Power supply blacklist thread for newbies

[ico]

Disclaimer: This thread is only meant for new members of this forum who tend to repeatedly ask questions about PSU. This is a generic information thread, nothing more and nothing less. My intention of starting this thread is to end these circular discussions. PSU is often the most ignored part of your computer system. But in reality, it is the most important.

A typical Indian buyer is most likely to buy an el-cheapo sasta inefficient and highly overrated PSU with extremely poor voltage regulation, noise and ripple. And one day when that PSU will die, it will take your system along with it. There is a reason why a good 500w PSU tends to cost in excess of Rs. 3000 and a crap desi 500w PSU will cost only Rs. 700. So, if you're thinking "I have a 500w PSU and IT IS AWESOME AND CAN RUN ANYTHING." You might very well be living in a world of delusion.

Before continuing reading this post, I strongly suggest reading the following post by The Sorcerer: Basic guide for the right power supply

This thread will only deal with companies you should AVOID at every cost. Not with whether X company is better than Y.

1. Cooler Master: Avoid Elite Power, Extreme Power Plus, old GX series. They all are bad. Good ones are Real Power Pro and Silent Pro. But 99.5%, your local shop will be having Extreme Power Plus and it is not value-for-money since much better alternatives are around. So..don't get fooled by the brand name, concentrate on the model name.
   
   Extreme Power Plus is said to be discontinued now. GX series have seen a new revision and change of OEM.
   Extreme Power Plus Review @ Hardware Secrets - read fully | Cooler Master PSU overview @ Overclock.net - read fully
2. VIP: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
3. Zebronics: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
4. Intex: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
5. Circle: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
6. Quantum: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
7. Odyssy: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
8. Frontech: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
9. iBall: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
10. Mron: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
11. Foxin: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
12. GSM: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
13. Hytech: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
14. Mercury: poor desi PSU. Stay away.
15. and stay away from every other local desi brand. You know more? Post in this thread. I want this list to be as long as it can be.

So, which are the good PSU companies?
(in no particular order) Seasonic, Corsair, Tagan, Antec, Silverstone, Glacialtech, FSP, XFX and the likes.

No one is really good. This is all about being specific and to the point with the model name. Even the above mentioned 'good' companies have bad units here and there in their portfolio, but I don't think people on this forum will recommend those to you. Even if someone does, he'll be corrected. The important thing is, you should know what to avoid - atleast be in a frame of mind to know which ones are good and which are not. Go to your shop. Note down the exact model number / revision and research on the Internet.

I repeat, no "brand" can be "termed" as "good" - so, please don't go for the generalisation. Always research for a particular model.

My local computer dealer says that he puts iBall 500w PSU (or some other) in every computer and they work fine?? What should I do?
well, your local computer dealer is a moron. Not exactly a moron, but highly misinformed. Not his mistake though. His job is to sell and that's all he knows. The state of intelligence of Indian computer dealers and Indian general public is well known. Don't believe them. Their knowledge is limited and myopic.

Here's an example of such a moron named - *Captian Doomz* Click here.

Also, there isn't any need of blindly believing what people tell you on this forum or some other forum. There are many portals where you can ask questions and know more. Do your own research. It takes effort, but it's worth it. Social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook and Orkut aren't the best places to ask questions. There are very few right guys out there.

I don't have any good PSU available at my dealer. What should I do?
Shop online unless you think India is still living in 1980. There are various payment methods - Cash deposit/Demand Draft, Net banking and Debit/Credit Card. These vary from dealer to dealer anyways. It is your job - don't expect the forum members to spoon feed you. And make sure that the dealer gives you a proper bill.

One small advice - PROVIDE FULL AND EXACT INFO.
If you are creating a thread asking for a new graphic card you HAVE to mention the EXACT company, make and model of your Power Supply (SMPS). Exact specifications of your system would be helpful too.

"i have a 400w power supply" --- this is wrong.
"i have a 400w power supply from Corsair" --- this is again wrong.

"i have Corsair CX400 power supply" --- this is right.


This thread isn't for the well-informed. It is for someone who is new. I know I have generalised, but it is for the good, not for the bad. Those who are aware of the Indian scenario, will completely agree with me. Feel free to PM me.

[d6bmg]

Nice little piece of information combined in one post.


P.S. nice to see you back.

[gameranand]

I saw some people using i-ball and Mora PSU and frying up their PC when they added a GPU which don't even demands external power.

[The Sorcerer]

Irrespective of the brand/product: Always insist on a bill- a proper bill- even if he's your chacha's mama's kaka's, bhai's, behen's friend. I'll not take the brand's name ((because of the reason is that I've heard from proper sources but I haven't seen one in Mumbai but heard it happening slow in Delhi)), but a good impression is made that we *might* see bunch of idiots duplicating the stuff. Ofcourse every company has their way of dealing such nuisance (and some don't). So the only way you can protect yourself is by having a proper bill. Same goes for earphones and flash drives/memory cards.

Also, handful (for now) of the well-known dealers apparently have started their own "service" centre. I am not sure if they get a contract or anything from companies or if they take it in their own hands- but if its possible for you to go to the service centre/distri- go for it. But irrespective of who it is, if its a repaired unit, and the void seal is broken, insist them to either put a new one of give you a fresh replacement. Check the A/C adapter with the power supply as well. Some brands give decent psu but the A/C adapter is small.

I am not sure who brings XFX and Glacialtech power supplies in India and if its a permanent thing. Last time I checked, Gigabyte superb 460 is brought in by a distributor. If people are well-familiar with transcend's case, there have been times where distributors have ditched sales, distribution and service support in the middle. At the end of the day, consumers get affected. I don't trust Tirupathi, I don't trust SMC, ITWares, Lynx-India. Somewhat the same for Prime ABGB but the good thing about them for now is that their support works for me and they give a proper bill. Rashi is beyond the level of "not trusting".

P.S. Don't generalize. Sometimes when brands release newer version in a series that is well-known to be bad do at times release some good units. But give importance to model number on the unit and Rev number.

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Nice article.

Also avoid Frontech PSU's.

[jerrin_ss5]

oh i never knew cooler master PSU was bad i own a cooler master GX 550w since i saw the reviews of it to be ok i went with it
well anyways i have been using cooler master PSU for about an year and i guess no problem has cropped up yet let's see
also about bad PSU @ico - you can add one more to the list a company named TAG
i had brought that PSU of 750w well it failed 3 times as of now
so you can surely say TAG PSU are totally crappy and even their after service is bad..

[scudmissile007]

guys,what about mron..?i have seen a lot in S.P.road.

[mithun_mrg]

this can also be added
We welcome you an exhilarating experience with ENTERAGE

[avichandana20000]

ADD FOXIN also.

[mitraark]

I think Frontech is the most popular PS Brand in Kolkata.

Also , Zebronics is cheap but not Crap Desi Brand , some of their models are good enough for entry level PCs.

Same goes for CM , not all of their PSU are 'crap' .. no need for generalizations .

ALso , one personal experience also does not make the brand 'crap' ... a friend of mine had XFX 550Wwhich failed 2 times in the first 2 months, no reason to say it is a crap brand , maybe it was a one-off incident.

Finally , i admit i have a Frontech 500W PSU myself for my old PC , Athlon II x2 250 , Gigabyte M68 [ Got it for Rs 416 , 3 months back , earlier had used an iBall 450W for 5 ½ years .. ]
I DO NOT recommended anyone to buy it , i certaily WARN everyone NOT to add a GFX Card on it... but sometimes it is hard to include a 2k+ PSU on a 20k budget PC. I am sorry but this is the truth and even many people here use rather cheap PSUs because just disposing it off just like that is quite hard as it is waste of money (I know , if it burst more money will go down te drain , but still ... ) .

[mithun_mrg]

^^ For those on budget there is i think an FSP oem model for 1k

FSP >> PC Power Supply >> ATX 12V ver.2.3 >> EGA,(90)

[ico]

Irrespective of the brand/product: Always insist on a bill- a proper bill- even if he's your chacha's mama's kaka's, bhai's, behen's friend. I'll not take the brand's name ((because of the reason is that I've heard from proper sources but I haven't seen one in Mumbai but heard it happening slow in Delhi)), but a good impression is made that we *might* see bunch of idiots duplicating the stuff. Ofcourse every company has their way of dealing such nuisance (and some don't). So the only way you can protect yourself is by having a proper bill. Same goes for earphones and flash drives/memory cards.

Also, handful (for now) of the well-known dealers apparently have started their own "service" centre. I am not sure if they get a contract or anything from companies or if they take it in their own hands- but if its possible for you to go to the service centre/distri- go for it. But irrespective of who it is, if its a repaired unit, and the void seal is broken, insist them to either put a new one of give you a fresh replacement. Check the A/C adapter with the power supply as well. Some brands give decent psu but the A/C adapter is small.

I am not sure who brings XFX and Glacialtech power supplies in India and if its a permanent thing. Last time I checked, Gigabyte superb 460 is brought in by a distributor. If people are well-familiar with transcend's case, there have been times where distributors have ditched sales, distribution and service support in the middle. At the end of the day, consumers get affected. I don't trust Tirupathi, I don't trust SMC, ITWares, Lynx-India. Somewhat the same for Prime ABGB but the good thing about them for now is that their support works for me and they give a proper bill. Rashi is beyond the level of "not trusting".

P.S. Don't generalize. Sometimes when brands release newer version in a series that is well-known to be bad do at times release some good units. But give importance to model number on the unit and Rev number.

This.

but sometimes it is hard to include a 2k+ PSU on a 20k budget PC. I am sorry but this is the truth and even many people here use rather cheap PSUs because just disposing it off just like that is quite hard as it is waste of money (I know , if it burst more money will go down te drain , but still ... ) .

honestly, I'm not a fan of cramping configs to fit in a budget which takes place all over the forum. It is better to shell out a couple of grands extra for the sake of reliability rather to regret later.

[rajnusker]

I prefer the XFX's Pro series. Btw there are more crap PSU makers like Frontech, Foxin, Bitec, Colors, Tech-com, etc. iBall makes much better PSU's than these crappy companies.

[robotsmani]

I saw there is one Odyssy with cabinet. i asked about the price of the PSU it is rs450 then it is crap too....

[SuperH3art]

Also before blindly buying anything dfrom anyones suggestion just google and read revies in at least three different reputed sites like Johnyguru etc...

You can also check user revies on sites like newegg etc....

Just don't thinlk if this worked with my friend pc it will work with mine...

Many time peoples come to me saying that their pc is not working.. And in 99% cases it is the bad PSU who kills the mobo or proccy or GPU...

Also I met a guy who was an Hardware Engineer from some Rambharose institute.... And he told me that 450 watts is the standard PSU capacity and there is no more wattage in case of PC... Beware of this type of people

[hellknight]

@ico dude.. CM Extreme Series is not crap man.. I had this CM Extreme 500 W & I ran GTX 260 Sonic, Sapphire 4890 (not at once) with 2 HDDs, a DVD Writer, Quad Core 95 W TDP AMD, Triple Core 95 W Phenom II 720 BE at 3.6 GHz without any problems since last 2 years.. Also, my friend used to run Phenom II 940 BE along with the same specs with a Cooler Master HAF 922 cabby.. I don't think that they are that bad although you can't compare it with Corsair..

[Liverpool_fan]

@ico dude.. CM Extreme Series is not crap man.. I had this CM Extreme 500 W & I ran GTX 260 Sonic, Sapphire 4890 (not at once) with 2 HDDs, a DVD Writer, Quad Core 95 W TDP AMD, Triple Core 95 W Phenom II 720 BE at 3.6 GHz without any problems since last 2 years.. Also, my friend used to run Phenom II 940 BE along with the same specs with a Cooler Master HAF 922 cabby.. I don't think that they are that bad although you can't compare it with Corsair..

They are awful in comparison for the alternatives available for the same price. And add a bit you'll have a quality PSU. Absolutely not worth the price, at all

Check out
http://www.overclock.net/power-suppl...r-refresh.html

[mithun_mrg]

According to jonnyguru also they r just average PSUs not the vfm for the price

[Joker]

Just don't thinlk if this worked with my friend pc it will work with mine...

and also dont think that if it worked fine on your PC it will work fine for others/friends....

[008Rohit]

I was a total noob about PC hardware 8 months back and bought a Frontech Case + 450W PSU as recommended by the shopkeeper.

My motherboard was killed within 15 days. Thankfully Intel replaced my motherboard. I did some research about PC hardware and PSUs then, became a Veteran at TomsHardware, bought a Corsair CX430 and threw that Frontech one away!

Never ever buy these PSUs :

Frontech, Tech-Com, iBall, Zebronics, Intex, Rosewill (except hive series), Cooler Master (except Silent Pro).

Shoopkeepers will woo you, but do NOT listen to them.

These are trusted PSU manufacturers :
Seasonic, Corsair, Antec, XFX, OCZ, Enermax, LEPA, PC Power & Cooling.

[Extreme Gamer]

Add Enermax and PC Power & Cooling (part of the OCZ group) to the good brands list.

[Zangetsu]

Nice thread....

Gigabyte is also good in PSU

[icebags]

thanks for the thread.

but explain me something, i have been hearing many negative views regarding cooler master, but check my sig..... the cooler master served me 3+years without a single issue, even when games are run for long times like 2-3 days continuous or even upto 2 weeks with 2-3 hours rest a day (kept my MMO games running even when i was off). i agree it's efficiency is low, but what other than this could cause such bad reputation?

[d6bmg]

^^ You are just one of the lucky users. And also one can't expect only 70% efficiency and poor ripple from a PSU made by good brand such as cooler master.
And the main reason is: many users lost their valuable PC components due to CM's extreme power series.

[008Rohit]

Their Silent Pro series is pretty decent in terms of build quality, IMO.

Low end products are horrible, however. Like, Extreme Power Plus, or GX series.

[billamama]

@ico

Sorry to ask but can you recommend some reliable online stores, if possible?

[baccilus]

I can second that both iBall and Intex PSUs are crap. I have been through both of them. But I have used a CM Extreme Power Plus PSU with a low powered graphic card (HD4670) and it served me well for 2+ years. It is now in my father's computer and I am pretty sure it will serve him for a really long time. I don't know if it makes a difference but I always had a stabilizer connected with it.
Another thing I have seen with local brands is that they are really light in weight as compared to quality units. It is a (really) rough indicator of the quality.

[ico]

@ico

Sorry to ask but can you recommend some reliable online stores, if possible?

Primeabgb.com

You are in Kolkata. You should have models from Seasonic, Corsair and Tagan available.

[suvajit]

thanks for such a nice article.........

[Shrutesh]

Good thread probably am gonna need this

I had read this somewere way back say 5to 6 years back.

If u have to buy amongst the crappy one and have to choose from amongst the ones with equivalent power wattage go with the heavier ones

Its got something to do with heatsinks ... More powertransisters / components need bigger better heatsinks hence better power

But with brands like cm * mod edit: CM is crap * , antec etc available for as low as 2k its worth spending that extra i guess