Popular PC power supply brands in South Africa

PC power supply unit (PSU) brands like Corsair and Thermaltake are among the most popular among Wootware and Dreamware Tech customers, the retailers have told MyBroadband.

According to the retailers, the factors most customers consider when buying a power supply for their build include budget, system requirements, and brand reputation, depending on their priorities.

According to Wootware sales head Dimitri Mackor, brands like Super Flower, Corsair, and Thermaltake are popular as they offer a wide range of products to meet various customer preferences.

“Additionally, other brands such as FSP, MSI, Antec, Deepcool, and Cooler Master also rank highly in popularity,” he added.

On the factors customers prioritise when purchasing a PC power supply, Mackor said entry-level builders often prioritise budget. In contrast, more experienced builders prefer brands well-known for their performance and reliability.

“This balance of needs is reflected in the diverse range of power supplies we stock,” he added.

He said another critical factor influencing power supply buying decisions is the availability of relevant connections for newer components, such as the 12VHPWR connector for modern graphics cards.

Based on the popular brands Mackor mentioned, it is possible to find popular specific models by sorting its PSU catalogue by popularity.

Looking at Super Flower models, the five most popular options range from 750W to 1,000W, and all of them support 12VHPWR, whether it is built-in or through an included add-on cable.

Prices for the five most popular units range from R1,949 to R2,649.

Doing the same for Corsair shows that the most popular models range from 650W to 1,600W of capacity. Only one of these models supports 12VHPWR by default, meaning customers must buy the cable separately if required.

Pricing for the five most popular Corsair PSUs ranges from R1,399 to R10,585. Wootware lets customers add a Corsair-branded 12VHPWR cable to orders for R299.

The most popular Thermaltake PSUs in Wootware’s catalogue have capacities ranging from 550W to 1,000W, and prices range from R1,099 to R3,969 across the five models.

Only one of these models is 12VHPWR-ready. However, shoppers can add a Thermaltake-branded 12VHPWR cable for R255.

Dreamware Tech told MyBroadband that Corsair is the most popular PSU brand among its customers, followed by Thermaltake and Antec. It also noted Cooler Master as another popular brand.

“Often, if a customer builds an entry-level home office or an admin PC, the cheaper, the better. Antec has some extremely cost-effective and reliable units in this regard,” it said.

“When building gaming PCs, the brand reputation and warranty offered are the biggest factors. Corsair tends to rule the roost in this regard due to its global reputation for quality units.”

“Thermaltake, however, is the dark horse of this race as their PSUs are cost-effective and their reliability is excellent,” it added.

Choosing a power supply for your PC build

According to Intel, there are five major factors to consider when choosing a PSU for your PC build. These include the type of connection, wattage, protection, efficiency, and form factor.

While PSU purchases should include all the cables you require, except for possibly the newer 12VHPWR connector, it is good to know what each cable does:

• 24-pin Motherboard connector — how power is allocated varies based on the motherboard. However, 24-pin connectors are frequently used to power components like the chipset and PCIe.
• 4 or 8-pin CPU connector — this connector powers your CPU. Modern CPUs draw more power than the 24-pin motherboard connector can supply, hence the introduction of 4/8-pin connectors.
• 6 or 8-pin PCIe/GPU connector — while some GPUs can draw sufficient power from the PCIe slot, others require a 6/8-pin connector to operate properly.
• SATA power connector — this connector provides power to SATA storage devices.
• 12VHPWR connector — this high-power connector can supply up to 600W to a GPU, up from 150W with 8-pin connectors and from 75W with 6-pin connectors.

The next consideration is wattage or the maximum capacity of a PSU. These requirements will be determined by the other components you decide upon, such as the CPU and GPU.

Platforms like PCPartsPicker let you select your components, after which it will provide an estimated power draw in watts, which you can use to decide on a suitable PSU.

As PSUs handle large amounts of power, built-in protection is critical to protect the power supply and keep your system safe in case of unexpected incidents, such as a power surge.

Intel also recommends plugging your PC into a surge protector.

Efficiency is also important to consider. Inefficient delivery leads to power wastage and higher temperatures, which could decrease the lifespan of your components and, potentially, the performance of your system.

Prominent PSU manufacturers will assign a rating to their products, ranging from 80 Plus, being the lowest efficiency rating, to 80 Plus Titanium, the highest possible rating.

The final consideration is the form factor, which is largely determined by how much space you have available for a PSU in your PC case.