What power supply do you use?

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,240   +192
Staff member

The power supply is arguably one of the most controversial pieces of PC hardware around. How much power do you need? Modular or hardwired? Active or passive cooling? Name-brand or generic? How much should you spend?

These are just a few of the common questions that crop up when shopping for a new unit.

With this week’s open forum, we ask, what PSU powers your computer? What compelled you to go with that particular make and model? Brand loyalty, price, features? Feel free to share in the comments section below.

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Cougar 1050 80+gold. It's overkill, but at least I never have to worry about stressing it. Nothing is worse than a catastrophic PSU failure
 
In my new build I have a Silverstone SST-SX500-LG, but with the fan chatter I'm experiencing I'm thinking that I am going to RMA it... Got it to fit the Silverstone ML08 and because of the larger fan allowed by the SFX-L formfactor compared to your average SFX. If RMA'ing it doesn't help (I'll probably try a couple times) I'll either replace the fan with a different one entirely, or try Corsair's recently released SF600.

I used to have an OCZ Modxstream pro 500w which was a very good power supply, and I'm using an Antec EarthWatts PSU in my rack case, I think 430w.
 
OCZ semi-modular 750 Watt. I always look for a name brand, in my mind it pays to spend more on such a vital part. Even if it's only for self-assurance.
 
The Corsair CX600 works for me.

I am using this same exact PS. I just purchased a new computer and need a better power supply than the cheap, under powered one that came with it. The CX600 was in my old PC but was still in good shape, so I just swapped it out. So far so good. :)
 
For my working computers:
seasonic M12II 650w
antec hcg 620w
Silverstone strider 600w
Silverstone strider 500w
generic 700w ;)
 
The Corsair GS800, not modular but that doesn't matter in a carbide air 540 case as its all hidden anyway and the switchable fan colour is a nice touch as its visible from the back panel side of the case.
 
Cougar 1050 80+gold. It's overkill, but at least I never have to worry about stressing it. Nothing is worse than a catastrophic PSU failure

The flip side of this is that your power efficiency is terrible when your system is idle. ATX power supplies need to be above at least 10% to get the rated efficiency. You're probably not even getting 70% on idle. Unless you have 2 or more graphics cards it's literally throwing money out.

I purchased a new EVGA SuperNova G2 850w just a few months back. 10 year warranty means I won't have to buy a new PSU for awhile.
 
The flip side of this is that your power efficiency is terrible when your system is idle. ATX power supplies need to be above at least 10% to get the rated efficiency. You're probably not even getting 70% on idle. Unless you have 2 or more graphics cards it's literally throwing money out.

I purchased a new EVGA SuperNova G2 850w just a few months back. 10 year warranty means I won't have to buy a new PSU for awhile.

Efficiency isn't my main concern, the data on my hard drives is. I've had 3 catastrophic PSU failures since 1997 where 2 fried all my components and the 3rd killed my cpu, ram and hard drives. It's literally just a few dollars a year for security.

That's why I bought what I did, other people have different reasons, but that's mine.
 
Efficiency isn't my main concern, the data on my hard drives is. I've had 3 catastrophic PSU failures since 1997 where 2 fried all my components and the 3rd killed my cpu, ram and hard drives. It's literally just a few dollars a year for security.

That's why I bought what I did, other people have different reasons, but that's mine.

Wow, I'd flip if that happened. I've only had 1 bad PSU and that was a long time ago. Luckily it just took itself out in a smokey grave.
 
Efficiency isn't my main concern, the data on my hard drives is. I've had 3 catastrophic PSU failures since 1997 where 2 fried all my components and the 3rd killed my cpu, ram and hard drives.
Damn you have had some bad luck. I've been dealing with PC's since the late 80's, and never seen a PC with a failed PSU that took anything else out with it. I have seen several failed PSU's. And I've had a few power surges take out a few component without damaging the PSU. In each situation I simply replaced the failed component and was good to go. And the irony here is, I never really have dealt with top quality components.
 
Rosewill lightning 800w runs my oc'd 4670k at 4.5ghz 1.23v and my oc'd HIS radeon r9-280x 1100 gpu 1600memory stock voltage just fine
 
Seasonic G450.

Although not the most efficient gold rated unit, the ripple suppression and voltage regulation are far more important IMO


Man what is it with people buying these dodgy *** Corsair CX's and CS's. Even some of their RM is kinda dodgy


More then enough wattage for my i7 6700/ GTX 970
 
Corsair CX's sure are dodgy, but CS series is not half as bad (if the design stayed the same from years ago when I last checked those), but still overpriced sadly.

While we're on Corsair, I still have one TX650 v1 and after some 7 years it is still working fantastically, original fan and all. No hissing from components, capacitors looks ok for now.
Also a XFX ts550, and Superflower Goldengreen hx550. If a friend wants a cheap power supply, I usually get them something like Cooler master b500, looks like a good little unit. Still better than anything they wanted to buy. Two dead LC-power units (those older were the worst sh*t) and FSP bluestorm II 500 are sitting somewhere in the basement I think.
 
I routinely run 380 & 430 Antec "Earthwatts" supplies. In fact, I have one still going strong for more than 10 years in my eMachines T-5026. The stocker blew out, but failed to take out the board with it. I replaced it with a 350 watt Antec, which blew up in a couple of months, (once again my mobo was spared). Antec sent me the EA-380 to replace that, and it's been going strong ever since..(y)*nerd*
 
Thermaltake 750W. Enough for my Corei7 4770K and Titan X. I also have 5 internal drives (1 Nvm, 2 SSD, 2 HDD) and 3 external drives (the 5TB drive needs dedicated power supply). More than 750W with this setup is overkill. And I always buy brands, never generic.
 
Cooler Master 550M. Semi modular.
Plenty power for my mITX build. Core i7-6700 (65W TDP), Geforce GTX950Ti (60W TDP). A SSD and a HDD, both 2.5".
 
Corsair CX430W, for an Intel Core i5 2400 + Gigabyte Radeon 7870 oc. Worked great so far (2+ years) and it's silent too.
 
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