I'm new to building PCs, but I was wondering - most cases I've seen come with their own PSUs, and I've seen lots of people here say that it's perfectly fine to use some of them (eg. I'm awaiting a Silverstone LC04 case, which I've read has a fine PSU).
What I don't understand is, these cases may go for $50 or $150 (or in my case, $200), yet I see fancy PSU's reviewed here or sold in stores going for $100, $200, $250...
So how could any case at the prices I've mentioned possibly have good PSUs, if the "good" PSUs reviewed here cost the same or more than the cases themselves? Do you have to pay that much for a "really good/silent/cool" PSU? Especially if, like me, you're never going to need more than 250 or 300 watts?
- Tim
Stock case PSUs versus expensive, separately purchased ones
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee, Devonavar
It's a bit like the description of the "N"oise value in the PSU reference article here. They start their scale on "1" which means "almost quiet, much more quiet than the usual PSU".
The PSU that comes with your case will probably be perfectly fine. The lower price may be due to:
- Lower efficiency. Maybe not >80%, but only >70% or whatever.
- Higher noise. Even PSUs rated only with noise=1 (the worst value) on this site are quieter than most other PSUs.
- Lower max ampere on the +12V rail (this is the value that matters; the total Watt number does not say much).
- Less ability to handle "bad" house power lines, i.e. spikes etc.
- Less elaborate cable management, cable length, quality, etc.
- Maybe it holds up for 3 years only instead of 5, 7 or 10 years on more expensive ones.
And so on.
Most of these things are only visible to the enthusiast. A good friend of mine, who does not care about PCs except that he knows where the power-on switch is, just bought a new 500W PSU. Aside from that it's almost noname, probably has < 80% efficiency, is noisy to my ears, it's perfectly fine for him. (I would never use it).
The PSU that comes with your case will probably be perfectly fine. The lower price may be due to:
- Lower efficiency. Maybe not >80%, but only >70% or whatever.
- Higher noise. Even PSUs rated only with noise=1 (the worst value) on this site are quieter than most other PSUs.
- Lower max ampere on the +12V rail (this is the value that matters; the total Watt number does not say much).
- Less ability to handle "bad" house power lines, i.e. spikes etc.
- Less elaborate cable management, cable length, quality, etc.
- Maybe it holds up for 3 years only instead of 5, 7 or 10 years on more expensive ones.
And so on.
Most of these things are only visible to the enthusiast. A good friend of mine, who does not care about PCs except that he knows where the power-on switch is, just bought a new 500W PSU. Aside from that it's almost noname, probably has < 80% efficiency, is noisy to my ears, it's perfectly fine for him. (I would never use it).
I'm using the Antec Earthwatts 430 W that came with my Antec NSK 6580. It is the quietest part of my system (to the point that I check to make sure the fan is spinning every once in a while). It got a good review from SPCR, and that line of PSUs is very cheap (I've seen the 430 W on sale for $20).
PSUs are the model of good computer enthusiast marketing - there are so many useless specs that they can talk about, that are difficult to verify. People think that you get better quality when you pay more, but that really isn't the case with the PSU market.
The longevity of a PSU is a function of the quality of parts chosen, how well they are cooled and how tenacious the electrical connections are. I would expect that most manufacturers choose whatever is cheapest that will do the job, just like any other industry.
PSUs are the model of good computer enthusiast marketing - there are so many useless specs that they can talk about, that are difficult to verify. People think that you get better quality when you pay more, but that really isn't the case with the PSU market.
The longevity of a PSU is a function of the quality of parts chosen, how well they are cooled and how tenacious the electrical connections are. I would expect that most manufacturers choose whatever is cheapest that will do the job, just like any other industry.