£500 or under gaming spec pc?

dave_beast · 12 Feb 2011 at 14:04

Imo A Coolermaster PSU is not a cheapy!

hybrid572 · 12 Feb 2011 at 14:23

Coolermaster's Elite Power brand is notoriously cheap and dodgy; this hardware secrets review of the 460W model claims it to be nothing more than the rebadged 400W model, which they originally reviewed and rejected as rubbish. A 500W wattage on a Seasonic or Corsair would be better.

6644kp · 12 Feb 2011 at 15:21

skylineboy said:
6644kp: that is a decision you made but when I spec a system I like to air on the side of safety and reliability.
A cheap PSU can take your system out. I know any psu could do that but a quality named brand with excellent reviews and reputations can give peace of mind. Also cheap ones use cheaper components and cause a pain to continually replace.

The system KD suggested is spot on.

Sorry but my Packard Bell has been running on that PSU for 4 years with a ATI Radeon X1600 and 1 year with a Radeon 4850 so I hope you understand why I am not that worried about PSU.

As a result I prefer DB system.

stulid · 12 Feb 2011 at 15:24

hybrid572 said:
Coolermaster's Elite Power brand is notoriously cheap and dodgy; this hardware secrets review of the 460W model claims it to be nothing more than the rebadged 400W model, which they originally reviewed and rejected as rubbish. A 500W wattage on a Seasonic or Corsair would be better.

Firstly they didn't reject it as rubbish, they just state its the same as the 400w version for more money.

Secondly, without a review of the 500w psu, you cant compare it to the 460w psu being reviewed.

And looking at the Anandtech power chart above which uses a more high end i7 system as the base, a 400w would be good enough too.

hybrid572 · 12 Feb 2011 at 16:08

They stated the 460W was the same as the 400W but for more money yes, but the review of the 400W PSU on the site says, and I quote, "we can’t recommend it" (due to low efficiency and high noise/ripple levels). It's true that this wasn't a review of the 500W model, I'm just saying that with reviews of similar models claiming to not deliver stated wattage (for the 460), and claims of low efficiency and high noise, I'd be more tempted to stay away from that brand, as you can't be too careful with PSUs for high-end cards.

Judging by Anandtech's power chart, you could theoretically run it on a 400W PSU, but due to efficiency peaking at 50% load on most PSUs, and power supply degradation over time, I'd really suggest 5-600 watts for maximum efficiency and lifespan.

stulid · 12 Feb 2011 at 16:15

And in the same way you cant compare the Elite power 430/400w psu to the 500w psu, you also cant compare the Corsair CX430W and CX400w psu's as they are totally different even tho they share the same family name.