PSU Review Database

The Goal
Have you ever seen a PSU that looked interesting, so you fruitlessly tried to find a review? Or do you remember reading a review for a PSU and you can't seem to remember where exactly you saw it (something that happens to me often)? Look no further since I will be cataloging every properly done PSU review I can find. Some of you might think this is a waste of time, but I am hoping this will be the go to guide for finding a PSU review. It will save time for people since they do not have to search all over the place and it should provide easy access to any hard to find reviews. Also, if a review is on this list it means it is from a reputable website with proper testing procedures.

First off, I would like to specify what makes a good PSU review:

• Load testing using a special purpose ATE or a custom built resistor or MOSFET load tester.
• Ripple and noise measurements.
• Testing above room temperature, preferably 40-50C.
• Commentary on build quality and detailed analysis of components used.

A bad PSU review will include:

• Testing at room temperature.
• Loading with a computer in lieu of a load tester.
• Voltage measurements using a multimeter or worse, software (without the use of a load tester).
• Anything missing from the list of what makes a good review.

For more explanation on why those specific details make a good review, read this article.

For now the database is completely updated with all the properly done reviews I can find. I say completely, but I am always adding new reviews as I find them. After I am sure there are no more good reviews to add, the next tentative step for this project is to find reviews that are only slightly flawed for units that are not currently represented by a good review. For simplicity I abbreviated the reviewers sites, but here is a legend with a quick summary.

Legend
JG or jonnyGURU.com
One of the original review sites offering proper reviews and arguably the most reputable. The current reviewer, Oklahoma Wolf, is very knowledgeable and offers a complete array of tests including cold tests, hot tests, 10% load tests, overshoot transient testing, ripple/noise measurements and a complete tear down.

[H] or HardOCP.com
Paul Johnson is very good at what he does. Their review setup is also ideal, if not slightly different, with an incubator controlled hot box, 8 hour torture tests, transient testing, ripple/noise measurements and a general overview of build quality.

HS or HardwareSecrets.com
Hardware Secrets is slightly lesser known than the first two review sites, but no less thorough in their reviews. Gabriel Torres mans the show running a gauntlet including a detailed tear down, 45C ambient testing, max ripple/noise measurements (but not for each individual load), overload tests (testing for OCP and max wattage able to provide) but does not provide detailed voltage regulation values. He is also quite generous handing out awards, but their reviews are still very valuable.

OC or Overclock3D.net
OC3D has been doing reviews for quite a while now, but it wasn't until mid/late 2009 until their test setup and methodology was updated to provide complete reviews. That said, James Napier offers valuable input with a general build quality over-view, cold and hot load tests, an overload test to push a PSU to it's limits and ripple/noise testing.

PC or PC Perspective
PC Perspective has pretty much always had a respectable test setup, but it wasn't until a couple years ago they acquired a load tester capable of fully loading high end PSUs. Shortly after that they started using a hotbox to test PSUs at up to 40C. Because they have a full test setup including ripple/noise testing and acoustics, they deserve to be included.

IT or www.itocp.com
ITOCP is a Chinese website but occasionally offers up PSU reviews in English. There are a variety of cold and hot load tests, as well as a 3 hour, full load torture test, ripple/noise measurements and a few other tests. There is also a detailed analysis of the components and designs.

M or Makalu
Makalu is a member over at guru3d that built his own resistor based load tester, and from time to time puts a PSU to the test. He does a fine job for a do-it-yourselfer and I feel I should include his handful of reviews since his testing fits all of my requirements.

I have included the source thread within the spreadsheet itself for those wanting to link to just the document. I want this to be available to as many as possible, but I also do not want others taking credit and would prefer links to this thread instead of directly to Google Documents.


Edited by shinji2k - 1/21/11 at 10:17pm

I am certainly considering alternatives like Google spreadsheet. I've also thought about including some basic info as you suggested, but that would probably have to come after I get a reasonable list going. This is a lot of work as it is.

For now I want to keep it simple. Tator's thread already has a lot of info in it, if we start adding hundreds of links to reviews it would be difficult for people to easily find the current recommended models.
Edited by shinji2k - 5/21/10 at 8:26pm

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Any and all are welcome since I'm sure this thread will be constantly evolving, hopefully organizing and consolidating a large amount of data.

And this has already evolved. I have to work tomorrow so I should probably go to bed

I'm pretty sure I've finished with jonnyGURU. I'm probably only a quarter of the way done gathering reviews. It's clear this is going to be a massive list. Google Docs was a good choice, thanks Duckie! There was at least one really old jonnyGURU review that didn't quite stack up to my standards as a good review (Aspire Beast). But what he did test was enough to show it was junk so it's enough for me.

I have it set to take up 60% of the width of your screen. What res are you using so I can judge how much more I need. It's fine for me, but not everyone is running at 1080P or higher.

Well, at 1280x1024 I need to set it to 100% to see all the current columns. I'll just leave it at that. I don't know exactly what info I will be including anyways.
Edited by shinji2k - 5/22/10 at 4:18pm