PSU: Going Gold or Basic Bronze?

[Triggered Fridgekin]

Question for you folks.

If you were in the position to purchase a power supply, would you rather have a "questionable" Gold rated powers supply or a "solid" Bronze rated power supply?

Case in point:

Rosewill PHOTON Series 650W- $80

• ATX 12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92
• 100 ~ 240VAC, 50 / 60 Hz
• 80 PLUS Gold Certified
• Full Modular Design
• SLI & CrossFire-Ready / Intel 4th Gen CPU Certified
• Silent 135mm Fan
• Strong Single +12V Rail

-or-

SeaSonic S12II 620W - $85

• Intel ATX 12 V
• 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified
• 100 - 240 V 50/60 Hz
• 3.3V@24A, +5V@24A, +12V1@24A, +12V2@24A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2.5A

Bear in mind that being modular or not is a non-issue since the S340 is a fantastic case when it comes to hiding cables and airflow due to the chambered PSU shroud which has its own intake from the bottom of the case. The 30 watt and ~6 amp difference are of little concern as well since I'm already doing well enough on a failing 600w Corsair CX600M.

The big concern is that the Rosewill is a Sirtec/Sirfa OEM which can be wildly hit-or-miss whereas Seasonic is their own product which has a more reliable reputation. To compound the issue, there are no direct professional reviews of the Photon 650.

So, which would you folks take with those considerations? The slightly cheaper yet questionable Gold Rosewill or the slightly more expensive yet solid Bronze Seasonic? Both carry five year warranties to boot.

[Deleted]

I think you answered your own question with this...

The big concern is that the Rosewill is a Sirtec/Sirfa OEM which can be wildly hit-or-miss whereas Seasonic is their own product which has a more reliable reputation. To compound the issue, there are no direct professional reviews of the Photon 650.

I would take the SeaSonic bronze rated, over crappy gold rated any day of the weak. All you are getting by bronze/silver/gold etc. is more energy efficiency, is it worth saving a couple of dollars a year when their is the potential for the PSU to fry the rest of your expensive components?

[Triggered Fridgekin]

I think you answered your own question with this...



I would take the SeaSonic bronze rated, over crappy gold rated any day of the weak. All you are getting by bronze/silver/gold etc. is more energy efficiency, is it worth saving a couple of dollars a year when their is the potential for the PSU to fry the rest of your expensive components?

That's more or less how I was leaning after I slept on it. Apparently the Photon series is a better model when compares to other Rosewill lines with quality components as reviewed on jonnyguru with the 750 (assuming they use the same quality of components for the 650) but Seasonic is generally in a league of it's own.

[Deleted]

This seasonic is on similar budget and its better than both you got linked unless you really need more than 550w. Whats your setup?

[Triggered Fridgekin]

This seasonic is on similar budget and its better than both you got linked unless you really need more than 550w. Whats your setup?

OuterVision PSU Calculator part list

Motherboard: Desktop
CPU: 1 x Intel Core i3-6100
CPU Speed: 4150MHz
CPU Vcore: 1.3V
CPU Utilization: 90%
Memory: 2 x 8GB DDR4 Module
Video Card Set 1: 1 x AMD Radeon R9 290X
Core Clock: 1051MHz
Memory Clock: 1250MHz
Storage: 2 x SATA 7.2K RPM
Storage: 1 x SSD
Other Device: 2 x USB 3.0 Device
Keyboard: 1 x Standard Keyboard
Mouse: 1 x Standard Mouse
Fan: 4 x 120mm
Computer Utilization: 8 hours per day
Load Wattage: 507W
Recommended Wattage: 557W
Amperage: +3.3V: 9.3A, +5V: 10.8A, +12V: 39.4A
Recommended UPS Rating: 1000VA
Generated by OuterVision PSU Calculator 2017-03-13 04:16:05

So, there's some wiggle room as far as power is concerned but I feel as though going to 550w would be cutting it too close for comfort especially since I'm hoping to either upgrade to a 7700k or do an R6 overhaul over the summer which is why I would be far more comfortable with 620w and above. Granted, when the day comes that I toss the 290x, that would bring my wattage down by a ton but I'm still getting a lot of use out of this work horse so it's hard to say when that'll be.

Again, 620 - 650w is still likely a conservative number but I'd rather pay for a little more if only for that peace of mind.

That said, your link showed me that directcanada carries Seasonic which can only be found through a direct search since their site kind of sucks. I can get this for nearly the same I'd be paying for the M12II 620 Bronze at Newegg and only ~$7 more than the one you linked.

It's more than I want to pay but sometimes you just have to spoil yourself. Bought the G-650.

[Deleted]

Oh yeah with that 290X you definately need more than 550w that is a damn hungry card for today's standards. The setup you linked at max load will need about 500-530w. So a 550w would be cutting it too close as you mentioned. If you bought that Seasonic G 650w you are golden

[Kagthul]

I've got the M12II 620W (same PSU, just modular) and it's been a serious workhorse.

Considering Bronze/Gold/etc is just efficiency and not quality, and the -actual- efficiency difference between Bronze and gold is pretty low (4%?)... The Seasonic every day.

[chazus]

Yeah, to second pretty much what everyone else says... Regardless of rating, Seasonic is usually just a better choice.

That said, anything above Bronze is just a marketing gimmick. The gains on efficiency range from nonexistant at worst to negligible at best. The only time I'd take a Gold PSU over something else is if it's the same model on sale for a lower price.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

I lied a little when I said being modular is a non-issue. Although it's something my S340 can cover without an impact on airflow, should the need ever arise that I'll get a new case within the 5 year warranty of the PSU then I'd probably kick myself for buying a fully-married PSU and this gives me the option to potentially look in to custom cables if I really want to go the extra mile with making the inside pretty. I have a window on the case so I feel obligated to give it a good view.

I could have gone cheaper but the M12II 620 was literally less than $10 on sticker price but made up for it with the shipping charges whereas DirectCanada seems to have gone back to their free shipping over $50 and under 15lbs so it came out nearly the same. It must have been a solid sale though because they ran out of stock within the day.

I'll RMA my CX600M Builder, sell whatever they send back for $60 and pat myself on the back.

[sluddyazin]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16817438027

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G1 120-G1-0750-XR 80+ GOLD
80 PLUS GOLD Certified
+3.3V@25A, +5V@25A, +12V1@20A, +12V2@20A, +12V3@20A, +12V4@20A, +5Vsb@3A, -12V@0.8A
Fully Modular
10 Year Warranty

[Triggered Fridgekin]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16817438027

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G1 120-G1-0750-XR 80+ GOLD
80 PLUS GOLD Certified
+3.3V@25A, +5V@25A, +12V1@20A, +12V2@20A, +12V3@20A, +12V4@20A, +5Vsb@3A, -12V@0.8A
Fully Modular
10 Year Warranty

Almost shit myself when I saw the price but unfortunately that's in Freedom bucks whereas I use Funny money.

[Varvara Spiros Gelashvili]

The rating means nothing. It's the quality of the power supplies components that matters the most. Seasonic and Superflower are the highest rated brands from what I've seen so anything commission from or produced by them is usually good. There're lower end stuff ships out some bad apples but the there top end is solid stuff with 5 star reviews on both Amazon and newegg. In the future checkout johnnyguru they review power supplies in detail. The difference between a good or bad power supply means matters more than ratings.

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16817438027

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G1 120-G1-0750-XR 80+ GOLD
80 PLUS GOLD Certified
+3.3V@25A, +5V@25A, +12V1@20A, +12V2@20A, +12V3@20A, +12V4@20A, +5Vsb@3A, -12V@0.8A
Fully Modular
10 Year Warranty

The g2 series has free shipping and is like 6 dollars cheaper while having better reviews. It's newer and made by Superflower.