W is a tier 2 and its only $50. 

[don_svetlio]

Yea but it's better just to get a better power supply right away and not risk it. the TT smart series are pretty bad btw.... lol. The  XFX TS Edition PRO650W is a tier 2 and its only $50. 

Ran fine for 5 months but the power over here is not very stable so it began coil whining - replaced.

[k1llampt]

Ran fine for 5 months but the power over here is not very stable so it began coil whining - replaced.

Yea and that is what you get with lower quality, they don't regulate the incoming power as well and can result in frying your pc, I mean its a big risk to save $20. It might work fine, it might not though. 

[don_svetlio]

Yea and that is what you get with lower quality, they don't regulate the incoming power as well and can result in frying your pc, I mean its a big risk to save $20. It might work fine, it might not though. 

It's not that it didn't work - no actual problems but I'm too paranoid for my own good thus replaced it - wasn't cheap either Prices are crap here.

[k1llampt]

Yea, price isn't really indicative of quality though, like I said you can pick up that XFX 650W for $50 and it is a seasonic power supply with a XFX badge.

[don_svetlio]

Yea, price isn't really indicative of quality though, like I said you can pick up that XFX 650W for $50 and it is a seasonic power supply with a XFX badge.

Yup - over here the price difference between a good and a mediocre PSU is about 80$ so it's kinda hard to afford them usually

[k1llampt]

Yup - over here the price difference between a good and a mediocre PSU is about 80$ so it's kinda hard to afford them usually

where is over here?

[don_svetlio]

where is over here?

my profile says it - bulgaria

my build (sig) cost about 1k $ a few months ago

[k1llampt]

my profile says it - bulgaria

my build (sig) cost about 1k $ a few months ago

Wow. 

I see that you have a Seasonic  

I spent less than that on my build and I have 2 r9 290x...

[don_svetlio]

Wow. 

I see that you have a Seasonic

I spent less than that on my build and I have 2 r9 290x...

See? Prices vary wildly across countries.

But I'm happy as long as nothing breaks