UNDERSTANDING THE PSU REVIEW DATABASE

            

1. Introduction

             The power supply (PSU) is, without any doubt, the most undervalued component when buying a computer. We just look for the fastest graphic card, memory and processor, the most featured motherboard, the higher storage capacity hard disk, and then there is no Money for the PSU, so we go for a relatively cheap PSU from a brand which claims its PSU provides an extremely high wattage at a very low price. Great!.

             Well, I will tell you a secret: the PSU manufacturers are not NGOs. What you get is what you pay for. There is no quality 700W PSU at 30€. It is no possible.

             A low quality PSU can become a nightmare. It can cause damage to the hard disks, can make the system lock, can cause random resets and freezings or even “kill” some of your computer’s components. Keeping this in mind, we consider that buying a quality PSU is very important, however, unfortunately, sometimes this target becomes something difficult to achieve. The RealHardTech X PSU Review Database was made to help people finding the best qualified reviews on the internet.

             As we will see later, there are a dozen websites that are doing a great work testing PSUs and we are going to take advantage of that.

             First of all, I will try to describe the meaning of each part of this Database.

 

2. The table

            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             (1) Here you will find the series of the PSU. As you will see, more than one PSU is very often included in the same series. For example, the P1-750B-NLG9 and the P1-850B-NLG9 models from XFX are included in the Black Edition series. In this particular case, both models have been made by the same manufacturer (Seasonic), but it doesn’t always happen that way . PSUs of the same series are not that closely related sometimes. Moreover, the internal components may be of different quality (although being made by the same manufacturer) becoming a very different final product. That is why you have to be alert. Don't assume that since a “X” model received an Award, the same series’ “Y” model must be a quality PSU too. If there is not any qualified review, it's best not to assume.

 

             (2) Model: Here we will find the model of each PSU. If it is written “discontinued” is because the unit will not be produced any more.

 

             (3) Maximum Power (W): This number represents the maximum continuous power that the PSU can deliver.

             It is measured in watts (W) and is a factor between current and voltage. All PSUs should be labeled according to this maximum continuous power they can deliver, but unfortunately, sometimes,  the PSU is labeled with peak wattage, which can only be achieved during a very short time (some seconds).

             In  addition of this, sometimes the brand measures this maximum continous power under unrealistic conditions. You must keep in mind that some internal components called semiconductors and inductors have a physical effect (De-rating) which cause that their capacity for delivering current decreases when the temperature increases. Therefore a maximum power measured at a low temperature may not be got at a higher temperature. Unfortunately, some brands measures this delivered maximum continuous power at 18-28º C, being the result unreal if we consider that the temperature inside the computer case will be 40-50º C in most cases. On the other hand, you can find on the market some quality manufacturers which guarantees that their PSUs can deliver its labeled maximum continuous power at 50ºC, which is great.

 

             (4) OEM: Here we will see the real manufacturer of the PSU. In this case, XFX has chosen to Seasonic as the OEM of its line of PSUs. It’s a common mistake thinking that all brands, the most famous ones like Corsair or Antec too, are actually the manufacturer their own PSUs. This is not that way. Only a few brands do it. It’s very common that more than one OEM provide power supplies to a brand. Antec, for example, pays to FSP, Seasonic, Enhnance Electronics and Delta Electronics for making  its PSUs nowadays.

             Choosing a good manufacturer is extremely important. Between the best ones we can find Seasonic, Enermax, Delta Electronics and CWT.

 

             (5) Modular: In order to provide a better organization and airflow inside the computer case, some PSUs present a modular cabling system, where some/all of the cables, instead of being permanently attached to the unit, are attached to the unit via connectors so that the user can remove the cables which he/she won’t use. Depending on this, you will find three PSU types:

                         

                          No: It means that the PSU doesn’t have any modular cabling system so it will have all the cables permanently attached to the unit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                          Yes / Hybrid: In this case, the PSU presents a modular cabling system but not all of the cables can be removed because this kind of PSUs have some of their cables permanently attached to the unit. The number of the permanently attached cables depends on manufacturer’s choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                          Yes / Full: All the cables of the PSU can be removed. These PSUs are called “fully modular units”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             (6) PCIe 6p/8p: It shows the number of PCIe connectors that the PSU has available. These connectors are used to provide more current to some PCI Express graphic cards. These connectors can present six or eight pins. For example, in the table at the top you can see that the XFX XXX Edition 650W presents one 6-pin and three (6+2)-pin PCI connectors. These (6+2) PCIe conectors can be used as 6-pin or 8-pin connectors depending on what you need.

 

 

 

 

 

            

             It’s also possible transforming two molex connectors into a PCIe connector via an molex-to-PCIe adaptor, however, it’s highly recommended to buy a PSU with all the PCIe connectors that you would need.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             You must pay close attention to the 8-pin PCIe connector because it looks like the EPS12V connector. However, the +12V wires (yellow ones) are located on different positions so if you insert an EPS12V plug on a graphic card (in theory it’s not possible but if you push hard this connection becomes possible) it can lead to a short-circuit. Fortunately, all PSUs have (should have) a short-circuit protection so they won’t turn on if you make this mistake.

 

 

 

 

 

             (7) +12v rails (A): Nowadays a computer pulls more power from the +12V output just because the two most power-hungry components from the computer are connected to it (the CPU via the ATX12V/EPS12V connector and the graphic card thru the PCIe connector). A PSU can present two different types of power distribution design on the +12V output: single-rail and multi-rail.

                          - Single-rail design: First of all we have to understand what OCP is. Over Current Protection (OCP) is a protection that shuts down the rail it is monitoring if this rail reach the OCP trigger current. Some brands decide to implement only one Over Current Protection (OCP) circuit for all +12 V wires. This is called single-rail design. Unfortunately, some low-end PSUs, don’t have any OCP circuit at all, despite being required according to ATX12V and EPS12V standards.

                          - Multi-rail design: Other brands decide to implement more than one Over Current Protection circuit (OCP). This desing is called multi-rail design, being “rail” each group of wires connected to each OCP circuit.  In this case, the OCP trigger current is set to a lower value than in single-rail design, so you need to worry about power distribution because the computer will shut down if you pull too much power from a determinate rail, that is, if you reach the rail’s OCP trigger current. Making this kind of PSU is more expensive , but on the other hand, the system will be more protected considering that the manufacturer set the trigger point at a correct value (all protections are configurable at the discretion of each manufacturer).

 

             (8) Max load on the +12V output: The more Amps/Watts the PSU can provide, the more powerfull cpu, graphic cards, etc will be able to run. Therefore, we will want to get this value as higher as possible.

             But, How much power will I need to run my computer or even to upgrade it?

                          We have already published an article about this question: Power supply requirement for graphic cards

             It has to be clear that a PSU only provides the current that your computer needs in each moment whatever its maximum power capacity. Therefore, a 700W PSU will only provide 300W if that is what the system demands from it, so your electricity bill will be the same if you buy a 300, 700, 900 or 1500W PSU.

 

             (9) Warranty Years: Some brands offer only one year warranty, whereas another brands garantee its products for even seven years. This is an important aspect. Although the higher quality of the PSU is, the lower will be the possibility of a failure happens, even the best of the manufacturers makes mistakes so it’s important that the brand’s support is the best as possible. Some brands take the defective product from your own home and come it back in a few days. Some other brands require that you pay for sending the product or even the labor. So, as you can see, there are many differences between the offered warranties.

 

Continues…   

 

                                      

Hybrid power supply

Non-modular power supply

Fully modular power supply

6-pin PCIe connector

(6+2)-pin PCIe connector

Molex-to-PCIe adapter

EPS 12V connector

Page: 1 - 2

Si lo desea, puede leer este artículo tambien en español