Cheap Power Supply Benchmark: $55 Budget Gaming PC PSU

[@GamersNexus]

This is our first review of a budget power supply! Everything else we've done so far has been either exploding stuff or scams, so it's nice to now ramp into "real" power supplies that we can recommend. Keep an eye out for high-end PSUs next! We did a deep-dive on flaws in the 80 Plus Certification process here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6PLpoKtg8med5Y We toured factory that makes these PSUs in 2020 check that out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jX23fIWQrb2Uaqs MODMATS ARE BACK IN STOCK AND SHIPPING NOW! If you've wanted one, this is your chance! Most of them are already sold, so if you've wanted one, jump on it. The Volt large modmat has been extremely popular and is available here: store.gamersnexus.net/products/modmat-volt-large

[@TheWitch297]

Thanks Steve 🤷‍♀️💁‍♂️🙋‍♂️

[@Hogdriva]

Cooler Master PSUs being good is pretty interesting. I recall them being average or below. Good stuff Steve & Co.

[@lukephillips3751]

Do a collab with bigclivedotcom

[@theprogrammer1]

Thanks for the great content although the prices vary widely so it's a bit hard to tell what's "budget" based on the price tag, perhaps a standardized feature set would demarcate different tiers better.

[@smoofles]

​ @Gamers Nexus You need to make a cheesy, golden-colored "No Explosions" Gamers Nexus award badge and animate it in Blender. And perhaps a platinum-with-RGB-LEDs-looking "It’s fine" one.

[@genzo53]

"This is fine." Champagne bottles popping up at CoolerMaster right now!

[@spunkimonkey90]

Good job its Champagne bottles popping and not the power supplys

[@thomasgiles2876]

Meanwhile Gigabyte is like, "This is fine, I am okay with events that are currently unfolding"

[@CriticoolHit]

@@thomasgiles2876 Gigabyte doesn't care. They make money coming and going.

[@thomasgiles2876]

@@CriticoolHit exactly, it's fine and they're happy with everything taking place. They're unironic about it.

[@trackingdifbeatsaber8203]

it's an alright PSU i have the 450 watt version it was cheap and was fine with a rx 570 and r5 3600 however when I got a 5700xt I got a 700-watt EVGA unit which was louder at idle. if I make a lower power consumption PC I will use it again.

[@hazard_209]

"It's fine" and "Didn't Explode" badges. Steve declared them as badges and I expect them to be proudly displayed on all marketing materials moving forward.

[@1pcfred]

Didn't explode today. It will someday though. Someday a lot sooner than a good PSU will. This is the kind of PSU you buy when the budget is really tight and you change it as soon as you can afford to. Before you upgrade anything else.

[@MLWJ1993]

@@1pcfred TBF, any PSU will "explode" someday (hopefully not as spectacular as the Gigabyte unit did), no matter how expensive you go. So just expect it to hold out for at least the 5 years you have warranty on the unit...

[@tripplebarrelfinn4380]

@@1pcfred I wouldn't be so harsh because it highly depends on the usecase. In my old rig (I would say semi-budget), I had an EVGA 500W Bronze Plus PSU for a little over 40€ so same price categorie like the CoolerMaster here. It worked without any problems for seven years and even handled an GPU upgrade and additional SSDs. So as long as the power prequisite doen't increase dramatically PSU like the CoolerMasters are perfectly fine.

[@TheHalfGlassFullGuy]

I want actual badges/stickers of that to be sold on the store.

[@ram89572]

@@1pcfred I don't know that I would put this unit into that class though. I would say more of your $30 power supplies are going to be in the class of "technically will get you done for a while but change asap." This seems to me to be more of a "will last plenty long enough if you are working within what it was designed to do and while it can probably handle high end systems for a good while you will want to change asap if that is what your use case is." To me this is very much like all the people who slam Corsair CX series power supplies as being complete crap. For several years a CX 750M held up under the strains of my high end system. It survived upgrades, power outages, power blinking on and off from trees hitting lines, and all our southern thunderstorms without issue. In fact it is still in a backup system that I sold to a friend of mine. It all depends on your use case and what you expect out of a particular unit. If you want the world then you are going to need to pay in order to get it. Companies aren't in the business of making their budget units be as good as their top of the line because losing money isn't very cost effective.

[@thomasgiles2876]

Thank you for inventing coasters, Steve. For years I have been balancing my wine glasses on my tummy and knees to avoid leaving rings on my tables, leaving me like a infomercial actor, "there's got to be a better way". Thank you for lifting the scales from the world's eyes.

[@GamersNexus]

hahaha

[@normiewhodrawsonpaper4580]

I don't know if this is a joke or a serious comment

[@user-njyzcip]

What are you talking about? I just flood my tables when I drink so there won't be any rings

[@iamdarkyoshi]

@@GamersNexus KZbin's offering to translate your comment to English. A'ight

[@SMHackTeam]

@@iamdarkyoshi I was unable to understand it without the translation. It was pretty helpful.

[@neddreadmaynard]

I like how "doesn't explode " is now a selling point. Very 2021.

[@ibelieveinjesusinmyspareti2861]

Should be the bare minimum

[@arch1107]

2020 changed so much things, 2021 had to follow the trend of weird things happening

[@DanielVDGarde]

They should put that on the box 😅

[@CrobinHood8BitGuy]

thank diablotek and coolmax

[@shanerogers4500]

I had one explode before. No name 800 watt brand. Was fun

[@TechAmbr]

"OCP trips a bit higher than we'd like, but it worked and didn't explode." That's the new high watermark in power supplies these days. Thanks, Gigabyte 😆

[@facundootero7973]

I think it's less like "it was too high" and more like absolute garbage quality

[@arch1107]

i wonder if they want to have so high trip point, it seems that everybody aims at 140%

[@buggerlugz6753]

Wouldn't it be better if it never tripped and didn't explode?

[@aleksazunjic9672]

@@arch1107 Normal practice. OCP serves to protect PSU itself from melting (especially cables) . Cables do have some tolerance for overcurrent so they could endure short burst that goes over stated maximum. Only when current goes beyond certain level OCP needs to react and save the PSU.

[@arch1107]

@@aleksazunjic9672 i don't see a problem on the function, what i say is why it seems everybody is going for that 140% value, others mentioned a more safe 120% but i think it seems they are going for 140% on purpose, ares wasn't like this? gigabyte too

[@Derek2k]

I live for gamers nexus videos no bs. If I had a channel I’d want to be as morally sound and ethical as them. We need more channels like this one for every single thing we love.

[@SpacewolfDan]

yup and not surface stuff. its boring and we arent idiots

[@buggerlugz6753]

unlike LTT.

[@SpacewolfDan]

@@buggerlugz6753 i canna do it captain. he told me how to boost my wifi..

[@talhahussain3820]

But does it come with "theft prevention self destruction technology" that's available on all of Gigabytes high end power supplies?

[@SolarianStrike]

I know this is a joke, but none of the Gigabyte PSUs tested are from the Aorus line.

[@connor040606]

Gigabyte is a meme of a company now. Such a shame cause they have some Intersting products.

[@brazilian_oak]

@@SolarianStrike It would be *interesting*, to say the least, if their standard PSUs were garbage but the Aorus line would actually be quality. Why wouldn't they make them at least not blow up is beyond me. Given how the hardware market is today, I wouldn't be surprised if their entire Aorus line was just rebranded standard PSUs.

[@jeffb.6642]

@@SolarianStrike Even tho the Aorus ones may be better, (I have no idea if they are or not) I no longer trust Gigabyte to stand behind their products should something go wrong. Their response to the GM series fiasco was absolutely unacceptable, their RMA infrastructure got taken down by ransomware losing the RMAs of all of their customers, and I personally had a bad experience wherein I RMA'd them a motherboard with a bad USB header and got it back UNFIXED. So yea. Gigabyte used to be a class act, but I've moved on now.

[@SolarianStrike]

@@jeffb.6642 Don't get me wrong, I would hesitate on buying anything Gigabyte too, given the way they handled the situation.

[@arugulatarsus]

Patrick Stone's quality of delivery improves with every appearance! I will make the same request as last time, sidebar circuit diagrams if possible, it could really help follow for the less electrically comfortable. Basically, if you're more abstract than Buildzoid, it's becoming a niche review. ;) I can't overstate though how great it is to hear new talent like Patrick improve like this!

[@Feltyr]

I would also like to request if they could show the name of the parts he mentions in some sort of card or similar.

[@KeithZim]

Some old nerds might still have something that uses that floppy plug :) Back in the day fan controllers, LED monitoring displays and some other things used floppy plugs to save space over a the standard molex. Mods for the 3.5 inch floppy drive bay for instance often used that plug.

[@bowi1332]

I think you can use them for card readers, like SD cards.

[@1pcfred]

A few years ago I tried to play with some floppy drives. I got one to read and write disks but I couldn't get it to make a boot disk that another PC could read. Maybe it'd have worked if I moved that one drive from PC to PC? But I wasn't about to do that. Track alignment was probably off between the two. Nope don't miss floppy drives today. Love me some flash drives.

[@dycedargselderbrother5353]

Although the following uses for the floppy/Berg connector are also mostly out of date themselves, they're newer than floppies. A number of panels that fit into 3.5" and 5.25" bays (card readers, audio outputs, HUD displays, etc.) run off that connector, though these days they seem to more commonly run off USB or SATA power. From what I understand, tape backups still use the plug, though it's been so long since I've seen a tape drive in a PC that I can't confirm. Apparently they're still somewhat popular with individuals who work with large amounts of data, like freelance videographers.

[@BeardedFrog]

These potential use cases for the floppy connector are pretty niche and rare and yet the connector being included with PSUs is still oddly the opposite. This Coolermaster PSU is not alone in this. In my system I built recently I have a $250+ Antec Signature 1000W 80Plus Titanium PSU that was released only last year, and it also has one. Every power supply I have ever bought actually has had one. In some cases in the past it annoyed me due to it getting in the way being on cables that I would need to use. Not sure why they're still super common overall, even if they have niche uses for powering other things and such.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

I think the first GPUs that used additional power had floppy plugs back in the AGP days. And the connector obviously is rather small, so for space efficient designs that is fine And the old 4-pin Molex is a sturdy connection with big connecting surfaces. A good choice for anything that draws lots of power. The specifications are 11A per line, soover the 12V that is 132W, or 187W when using the 12v and 5v lines. SATA on the other hand is 1.5A per pin and uses 3 pins per line, allowing for up to 54W for 12v only, 76.5W for 12v + 5v or 91.35W for 12v + 5v + 3.3v Which means the molex connector easily can carry around 2x - 2.4x as much power as SATA. The only issue is that after some plug cycles it starts getting lose. But for a connection that is supposed to last, they're still number one. I mean I hung entire drives off the plug and even after spinning the thing around the connector stayed in.

[@HanCurunyr]

Everytime Patrick said "bridge rectifier", I just remember Electroboom.

[@tulsatrash]

*screenshake* FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER! *end screenshake*

[@trowawayacc]

Man i have a feeling any psu that passes this review will shot up in value as people rush to get a proven part. Your work is truly invaluable. Also please review sff powersupplies like the HDplex.

[@zorintoto1167]

Then they do a dirty move and change the internal parts in the next batch

[@duaneminett]

It's £131 for me here in the UK 😅

[@Sithhy]

This particular PSU is at least 90€ in Europe as of right now, in 2023

[@knghtbrd]

What a world we live in where "it didn't explode" is the benchmark… Greatly appreciate that you're starting at the budget end of "major brand" for this-these should all basically be "it's fine", more or less. I'll be interested to see where outliers might live. I do have some basic expectations from HEC and Cooler Master, and I'm glad they're being met.

[@JustifyTheseHeathens]

Damn $55 bucks for a 650W 3070 capable PSU. That's a lot of value for sure.

[@r.j.sharkey]

By Friday it'll be $80

[@JustifyTheseHeathens]

@@r.j.sharkey you mean out of stock and marked up 150% secondhand?

[@moetazammar964]

It's like 100$ in other regions from the start

[@GreenAppelPie]

I don’t even need one and wanna buy it.

[@GTI8855]

If your hardware is worth more than $1000, you should be able to spend at least $100-130 on a good PSU. And you can't say that the "MasterWatt 650" is a good one.

[@volvo09]

I like this, testing out budget stuff is highly needed. It's a huge market, with a LOT of trash.

[@benjaminoechsli1941]

Yeah, really. The PSU masterlist on the LTT forums has been a godsend, but it's incomplete. Not that I hold that against them, there's an ocean of PSUs out there.

[@jeffb.6642]

There are two rules I follow when buying a power supply: It must have Active PFC. If it has a red voltage switch on the rear: SKIP IT. It must be a model that is not known to EXPLODE.

[@jeffb.6642]

@@owowowdhxbxgakwlcybwxsimcwx That too - although sometimes these issues aren't found until a particular unit has been out for a while. I believe the EVGA Supernova GA series also has this problem. There are other factors in my decision making besides the two points above - but they're the two that immediately chops a unit off my list when shopping. FWIW - I have a Seasonic Prime TX-850 running a Ryzen 5900X and RX 6900 XT - not exactly a power sipping system - and it has been 100% rock solid.

[@1pcfred]

Why do you care about PFC? Are you running an industrial site? They're the only ones that'll get docked for poor PFC. Any PSU has the potential to explode too. It's the nature of the beast. For what it does it's unavoidable.

[@44R0Ndin]

The Active PFC both is and is not the thing that makes it have a voltage switch or not. Yes, you often see them either present or not present as a pair of features, but that's not because it HAS to be one circuit doing both things (tho I suppose it might be possible to do that with some clever engineering). There's plenty of cell phone chargers (aka USB power supplies) that will happily take in any kind of AC electricity from 100v all the way up to 240v, without you having to change anything on them. However, the makers of such low-draw power supplies don't usually go to the trouble to add in an Active PFC circuit to them, simply because in operation at maximum rated output power, they're not even drawing a full amp from the wall socket. Not worth the extra cost of the circuit to bother for the tiny improvements it would make. The circuit that actually does away with the voltage switch on the back is called Automatic Voltage Detection (and be careful because the switch for changing the input voltage range isn't always red on PSUs that don't have AVD). I actually know more about the auto voltage detection circuit than I know about how active PFC works. The auto voltage detection circuit is merely a voltage sensing circuit that is used to control one or more switching elements that control the configuration of the input components and voltage rectification stages of the power supply. When it sees 120v, it configures the input components (mostly diodes and capacitors) as a full-wave voltage doubler. When it sees 220-240v, it configures the input as "straight thru" full wave bridge rectification, with no voltage multiplication. I could "get it working" by using some unusual components, but actual PSUs probably do it with something like a microcontroller and a number of MOSFETs. My "prototype" idea uses a power triac to do the switching, and a properly specified diac to detect the voltage. No digital nonsense required. I think the main reason that actual PSUs that are being made these days go for the "mosfets and microcontroler" option is because then they can COMBINE the Active PFC and Automatic Voltage Detection functions into one circuit, therefore saving cost. That would also explain why you almost never see a modern PSU that has APFC but doesn't have AVD, or has AVD but doesn't have APFC. Long story short, I'm trying to say "you're right, but for the wrong reason".

[@jeffb.6642]

@@1pcfred Because any PSU without it is not worth looking at. That's why. Only the shittiest and most outdated of power supplies don't have it. Think Apevia-tier quality, or those hunks-o-tin that used to come with a $40 case back in the day. I should have known I can't voice an opinion without getting lectured about why I'm stupid, but that's the internet for you

[@pootispiker2866]

@@jeffb.6642 Cry more

[@Verpal]

Thanks Steve, a computer shop guy recommended this PSU to me before and said this is a very reasonable price/performance, good to see some validation on that. Oh, also thanks to you he decided to jack the price of this psu up, literally just called 10 minutes ago and he said the psu found a new fair price. Back to you Steve.

[@user-njyzcip]

Just buy online...

[@LogiForce86]

Coolermaster powersupploes have always been of good quality. Been running them for decades and the only reason I have to keep buying new Coolermaster powersupplies is because of the great makers of motherboards and graphics cards think it's a good idea to add new types of power cables as extra power. If not for that I could still use the Coolermaster PSU that I bought in 2001. 👍

[@christopher3969]

You're doing a GREAT job explaining all the components and setting stricter standards than Intel does. And your experiments on exploding PSUs are WAY more important than getting more graphs and comparisons.

[@GreatMasterGaming]

Always nice to see more professional tier power supply reviews than that “effiency and modularity validation” from “reviewers” . Keep it up

[@DuyLeNguyen]

Tomshardware, Techpowerup and Hardware Busters all post very detailed PSU reviews, with full component level teardown and analysis (Steve Burke himself has mentioned and referenced cmaris' review work in the past) If you've been reading reviews that only shows 'efficiency and modularity validation', I'd say you've been looking in the wrong places.

[@trowawayacc]

I really like serius reviewers to shift tru all coolermaster line. We can only get cooler master over here at reasonable prices everything else seems to have an extra luxury electronics tax.

[@GreatMasterGaming]

@@DuyLeNguyen yup, couldn't agree more. I've been following Aris for a while.

[@DuyLeNguyen]

@@GreatMasterGaming personally for PSU reviews I prefer a written format because it's a bit easier to compare different models by opening tabs side by side, but I'm glad GN is doing video reviews. Hopefully they also put out written versions (though I know the site hasn't been their main focus for a while)

[@GreatMasterGaming]

@@DuyLeNguyen I find the Written format is better overall for the sake of presenting data especially for stuff like Transient Response. And Ig some people like reading over audio. It would be nice for GN to dive into Transient Response testing eventually since that can also be a big factor into things

[@WildkatPhoto]

Please please please set your graphics department on the "Its Fine" badge!!! Also, a "Its Fine" line for charts.

[@MissedMessages]

It's great to see a in depth analysis of one of the most overlooked and important pc part. At the time I had to read many written reviews in many tech sites to pick one, KZbin miss this type of content

[@MX26_]

You can tell how overlooked it is by just how bottom of the barrel a lot of system integrators go. Helped a couple friends choose PC's and you often don't even get to choose a good PSU, all the choices you get are bad, bud with different wattage.

[@nathan-tz9ow]

Holy shit. GN doing PSU reviews is massive! This is literally something I needed. Awesome!

[@matthewmcclain1316]

Literally?

[@nathan-tz9ow]

@@matthewmcclain1316 Very Literally.

[@the_niklakis]

I had the same PSU but 550W and it was in a different box (bought it back in 2018-2019 I think). It had extreme coil whine when under any load other than idle. I returned it and got my money back. I ended up getting another cooler master, just a better one this time with good reviews. I've had it for several years now and I am extremely happy. I suppose my previous PSU would have been fine for the pc I have but I must have been unlucky and gotten a lemon.

[@wtalkington1]

I'm so glad y'all have taken up reviewing power supplies. I haven't really had a go to since Jonny Guru and OklahomaWolf stopped doing reviews.

[@nyk2977]

I needed a new PSU and I was considering this one. When I heard, "This is fine." I knew I had to get it. That's incredibly high praise from you guys.

[@1pcfred]

This PSU is really nothing to write home about. I wouldn't run a PC I cared about with it. Maybe it works today but it ain't going to work too good for very long. The layout sucks and the caps in it blow. The rest of the parts are pretty janky too. Wang Hung Low special! Cheaping out on a PSU is not a wise move. I get why people do it but that's mainly down to ignorance. Not all power is the same.

[@zloycock]

@@1pcfred in 2018 they're used Teapo caps. Now they're using cheapass chinese junk.

[@1pcfred]

@@zloycock Teapos are not my favorite brand of capacitor either. But there is worse. Like CapXon.

[@DelticEngine]

Thanks for a great technical overview of this power supply. From an electronics perspective, the 'bulk capacitor' being 85C rather than 105C is not an issue as only run at low (mains) frequency with the electrical input half sine-wave which is much lower stress for a capacitor. What does matter more is the ESR of the capacitor as this determines its ability to handle the switching discharge current from the chopper transistor that feeds into the high-frequency transformer. It is the output capacitors that have a very hard life and as such are the ones most likely to fail, often causing significant problems (including damage to downstream equipment) before they do.. I have repaired various switching supplies (including PC power supplies) and have yet to have a failed high-voltage input capacitor: it has always been the output capacitors that have failed, often with the switching transistor. In my experience, replacing the output capacitors is often all that is required to restore normal operation.

[@santyagobustamante7369]

Nice! Finally a reputable source doing Power Supply reviews on KZbin, keep it up guys!

[@1pcfred]

Meh they've a long ways to go before their reviews are actually of value. They need to hot box stress test PSUs at the very least. I know they're working on it. I'd like to see oscillographs of ripple too. ptp is nice but I can derive more looking at the signal.

[@siripfreely]

Aris at Hardware Busters has been doing reviews for years. He's the PSU reviewer at Tom's Hardware and Techpowerup.

[@tzviasegal3003]

This is good to see, even if all it does is raise awareness that they are not 'all the same, just get the cheapest'. I've bought what I thought were good PSUs in the past (Corsair AX1200I anyone?) only to have 2 out of 3 fail inside 3 years. I've bought some that I was unsure of (Thermaltake 1200w) that lasted a good 8~9 years, 5 of them 24/7 before recycling because I no longer needed it. I've bought budget EVGAs that have been rock solid. It's hard to tell from the box or the price, just what you really are getting. Very few actually attempt to test any and actually open them up to provide a look at what really goes into making one. Good job!

[@abitterberry2149]

The presentation skills and confidence of Patrick went up so much in a single video! "You can literally see it!"

[@Argonated]

I've had this same exact PSU since November 2018 and aside from the slight coil whine during heavier loads, it has been a stable PSU, no matter what system I threw it in.

[@ygnihteci00]

Good to hear, I am building a new budget gaming pc, the last one I built was nearly 10 years ago now. I really think cooler master is so underrated. I have used a n300 case for nearly 10 years now in my current build and it has been the best most reliable case ever, while being very low priced. I haven't tried their power supplies but this one seems very impressive and I think I will go with it.

[@AmbientWanderer]

yep also had the 550 watt version now since 2019. My PC is on for around 10 hours a day. never had one single poblem with the PSU

[@SB-pf5rc]

This might feel like a boring review, but it's work like this that pushes manufacturers to produce the best product they can. This is the 1st step in innovation.

[@Azeal]

I don't need to know what power supply to buy... I have a laptop. ~and yet I can't stop watching this incredible content, keep it up guys

[@iamdarkyoshi]

Personally I don't have much issues with the 85C main filter cap. Of all the electronic crap I teardown, repair, salvage parts from, etc, I very seldom come across a failed input filter. It's almost always the output caps which are under a lot higher strain in mains switchmode power supplies.

[@1pcfred]

That's been my finding as well. The output filters are under a lot more stress than the bulk cap is. I have seen bad bulk caps though. The PSU should still work with a weak a bulk cap. It just won't be as efficient and will have to work a lot harder.

[@eDoc2020]

Agreed. The only mains input cap I've personally see fail and cause problems was on one of those nasty no-name laptop supplies. That kind of supply often uses input capacitors sourced from e-waste so that could explain its early failure.

[@tulsatrash]

Thank you for sharing your wisdom o' Cat of Scrapping.

[@garthhowe297]

Nice to see a power supply, especially a low end one, actually meet the specifications that the claim. Good review.

[@FilthyCasual268]

By way of sheer circumstance, I ended up using this PSU in my first ever build last year in September, back when PSUs were the most overpriced component... Ah, those were the days... Anywho, getting a thumbs up from Steve makes me feel even more satisfied that I chose this one, especially when he says "For something like a 5600x, this is fine", considering I just upgraded from a 2600 to a 5600x just last month! :D

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

A good unit will serve you years, even through multiple builds.

[@GiorgosKoukoubagia]

Excited for PSU and fans comparisons in the future - this is something that 1) nobody really does 2) I definitely trust YOU guys to do it right

[@xPLAYnOfficial]

Why yes, yes I do want to go back to floppy drive. Thank you Cooler Master for considering my definitely common use-case of adapting an internal floppy drive to USB header and running it in Windows 10 :)

[@shaneeslick]

I built a couple of XP Retro Gaming PCs not long ago for me & my neighbour, the HP Cases that I used had Floppy Drives which I tested & they still work fine (yes I still have Floopy Discs😏). While I upgraded the ODD & HDD to Sata, plus added a SSD for OS, the Floppy Power was a feature I had to look for when upgrading the PSU, I ended up going with be quiet! System Power 9 500W 80+Bronze ones 😁.

[@HazewinDog]

@@shaneeslick solid budget PSUs afaik!

[@tek_lynx4225]

Floppy berg connectors are used for more then just floppy drives.

[@Reziac]

Always good to know how easily the fan can be replaced, since that's both the usual first-fail and the user-serviceable part.

[@haven216]

Steve, I can't believe you. This is an awful power supply. It is entirely missing the pretty fireworks

[@amashaziz2212]

And linus wants his picture back

[@faysmith508]

Thanks for this. Power supply reviews and validation are pretty rare, so I'm glad you're doing these.

[@rileymannion5301]

I love how "it didn't blow up" unfortunately has to be a selling point now

[@arch1107]

every time i see a similar comment i remember the last one that exploded, i almost needed new pants like patrick did that explosion wasn't normal, looked like a electric substation having problems

[@1pcfred]

Not blowing up has always been a selling point with PSUs. The energy potential of a line circuit is nothing to be trifled with.

[@rileymannion5301]

@@1pcfred that should be a given tho not a feature😂😂

[@1pcfred]

@@rileymannion5301 the given is that the potential always exists. Also that it will ultimately be realized at some point too. The only real question is precisely when.

[@JamesBrown059]

This is a great addition to your lineup of product testing. While niche, the content is very interesting and informative. By turn, being so niche it’s also quite unique, so there isn’t any competition for such content. It’s been a pleasure watching the channel grow to be a trusted staple of hardware reviews.

[@CannibalCowboy51]

I'd like to see a review of the Powerspec power supplies from Microcenter. That's the inhouse brand that they sell.

[@georged5420]

Me too I have 850 watt only one I could get at the time.

[@cd-lf8xm]

Cameraman doing an excellent job given how difficult it is to get all the components in focus as theyre being pointed at :-)

[@LionRafale]

These PSU need to have a Steve seal of approval on the box like the 80 plus ratings. "It doesn't explode" "It better than others" "This is fine"

[@CrespoSA]

he is not an electrical engineer

[@Stuen4y]

Thank you for going over OEM manufacturing specifics for PSUs. It's great to put in front of the eyes of a wide audience the way companies that print their logos on the box operate.

[@rlosangeleskings]

Steve Ever think of doing a rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with exploding power supplies???

[@KevinCruz-pu2ue]

I enjoy these videos very much and I really like the technical and engineering detail you guys provide when describing these products. Here's a Protip: 11:41 the 'large press machines' used to bend these metal panels has a proper name, a metal brake. This is a common metal bending tool you also see in automotive fabrication. You can buy manual versions of these at hardware stores.

[@draykkon287]

Unlike Gigabyte, I hope this review blows up!

[@buggerlugz6753]

The one thumbs down is from Gigabyte no doubt.

[@shaneeslick]

G'day Snowflake, Steve, Patrick & Andrew, PSU testing is a welcome addition to GN's Quality Product Reviews, I can't wait for Fans too, While I don't really Understand the Actual Parts & their Job in a PSU, Patrick pointing out where the Good/OK/Bad parts are does help Understanding if Quality was Compromised to keep the price low & will be more evident as to how they affect performance & product life when there are more PSUs on the Comparison list. PS. I DON"T envy Andrew's job trying to Zoom in on those Tiny PSU components when Patrick was pointing to them, You do an Awesome Job Andrew 😍

[@ElijsDima]

Neat. Hope you do a spot on the ever-popular corsair psus - they always seem like the default safe choice.

[@hasso0n]

Personally I had 2 Corsair CX PSUs fail in under 3 years, I'm not buying their crap again.

[@datpudding5338]

True and I still use them, I've never experienced any issues with them

[@benhillman8384]

@@hasso0n I agree it's reasonable to expect a psu to last for longer than that even in harsh conditions, but corsair does at least distinguish between the quality of their lines from AX at the top - HX - TX - GS - CX down to VS. Personally I've only had positive experiences with their tx ones but the price point of a vs psu is so questionably low as to be suspicious.

[@HazewinDog]

I hope you just say that as a generalization of the clueless public and not as a personal belief...

[@HazewinDog]

@@benhillman8384 I hope GN tests the VS450. it's so cheap and so popular, it would be very good to know if they are actually safe or not.

[@MirrorsMercury]

I love these in depth looks into products that otherwise perform a simple function in a computer

[@1pcfred]

There is nothing simple about stepping down voltage and delivering regulated high power. Didn't you see all the parts in that PSU? It's not like they included any extras. If it's there it's essential.

[@casedistorted]

Aw dang it now the mod mats are back in stock! I just bought the coasters last night lol, wish there was a bundle for just one blue glass with the coasters because I was like $7 short from ordering the full bundle of coasters and glasses. Though if I had the extra money I’d totally buy a mod mat, been wanting one of those for years.

[@DailyCorvid]

You couldn't find $7 bro you cannot afford to buy merch!!! 🤣

[@mistere5857]

Thanks for doing this. I have the 750W version. Any kind of overclocking was causing stability issues and I couldn't figure out if it was the ram, motherboard, or power supply. This didnt definitively answer it, but upgrading the PSU just jumped to number 1 on my list.

[@1pcfred]

More than any other component a PSU is the foundation of a PC. Without clean reliable power you got nothing you can count on.

[@startedtech]

13:40 I gotta love that you could buy this power supply and use it on a 90s PC with no problem 😅

[@KiraSlith]

You can even adapt them to the older AT format too for late 80s/early 90s PCs if you're still using a 286 or 386 PC and don't mind some jank. Can't do that with 12vo PSUs.

[@CptJistuce]

@@KiraSlith 486 and socket7 too. The lack of -5/12v lines is a potential issue, but easily worked around.

[@tek_lynx4225]

No you couldn't if it was athlon based, modern PSU's struggle to provide enough power on the 3.3 and 5v rails for them. Athlon is technically a 90's era cpu very very late 90's.

[@tek_lynx4225]

@@CptJistuce -5v doesn't matter unless your going really ancient 8088\286 era. Even then it rarely matters. Really only some 8-bit ISA cards need it. Most things still work without it.

[@CptJistuce]

@@tek_lynx4225 It is rare, but not THAT rare. It hits several ISA sound cards.

[@benjamintan2733]

Thanks for giving a thorough tour of this PSU. Yeah, this is a very popular PSU for budget system and now I can confident recommending this product for those who wants it. Hopefully you will cover more of them.

[@quaz1moto241]

Thanks for the content! Need to put together a budget build but was struggling picking a power supply! Looking forward to watching this ❤️

[@Craig-ib7gk]

Woot! Got my mod-mat and shirts today. Thanks, Steve! Keep up the awesome work!!!

[@Nekodasan]

It'd be interesting to see historic PSU:s as well, such as Antec's Earthwatts series, both as a way to see how brands and standards have changed but also just to see how viable they'd be to carry forward for the gamer in a ruthless economy.

[@deviouslaw]

This is relevant content; I've got an old earthwatts 650 sitting somewhere. What does a decent old PSU give up compared to modern ones?

[@eDoc2020]

"Historic" PSUs should be perfectly fine as long as they can put out enough power, you'd likely just lose a bit of efficiency. The real question (assuming it isn't broken) is whether or not the capacitors have aged too much. Internal temperature and current draw are the main factors in terms of aging. If you had a high power system running full blast 24/7 for years you might have problems, but if it has led a relatively gentle life it will most likely be perfectly fine.

[@thedesucomplex4365]

really neat to see a review of... .my exact PSU. I've had it since 2018 with plenty of usage out of it, and my current system (Ryzen 3600X and Radeon 5700XT) runs well with no hiccups. I just recommended it to a friend too, about a month ago.

[@myopinionbetter4287]

I have a 450 watt version. My only gripe with the psu is that it came with a gigantic 16A 250 V cable which won't fit anywhere but the fridge

[@TheAnoniemo]

In the rest of the world this is a normal cable.

[@nil3010]

Same Also it is north american plug For some reason

[@myopinionbetter4287]

@@TheAnoniemo guess I don't live in the rest of the world. But seriously my friend bought the same unit and he had a two pin which he claimed was giving him electrical shocks when he touched the psu. And a guy in the Amazon review said he got a British plug even though that's on the opposite side of the world.

[@Crombide]

8:29 THE FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER

[@cppctek]

When we start seeing more 12vo psu, will you be able to test them on the same testing equipment ?

[@KiraSlith]

Already covered in the PSU testing overview video. Yes, the front board they hook the power supplies into can be upgraded to include full support for 12vo (not that anyone should ever invest in such an anti-consumer PSU design, but hey, you do you).

[@cppctek]

@@KiraSlith thanks. I forgot he had mentioned that before. But if the manufactures switch to 12vo in the future and we are forced into it then we do not have a choice unless you are happy living with older hardware

[@KiraSlith]

@@cppctek Eh, AMD hasn't said they'd consider the switch yet. Plus, other than low end ATX/mATX boards, most motherboards don't have the extra space to support the additional VRMs anyway, so it's a ways off in the future.

[@cppctek]

@@KiraSlith true. But it may happen on intel sooner than we think just my thoughts

[@austinrobinson5612]

Watching Patrick go over the internals of a power supply helps me to kind of understand circuit boards of furnaces and mini-splits. Thanks Patrick. Mini-splits (at least Fujitsui I've worked on), have 4 or 5 boards and are very complicated and hard to understand how much the boards must filter power to run and convert ac 220 to dc for motors.

[@tanishqbhaiji103]

This one’s MSRP is way too high, this is okay for 55 bucks and review the Corsair RM850x 2021. Cheap components, not gonna last to at long. Looks like an ancient topology.

[@sgas]

19:41 THANK YOUUUU FOR TALKING ABOUT FAN DISASSEMBLY

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[@phillipalvin5289]

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[@Masterfeedbackprod]

Good to see someone taking on Power supply units , it's the one thing most people know nothing about , Yet .. it could fry your new build, catch fire , or course undefined random shut downs or Blue screens of death a minimum specification for cpu plus gpu would help alot keep up the good work

[@techieshow]

Amazingly professional benchmark as always. Thank you! I always hoped you'd make such videos for PSUs too! An now you did!! More please! :-)

[@Cosmstack]

Excited to see this list grow

[@mng7872]

Thank you so much for doing these awesome videos! It's so helpful for novices and provides a lot of clarity on stuff that people just didn't pay any attention to

[@michaelauman2501]

Thanks for this. I'm excited to see more PSU reviews and watch the comparison charts grow.

[@hi_tech_reptiles]

Just a thought, it may be helpful to understand the function and general purpose of the internals if a comparison to other PSU internals you've reviewed is given. Like, they use a 2 x parts here where EVGA uses 4 or rated for Y while Cooler Master is Z, even if it's just for price class reasons. I feel like it may help a bit overall, especially for those of us who are less familiar with PSU internals. Hell, a "basic PCB components video" from you guys would prob help a lot of people just because you guys are good at that kinda thing lol. Great review!

[@benjaminoechsli1941]

We NEED a channel like GN doing this sort of in-depth examination for PSUs! The power supply is possibly the component you want to be the most assured of in terms of quality, and yet information is hard to come by. Thanks, Steve.

[@Terrobility]

Nothing freaks me out like the way Steve handled the raw PSU (1:30). We don't wanna lose our Tech Jesus!

[@arch1107]

they discharge the psus when they open them, before opening they can discharged or not and should remain safe to handle

[@PapaMav]

Glad you are picking up the mantle on this segment of computer components. I lobby for a review of Enermax Marblebron series. Thank you.

[@H1mS0L0st]

Looking forward to when they get to the little higher end PSUs. I have a Fractal Ion + and I'm happy with it, but I have nowhere near the equipment in order to do this kind of in depth testing. Thank you GN team for everything you do!

[@nomad7412]

Patricks presentation was exceptional. Ty

[@WereCatf]

Damn, I am impressed by the amount of work these guys do even for a budget PSU. The GN-channel will become a very nice source for PSU-reviews/-info over time, if they can keep this up.

[@ELHV]

For those interested: That little "microcontroller" (it's actually not a controller but a simple IC) on the input board around 5:36 is there to discharge the X and Y filter capacitors on the input so you can't get a (harmless) zap off the prongs after unplugging the power cord. Many devices will just use a simple resistor instead (which works perfectly fine) to slowly discharge the capacitors, but it will waste power constantly for as long as the device is plugged in. It's not a lot of power - only in the order of 25-100mW per device - but it does add up with the sheer number of units that are connected to mains 24/7! This draw also eats into your 0.5W standby/soft-off power budget! The chip however monitors the incoming AC voltage and only turns on the discharge resistors once the supply has been removed, thus eliminating that constant waste of energy. This comes with the added benefit of being able to use much lower value resistors to discharge the capacitors a lot more aggressively, meaning the prongs are safe to touch almost instantly.

[@Garth2011]

In all our years of custom computer build useage, Thermaltake was the only brand that "smoked itself" after about 2 years of use. We mostly use Corsair with 100% reliability and we purchased one Rosewill Hive PSU in 2014 and its still working 100%. We just recently purchased a few EVGA models but have not had any issues in the 3 months we've been using them.

[@rtaskidoo14]

I just wanna say you were a huge help when building my system! Thank you much!

[@Davealapoo]

Guys power supplies have been such a black box to DIY PC builders and with "Gold" as "they had to jump through at least bronze and gold hoops to get this far" as our only signal besides brand reputations. Seeing the tests you did, the numbers you got, and the targets you'd like to hit was super informative. I'm excited to see how my favored brands and higher price units do on the Gamers Nexus standards that say a bit more than 80+.

[@The_Chad_]

I'm happy these PSUs are fine because I have used dozens of them in low to mid tier builds. They're a good value and I've had no problems with them. I've also used a lot of the Thermaltake white PSUs? Would be cool if you tested those next.

[@erikhendrickson59]

Stoked for the PSU reviews. It's been very difficult to accurately judge power supply purchase after the loss of the JohnnyGuru website. Sounds like a solid little PSU for a budget gaming or HTPC type build!

[@GerritTjaardAMarinus]

My 350w budget coolermaster never blew on any load. This one does the load and even more, atleast now i know. Thanks NeXuS! - will keep watching your results.

[@matuzaato]

Please keep reviewing popular budged PSUs

[@wayneholzer4694]

Good explanation of the components on the pcbs inside the power supply if people want to learn more about electrical engineering if you want to go in depth in electronics in general and the fella who owns the channels is a very experienced electrical engineer his two youtubes are EEVlog EEVlog2 if you wish to nerd out on microchips transistors etc cheers for another good review

[@eduardogonzales6945]

Steve never fails us, good budget power supplies is what many people need right now.

[@BeerDone]

I sense the beginning of something beautiful here. I feel you're going to turn PSU design around like you had cases within a couple of years.

[@kazmo9148]

I love these full reviews with breakdown but I would appreciate more information during the breakdown as far as quality of each component. I don't know enough about the components for the models or brands to mean anything to me, would like to hear something like "these are more than adequate" or "this is sufficient but could be better", things along those lines. Appreciate what you do, thanks!

[@TC_here]

Nice detailed review. Very informative without creating information overload and being overly complex. Thermals would be good too so looking forward to when you have your new HQ setup..

[@danpenner79]

great vid , good info. finally someone willing to tackle power supplies.

[@McTroyd]

Brilliant to start at the budget end! I'd wager that's where you'll see the most... variety. I'd expect the high-dollar brand names to deliver, but one never knows with a budget power supply. Good on Cooler Master (c/o HEC) for delivering a budget-friendly unit that doesn't suck.

[@1pcfred]

We know. If it's cheap it's a POS. Simple as that. But just because something is expensive does not guarantee it's any good. There's nothing for nothing in the physical world. Quality always costs money.

[@MisterMayhem17]

Thank you guys. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

[@sidlives2672]

Patrick Stone has proven himself as a worthy addition to the Gamers Nexus family. Great job and thorough explanations to the components in the power supply. Just try not to blow him up testing marginal power supplies.

[@jeffb.6642]

The new office should include a sheet of thick plexiglass in front of the PSU testing machine to catch any shrapnel.

[@Elc22]

good to know that there are seemingly decent budget power supplies out there. it might help to have a top end PSUs looked at, so there can be some perspective given. It would be nice to see what you get for all that extra money some companies charge.

[@1pcfred]

I wouldn't call that PSU decent just because it hasn't exploded yet. It will someday. They ALL do! What you get for all the extra money is better regulation and longevity. Hopefully a better protection scheme for when things inevitably go wrong too. Dropping line voltage to a level a PC can use at power is not a trivial task.

[@midwestmullet]

I have this exact power supply in my pc (i5-10600kf with a 3060ti 16gb of ram). Its been a very good budget power supply. Glad to see it gets the Gamers Nexus "its fine" stamp as my build is a budget build which I think as Steve said is where its best utilized. One thing I can also say is that it does seem to run very quiet with very little fan noise, but the ambient temperature would on average be below 20C so maybe thats helping keep the fan noise low.

[@ryonmerrick3112]

Love seeing Patrick return for another video! the PSU guru

[@nihanjahin]

great work! at last someone is doing psu deep review