Which is best 80Plus "GOLD" PSU?

nippynoo · 20 Oct 2010 at 21:14

Needs to be 90% efficiency , i.e. 80Plus GOLD standard.
Nothing too powerful, say 500W, and reliable, and quiet, and cheap :-)

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance

stulid · 20 Oct 2010 at 21:16

just go straight too the psu masters - http://www.seasonic.com/product/pc_retail.jsp

cmndr_andi · 20 Oct 2010 at 21:22

nippynoo said:
Needs to be 90% efficiency , i.e. 80Plus GOLD standard.
Nothing too powerful, say 500W, and reliable, and quiet, and cheap
Any recommendations?

It really is the cheap part where the problem lies. There are so few 80plus gold PSUs and they all command a healthy price premium over their lower-efficiency brethren.

This is probably one of the cheapest 80plus gold PSUs, but I would personally go for a Seasonic X series as they just ooze quality.

nippynoo · 20 Oct 2010 at 22:24

cmndr_andi said:
I would personally go for a Seasonic X series as they just ooze quality.

They do look good. But what do you think about Enermax? The one below claims to be 93% efficient
http://www.enermax.co.uk/products/power-supplies/pro87.html

stulid · 20 Oct 2010 at 22:26

Enermax are tops too.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Enermax-PRO87+-500-W-Power-Supply-Review/1088

Admetos · 20 Oct 2010 at 22:35

nippynoo said:
Needs to be 90% efficiency , i.e. 80Plus GOLD standard.
Nothing too powerful, say 500W, and reliable, and quiet, and cheap
Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance

I have a Seasonic X-650, the JoniGuri review rated it very high. In the hot box efficiency was tested around 92%.

Reliable. JoniGuri said build quality more like a server grade PSU.
Quiet. The fan on mine does not spin at any time. Worth it alone just for this
Cheap. Not really, but you get what you pay for. 5 year warranty mind, and you'll save over the years on the electric bill.

I'll add one more thing, I use to have an OCZ 600w, and the X-650 has allowed me to run lower CPU voltages, while still being stable.

ATIorNvidia · 20 Oct 2010 at 23:28

JasonM said:
I'll add one more thing, I use to have an OCZ 600w, and the X-650 has allowed me to run lower CPU voltages, while still being stable.

That's due to the X-650's superior ripple supression and voltage stability as opposed to the OCZ.

The only low wattage gold units I can think of is the Seasonic X-400/560 (ridiculously expensive) and the Enermax Modu/Pro 87+ 500w. There's not much point in shelling out so much for a gold PSU, getting a good silver/bronze unit would be cheaper and the amount of money you'll save over the years of having gold as opposed to silver is negligible.

I would take advantage of the XFX 650W unit OcUK is selling for £70 (very cheap), it's based from the Seasonic M12D design, which is an outstanding build.

nippynoo · 21 Oct 2010 at 22:27

ATIorNvidia said:
There's not much point in shelling out so much for a gold PSU, getting a good silver/bronze unit would be cheaper and the amount of money you'll save over the years of having gold as opposed to silver is negligible.

The difference of 10% in efficiency between bronze and gold costs around £22 per year in electricity. So the payback time for a Gold is about a year...

(I've assumed 650W PSU @ 8 hour a day usage @ full load @ 12.5p/kwh)