why buy an expensive powersupply?

I've been wondering for awhile what is the difference between a generic 450 watt powersupply and say an OCZ or other high end brand 450 watt powersupply (if they actually have one, this is just a theoretical question)

Reliability, Stability and not worrying about your PSU taking out other components in your rig!

A few reasons:

Good build. Well-selected interior components.
Typically sufficient cooling and relatively silent.
Very clean source of power; usually come with a lot of power and up-to-date cables.
Good warranties & customer service.
If the PSU dies, a well-built unit usually won't take other components down with it

deception``

Well, generic companies generally don't put the quality and time into making their PSUs and they sometimes tend to blow up, shoot sparks out their rears, fry your components, burn your house down, sell you bad cocaine, and generally make your life miserable.
High quality PSUs may come with a more expensive price tag, but they generally do not have any of the problems that plague the lowend PSUs, or at least very, very rarely. They usually provide much more stable power due to higher quality components, so they make up for the price with the potential of a better overclock.
Since PSUs generally last for a few years, it is better to buy an overpowered and expensive PSU now that will still be enough power a few years down the line when you upgrade your system again instead of buying a new cheap power supply every time you upgrade because the old one isn't up to task anymore.

Pick up a generic PSU and then a quality PSU. You'll notice that the generic one tends to be lighter whilethe quality one feels like you can bludgeon someone to death with it. It pretty much ties into the fact that a quality PSU generally have better parts and assembly which leads to more stable power which in turn means that one can do more with their computer (run more drives, overclock, etc.) without it failing in a catastophic manner. Overstressing a generic PSU will cause it to fail in a most unfortunate manner.

However, there are some good quality PSUs out there that come at a cheap price (fortrons and sparkles mainly), but if your in doubt as to whether or not a PSU is worth it, check the rails and then use the weight test. A quality PSU should have high rails and feel relatively heavy.

ScottinIndy said:

Reliability, Stability and not worrying about your PSU taking out other components in your rig!

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I fully agree. Also you can choose a quiet psu like a seasonic.

The question would rather be why so many that buys expensive equipment then just get the cheapest "550W" PSU then can get their hands on?

They care very much about what they put in their computers make sure it´s the latest and greatest but then don´t give a crap on what´s powering them?

This is still true and it scares me to death? Is it because PSU doesn´t give any nice fps increase or what? Is it because they are ugly often and nothing to show off? Or is it just because they are used to just being able to put televisions and whatever into the wall and it powers up and the PSU is nothing like an adapter from hell they need to get the computer running?

That said you don´t have to get PCP&C or OCZ you can get Fortron or Tagan but many just get the damn cheapest crap they can get their hold on

The reason most get the cheapest is. They honestly don't care or know what the benifits good equitment will give in terms of protection and real world performance gains. Not everytime a 500watt cheapo will power the SLi setup. It will actually be loaded up and not giving the true rating on the sticker. Alot of the cheapy units lie or give skewed ratings. Once the unit heats up it will drop in the lines and real rating.

All we can do is hope folks read and understand why to get a good unit. It don't have to be the best, just good. The looks of a unit are not as important as what it has inside the box. AFAIK computers are electrical devices. Well, lets skimp of the electrics... When the kick butt video card does not pull killer frames "like the other guy", it might be choked. Random reboots and other headache issues that can't be explained can be tied to a PSU. Since it seems like a common part it is negleted in term of wanting quality. If you get a good part to begin with, it becomes an investment for a long term thing. Most who buy cheap think in terms of the here and now.

Not all good power supplies are expensive, but most cheap power supplies are junk. When you buy an inexpensive power supply, you either get a Fortron or specific Channel Well-produce units or you get an inherently worthless piece o' junk. For the uninformed the only way to routinely get good results is to buy expensive gear, but then again, that is why they say knowledge is power.

As far as the reason you don't use junk power supplies, experience is the great teacher here (as elsewhere). If you've changed as many exploded or exploding power supplies as I have, you don't think of skimping. Several of these machines were total write-offs, with only random expansion card or the memory surviving. Additionally I have seen numerous machines with operational issues such as instability, cold-start or shutdown issues, loss of cmos contents, or poor performance that proved remedied by a good power supply. And of course, you can't expect a rig to OC worth beans without a good supply.

To elaborate a bit on what Larva said...to me its a case of "you get what you pay for" most of the time with PSUs. To me, the PSU is the backbone of a stable setup for a normal rig, and even more important if you want to OC, so I ALWAYS go for the most bang for the buck. IMO, get the very best PSU you can afford. There are always plenty of reviews here and elsewhere to help you make an informed decision. If you regularly attend computer fairs, you'll always notice cases for sale with "450w P4 or AMD XP ready" PSUs that you can grab for $28-$40. Just how good do you think those PSUs can be, when next to them you find cases with no supply for more money?

My 300W Powmax has a high voltage MOSFET rated for 45 watts while my 300W Antec has two such MOSFETs, each rated for 150W. If this didn't matter, why did Antec bother? BTW this is a very old Powmax, probably built much better than today's models.

:shrugs: I have "terrible" Ultra-X connect modular supply, rated 500W.

It's showing my +12v at 12.04, and I'm overclocked.

I got it because it was chrome.

tom10167 said:

:shrugs: I have "terrible" Ultra-X connect modular supply, rated 500W.

It's showing my +12v at 12.04, and I'm overclocked.

I got it because it was chrome.

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Well they don't make them with the desire to have them suck. I presume its a combination of lower quality components, quality control, and load tolerance at certain specifications (eg temp), and luck. Some brands are known to better at this overall, sometimes only a certain model from a brand (eg the OCZ520PS)

Evil_Eye said:

... while the quality one feels like you can bludgeon someone to death with it.

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LOL, this is exactly how I pick out a good PSU.

Got a 400w Ultra PS w/ a barebones kit. The PS caught on fire while I was playing Silkroad Online. Lucky I was sitting here and unplugged it before it damaged my MOBO. The smell was incredible. Got me a Antec 450 smart power to replace it. Name brand = reliable. Generic = FIRE

(that being said ULTRA sent me a "Ultra X Finity 500w PS to repalce the one that almost burned the house down.....ultra musta pulled up their socks cos' this one has great reviews!)

I'm confused! Spend gazillion dollars on vidio and audio cards, processors,m/b and so many fans your tower could take off. Then buy a cheep power supply to run it all.
I highly recommend buying a good case and a great power supply next. Go from there

There are a lot of anedotes on why you shouldn't get a cheap PSU, but the heart of the matter is the components and engineering. A cheap 550W psu will often not be able to drive 550W and if it can, it does so by stressing cheap, overrated parts and then using cheap fans running at full speed to try to cool the system down. They are loud, hot and ready to die from the moment they are turned on.

If you research PSU reviews you find that the best reviews stress the PSU to the maximum wattage and beyond. You'll find that brands like Fortron, Antec, OCZ, PC P&C, Enermax and others will often drive loads higher than their rating because they are engineered with properly rated parts and well designed cooling systems.

I fried 3 cheap PSUs in less than a year, and lost a cpu and motherboard in the process. I spent twice as much replacing the CPU and motherboard than all the cheap PSU costs combined. If I had just spent $30-$40 more on the PSU I would probably still have it today.

i just bought a PC Power and Cooling 510 SLI, for only $160, look around and you will find deals on THE best power supply that is availible

in a cheap "A-Power_ 400 watt supply, i was running my asrock mobo, s754 2800, 512 megs of pc3200, an FX5500, soundblaster audigy, and 5 hard drives, and the thing got hot enough to melt solder and a diode came out of place. the diode would intermittently contact, making the voltages fluctuate like crazy. that is pretty damned hot in my opinion, being able to melt solder.

to replace it i bought a sparkle fsp 550-60 PLG, which doesnt seem to get warm at all, running the same load and an insane load on the 12V rail (rockford 800a4 amp) and it keeps running fine. the sparkle will run the amp pretty damn loud, while if i try runnin it on just the apower, ikt shuts off soon as it hits. the more expensive ones can deliver beyond their rated limitations, as the manufacturers rate them way under what they're capable of, just so that when you run it at its rated limit it wont have a problem.

cheapies will rate them at the PSU running balls to the wall, with unrealisticly cool ambient air, and test each rail independantly, so they can get the most out of it.

then the general construction, the metal itself of the casing is much thicker and sturdier than the cheapies, thus it being so much heavier. the fans are more powerful, with better bearings and such, so they'll last longer. better heatsinks, cool better... basically everything about them are higher quality components.

1o1
Take a Cadillac compare it with a GEO.
got the point.

Mid class PSU are ok as long you are not building high dollar machine.
If you do build one, than stick with good brand names.