What power supply do you use?

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

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.

"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".
A relative noob eh? I've dealt with PSU failures that have taken out just about everything, even the monitor and left black scorch marks on the case. Back in those days the monitor took power directly from the PSU's a/c pass through. I even saw some young techies who managed to force connect the ATX connector the wrong way around on the mobo, the connector wasn't as obviously keyed as it is today and when switched on the resulting failure was pretty catastrophic.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Seasonic X 750.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I even saw some young techies who managed to force connect the ATX connector the wrong way around on the mobo, the connector wasn't as obviously keyed as it is today and when switched on the resulting failure was pretty catastrophic.

User error is irrelevant!

And by the way I didn't say it doesn't happen. I commented about the 3 times from a personal perspective being a sign of bad luck, because in 30 years I've never seen it happen.

 

[DaveBG]

Cooler Master 850W 80+

 

[BMfan]

One that gives enough power for my PC.

 

[STOKON]

XFX 550W

 

[maimutza]

A Corsair VX450w from 2007 on a 4690k @4.5, 4 hdd, 1 ssd and a geforce 970.
An amazing power supply.

 

[ForgottenLegion]

EVGA G2 850w - powering the X99 980 gaming rig.

Corsair CX 430w - powering an £800 media server. Must be changed to something better.

Corsair TX750w - around 10 years old now but powering a small low power (£200) machine.

 

[hojnikb]

Corsair TX650. The original, 80+ ready.

 

[dirtyferret]

Currently: corsair tx650m, antec neo eco 400, corsair 430-bronze

 

[TitoBXNY]

My PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad is still kicking after all of these years. I think I got it in 2005 or 2006.

 

[enemys]

LC-Power LC1000. Pretty good, actually.

 

[hood6558]

I only need 500 watts to run my hardware, the other 500 is just for the hundreds of LEDs in my case, and in case I need to jump start my truck...so CM V1000 full modular (Seasonic KM3 platform). Add "overkill" comments here...

 

[VitalyT]

Corsair HX850 PLUS Gold, purchased 2.5 years ago to feed nVidia GTX-780, everything still works perfectly.

 

[Misagt]

I have a Corsair CX600. I've been running it for 4 years now with no issues.

 

[Unearthed]

EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 80+ GOLD

 

[yRaz]

User error is irrelevant!

And by the way I didn't say it doesn't happen. I commented about the 3 times from a personal perspective being a sign of bad luck, because in 30 years I've never seen it happen.

Most of my computers were made of "salvage" components. Now that I have money I'll spend a little extra to not fry my ****.

 

[tonylukac]

Went thru 5 power supplies in 8 years on the one system. The fan always starts making noise for some reason. They say not to tinker with power supplies or oil them. They'd have to be oiled with synthetic oil and I can't find any place that any longer sells oil cans. No tinman. So I buy the lowest cost at micro center being inland (usually $20-25 for 450 watt on sale). Never got the guarantee on any; really capitalism as they go just after the guarantee is up. Had one diablo that went in time but they wouldn't honor the warranty. Never leave them on either.

 

[tonylukac]

I even saw some young techies who managed to force connect the ATX connector the wrong way around on the mobo, the connector wasn't as obviously keyed as it is today and when switched on the resulting failure was pretty catastrophic.

User error is irrelevant!

And by the way I didn't say it doesn't happen. I commented about the 3 times from a personal perspective being a sign of bad luck, because in 30 years I've never seen it happen.

Building computers should be easy but somehow isn't.

 

[fimbles]

Corsair Tx 850 v2.

No problems 18 months in.

 

[noc81]

I still use my aaaanncient Antec TruePower Trio 550w. In 20+ years I have never seen an Antec psu go bad (nor any from Corsair, Fortron, PCP&P, or Seasonic ftm), so I can't help but feel loyal. The 'mid' level brands like Thermaltake and Cooler Master, well.. Just plan on buying a 650-700w if you really need a 500-550w, and make sure the 12v rail setup is pretty strong if you plan on running many case accessories.

I have to advise to NEVER use an offbrand or gimmicky (led's, windows, other useless garbage) psu, the consequences can be disastrous. I had an Ultra X-Connect (shiny, chromed, one of the first modular psu's) that seemed like a great buy at the time, until it fried my motherboard. Wouldn't have been so bad if they had at least honored their meager 2 yr 'lifetime' warranty...

Old rule of thumb for psu's... Just go to a computer store like Fry's, that's big enough to have multiple psu's on display, and weigh each one in hand -- the higher quality psu's use beefier components and heatsinks, which drastically increases the weight. It'll show you one fact of life, that outside of a few special deals, you always get exactly what you pay for.

 

[elTano06]

XFX TS550 Bronze

 

[Captain828]

I actually just recently got a new PSU after my old one, a Corsair HX650 died after many years of faithful service.
While I am just fine with Corsair's PSUs price/performance ratio, I wanted to try out something a bit more high-end, so I got a 760W Seasonic Platinum.
Really enjoying the full modularity of it, but other than that only time will tell, though I'm guessing the 7 year warranty is going to ensure that

I also own another Corsair 450W PSU in another PC and also owned 2 Antec PSUs as well which I was very happy with.

 

[noc81]

Went thru 5 power supplies in 8 years on the one system. The fan always starts making noise for some reason. They say not to tinker with power supplies or oil them. They'd have to be oiled with synthetic oil and I can't find any place that any longer sells oil cans. No tinman. So I buy the lowest cost at micro center being inland (usually $20-25 for 450 watt on sale). Never got the guarantee on any; really capitalism as they go just after the guarantee is up. Had one diablo that went in time but they wouldn't honor the warranty. Never leave them on either.

It's fine enough to open up a PSU if you are at least amateurishly familiar with electronics -- just don't go poking a screwdriver around like De Bergerac, or you'll give yourself a fairly ample (yet still harmless for a healthy adult) shock.

If it's the fan, those can be easily replaced or even disassembled and re-lubricated if necessary, though usually regular cleaning along with good case design and fan set-up (ie, more fan pressure in than out) is enough to keep the fan from failing. It doesn't help if you're a smoker either, as it turns all your dust into a tar soaked sticky mess that can gum up any fan to the point of failure in a matter of weeks.

A good fan is only 4.5-6 bux (for the 80mm variety), though you can save yourself a little bit of cash if you learn how to clean up and re-lubricate them. Just clean them super good (I use watercolor paint brushes and q-tips), spraying out any dust from the fan brushes (no lubrication here, anything that can't be sprayed out can be removed using LM electronics cleaner, about 8 bux for a big can at autozone). Inspect the seal on 'frame' side of the fan (may be underneath a label) for damage -- if it lost its seal then it lost its oil, otherwise just leave it alone. If you need to re-lubricate, simply fill the small cavity with mineral oil (same stuff that lubes a sewing machine or shaver) and then re-seal it with the best method at your disposal, ie.. stickers, good 3M tape, decals, etc, just needs to be flexible enough to allow for slight pressure differences without failing.

 

[Lionvibez]

Corsair Pro Series Gold AX750