Ryzen 3 2200G , Radeon RX 570 ---> Next Upgrade

pastymuncher said:
The Bitfenix Formula series are excellent psu's. Gold rated, all of it's 550w on the 12v rail and a 5 year warranty makes them one of the best price/performance options available right now.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
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This one https://www.overclockers.co.uk/be-q...0w-80-plus-bronze-power-supply-ca-136-bq.html
apparently has 576watts on the 12v rail and its cheaper? Unless I am mistaken?
 
It's not as good as the Bitfenix though. It's only bronze rated, the Bitfenix is gold. The BeQuiet has inferior internal components unlike the Bitfenix which has quality components. The BeQuiet only has a 3 year warranty, the Bitfenix has a 5 year warranty. To top it off the Bequiet is a Tier 4 unit while the Bitfenix is a Tier 2 unit. Tiers are from 1-7 with 1 being the best and 7 being utter garbage. For the sake of £2 do the sensible thing and get the quality Bitfenix psu.
 
pastymuncher said:
It's not as good as the Bitfenix though. It's only bronze rated, the Bitfenix is gold. The BeQuiet has inferior internal components unlike the Bitfenix which has quality components. The BeQuiet only has a 3 year warranty, the Bitfenix has a 5 year warranty. To top it off the Bequiet is a Tier 4 unit while the Bitfenix is a Tier 2 unit. Tiers are from 1-7 with 1 being the best and 7 being utter garbage. For the sake of £2 do the sensible thing and get the quality Bitfenix psu.
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Alright, thanks for clarifying
 
Rapids17 said:
Alright, thanks for clarifying
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you dont have to dismiss 80+ bronze rated units if they are decent ones, but if a gold is not much more then obviously better, the rating isnt the only thing to look at either, but like any psu dont push it to its limits. ive got an aerocool intergral 500w 80+ bronze, its a mediocre unit, but was powering a low end system non stop for like 2 or 3 days without issues, ive boxed up as a spare now, the silverstone st45sf i have is powering my now system just fine(not that ive used it much since building it), but a 300w version i have was always powering just fine. im not one that cares for warranty beyond 12 months, if you are someone that does then obviously you look at that also.
 
ExoMale said:
you dont have to dismiss 80+ bronze rated units if they are decent ones, but if a gold is not much more then obviously better, the rating isnt the only thing to look at either, but like any psu dont push it to its limits. ive got an aerocool intergral 500w 80+ bronze, its a mediocre unit, but was powering a low end system non stop for like 2 or 3 days without issues, ive boxed up as a spare now, the silverstone st45sf i have is powering my now system just fine(not that ive used it much since building it), but a 300w version i have was always powering just fine. im not one that cares for warranty beyond 12 months, if you are someone that does then obviously you look at that also.
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Oh okay, I understand. Higher the wattage, more expensive electric bills right lol.
 
Rapids17 said:
Oh okay, I understand. Higher the wattage, more expensive electric bills right lol.
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actually no lol, even a 1600w psu can be friendly on the bills, it depends what you are powering. i have a gold rated evga 550w and had no notice of higher bills, but then i have never powered anything more than 400w, probably barely touched 350w in fact.
 
Rapids17 said:
Oh okay, I understand. Higher the wattage, more expensive electric bills right lol.
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No not at all. A psu will only draw the power being asked of it and not it's full capacity. The running cost is all about efficiency and it's rating. A gold rated psu is more efficient than a bronze rated psu so uses less electricity. Generally the higher the rating the better quality parts are used inside the psu although this is not always the case such as in psu's like the Superflower Platinum King units. Personally I wouldn't look at anything less than a Gold rated psu these days. I would go a step further and say that in these modern times of efficiency the non 80 plus rated psu's and basic 80 plus white psu's should no longer be sold and we should be working towards phasing out 80 plus bronze as well. That move by itself would get rid of 90% of the garbage psu's being sold.
 
pastymuncher said:
No not at all. A psu will only draw the power being asked of it and not it's full capacity. The running cost is all about efficiency and it's rating. A gold rated psu is more efficient than a bronze rated psu so uses less electricity. Generally the higher the rating the better quality parts are used inside the psu although this is not always the case such as in psu's like the Superflower Platinum King units. Personally I wouldn't look at anything less than a Gold rated psu these days. I would go a step further and say that in these modern times of efficiency the non 80 plus rated psu's and basic 80 plus white psu's should no longer be sold and we should be working towards phasing out 80 plus bronze as well. That move by itself would get rid of 90% of the garbage psu's being sold.
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trouble is the costs, some might not be able to afford gold rated and some gold rated might not be suitable, i know i like my lower end stuff, but for me i had a choice between the silverstone i have and paying over £20 extra for the sf450 corsair and i chose the bronze because it fits in the budget i had plus i didnt want another fully modular psu, there just seems to be a lacking in good selection of units that are above bronze thats fixed cabled and of a decent wattage from atx and sfx.


this seems to be the only good fixed cable unit that is above bronze and even gold for that matter that offers quality and performance for a good price.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £85.49 (includes shipping: £10.50)​
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modular are not all what they crack up to be i think, my evga is so annoying lol
 
The Bitfenix Formula series 550w that I posted in post #19 is not only cheaper but is better quality as well. I stated in my post that you quoted specifically mentioning the Superflower Platinum King because they have cheaped out on the internals. In all reality it's a budget psu artificially having it's cost inflated due to the Platinum rating. Just ask EsaT his opinion on that psu!! Modular psu's are brilliant as long as the manufacturer gets the cables right and they are used as intended. My BeQuiet's cables are a mess because instead of having a single lead for sata and another for molex they have mixed both types of connector across two cables resulting in me using all of the cables. This sort of defeats the whole reason of having a modular psu. They can be a hinderance in these small cases as you have found out due to the extra length the connector to the psu adds.
 
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For that money, Corsair TX550M Gold could be an alternative if you look around for current best deal. 7 year warranty, and normally excellent Corsair support.

For a bit more the Antec EarthWatts Gold Pro (the non-Pro is older version). Or the BitFenix Formula 650 Gold which OcUK has in stock. EVGA 550 G3 Gold. The EVGA and Antec are modular and come with 7 years too whilst the BitFenix is non-modular and comes with 5.

Seasonic Focus Plus Gold or Antec HCG Gold can cost even more but come with 10 year warranty.

Maybe Pastymuncher or someone else can recommend others.
 
pastymuncher said:
The Bitfenix Formula series 550w that I posted in post #19 is not only cheaper but is better quality as well. I stated in my post that you quoted specifically mentioning the Superflower Platinum King because they have cheaped out on the internals. In all reality it's a budget psu artificially having it's cost inflated due to the Platinum rating. Just ask EsaT his opinion on that psu!! Modular psu's are brilliant as long as the manufacturer gets the cables right and they are used as intended. My BeQuiet's cables are a mess because instead of having a single lead for sata and another for molex they have mixed both types of connector across two cables resulting in me using all of the cables. This sort of defeats the whole reason of having a modular psu. They can be a hinderance in these small cases as you have found out due to the extra length the connector to the psu adds.
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oh i wasnt knocking the quality etc, i was just basing what i was saying round a fix cable psu of decent performance/quality/price, it has been point out on these forums many times before that having bronze is not the end of the world, just obviously there certain levels of quality, that AC Integrator 500w bronze i have didnt go pop in 48hrs running, not that i was gaming and was only using a hd5450 with the 1200 despite reviews, i think it boils down to what you are powering more than the quality of the unit itself, so many people push them too hard without realising, that integrator has around 456w on the 12v, so not too shabby. oh right i suppose that would explain the price point then? i know they had the 350w gold dragon or whatever what was highly suggested before, but obviously platinum rated usually yields higher price, makes you wonder why they would cheap out considering they have a rep for quality :confused:.

other than the lower powered or lower end units i dont think ive ever come across a decent psu that has suitable cables, its not like you can use all the connections due to the design, for my evga i have to use 2 sata cables to run 2 drives thats in a cage thats usually next to the psu all because of poor cable utilization, i remember being able to use just the one cable to power 2 drives before. also depending on case modular is annoying to squeeze in certain spaces, that gamemax expedition has the shroud across the bottom, so because of the drive bays and modular connections the evga was a pain to fit.
 
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