550W Roundup: Three PSUs at Different Prices
by Martin Kaffei on October 28, 2010 4:00 PM ESTTechsolo Noise Levels and Efficiency
| Sound Pressure Level | |
| Load | dB(A) |
| 10% | 22 |
| 20% | 23 |
| 50% | 28 |
| 80% | |
| 100% | |
| 110% | |
Wow! Our "silent" fan is moderately loud and hit nearly 30dB at 50% load, but even worse is the PFC-choke that's singing like a castrated dog. If you want to have a silent computer, please buy another power supply and protect your ears.
Efficiency and PFC
| 230VAC, 50Hz | ||
| Load | Efficiency | PFC |
| 10% | 68% | 0.490 |
| 20% | 74% | 0.505 |
| 50% | 73% | 0.556 |
| 80% | ||
| 100% | ||
| 110% | ||
| 115VAC, 60Hz | ||
| Load | Efficiency | PFC |
| 10% | - | - |
| 20% | - | - |
| 50% | - | - |
| 80% | ||
| 100% | ||
| 110% | ||
The efficiency hit a maximum of 74%, with under 70% at low load. There is no real power factor correction on display, and we're nowhere near 80 Plus certification. Passive PFC should be good enough to reach 0.700-0.800, but we only hit 0.55 before the PSU died.
Hopefully we've managed to convince you that if nothing else, getting one of the ultra-cheap power supplies is not something you want to do, particularly if you plan on running at anything close to the rated output. Our "550W" unit was able to function as a low-quality 275W PSU before giving up the ghost, but the 73% efficiency at that load means we're wasting 100W of power. Even a basic 80 Plus PSU would save 30-40W, which means if you're using the PC eight hours per day you would make up the difference in price within two years—and that's not even taking into account the cost of replacing hardware should the unit kill your other components in a fit of rage. In short: stay away, because this Black Mamba is poised to strike (and not in a good way)!
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jimhsu - Thursday, October 28, 2010 - link
Silentpcreview also does high quality PSU reviews, though aimed at a slightly different market (hence the name). They do review performance PSUs though.Mathieu Bourgie - Thursday, October 28, 2010 - link
There's also the EggXpert (NewEgg forums) Tiered Power Supply List that's a good reference (http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx)... as well as *cough* shameless plug *cough* my own article on the subject "Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply" located here: http://www.hardware-revolution.com/warning-6-suref...Due for an update for the recommendations at the end, rest is still pretty much valid.
Phaedrus2129 - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
The EggXpert list a terrible reference, out of date and full of mistakes.tomoyo - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
There's an amazing amount of mediocre/crap psus that are in the Tier 2 section, and yet there's also some very good psus that are somehow Tier 4. I'd say a mostly useless list.hybrid2d4x4 - Friday, October 29, 2010 - link
+1 for SilentPCReview's PSU reviews, though I'd say it's not necessarily a niche for audiophiles/noise-reducing obsessive-compulsives as the name may suggest: they only have one page (of 5-7) for acoustics. The rest is a knowledgeable analysis with some of the most detailed electrical testing and thermal torture testing.erple2 - Wednesday, November 3, 2010 - link
The folks at pcper.com are also particularly good at doing proper PSU reviews. They're one of the only ones I know of that do an analysis of cross-loading - ie heavily load one rail and see how it affects the voltage at the other leads (3.3, 5, 12). They're also a group that I've come to rely on for solid PSU reviews. Now if only they'd do more testing ...Phaedrus2129 - Thursday, October 28, 2010 - link
There should have been some comment on the immediately obvious signs that the TechSolo was going to be mediocre. First thing pointed out should have been the "P4PFC" on the label. This indicates that A.) This PSU is actually an ATX12V 1.x era unit, since it's advertising "P4" or "Pentium 4 compatibility", and second having "PFC" after the P4 indicates that this is a platform that doesn't come with PFC as stock, indicating that it's a lower-end unit.Did the TechSolo fail on the primary or secondary side (before or after the transformer)? If it failed on the primary (perhaps the rectifying bridge went nuclear?) then it would be unlikely, though still possible, for it to kill components. If it was a secondary side component that failed then this PSU is a potential time bomb waiting to wipe out your PC.
mmatis - Thursday, October 28, 2010 - link
on September 12th from Newegg ($64.99 with free shipping and $20 MIR), the OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY doesn't seem like a bad buy to me. But then it's just running an AMD X4, a couple of hard drives, optical drive, and low end video card.slickr - Thursday, October 28, 2010 - link
Good job in this review, though I would like to see more PSU reviews and possibly include A-Power supplies.Beenthere - Thursday, October 28, 2010 - link
There are a lot of posers in the PSU market including some non PSU based companies adding questionable PSUs to the product mix. I'll continue to just buy PC Power and Cooling PSUs which are the gold standard of the PC industry. No guessing required with a PCPC PSU. They perform as advertised and are guaranteed for 5-7 yrs. depending on model.