When PSUs come with the case

[mattaggie]

How do you know if the PSU that comes with a case is good? On newegg, all the info that is given about the PSU is the, wattage and the connectors, but no info on who makes it. The first time I bought a case/PSU, I was told that the PSU was junk and to replace it. So do good PSUs ever come with the case? I want to buy the case and PSU separately, but I notice that many cases come with a PSU. So is there a rule reguarding PSUs that come with cases?

[Panama Red]

Antec, Enermax and a couple others (I forget which) are quality power supply manufacturers that also make cases. Check the PSU sticky thread in Gen Hdw. If the psu is on the good list and comes in a case, you should be solid.

[Alaron]

You can usually check the brand in the photos on Newegg. That being said, yes its true that most cases come with crappy power supplies. It is the only way to keep the price of the cases low enough for folks to consider buying them. It's simple marketing. The company makes a case and throws in a cheap, low quality PSU and charges $50 for both. People will think that is a deal and go for it. We know better.

That being said, the one big exception is Antec. They include good PSUs in their cases, though they are not usually strong enough for gaming builds. But for mid range machines they are great.

The good news in all of it though is that PSUs are very easy to replace. Four screws and its out of there. So have no fear picking up a PSU separately from a case.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Foxconn TS-1's come with a 300w FSP which should be good for any low end budget build.

[glc]

Yes, there are exceptions other than Antec. You have to look at them on a case-by-case basis (no pun intended). If you can read the E-number in the picture you can research that. In reality, a lot of power supplies that we consider substandard will work fine, we just don't like to recommend something made by a known questionable quality manufacturer. If you are building a top end system, carefully choosing top quality components, it makes no sense whatsoever to get anything but a known top quality power supply. If you are building a bottom end budget box - with a PC Chips family motherboard, generic ram, yada yada (you get the picture - I'm talking about Tiger Direct barebones kits in PARTICULAR) and want to get an el cheapo case and PSU, go for it, but don't whine when it blows up in your face. Just make sure you have a warranty of some sort. If you are on that kind of budget, you might as well just bop on down to Best Buy and buy an eMachine that's on sale - it sure won't be any WORSE than what you are planning on using and it will have a reasonable warranty.

[andymac1]

Antec is always reliable.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Not *always* with all of their models nowadays . But still good case/psu combos for budget to mid range builds, compared to all the other crap thats out there.

[freakitchen]

I've had the occasional problem with a smartpower. You'll probably find quite a few complaints out there on the web about them, but a lot of that will be down to their popularity. Shoddy PSU makers, like L&C, put various brand-names on their junk - I'm sure part of it is to minimise bad reputation.

Antec's new Truepower line, GLC informs me, are made by Seasonic. I'd have absolutely no problem recommending one of those.

FK

[Mr.Ferrari]

Yup, truepower 3, NeoHe, and Earthwatts are all mid range quality Seasonic models. Good stuff.

The only one I would hesitate to recommend out of those three would be the NeoHe.

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari Not *always* with all of their models nowadays . But still good case/psu combos for budget to mid range builds, compared to all the other crap thats out there.

I agree, recently on the gaming forums I belong to there have been more and more complaints about Antec PSUs not standing up to their claims.
For me other than the 1 Asus I have on my current rig, I have always stuck to Sparkle or FSP. They cost more they are worth it.

[hitchface]

I'm pretty sure that my next PSU (which will likely be a part of a huge upgrade somewhere down the line) will be a PC P and C unit. I have no experience with them, but man they look like quality. My only question is this (and this isn't meant to hijack the thread): Is it a bad thing that the PC P and C units on newegg generally only have one 12V rail? I thought 2 was the new standard.

[bd1886]

Just put an EarthWatts 380 in and it is very quiet.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Originally Posted by hitchface My only question is this (and this isn't meant to hijack the thread): Is it a bad thing that the PC P and C units on newegg generally only have one 12V rail? I thought 2 was the new standard.

Just a little FYI, not all PCP&C are made the same. Some are high end server quality win-tact build, others are just relabeled seasonics. They are awesome psu's dont get me wrong, but not all models are always worth their full price.

As far as the single rail thing goes. No, its not a bad thing. Single rails have always been popular with the overclocking community. Nowadays they are making a comeback due to DX10.

Traditional Dual Rails are great, but when a videocard hogs 3 to 4 times as much power as a CPU, you get in trouble. With single rails there's no worry of that as there's ample power to go wherever it needs.

Only downside is that if something goes bad or shorts, then the whole psu is effected, not just one single rail.

Alot more manufacturers are going single rail then you think. All of Seasonic's new units are Single rails, even though the specs say different. Including all of antec's new units, and the Corsairs.