PC Peripherals Help me choose between these two 500W VIP PSU's

A

AK3D

Adept
Since neither Antec or cooler-master are available here (or in stock) at present, I have no other option but to go for one of those VIP/Powersafe PSUs' . My question is, how good are they? I had the opportunity today, to check them for myself and here's what I found.

VIP Powersafe 500W (silver) - Heavy weight, and well built - rated at 17.5+17.5 A on the +12 V

VIP Powersafe L&C 500W (Gold) - Lighter than the above PSU, the construction isn't as good, its rated at 15A+16A on the +12V.

Does anyone have experience with either of these? Which will be a better buy? I need it to power a C2D 4300, 7900GS (upgrading to an 8800GTS or comparable card later next year), 2GB DDR2 800 RAM and a couple LED fans.

Thanks.
 
I have a Core 2 Duo E6300, a BIG (Galaxy) 7900GS running at 540/1400, 2 side fans on my Zebby Lava.

And I have a VIP 400W PSU (violet/purple color).

PS : I have a single stick ddr2 667 running at ddr2 533 matched.

And my VIP 400W cost me only 1475 Rs.
 
I recall someone else mentioning the VIP Silver versions are better built too (but that was an older single-rail 12V model). Oddly enough, the Gold model is intended as the higher-end version.

The VIP/Powersafe are great as entry level PSU's and should power mid-level rigs with no problem. However since you're gettin the 8800GTS, i highly doubt it would sustain that load.
 
IMO u shouldnt risk the 800GTS with VIP psu's. Go in for atleast a powersafe 500W- 2.5k,

and preferably for a coolermaster 600W(seventeam 500W OEM) for 3.3k
 
I haven't looked at the 500W models, but I was choosing a 400 watt version, and I found exactly the same differences between the 'silver' and 'gold'.

I eventually bought the silver version. I didn't need a high power PS, just something that put out some sembelance of the right voltages (very low load), so YMMV.

Just FYI, heavier power supplies sometimes do indicate build quality. It's a little more complicated than that, but it is a pretty good guide to the amount of metal in the supply (so, yes, including the case metal, which doesn't afect performance) which is a good measure of the heatsink and transformer capabilities.

Other good things are PFC and fan speed control, the latter feature probably indicating that the PS will be able to cope with loads below normal, without getting stressed.

Fan control is easy to spot through the holes in the casework, as it is nothing but a wired sensor connected to the heatsink surface. This is mostly visible on the outside.

The other thing to look for is the wires and connectors. Usually I've seen 22AWG on supply connectors but the better guys put 18 or even 16 on the wire. Lower numbers indicate thicker wire (more current carrying capability) and are usually printed on the wire itself.

With these few tips, you could possibly choose a good supply for yourself. Current ratings on labels, I normally find are meaningless. I run a pretty powerful rig off an ancient Antec (TP80, the original single rail PS) and it handles it just fine.

I also have a supply that came free with a case, and I had set aside. That PS has PFC, fan control, and a transformer as big as the Antec, but the label only credits it with 350 watts, either a mislabelling (more common than you would think) or gross underrating.
 
Hotstuff said:
IMO u shouldnt risk the 800GTS with VIP psu's. Go in for atleast a powersafe 500W- 2.5k,
and preferably for a coolermaster 600W(seventeam 500W OEM) for 3.3k
Click to expand...

Thanks Crazy_Eddy
and @hotstuff & sangram

Both Powersafe and VIP are Kunhar import brands. In fact, I was surprised that the powersafe gold model (this time around) didn't have such a good quality finish and construction. The VIP silver 500 (surprisingly) was very well built and solidly constructed - the quality was much better than the Powersafe gold 500 and at a lower price.

The new Powersafe 500 is lighter than the old Powersafe 400W power supply I bought a couple years ago, and is not as well built (i.e sort of flaky gold finish, unknown brand fan - my 400W had sunon fans, this one also has a thinner metal body etc etc) so I don't think that it would be a good choice.

Of course, what matters is the current both put out - the ratings given on the sides - 15+16A on +12v for the gold one and 17.5+17.5 for the silver suggest that the silver might be a bit better. I would love to go for a coolermaster 600, but its not available here, and in case of warranty issues, I'd like to deal with someone locally. In fact, I wouldn't mind buying the coolermaster from mumbai either, but the quotes I got there were about the 4200 - 4500 mark, not worth it, I think.
 
those quaotes are way too much for the coolermaster extreme power 600W.

it retails for arnd 3.3k to 3.5k. Very good psu for the price, cos its a seventeam OEM which is very reliable
 
Hotstuff said:
those quaotes are way too much for the coolermaster extreme power 600W.
it retails for arnd 3.3k to 3.5k. Very good psu for the price, cos its a seventeam OEM which is very reliable
Click to expand...

I got a 4K quote from Prime and 4.5 K from Apex - both of whom are pretty well recommended around this forum. I decided to contact them and find out, but apparently they can't sell at a lower rate. The lower prices are in the North and south regions, not in the west according to them. While I'd like to buy the coolermaster, locally I got quoted over 5K for it so I decided to leave it be and get a vip/powersafe 500 instead. My quandary is about which one would be the better buy ( the lesser of the two evils, so to say :) ).
 
sangram said:
Just FYI, heavier power supplies sometimes do indicate build quality. It's a little more complicated than that, but it is a pretty good guide to the amount of metal in the supply (so, yes, including the case metal, which doesn't afect performance) which is a good measure of the heatsink and transformer capabilities.
Click to expand...
This can be quite the contrary as you have hinted here. Great PSUs often use much higher switching frequencies and therefore use much lighter magnetics. But yes. Switcher frequency being the same, a heavier PSU would make me feel more secure.
 
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