Help in buying a psu.

[sriharsha_madineni]

I'm planning to buy a new psu for my rig(config in my siggy
and a few addon cards wifi card and tv tuner). I have some psu's in mind cooler master extreme power 460@2.5k and 500@2.8k.
I need to know if the real power 460 is worth 1k extra over it's extreme series counterpart 460. The diff as far as I know are >80% efficiency,active PFC and max output could go upto some 530w. So is it worth that 1k extra or should stick to extreme power 460 or 500. Suggest me a good one. Also are there any other good alternatives. Max budget is 3k for psu.

I need a new 8GB flash drive too with good write Speeds. I'm currently using sandisk cruzer micro 2gb and I'm quite happy with it's speeds but the problem is availability of sandisk seems to be an issue here. So suggest some good 8 GB alternatives with good write speeds.

[sriharsha_madineni]

My town is just a 4hr drive from Bangalore. So I'm planning to buy those from Bangalore owing to significant price diff. So plz suggest me some good shops to buy and if possible their contacts.

[rohan_mhtr]

If you are not upgrading your rig in future then cm 460 exteme powe + is good enough but you can instead go for gigabyte superb 460w which comes at a similar price and is better then cm 460w .
If you plan to spend 1k more on cm real power then instead of it you can get corsair vx400w which is a better deal and will cost you around 3k which also has 5 years warranty .

If you are sticking with CM Extreme power series then make sure that the psu is of extreme power PLUS series and not just extreme power since both are two different PSU's .

[sriharsha_madineni]

Upgrading my rig is hardly unlikely as I'll be leaving home In a year for further studies so I'll be buying a laptop. Meanwhile I may upgrade my gpu even that is unlikely to a certain extent.
So is this gigabyte model easily available.I have seen that being referred to many in hardware threads. So might be a good buy. Also about this corsair 400 do you think it might be enough for my rig because the min psu mentioned on 9600's box is 450w and recommended is 500w.
Though I never faced any problems with my iball 400 watt psu,I just wanted to be safe and future proof.

[sriharsha_madineni]

Rohit where is this two 460's I see only one 460 in cm extreme series.
http://in.coolermaster.com/products/...ry&tbcate=2259

[hell_storm2006]

An absolute big NO to your choice! CM Extreme is time bomb waiting to explode and it will take your PC along with it! Would always advice you to stick to CM Real Power one's. The wattage you need depends on the future shopping list.
Best no nonsense solution is Corsair VX450W, cant beat that! That 1k-1.5k is absolutely worth it!
If you want to stick to your 2.5k budget, Gigabyte Superb 460W at 2.3k at lynx-india!

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Hey buddy I wud suggest If u r willing to spend 1k more addition to 2.8k then y r u thinking of any other PSU's???

Just go for Tagan 500W. None beats Tagan in terms of PSU.

[Krow]

CM Real Power Pro 460W @ 3.5k
Tagan TG-500-U37 @ 3.2k

the gigabyte 460 is also good, but it is actually a 400w unit, sort of over rated by gigabyte. I suggest you avoid that one as the TG-500 will give you more headroom and besides, is a good PSU too.

[sriharsha_madineni]

Guys thanks for your suggestions but it has actually added to my confusion.
Above 3k may not be possible but if it is worth it then I may strech my budget.
Regarding cm 460 my friend has been using it for a year and is stable till now. From what krow said it's no for gigabyte. So is corsair.
Now left with cm or Tagan. As I said earlier I'll be buying this from bang so models which are easily available would be better.
Guys can u plzz suggest 1 or 2 models and also tell me why should I go for it.

[vamsi_krishna]

What is your current PSU that is pulling 9600gt? Is a generic one? if it is what is the position of +12v?

[rohan_mhtr]

There are many people in this forum who would bash up Cooler master extreme series since they have seen some threads in other forums where these psu's have exploded . Cooler master has stopped producing extreme power series PSU and the new models which are being produced are called extreme power plus , many people get confused due to this name and think that all CM psu's are crap . For your rig the gigabyte Superb is an excellent choise . If you cant find that then you can happly purchase CM 460w Extreme power plus , it will easily handle your current rig . I am right now on CM extreme power plus 500w and it can handle hd4850 very well . Your best choise is corsair vx400 , even it is mentioned at 400w , it is far better then cm460 or gigabyte since it can provide more power ie around 500w . My friend runs a Gtx260 with e8400 , 4gb ram and 4 hdd's on a vx400 and it works very well .
Again a big no from me for a second hand psu . With time the psu capicity goes on decreasing !!

[krishnandu.sarkar]

if u can extend ur budget upto 3k then go for Tagan 500W.

[sriharsha_madineni]

Originally Posted by vamsi_krishna

What is your current PSU that is pulling 9600gt? Is a generic one? if it is what is the position of +12v?

Vamsi my current psu is iball 400w bundled with my iball workhorse cabinet. Aa second di enti u mean amp rating @+12 v. It's 17A I guess. But the min req for 9600 gt as mentioned on xfx box is 26A @+12v.
@Rohan
thanks man.That was assuring yeah I checked with my friend who is a seller he had the entire cm extreme power plus range (460,500,600 and 650).And the funny thing is that all were bought by same customer who keeps changing his gpu and hence his psu's. I'm not gonna buy 2nd hand one I just mentioned that it is stable and didn't have any issues which my friend was using.

Ok finally plzz tell me which one to go for among these and plz mention
price,warranty and easily available model is preferred.
corsair vx400 or tagan 500 or cm ext pow 460 or cm real power 460.

[Krow]

My vote is for Tagan TG-500-U37. Corsair is overpriced. Or else CM Real Power Pro 460W.

[krishnandu.sarkar]

If u r willing to spend 3k and want one of the best and futureproof PSU thn go for Tagan.

Otherwise go for CM

Corsair is also good. Many member wud suggest not to go for 400W now atleast. And Corsair VX450W is really gr8 but very overpriced.

I wud suggest Tagan(if u can spend money) otherwise stick with CM.

[sriharsha_madineni]

Isn't tagan somewhere around 3.5K.
3k is my max budget guys,actually 2.5K but can extend to 3K.So can't go more than that guys.

[Krow]

^You should bargain. I got the Tagan one for a friend @ 3.2k about 3-4 months ago. Else, well its either CM extreme series or Gigabyte 460W...

[sriharsha_madineni]

@Krow
initially I would have went for Cm extreme power plus 460 @2.3k. But deciced to start a thread and know whether my decision is correct or not. The only reason I would extend my budget is if some one plzz tell me what would be the gains that I'd be Getting over cm460 if I chose real power or corsair or tagan other than headroom for upgrade.

[hell_storm2006]

Even Extreme Power Plus is of the old technology. They haven't changed much. And they seriously are a pain. So Plus Minus doesn't matter. If its extreme stay away its extremely dangerous.

Corsairs have the best quality that a person can ask for! A VX450W can give you 520W on extreme load for quite a while without getting drained. No other PSU can claim that! Tagans are good. But BZ500 is way too expensive and not VFM. If you have a low powered rig then CX400 from Corsair would also be fine at 3.2k.

Do not underestimate the Gigabyte one. It is an 80+ certified PSU. Haven't heard complaints about it till now. Its the best VFM PSU in the market now!

[Krow]

The main difference is something like AFAIK CM extreme series (not sure about the extreme power plus though) is some 70%+ efficient at 20 degrees C, while the Tagan TG-500-U37 is 70%+ efficient at 40degrees C. All 80+ certified PSU's operate at more than 80% efficiency at 40 degrees C.

[hell_storm2006]

Another problems is that the 400W, 460W whatever CM puts on their PSU is the max power output of the PSU. And we all know that PSU's hardly give 100% output of the rated value. 80+ is Corsair, Gigabyte, Seasonic. Corsair being the leader!

[Krow]

Cooler Master Real Power Series are not 80+?

[sriharsha_madineni]

Gigabyte looks like a good deal if it is below 3k.So should I gor for it. Krow said that is is actually 400 but overrated.

[Krow]

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=5483

[sriharsha_madineni]

Originally Posted by Krow

Cooler Master Real Power Series are not 80+?

Yes they are,as per the specs in their site.

[Krow]

Originally Posted by sriharsha_madineni

Gigabyte looks like a good deal if it is below 3k.So should I gor for it. Krow said that is is actually 400 but overrated.

It is a good PSU, no doubt, but don't plug a powerful GPU to it. The 9600GT will run just fine in it.

[sriharsha_madineni]

max output is 552W
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Posted again:
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Originally Posted by Krow

It is a good PSU, no doubt, but don't plug a powerful GPU to it. The 9600GT will run just fine in it.

chances are I won't. But just wanted to have some headroom for minor upgrades. No major ones

[Krow]

552W for what?

[sriharsha_madineni]

Originally Posted by Krow

552W for what?

real power 460 given in spec sheet of that link

[Krow]

Originally Posted by sriharsha_madineni

real power 460 given in spec sheet of that link

Max out of VX450W is said to be 570W. The same for Tagan TG-500-U37 is claimed by Tagan to be 600W. Don't go by that spec. It is more of a marketing ploy. I suggest that you go for the CM Real Power PSU as it is real quality with an 80+ tag too.