Is this PSU good?

[Rickster]

My friend needs a new PSU because he is buying a new graphics card (GTX 660TI) and it needs a minimum of 25A on the +12V rail and his current PSU is only 20A, I found this PSU but the price is a bit dodgy (very chreap) and I was wondering if any one has any info on this product.

Thank you.

 

[DTBA]

http://www.thermaltake.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001860

seems good to me

 

[Chevron]

Lol thermalcrap.

Rather spend he extra R100:

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30&products_id=9516

If he really can't afford extra R100 then this:

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30&products_id=9119

 

[Rickster]

Lol thermalcrap.

Are you generalising or have you used or seen this product fail?

 

[Chevron]

Are you generalising or have you used or seen this product fail?

If you want your friends pc to blow with a power surge get that power supply.

 

[sand_man]

I wouldn't skimp on PSU either.

That Corsair is solid...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

 

[Chevron]

Corsair and XFX both make use of rebranded Seasonics quite often. So rock solid.

 

[Pada]

May I ask, what is his current PSU? If it has a dual rail design, then you don't need 25A per rail.
The GTX660Ti doesn't require that much power, especially if you're not going to overclock: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_660_Ti_Direct_Cu_II/26.html

You can almost see a good PSU as an investment. The PSU technology isn't moving forward as rapidly as some of the other technologies (eg. CPU/GPU). Also, like that XFX PSU comes with a 5 year warranty and very good efficiency for its price range.

 

[Rickster]

Ok, will this 550W be able to support this RIG?

-I5 3470 3.2GHZ
-3x3.5" Hard drives
-8GB 1333mHz RAM
-EVGA GTX 660TI Superclocked
-DVD Drive

Also, its a Vantec ION2+ 600W with only 20A on the 12V Rail

 

[Chevron]

Ok, will this 550W be able to support this RIG?

-I5 3470 3.2GHZ
-3x3.5" Hard drives
-8GB 1333mHz RAM
-EVGA GTX 660TI Superclocked
-DVD Drive

Easily.

 

[Rickster]

Easily.

And lets say he wanted to upgrade his CPU or add a new hard drive?

What would be the threshold or max that 550W can take?

 

[Chevron]

And lets say he wanted to upgrade his CPU or add a new hard drive?

What would be the threshold or max that 550W can take?

CPU or another 3 hard drives won't be an issue.

Only if he wants to run sli will he need something bigger.

 

[Pada]

That 550W PSU should handle an overclocked i7 and GTX 780 just fine, so you shouldn't be concerned about running a non-overclockable i5 and a mid-range 660Ti with 2+ HDD's.
I'd reckon that you'll run out of power connectors before you'll max out that PSU...

Update:
+1 to what Chevron said.

Just to give you an idea of how much 550W is:
my PC only reached 550W at the wall (~490W off the PSU) when I overclocked my i7 940 to 3.8GHz, as well as overclocked both my GTX 460's to like 878MHz.
Overclocking drastically increases the power consumption!

 

[Rickster]

GTX 460's to like 878MHz.
Overclocking drastically increases the power consumption!

Heheuhehaheahueh


On topic: thank everyone, ill tell him to get that 550W XFX

 

[Bryn]

I spent R755 on a 700W Huntkey PSU not long ago to support my HD7970 and it works fine. My previous 500W Coolermaster started causing issues the moment I upgraded my GTX560 - mostly USB ports malfunctioned and the system occasionally locked up. Once the new PSU was in all the issues disappeared.

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

I would also go Corsair, they have a very good reputation. I have an older VX550W, awesome power supply. Nice that it has enough power connectors for my planned 10 hard drives (I'm on 6 at the moment).

 

[crysis]

If you want your friends pc to blow with a power surge get that power supply.

Thermaltake is a great brand and you know nothing about power supplies.

 

[froot]

I would also go Corsair, they have a very good reputation. I have an older VX550W, awesome power supply. Nice that it has enough power connectors for my planned 10 hard drives (I'm on 6 at the moment).

+1. I've got a VX450 in my server and it's turning over nicely. I even ran a gaming pc on it for a while.

 

[sal12344]

Thermaltake is a great brand and you know nothing about power supplies.

I agree, he knows jack..

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index.htm

Is where I look for the actual manufacturer of PSU's. I had a 450w Litepower power a GTX66ti for more than a year until I sold it and the card to upgrade.

 

[Pada]

@crysis @ sal12344:
You are right about Thermaltake making good power supplies, but just like Coolermaster, they also make utter crap PSU's, like their LitePower series - which is the one referenced in the original post.

Technically that LitePower 650W would be more than capable to run the i5 and GTX660Ti, but I'd rather spend my money on a better lower wattage PSU.
The problem with those cheap/entry level PSU's are that they have many different manufacturers for a single range of PSU's and you cannot really find reviews either. Because of the many different manufacturers for the single range, you cannot take the review for say the 500W PSU and extrapolate that the 600W one would be just as good either!
Like you could be very lucky to run your system without any issues on that PSU for more than a year, or you could be not so lucky to have your components damaged by it.

Personally I won't risk my expensive PC components by using a cheap PSU. I'd rather go with a PSU that has a certified 80%+ efficiency rating and good reviews, even if it has a lower specified wattage and costs more too.

In general I'd recommend Antec HCG/HCG Pro, Be Quiet, Corsair TX/HX/AX, Seasonic & XFX
Lately, I've recommended the XFX ProSeries 550W ones more than any other, just because its excellent value.