Cheapest PSU that wont burn down my house

[porina]

I've been around long enough to know there's a recommended, and not so recommended list of PSUs. Thing is, I could do with replacing a bunch of them, and don't need anything more than minimal specs. I have a bit of a processing farm going for many years now in some state or other, and some PSUs are well beyond their recycling best. For example, I'm even running an old 20 pin connector PSU! It's an Enermax, high end in its day, but that was such a long time ago now and it isn't sounding so healthy. Rather than try to replace the fan, might as well retire it soon. Others at least have the 24 pin connector, but they're of lesser brands and probably wouldn't make the recommended list.

 

So, power requirements are pretty much minimal. Immediate need would power non-OC CPU (up to 65W TDP) + optionally a GPU with no PCIe power connector requirement. PSU power of 300W should be plenty, and I likely could get away with much less if it helps (not all systems will ever have a GPU). Low noise is a must. 80+ is a bonus but not a necessity. Standard ATX form factor is ok. I'm in the UK. Any suggestions?

[Castdeath97]

XFX TS and super flower

[ChrisCross]

seasonic s12II is another one and the antec green line.

but the game changes if your in 230v power which i assume you are in the uk. 

[manikyath]

@STRMfrmXMN will be your guy.

 

as for what i can say: seasonic will be your best "high quality" bet, since they dont care about fancy case paint etc. thats a few bucks saved.

 

if you're really going bang for buck, i've actually had semi-decent experiences with the FSP group power supplied found in vareous prebuilts. DONT use those on the very edge of their capabilities tho

(oh, and FSP uses yate loon fans, keep a bottle of lube ready for those, the bearings suck)

[VivashTech]

when it comes to budget power supplies it is a grey area and i personally would not lok for a power supply without an 80 plus bronze rating. the cx 430w is a very capable power supply for about $55

[DXMember]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

[quan289]

XFX TS 430: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/zW4NnQ/xfx-power-supply-p1430sxxb9

Antec Earthwatts Green 380D: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/rXQypg/antec-power-supply-ea380dgreen

Corsair CX450M: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CP-9020101-UK-CX450M-Semi-Modular-Bronze/dp/B01C3FFOHS

 

I would go for the CXM due to DC-DC and semi-modularity but the other two are good too if you are on a very limited budget.

[porina]

Thanks for suggestions so far. So far the lowest cost one out of those suggested is the XFX TS 430W at just under £30 from a supplier I've heard of before. I was hoping to pay even less than that since I wanted to replace a bunch, and any reduction would be multiplied.

 

Seriously, are there any multi-output PSUs? That is, driving more than one mobo from a PSU? I'm pretty sure I saw that somewhere, in an application not that dissimilar to my own. The idea is, having multiple low power systems on one bigger PSU could be more efficient than several smaller PSUs. I suspect it might have been achieved through adapter cables.

[Sakkura]

Yeah the new Corsair CXM series is a good option. But then it does cost extra compared to older CX units.

[VivashTech]

hey porina

 

even though it is not the best route try find an 80 plus bronze psu on eBay used but as luke would say the only thing you can do wrong is buy a non certified pus.

[porina]

1 minute ago, Sakkura said:

Yeah the new Corsair CXM series is a good option. But then it does cost extra compared to older CX units.

I'll have to read up on CX again, sure I read some bad things, then something saying that wasn't the case any more... but where? Would I get burnt (literally) if I asked about VS?

 

For now, I just want to reiterate, I'm not looking for "best" but just "good enough at lowest cost".

[VivashTech]

hey porina

 

a non certified will literally burn your house down a certified pus will not burn your house downed 80 plus psu's are not the best and are simply there for the budget people and either save up or go used

[Starelementpoke]

6 minutes ago, porina said:

I'll have to read up on CX again, sure I read some bad things, then something saying that wasn't the case any more... but where? Would I get burnt (literally) if I asked about VS?

 

For now, I just want to reiterate, I'm not looking for "best" but just "good enough at lowest cost".

The new grey units are much better. The old ones are still trash.

[porina]

Having had a break and given the matter more thought, maybe I'm looking at it from the wrong direction. As I said in OP, I'm using what were high end PSUs for lots of years... so maybe rather than look at it as a short term expense, it could outlast the lives of the connected system. But if I'm going that route, I want to future proof a bit. If I assume that I might in future go up to 100W OC CPU (I've never heavy OC), plus single PCIe connector powered GPU, what does that take me to? 300W load or so? So maybe 400W-500W would still be plenty. So let's now say, I'm not looking to go rock bottom, but balance features and cost, at the up to 500W level. Low noise is still a must. Higher efficiency is a bonus but not necessity. This almost puts me into too much choice territory...

[aisle9]

1 hour ago, porina said:

I'll have to read up on CX again, sure I read some bad things, then something saying that wasn't the case any more... but where? Would I get burnt (literally) if I asked about VS?

 

For now, I just want to reiterate, I'm not looking for "best" but just "good enough at lowest cost".

The old CX PSUs were terrible if you were running a high-TDP system with hot temperatures inside the case. They started to throttle at 30C, which made them, uh, less than reliable. If your case temps stay low and your power demands aren't too great, you could do worse than a CX...

 

...but you could also do better. I've heard good things about the EVGA B1, and while many will caution you to steer clear of the EVGA W1, I've got two of those units running in different PCs (a light, G3258 gamer and an i3-4150 HTPC) with no problems to date. Your mileage may vary with the EVGAs, just relaying my experience. Seasonic and Silverstone units are almost certainly better.

[TheRandomness]

1 hour ago, VivashTech said:

hey porina

 

a non certified will literally burn your house down a certified pus will not burn your house downed 80 plus psu's are not the best and are simply there for the budget people and either save up or go used

Certification isn't everything. An EVGA G1 gold rated PSU is much worse than an EVGA B2 bronze rated PSU due to the internal component quality.

[STRMfrmXMN]

3 hours ago, porina said:

 

With the setup you listed a Corsair CX430M is fine.

 

2 hours ago, Starelementpoke said:

The new grey units are much better. The old ones are still trash.

They're still good for a no-GPU or a 750-esque system like OP's.

[Starelementpoke]

3 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

With the setup you listed a Corsair CX430M is fine.

 

They're still good for a no-GPU or a 750-esque system like OP's.

Eh, fair enough. If you wanted to upgrade though, would be a pain.

[STRMfrmXMN]

4 minutes ago, Starelementpoke said:

Eh, fair enough. If you wanted to upgrade though, would be a pain.

Sounds like OP has no reason to upgrade tho

[Starelementpoke]

1 minute ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Sounds like OP has no reason to upgrade tho

True.

[Sakkura]

2 hours ago, aisle9 said:

The old CX PSUs were terrible if you were running a high-TDP system with hot temperatures inside the case. They started to throttle at 30C, which made them, uh, less than reliable. If your case temps stay low and your power demands aren't too great, you could do worse than a CX...

 

...but you could also do better. I've heard good things about the EVGA B1, and while many will caution you to steer clear of the EVGA W1, I've got two of those units running in different PCs (a light, G3258 gamer and an i3-4150 HTPC) with no problems to date. Your mileage may vary with the EVGAs, just relaying my experience. Seasonic and Silverstone units are almost certainly better.

That's a misunderstanding. The old CX units are rated at 30C, that doesn't mean they are unreliable at higher operating temperatures, let alone "throttle" (whatever that's supposed to mean).

 

The EVGA B1 design is about the same quality as the old Corsair CX units. The B1 is made by HEC, who have a worse reputation than CWT, manufacturer of the Corsair CX series (both old and new). Capacitors are mediocre in both. EVGA B1 has worse 12V ripple, but slightly better voltage regulation.

[porina]

11 hours ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Sounds like OP has no reason to upgrade tho

As OP, the discussion is starting to leave me confused

 

To recap, I have a small farm, and have recycled PSUs through different systems through the years. Some of them probably should have been retired long ago as they were bought in the Athlon XP/Pentium 4 era. They still function but the fans are starting to go.

 

Now that I've decided not to go for cheapest possible, I'm looking at what I'd consider mid range. So, not super cheap, not really expensive units. I've also been sold on the idea of going semi-modular since I don't need most of the cabling anyway. The Corsair CX450M as mentioned earlier is one consideration. Looking through the whitelist in the other thread, is the Coolermaster G550M also worthy of consideration? I'm confused since G-series is listed in whitelist, but these are listed as GM series on the seller's page, even if the M is a suffix.

 

I'm slowly working through the list but would welcome further suggestions for semi-modular units comparable in cost to the above.

[STRMfrmXMN]

6 hours ago, porina said:

As OP, the discussion is starting to leave me confused

 

To recap, I have a small farm, and have recycled PSUs through different systems through the years. Some of them probably should have been retired long ago as they were bought in the Athlon XP/Pentium 4 era. They still function but the fans are starting to go.

 

Now that I've decided not to go for cheapest possible, I'm looking at what I'd consider mid range. So, not super cheap, not really expensive units. I've also been sold on the idea of going semi-modular since I don't need most of the cabling anyway. The Corsair CX450M as mentioned earlier is one consideration. Looking through the whitelist in the other thread, is the Coolermaster G550M also worthy of consideration? I'm confused since G-series is listed in whitelist, but these are listed as GM series on the seller's page, even if the M is a suffix.

 

I'm slowly working through the list but would welcome further suggestions for semi-modular units comparable in cost to the above.

For the money you won't beat the CX450M. Have no worries and just grab that unless a Seasonic M12 is cheaper.

[quan289]

10 hours ago, porina said:

I'm slowly working through the list but would welcome further suggestions for semi-modular units comparable in cost to the above.

Here's another PSU if you haven't bought anything yet. Fractal Design Edison M 450w (Seasonic G unit internally) for £39.98 : https://www.scan.co.uk/products/450w-fractal-design-edison-m-80-plus-gold-hybrid-modular-single-rail-37a-plus12v-1x120mm-fan-atx-psu

[porina]

Finally opened the CX450M today to set up a new build, never mind the upgrade I bought it for! Modular concept less useful than I expected since I needed all the optional cables to power the PC (PCIe for GPU, molex for fans, sata for drives).