500W Achieve for $34.99 is it real ?

i was searching for a new psu and i came accross this Achieve 500W i noticed the price which was LESS then most 300w psu. is this a good psu ? the price sure is awesome

If it sounds to good to be true.... Go to Tom's Hardware and see the article on 21 power supplies. 3 of which burned up before they came close to reaching their specified outputs. There's some that are priced better than others that are good PSU's but stay away from that one or you may end up buying a new power supply that is good along with alot of new parts. I've read of the Deer power supplies actually taking out the floppy drives along with Everything else when they go.

How come the AC current rating is only 6A for this 500W PSU? That's a lot less than the 9A for the 480W Antec Truepower, and even some 300W PSUs specify 7A for the input.

I'm not saying that they can't get 500W from just 6A input, but to meet the minimum 100VAC rating of this PSU it would have to be 83% efficient, and I've never seen an ATX PSU rated better than about 72%.

larrymoencurly said:

How come the AC current rating is only 6A for this 500W PSU? That's a lot less than the 9A for the 480W Antec Truepower, and even some 300W PSUs specify 7A for the input.

I'm not saying that they can't get 500W from just 6A input, but to meet the minimum 100VAC rating of this PSU it would have to be 83% efficient, and I've never seen an ATX PSU rated better than about 72%.

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is that good or bad?

Ive seen a lot of high-watt PSUs for cheap and always came off thinking that they sucked. Maybe some dont, but it just doesnt seem right that theyre so cheap.

Metra they are priced so cheap because they are cheap. Dont even waste your time looking at cheapo PSU's. Bite the bullet and get a quality name brand power supply and you will be happy. Also dont assume that if it costs more it is better. Thats just a way for a cheap psu maker to burn you hotter. Do some research and you will find what you need and how to determine what you need.

hey guy, you get what you pay for, a500 watt psu for 35 bucks is just that.junk.... With a little patience and research you can find some good deals allied, fortran, robanton have some good psu<s for the money approx 50-80 bucks. you also might want to consider a hec 300 watt psu toms hardware tested up to 394 watts b4 it died. if you want quality vantec antec enermax are good but they are in the 110-160 range.. good luck

Cheap high-watt power supplies. Dont get them. They are a mistake. Invest in the Antec PSU. Automatic Fans that change speed depending on the amount of heat. I bought a 350W Antec at best buy (cost a lot for what it is), but my overclocked AMDA2000+ runs flawlessly, with a RAID0 setup, multiple case fans, 2 optical drives, and a load of other stuff.

My generic 400W that I payed $14 extra (shipped with case) never even worked when I started it up. It would have been a waste to RMA it.

I'm not the only one that had this problem. I would avoid them unless a review site or a person you know recommends it as a good PSU.

BTW- My antec under all its load runs flawlessly- all voltages are withing my parameters, except for my AGP, but I think thats a mobo problem (soyo dragon)

Fortron, Sparkle, TTGI are good PSU's and are less money than big name brands like Antec or Enermax. They have good reliability ratings in the real world too. 50 bucks will get you 350 watts. And I know the 350 Fortron, which is the same PSU as Sparkle put out 454 watts in Tom's PSU shootout. One that cheap is asking for problems.

I think that the low AC amp rating means that it's not really a 500W PSU but a lower rated one with a 500W label slapped on it. But it's possible that they also modified the protection circuitry so it won't kick in until a higher power level. The components in even the cheapest PSU are usualyy overrated enough to allow this to work well enough to fool customers.. Example: in my cheapest 300W PSU the +5V 30A rail uses a 45A diode, but in best 300W PSU this rail uses diodes rated for 80A.

diggingforgold said:

Cheap high-watt power supplies. Dont get them. They are a mistake. Invest in the Antec PSU. Automatic Fans that change speed depending on the amount of heat. I bought a 350W Antec at best buy (cost a lot for what it is), but my overclocked AMDA2000+ runs flawlessly, with a RAID0 setup, multiple case fans, 2 optical drives, and a load of other stuff.

My generic 400W that I payed $14 extra (shipped with case) never even worked when I started it up. It would have been a waste to RMA it.

I'm not the only one that had this problem. I would avoid them unless a review site or a person you know recommends it as a good PSU.

BTW- My antec under all its load runs flawlessly- all voltages are withing my parameters, except for my AGP, but I think thats a mobo problem (soyo dragon)

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If you don't me asking, which Antec did you purchase from Best Buy? I just purchased the SL350 yesterday.