The Best Company for PSU's?

[x88x]

Welcome to TBCS. Always good to see a new face.

Thankfully, these units are being replaced, you may have seen the TX750 V2, TX850 V2 etc popping up lately... these are much, much better units overall.

Interesting. I had actually heard it the other way around from several sites when I was checking. That the new ones could push a higher current level but had more voltage ripple. Source?

My personal gripe with alot of "enthusiasts" is that they usually make blind recommendations and say things such as "Corsair are the best, they're untouchable" when really... they're just OK.

I can't speak for others, but I base most of my PSU recommendations largely on the reviews done by HardOCP. They have, by far, the most in-depth testing procedures for PSUs out of all the tech websites I've seen, and in the tests I've seen, Corsair units usually come out at or near the top. Not to say that other companies don't as well, but from what I've read, Corsair's TX and AX lines tend to excel the most consistently.

Also, since you mention 'blind recommendations'... What are your sources? You sound like you know what you're talking about, but well, no offense, but I don't know you. First post and all; no history. I'm not saying you're wrong (and no, I'm not asking just because you said something that challenged what I said I fully admit I'm not an expert on the subject), but you are stating a lot of things as fact without providing any sources to back them up.

[Undead]

Welcome to TBCS. Always good to see a new face.


Interesting. I had actually heard it the other way around from several sites when I was checking. That the new ones could push a higher current level but had more voltage ripple. Source?


I can't speak for others, but I base most of my PSU recommendations largely on the reviews done by HardOCP. They have, by far, the most in-depth testing procedures for PSUs out of all the tech websites I've seen, and in the tests I've seen, Corsair units usually come out at or near the top. Not to say that other companies don't as well, but from what I've read, Corsair's TX and AX lines tend to excel the most consistently.

Also, since you mention 'blind recommendations'... What are your sources? You sound like you know what you're talking about, but well, no offense, but I don't know you. First post and all; no history. I'm not saying you're wrong (and no, I'm not asking just because you said something that challenged what I said I fully admit I'm not an expert on the subject), but you are stating a lot of things as fact without providing any sources to back them up.

Where did you read that about the TX V2's? Google the original TX850 Jonnyguru review (I'm having trouble linking there for some odd reason) and also the TX850 V2 one (he reviewed them both), you can clearly see the difference in electrical performance. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the older TX units are bad, they were excellent for when they came out. Things have changed since then, though... theres alot of competition in the higher price ranges, they're merely just average now. The HX750, HX850, and all of the AX series are outstanding, though.

HardOCP provides pretty good reviews, as well as Jonnyguru, Kitguru, OC3D (OC3D recently acquired proper testing equipment) and sometimes hardwaresecrets. I say *sometimes* hardwaresecrets because although voltage regulation testing is done, the exact values aren't included in the reviews. The overload tests aren't the best, either.

You're right though, I haven't provided much "back up" or sources to what I have said. I'm not prepared to post a source on every little thing I say, but I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about my post.

Oh, and thanks for the welcome.

[x88x]

Where did you read that about the TX V2's?

I can't remember exactly..though come to think of it, I think it was some forums speculating based on the model the new version would be based on..before it was released...so maybe not the best source..

I checked out some of the JonnyGuru reviews, and they look quite in depth. I like how they actually take them apart and inspect the important components individually. I'll definitely add them to my list for researching new models.

You're right though, I haven't provided much "back up" or sources to what I have said. I'm not prepared to post a source on every little thing I say, but I'll be happy to answer any other questions you may have about my post.

Fair enough. Listing review sites is enough for me, I can do the rest of the work myself. I just assume when someone lists off a long, detailed list of model numbers that they're going off recent research (not always the case, but usually, in my experience).

For embedding links, either just paste in the link and the posting software will take care of it, or highlight the text you want the link to display as, and select the 'Insert Link' button in the posting toolbar (looks like a globe with a paper clip, just to the right of the little iPod). Or, if you feel like doing it manually, just use standard bracket formed bb-code.

[Undead]

I can't remember exactly..though come to think of it, I think it was some forums speculating based on the model the new version would be based on..before it was released...so maybe not the best source..

Just a FYI, the TX series have been changed twice. The TX650 which was originally Seasonic S12, was changed to CWT PSHII, and The TX750 and TX850 were changed from CWT PSH to CWT PSHII. They were replaced again with the TX V2 units, which are *so far* all Seasonics.

The CWT PSHII replacements were only temporary (some people confuse these units with the V2's) cost cutting replacements, as Corsair were preparing the TX V2's. There was a small amount of speculation surrounding the temporary replacements though, as they used cheaper internals, and Corsair said nothing about it. Performance is still pretty similar, although voltage regulation seems to be a little worser on the PSHII's. These weren't really sent to reviewers either as they were just updates, but if you want to compare, you can check out the Corsair GS series, they also use CWT PSHII internals.

Original TX750: http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/im...CORSAIR-12.jpg

Updated TX750 PSHII: http://img3.imageshack.us/i/tx750c.jpg/

Compare the picture of the PSHII TX750 to the internal shot of the GS800 HERE... you'll see the similarity.

[Blibbax]

I have to say, while Corsair aren't untouchable, and there efficiency isn't always great, I do often blindly reccomend them, simply because there are so consistent with their build quality and reliability (which, let's face it, is what's important).

They also tend to stick to single 12v rail designs, which prevents any situation where you have a vastly powerful PSU but you're sucking too much off the 18 or 28A first rail.

It should tell you something that this thread about "best PSUs" has developed into a discussion of Corsair PSUs.

[Undead]

Single rail vs Multi rail does not matter anymore, really. A rail is just traces on a PCB which are monitored by the OCP.

With a single rail, all of the traces are monitored together, so for example if you have a 850w PSU with 70A on the +12v, the PSU should shut down if you try to draw more than 70A.

With a multi rail, all of the traces are monitored separately, so if you have about six traces rated at 25A each, the PSU will shut down if more than 25A is drawn from one rail.

Modern "multi-rail" units are built much better than they were like 4-5 years ago, so they don't have all of those rail balancing issues and what-not. All of that is done automatically.

For high wattage units, multi-rail is actually a little safer. Lets take an AX1200 for example, one big 100A rail. If you had a short circuit on that, the current would climb upto and over 100A until OCP would shut the PSU off, that much current would definitely end up killing something, or setting something on fire. Still, the chances of the in-built PSU protection not catching a short is extremely slim... It happens, though!

If you take the Antec HCP-1200 as another example, it has eight 30A rails. In the very unlikely event of a short, the OCP would shut the PSU off if one trace climbs over 30A, which would cause MUCH less damage. (100A vs 30A). Again, the chances of a short are very, very slim, which makes it not so much of an issue regardless. The HCP-1200 and AX1200 are both outstanding PSU's... but for higher wattage units, Multi rail is slightly safer.

Currently, this whole single rail jargon is just marketing.

Build quality and reliability is important but it isn't the ONLY important things. Performance is very important, especially for hardware enthusiasts. A better performing PSU (in terms of transient, ripple/noise supression and voltage regulation) means longer lasting components, cleaner VRM power, and better overclocks.

I partly agree with you though, although Corsair doesn't always have the best performance with their units, their build quality is normally pretty good. All I'm saying is that there are usually quite a few units that have better price, performance, and build quality than the equivalent Corsair yet some people still flock to the Corsair unit because of the name. One thing I can definitely say though is that they have the best customer service of any PSU manufacturer period. Antec is a close second (that's just my opinion though).

[billygoat333]

my kingwin 1k watt psu is running fine... but the first one I got was DOA, and apparently it happens with them more often than not from the reviews on newegg. either they work rock solid, or they don't work at all. lol

[Undead]

What's the exact model name?

[Kayin]

You know, it's nice to see you here. Wandered over from Guru, I see...

Well, good deal. It'll be nice to have you here as well!

[x88x]

Just a FYI, the TX series have been changed twice. The TX650 which was originally Seasonic S12, was changed to CWT PSHII, and The TX750 and TX850 were changed from CWT PSH to CWT PSHII.

Ah, yes, now that you mention it, that is what the discussion I read; the introduction of the CWT PSHII's without any change in label. Good to hear they're back to Seasonic stock.