[UPDATE] Cougar CMX550 (550 W): good choice?

[SereneMango]

UPDATE: Surely I'm able to increase my budget a bit, so now I want a Corsair RM550, but I have no idea if they'll restock it in the only store that provides them (gonna call in a couple of days). I hope a 650w won't be overkill, since I'll be using my PC for 3D rendering. I made a topic about what I'll build, but in a nutshell:

 

CPU: i5-6500

GPU: MSI GTX 950 Gaming 2G

MOBO: ASUS H110I-PLUS

RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 2 x 4GB 2400

SSD: Crucial MX100 256GB

PSU: Corsair RM550

CASE: Cooler Master Elite 130

 

I'll buy everything in two weeks. Later I'll buy an HDD and something like a GTX 1070 (price-wise, I'll buy both only simultaneously).

----------

Original post:

I want a modular 550w PSU, and apparently it's the only one with 80Plus Bronze I can buy in Chile. I'd prefer modular, since I think it would be kinda a mess having all the cables in a small case (Cooler Master Elite 130)...

Edited September 19, 2016 by MrMontolio

[DarkKnightVFX]

I personally wouldn't go with Cougar, they have been known to use fairly cheap capacitors and overall aren't that reliable. If you're looking for a cheap modular power supply of 550W I would go for an EVGA G2 550W. They're around the same price. I've had great experiences with EVGA power supplies.

 

[asdf2061]

Is the EVGA BQ available in Chile? This is a similarly priced item that is probably better.

[vagabond139]

Its a pretty decent unit. I'm doubting you would find anything better than it for its price in Chile so I would go with it.

[vagabond139]

On 9/15/2016 at 5:27 PM, I_IHaveNoLife_l said:

Is the EVGA BQ available in Chile? This is a similarly priced item that is probably better.

The BQ has ZERO reviews and its from HEC who really has zero great units would have to be god tier  to be all around better than the CXM so it would likely be a downgrade.

[quan289]

2 hours ago, vagabond139 said:

Its a pretty decent unit. I'm doubting you would find anything better than it for its price in Chile so I would go with it.

2 hours ago, vagabond139 said:

The BQ has ZERO reviews and its from HEC who really has zero great units would have to be god tier  to be all around better than the CXM so it would likely be a downgrade.

 

Well, there are three CMX versions - which none of the 550w version got reviewed except for the first version (which is a 2010 model and had out of specs ripples on the minor rails). Assuming the OP is looking at the v3 model, the 550w model is based on a different platform than the DC-DC regulated 850w model that got reviewed on JG and TPU.

 

Cougar is HEC's retail name, so likewise with the EVGA BQ, this particular CMX unit is also made by them. Looking through the vents, the BQ is also DC-DC regulated (so it should offer better voltage stability) which looks like to be a +/- 50w modular unit of the EVGA 700B (looking through the vents) which also doesn't have a review, AFAIK.

 

Edit: Looking at the internals of the EVGA 700B here: http://www.overclockers.ua/news/hardware/2015-12-11/117137/

It looks to be the same platform as the Cougar LX: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Cougar/LX600/4.html

Haven't look at that review yet, but it may give you some idea on how that platform would perform.

 

Edit2: Noticed you typed "CXM". You're not thinking of the Corsair CX550M are you?

[quan289]

Can you provide a link to the store you are buying from, budget, and system specs?

[SereneMango]

2 hours ago, DarkKnightVFX said:

I personally wouldn't go with Cougar, they have been known to use fairly cheap capacitors and overall aren't that reliable. If you're looking for a cheap modular power supply of 550W I would go for an EVGA G2 550W. They're around the same price. I've had great experiences with EVGA power supplies.

 

It's not in Chile... I found a store that imports that PSU, but it costs CLP 40k more. Way out of my budget.

 

9 minutes ago, quan289 said:

Can you provide a link to the store you are buying from, budget, and system specs?

The PSU. Yeah, forgot to mention it's v3.

I think CLP 60k is my limit. I have no intentions on spending more, so I'd just go for a non-modular if I can't find something else.

 

It's a PC I'm gonna build early next month. Probably I'll add a 1TB HDD (exceeds of my budget), but I'm almost decided with the rest:

MSI GTX 950

i5-6500

Asus H110I-PLUS

(x2) Crucial Ballistix Sport - 1 x 8GB DDR4 2400

Crucial MX100 256GB SSD

 

I already have the case I mentioned earlier because it was the only one from the only store that provides them.

 

SoloTodo is like a South American and humble-ish version of PC Part Picker. I mostly relied on that site looking for the pieces.

[STRMfrmXMN]

1 hour ago, MrMontolio said:

It's not in Chile... I found a store that imports that PSU, but it costs CLP 40k more. Way out of my budget.

 

The PSU. Yeah, forgot to mention it's v3.

I think CLP 60k is my limit. I have no intentions on spending more, so I'd just go for a non-modular if I can't find something else.

 

It's a PC I'm gonna build early next month. Probably I'll add a 1TB HDD (exceeds of my budget), but I'm almost decided with the rest:

MSI GTX 950

i5-6500

Asus H110I-PLUS

(x2) Crucial Ballistix Sport - 1 x 8GB DDR4 2400

Crucial MX100 256GB SSD

 

I already have the case I mentioned earlier because it was the only one from the only store that provides them.

 

SoloTodo is like a South American and humble-ish version of PC Part Picker. I mostly relied on that site looking for the pieces.

If you're gonna get a GTX 950 then you'll see no bottlenecks from an i5 6400. There should also be cheaper 250GB SSDs out there that write a hell of a lot faster than the MX100. The money you savev from both those things should give you a slightly higher budget for a PSU. Check out the PSU tier list in my signature and something tier 4 or above should do nicely.

[vagabond139]

On 9/15/2016 at 7:28 PM, quan289 said:

 

Well, there are three CMX versions - which none of the 550w version got reviewed except for the first version (which is a 2010 model and had out of specs ripples on the minor rails). Assuming the OP is looking at the v3 model, the 550w model is based on a different platform than the DC-DC regulated 850w model that got reviewed on JG and TPU.

 

Cougar is HEC's retail name, so likewise with the EVGA BQ, this particular CMX unit is also made by them. Looking through the vents, the BQ is also DC-DC regulated (so it should offer better voltage stability) which looks like to be a +/- 50w modular unit of the EVGA 700B (looking through the vents) which also doesn't have a review, AFAIK.

 

Edit: Looking at the internals of the EVGA 700B here: http://www.overclockers.ua/news/hardware/2015-12-11/117137/

It looks to be the same platform as the Cougar LX: https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Cougar/LX600/4.html

Haven't look at that review yet, but it may give you some idea on how that platform would perform.

 

Edit2: Noticed you typed "CXM". You're not thinking of the Corsair CX550M are you?

I was referring to the Corsair CXM, not the Coguar. I thought OP was comparing a Cougar PSU to a Corsair CXM. Didn't even know they had a unit called CXM.

[quan289]

8 hours ago, MrMontolio said:

It's not in Chile... I found a store that imports that PSU, but it costs CLP 40k more. Way out of my budget.

 

The PSU. Yeah, forgot to mention it's v3.

I think CLP 60k is my limit. I have no intentions on spending more, so I'd just go for a non-modular if I can't find something else.

 

It's a PC I'm gonna build early next month. Probably I'll add a 1TB HDD (exceeds of my budget), but I'm almost decided with the rest:

MSI GTX 950

i5-6500

Asus H110I-PLUS

(x2) Crucial Ballistix Sport - 1 x 8GB DDR4 2400

Crucial MX100 256GB SSD

 

I already have the case I mentioned earlier because it was the only one from the only store that provides them.

 

SoloTodo is like a South American and humble-ish version of PC Part Picker. I mostly relied on that site looking for the pieces.

That system can be power on a good 300w PSU, btw. Something like the Seasonic S12II 430 (or the 620w model that's also in your budget range) as well as the EVGA B. The EVGA B isn't as well-build as the Seasonic unit but should be fine. The EVGA 700B model should provide better voltage stability on the 12V and full compatibility with the C6/C7 sleep state on Haswell.

If you are going to wait for other opinions, then most people are going to recommend the Seasonic S12II-B unit.

[SereneMango]

11 hours ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

If you're gonna get a GTX 950 then you'll see no bottlenecks from an i5 6400. There should also be cheaper 250GB SSDs out there that write a hell of a lot faster than the MX100. The money you savev from both those things should give you a slightly higher budget for a PSU. Check out the PSU tier list in my signature and something tier 4 or above should do nicely.

 

2 hours ago, quan289 said:

That system can be power on a good 300w PSU, btw. Something like the Seasonic S12II 430 (or the 620w model that's also in your budget range) as well as the EVGA B. The EVGA B isn't as well-build as the Seasonic unit but should be fine. The EVGA 700B model should provide better voltage stability on the 12V and full compatibility with the C6/C7 sleep state on Haswell.

If you are going to wait for other opinions, then most people are going to recommend the Seasonic S12II-B unit.

 

Hey thanks a lot! I saw on the Seasonic site they offer a 520w model. I just asked trough email in a local store if they can bring one. Meanwhile, since SoloTodo isn't the perfect database, I'm gonna check individually each store of the country. Shipment won't hurt on my budget - SoloTodo will ease me there.

 

I dunno if you considered the HDD though (cause I WILL buy one soon).

[STRMfrmXMN]

1 hour ago, MrMontolio said:

 

 

Hey thanks a lot! I saw on the Seasonic site they offer a 520w model. I just asked trough email in a local store if they can bring one. Meanwhile, since SoloTodo isn't the perfect database, I'm gonna check individually each store of the country. Shipment won't hurt on my budget - SoloTodo will ease me there.

 

I dunno if you considered the HDD though (cause I WILL buy one soon).

Pretty much any hard drive these days will do fine. I was just saying that you could get your hands on a hard drive a lot sooner if you used a cheaper SSD that is faster, and they exist in abundance, at least in the USA.

[SereneMango]

12 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Pretty much any hard drive these days will do fine. I was just saying that you could get your hands on a hard drive a lot sooner if you used a cheaper SSD that is faster, and they exist in abundance, at least in the USA.

 

Alright, sounds great.

 

I'm still two weeks away from buying everything, so let's hope I'll find a better SSD here.

 

I saw Crosair RM 550 on your tier list, so I'll try to buy that one instead (and it's modular!). I have a smaaaaall chance I can increase my budget (and surely have to drop the HDD for now).

[STRMfrmXMN]

10 hours ago, MrMontolio said:

 

Alright, sounds great.

 

I'm still two weeks away from buying everything, so let's hope I'll find a better SSD here.

 

I saw Crosair RM 550 on your tier list, so I'll try to buy that one instead (and it's modular!). I have a smaaaaall chance I can increase my budget (and surely have to drop the HDD for now).

RM550 should work fine. Let me know how it goes

[SereneMango]

Bump. Updated original post.