Best power supply units

Crazy_Eddy said:
Haven't checked on complaints. But the HX650 gold was based on the Seasonic G-650. While it was available it was a better buy than the equivalent G series because of Corsair's no questions asked replacement policy. Unfortunately it has been discontinued.
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You mean the newer HX650 is also discontinued? I've been reading PSU related stuff for about couple of weeks now, but yet to came across this info!
 
My bad, it's not discontinued. But in India it looked like they were replacing both the HX and TX lineup with the RM series - the RM650 is priced as much as the HX650. All the HX models are out of stock most of the time. Although I just noticed the HX650 is back in stock for 7.5k on Amazon.

The fan chirping sound seems widespread though, thanks for notifying. Has any fix been found for it? And is it affecting newer batches?
 
According to Corsair rep on overclock.net, RM is supposed to replace TX. AX and HX remain top-end, RM and GS mainstream, CS and VS entry level.

Don't know why, but most of the Indian sites are still selling Bronze unit, god knows how old these units are. The one on Amazon, box pic is of old HX and unit pic is of V2, mentioned warranty is also wrong :rolleyes:

About the chirping sound, none of the recent (last 6-8 months) reviews on Amazon and Newegg mentions it, so seems like it's been fixed. Can't say anything about the Indian stock though, as most of them are still selling the discontinued unit!
 
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Indian sites are a bit lazy with updating specs/pics. I know they were still showing pics of the TX650 V1 unit when the V3 units were already shipping.
A member had a HX650 Gold last year itself : https://www.techenclave.com/community/threads/corsair-hx650-80-plus®-gold-certified-modular-psu.149503/ , and I recall seeing someone selling a gold HX750 or 850 too, so its pretty much guaranteed that the current HX stock are all Gold units.

Avish said:
According to Corsair rep on overclock.net, RM is supposed to replace TX. AX and HX remain top-end, RM and GS mainstream, CS and VS entry level.
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Yeah exactly. But look at the pricing of the RM, plus the fact that its a 'new' series, and you can guess what Corsair India will try to push. HX availability has been very poor ever since the RM series was introduced.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
Yeah exactly. But look at the pricing of the RM, plus the fact that its a 'new' series, and you can guess what Corsair India will try to push. HX availability has been very poor ever since the RM series was introduced.
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It happened! I mailed the seller on Amazon asking about HX650, if it's a Bronze or Gold one he's selling, but instead of replying to my query, he suggested me to go for RM650 which apparently have 7 year warranty :rolleyes:
 
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Avish said:
It happened! I mailed the seller on Amazon asking about HX650, if it's a Bronze or Gold one he's selling, but instead of replying to my query, he suggested me to go for RM650 which apparently have 7 year warranty :rolleyes:
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And it's unavailable now :p
Flipkart, ebay has it for ~8.7k, but both from the same dealer itwares. In hindsight I notice the prices in the list pegged it at around 8.4k, so expecting it for 7.5k was too good to be true.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
And it's unavailable now :p
Flipkart, ebay has it for ~8.7k, but both from the same dealer itwares. In hindsight I notice the prices in the list pegged it at around 8.4k, so expecting it for 7.5k was too good to be true.
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Havoknation has one listed @ 7.5k under Killer Deals, but info & pics are all of the Bronze unit! I msged them couple days back but no response yet!
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
No, MTBF is not helpful.

I suppose Amazon will only cover DOA cases. Beyond that you would need to approach a Coolermaster service centre - apparently Rashi handles warranty for CM.
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Thank you, but what I meant was that if I bought it from Amazon.com (outside of India) will it be eligible for Indian warranty?

There's a CM rep here, right? Is he still active?
As discussed earlier in this thread, the VS is a decent design, but again hobbled by poor component choices.
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I've read that review and all other available on this unit, and if I understand correctly, those caps are on the secondary side, right? And better than the ones Corsair CS and RM uses? Ripple, noise wise it performs impressively and efficiency is one of the highest [even crossed 94-95% in couple of reviews], especially at the loads which match my system (110-300w), so heat/stress on those caps will be less. It's very highly recommended on many forums and features in the top tier of every 'recommended' list I've seen, JG, newegg, toms, ocn. Plus 5 yr warranty! :) Unfortunately, it's not available in India, that's why amazon. KingWin Lazer Platinum 550w (one of the best PSUs ever) is also listed there at similar price (very tempting), but no warranty here, so it's a gamble.
 
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Oops didn't see the .com. Most likely no warranty support in India; the local distris do not like parallel imports. The CM rep doesn't seem active : https://www.techenclave.com/community/members/coolermaster.39520/
Try hitting their facebook/twitter handles? How much is the PSU coming to after shipping + customs?

Yeah those caps are on the secondary side - where capacitor quality matters the most. Granted the lower heat will have less of an impact on those caps, assuming ripple is also low enough. Can you link me to the recommended list on JG? Problem is a lot of foreign sites disregard capacitor quality which cannot really be tested in an hour. Only JG has finally started penalising PSUs for cheap caps in the scoring, but still a bit lenient with subtracting only half a point.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
Oops didn't see the .com. Most likely no warranty support in India; the local distris do not like parallel imports. The CM rep doesn't seem active : https://www.techenclave.com/community/members/coolermaster.39520/
Try hitting their facebook/twitter handles? How much is the PSU coming to after shipping + customs?
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I see! That'd be a problem then. Only local option I found was Vedant computers for 8k. But I've never heard of that site.. so..

If I use amazon currency converter, total is 8.1k & if I use USD, then it goes down to 7.6k!
Yeah those caps are on the secondary side - where capacitor quality matters the most. Granted the lower heat will have less of an impact on those caps, assuming ripple is also low enough. Can you link me to the recommended list on JG? Problem is a lot of foreign sites disregard capacitor quality which cannot really be tested in an hour. Only JG has finally started penalising PSUs for cheap caps in the scoring, but still a bit lenient with subtracting only half a point.
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Oh, I didn't know secondary caps quality matters the most. Most of the V550 reviews don't even list 'em in cons! Also, my system will never even touch 60%, so they won't be stressed that much.
Here's JG list: http://www.johnnylucky.org/power-supplies/psu-recommendations.html But JonnyGuru works for Corsair now, so I don't know who manages the reviews and the list.
 
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A query about Haswell compatibility.
The thread mentions it as a non-issue or marketing stratergy.
But, if you look at PSU like M12 series, the 620w version does not have a DC to DC converter design.
The DC to DC converter design is only available in the 750w and 850w models.
So does it mean a model like M12 620w is not Haswell compatible?

http://www.seasonicusa.com/M12-EVO-Edition.htm

Pardon my ignorance, but it does look like a paramter to look out for to ensure future compatibility
Either the PSU should mention DC to DC converter or Haswell compatible
 
Yes the M12II Evo 520/620 models do not use DC to DC converters.

The 'Haswell compatibility' issue is basically a cross-loading issue when there is an ultra low load on the 12V rail and a higher load on the 3.3V/5v rails. A DC to DC converter design helps avoid this cross-loading issue by using the 12V rail itself to produce these minor rails.

The thing is a lot of people blindly assume they need a "haswell compatible" PSU just because they put a haswell processor in their setup. Most people buying Haswell setups are pairing it with high-end GPUs, lots of fans, etc. Now I know idle power is always improving, but if you feel your setup is power hungry enough to need a 650W+ PSU, then isn't it a bit unrealistic to assume that your setup will idle at <5W?

I get your point that Haswell compatibility is a way to confirm that a unit uses a DC to DC converter design, but the terms "compatibility" "future compatibility" are a bit misleading. Frankly the only place this should be considered is if you're building an ultra low power Mini ITX style build with peak power consumption itself <50W.
 
A system with one fan in it - either a CPU fan or a case fan, is enough to keep the power supply alive.

'Haswell compatibility' is basically a guarantee that the system will not turn off when the CPU goes to its deepest power states.

In a normal build, this is a non-issue. If you were building a system with under a watt power draw, it might matter. If you wanted a 300+ watt supply to power such a system, then you probably need to see a doctor.
 
I've been reading a lot on power supplies lately and what I'm about to suggest might be old models but that doesn't mean they are bad. :p
For very basic system or downloading rigs Seasonic SSP 350GT if available on India.
and Antec VP450 (not the VP450P model) which is available for 2500 on primeabgb. It has no active PFC but efficiency is 80%-85%. Read it on Hardware Secrets.
In fact I'm planning to buy this VP450 now.
 
^ One isn't available at all, and the other has been discussed to death on why it isn't recommended. Both the PFC and non PFC variants have the same secondary stage.
 
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