The Big Power Supply Guide - Brands

Over time, brands tend to acquire reputations; sometimes earned, sometimes not. This page is the distillation of the opinions of a number of people familiar with the computer power supply industry.

This list is neither definitive nor comprehensive, and it should not be taken as such. It is merely a guide; brands with a good reputation for quality are generally safer bets, and those with less pleasant reputations are often poor choices. Additionally, some brands make use of multiple OEMs, and most OEMs sell their products under multiple brand names, and so brand alone is not enough to form a complete judgment.

Being listed on this page is neither a universal recommendation nor a universal condemnation. Always read competent reviews of an individual product before making a purchasing decision.

Contents

  • Recommended Power Supply Companies and Brands
  • Conditionally Recommended Power Supply Companies and Brands
  • Not Recommended Power Supply Companies and Brands

Recommended Power Supply Companies and Brands

Corsair: Made by Seasonic

Enermax

Enhance: Affordable workhorses

Fortron/Sparkle/FSP Group: Stick with units whose model numbers begin with FSP; those that start with AX are made by a different manufacturer, and use low-grade capacitors.

Hiper: Big in Europe, they've been making their way into other markets.

PC Power & Cooling: Expensive, no "bling", but they do Just Work. Typically rebranded Seasonic parts.

Seasonic: Makers of some of the quietest, most efficient supplies on the market, and overall a very consistent track record.

SevenTeam

SilenX: rebadged Fortrons with quieter fans; not a great value, but still good products

XClio: Newegg's (and ChiefValue's) "upscale" house brand, XClio rebrands some of the better mid-range supplies.

Zippy/Emacs

Conditionally Recommended Power Supply Companies and Brands

Antec: Probably the best known name in power supplies, but their current products are a mixed bag. After a run of very questionable supplies built by ChannelWell, Antec now sells a number of products (the NeoHE line, Trio, Earthwatts) made by Seasonic. While reportedly not as good as some other Seasonic units, they are quite respectable.

BFG: Yes they're just a rebrander, but they rebrand decent stuff. Currently they seem to be choosing Topower as their OEM, which is not bad at all. Essentially the same units but with a lifetime warranty (and a higher price...).

Cooler Master: They cater to the cheaper end of the market, and some of their models are quite good value.

OCZ: The PowerStream line is generally well-received; the ModStream has a much less impressive reputation. Older OCZ supplies are made by Topower; they are now switching to Fortron. The GameXStream is made by Fortron.

Silverstone: Usually rebranded Enhance or Etasis units.

Topower/Tagan/ePower: Respectable if perhaps unremarkable, and cheaper than the rebadged versions sold by others.

Ultra: Early models were quite good (and cheap), but a generation of poor products made by YoungYear put a severe black mark on their name. Some products are now made by Andyson, and are much better.

Not Recommended Power Supply Companies and Brands

Achieve
Aerocool
Allied
Apex
Arrow
Aspire
Austin
Codegen
Coolmax
Demon
Deer
Devanni
Duro
Dynapower
Eagle
EagleTech
Foxconn
Foxlink
Hercules
InWin (except FSP models)
JustPC
Key Mouse
Kingwin
L&C
Linkworld
Logic
Macron Power
MGE
Mustang
Okia
Power-Man (except FSP models)
Powerstar
Power-Up
Powmax
QMax
Qtec
q-tec
Raidmax (except Topower/Tagan models; absolutely avoid those sold with cases)
Real PC Power
Rhycon
Robanton
Rosewill
Skyhawk
Thermaltake (except the Thermaltake W0057 PurePower 500W)
TMP-ANS
Tsunami
Turbo
Turbolink
US-Can
Viomax
X-superalien
X-treme