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Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok to El Quintron

Premium Member

to El Quintron

Re: Question about Modular PSUs

Modularity is usually a convenience/luxury option found on better-made PSUs. e.g. I haven't really seen unrated, unprotected PSUs offered with modular cables, but there are plenty of active PFC, silver/gold/platinum-rated Modular PSUs.

So the hypothesis would be that silver/gold/platinum PSUs tend to have higher failure rates than the $20 specials that lack any sort of efficiency rating or power protection.

That seems unlikely. Who told you that modular PSUs fail more?

The only cause for failure I could think of is someone constantly plugging in and unplugging the modular cables, leading to premature wear on the connectors. I just completely tore apart my computer for the first time in 3.5 years, so I don't see constant fiddling to be a likely factor.

El Quintron
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Premium Member
join:2008-04-28
Tronna

El Quintron

Premium Member

said by Krisnatharok:

That seems unlikely. Who told you that modular PSUs fail more?

The only cause for failure I could think of is someone constantly plugging in and unplugging the modular cables, leading to premature wear on the connectors.

When I build the first incarnation of this machine the guy seemed to be bent on getting me the best deal possible (maybe that's what I wanted at the time) so he recommended a non-modular PSU as well as stating that it was more reliable. I'm curious if that still stands because at the rate I open my machine up (once every 3 months at least) I figured it would be much more practical to get a Modular PSU.

EQ

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

1 recommendation

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

You rewire your PC every 3 months? Why? All you should need to do is dust-bust the inside of it every month or so, no need to tear it down. I would think a complete tear-down once every 12-18 months (or longer) is all that's needed.

Check this out:

Corsair 750w Bronze options:
CORSAIR CX Series CX750 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - $84
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750M 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Semi Modular High Performance Power Supply - $100
CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - $125 (old model)

Corsair 750w Gold options:
CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $135
CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $166

The best you can get with the bronze PSUs is semi-modular and a 5 year warranty. Both gold-rated PSUs are fully modular and come with a 7 year warranty.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have an AX750.

norwegian
Premium Member
join:2005-02-15
Outback

2 edits

1 recommendation

norwegian

Premium Member

said by Krisnatharok:

You rewire your PC every 3 months?

Why not - add a mate's hdd, add a card; graphics, tv, sound etc without your own wants can leave you pulling down quite often without cleaning.

----

As for the question raised.

I've not used a modular supply so can not compare, but my hard-wired supplies have handled my abuse as well as the power company's for some years.

I've not used a modular supply but hope they last as good as the hard-wired supplies I have. As for better; I think the term is lost in the question. I would think a modular supply would be better - on wiring and specifically on aesthetics. Sure the cabling would be tidier and less of a spiderweb, but would that equate to better quality? I doubt it but expect the fact the box and cables pull apart, you may find some companies pick better hardware for tails and such because they expect you to play with it all.

The plain hard-wired psu's include the bottom of the range supplies too, hence the lean in quality being lob-sided....nothing really unusual, just the English language words and sales pitches helping you miss the obvious......we all fall for it I'm afraid.

Edit: grammar

El Quintron
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join:2008-04-28
Tronna

El Quintron

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said by norwegian:

said by Krisnatharok:

You rewire your PC every 3 months?

Why not - add a mate's hdd, add a card; graphics, tv, sound etc without your own wants can leave you pulling down quite often without cleaning.

Pretty much. New GPU, new SSD, Audio cards... if anything I do know where everything is on my motherboard, and I could not have said that when I first got into this.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

You rewire the whole PC every time you add a GPU or HDD?

El Quintron
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join:2008-04-28
Tronna

El Quintron

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said by Krisnatharok:

You rewire the whole PC every time you add a GPU or HDD?

Not a full re-wire no.

I open it up every ~3 months to either add something, clean it or see if I can organize the wiring better.

I'm one of those people that really can't leave well enough alone when it comes to my Desktop.

koitsu
MVM
join:2002-07-16
Mountain View, CA
Humax BGW320-500

koitsu

MVM

I'm similar in this regard, actually. I open mine up every 3 months or so as well, and in the process I always find one or two things to improve upon (usually running of cables/wiring) when I do it. I usually open my system to clean out dust bunnies, the CPU fan, GPU fan, and case fans. I don't tend to do this during the winter though, as the added heat from the PC does keep one side of my apartment warmer than it could be (gotta love buildings built in the 1940s, fantastic insulation, not. :P)