PSU choice

Permabanned
Joined
27 Sep 2004
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So i have a good rig atm. I have an old PC with no PSU atm aswell which im looking to get up and running for the sake of it being there and maybe turning it into a music dedicate PC (anyone got some tips on that while im here?).

So i need a PSU. Shall i spend £20 getting a Q-Tech 650W PSU or £40+ on an Antec 380W PSU? I know Q-Tech have had terrible reviews but is it needed to get a good PSU for a secondary rig?

Any advice welcome, cheers.
 
Soldato
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13 Jul 2005
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I always look at it like this;

How much does it cost?
Will I ever want to resell it?
Will anyone ever want to buy it second hand?
The net cost is the purchase price-money recouped when it's sold hence;

Purchase price of Q-Tec = £20
Will I ever want to sell it - yes
Will anyone ever want to buy it second hand? - No
Net cost = £20-0 = £20

Purchase price of Akasa Paxpower 400W = £40
Will I ever want to sell it - yes
Will anyone ever want to buy it second hand? - yes (£25?)
Net cost = £40-£25 = £15

So it is cheaper to buy better and upgrade later.

Well, it works for me.
 
Associate
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If you have no backup PC (and don't need one) then I agree with WJA96.
In my case, I play MMORPGs that are not too demanding on PC requirements but I need to be able to get onto them by another PC if my main PC has a problem. I also play demanding single player games that won't run well on my backup PC but I don't particularly need to play them till I can get the main PC running. So, the backup PC is a downgraded version of my main PC and it gets all the hand-me-downs from upgrades to the main PC.
So, basically I always have a good PSU in it so I can potentially use it to replace the main PC PSU if it packs in (I have had this happen before). In your case, you may not need to use it as a support PC if you just want to make it a music server. I would always consider putting a PSU good enough to power your main rig as a backup - just in case :)
 
Man of Honour
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I would buy the decent PSU even if it's just a backup, not worth the risk to the system and some cheap PSUs aren't even safe. Since PSUs are something that last a long time, I'd get a decent one, partly for the reason suggested above. An extra £15 would get you something much more capable. Though, be aware that brand doesn't mean much, low-end PSUs can be pretty bad even from an otherwise decent brand.
 
Soldato
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I bought a Corsair HX850 PSU about 10 years ago, came with 7 year warranty, went from a Sandy bridge i7, with crossfired 6950's and is still running today in my current AMD 5800X and 3070 system.
 
Soldato
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London, UK
Never buy a q-tec. I forgot I was using one as a temp psu in a rig, upgraded gpu, still technically well within limits though, it would spike and kill the gpu every time it was stressed. Luckily warranty covered it and they helped me diagnose it... By the 4th gpu.
Was back in agp days, so no pci-e power. 550w qtec.

Unless it's just an office machine and only worth <£100, then power it with a hamster and home made battery lol.
 
Soldato
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Grab a cheap Antec/Corsair/Coolermaster, whatever, just don't buy Qtec, they're tin boxes pretending to be power supplies. If that's all you have in a pinch to test a system for 5 minutes, sure, but i wouldn't trust one beyond that.
 
Soldato
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Surrey - UK
Guilty of following the thread and not noticing the original thread dates(i don't really pay that much attention), holy hell, i guess someone landed here from a google result.
 
Associate
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Nice 15yr Necro! :p
Oops, guilty as charged. So used to clicking on the high page count in the 3080 thread I did it for a thread list - in reverse chrono order. A closer look next time for sure. Apologies for the confusion (my post still stands on PSU purchasing though) :)
 
Associate
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I bought a Corsair HX850 PSU about 10 years ago, came with 7 year warranty, went from a Sandy bridge i7, with crossfired 6950's and is still running today in my current AMD 5800X and 3070 system.
Same with me with my AX1200. Initially started in my 3930k machine right up until now in my 5800x. Still shows no signs of stopping. I did buy the Corsair red sleeved cables and can't find the original black 24 pin these days, have to use an extension in a matx build so it doesn't look terrible lol
 
Associate
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Something else to maybe keep in mind, especially if you're turning this into a music/media server PC - cheap crappy PSU may mean crappy noisy fan, and/or buzzy coil whine.

PSU is one of those things it's rarely worth cheaping out on. Especially when you can get a really good PSU second hand for similar costs.

I've recently been looking for SFX power supplies, which are generally more expensive, and I could get a top-spec best-in-class corsair 600W for £40-£50 pretty easily. Fully boxed with all cables.

So personally I'd spend the £30-£40 on a high spec lightly-used one. I don't know much about antec though, so I can't comment on those supplies specifically.
 
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