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THE Best Power Supply?
The Power Supply is the heart of any computer system, after all, no matter how much you have invested in all those expensive cutting edge parts, they are dead if there is no power! But finding a good power supply is a daunting issue. This forum cannot scientifically test power supplies so I am seeking your opinions, based on your experience with reliable power supplies.
Testing a power supply is not easy or inexpensive. Just plugging a bunch of stuff into it, drawing lots of power, and reading the BIOS results is just inadequate. So do you rely on Internet reviews of power supplies and stress tests? To see what is necessary to actually measure the performance of a power supply, compared to an on-computer stress test, here are a couple of links. I couldn't find much of what I felt was reliable, accurate, and worth reading so if you know of some better I would like to know:
AnandTech: AnandTech Power Supply Test Methodology
PSU Roundup: Performance, Price, Efficiency : Mainstream PSUs Up To 700W - Review Tom's Hardware
Power Supply Roundup: Part II : Our Second Round Of Mainstream PSUs - Review Tom's Hardware
Buying an OVER-POWERED power supply is not smart either. It is a waste of money in the purchase price and an inefficient use of electricity, also a possible waste of money in your utility bill. So I would like to separate power supply categories by retail price. I know I can buy power supplies for under $50 and I might get lucky with a good one, but I think computers capable of running Windows 7 deserve better. So I would suggest the under $100 USD power supply, the over $100 USD power supply, and if that isn't enough, the over $200 USD power supply.
So what power supplies have you had good success with and would recommend?
For myself, Thermaltake is a well known name brand so I bought a couple Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W for under $50, (plus a rebate, I hate rebates!) but one went up in smoke. The other one hasn't burst into flames yet.
So again I went looking and settled on Anetc. Found a couple of bargains on Amazon, Earthwatts 430W EA-430 @ $50. Very happy so far. Seems stable, not over worked. I don't have demanding sli video cards and don't overclock so 430W seems to be a balanced solution for my PC.
Under $100 USD Power Supplies
Over $100 USD Power Supplies
Extreme Power Supplies $200 USD and beyond
Cheers!