[tylerand]

Soo, i was going over my invoice i received from Newegg, and noticed that something was off. The power supply in my invoice wasn't the one i remembered ordering.

Initially, i thought i had ordered the HEC Xpower 780 Watt, which really is a garbage power supply, but i figured it would do until i got something better. This thing isn't even the advertised 780 watt, rather it's only ~600 watt with badly fluctuating currents, i was aware of this but really didn't have the money to put into another PSU at the time.

However, in my invoice i notice that it says i purchased a Kingwin Mach 1 700 Watt power supply, which from first glance seems to be a much better power supply. Now, this quite pleased me because i was really worrying whether or not the previous power supply would struggle, and it was going to be the first thing on my list of upgrades (note my sig, i had planned on getting a 1kw Antec PSU). I'm not sure if i actually ordered this power supply and not the other one at last minute or something and just forgot (i probably moved some things around to make room for the money, but just forgot about it

), but personally i find this to be a great sigh of relief... at first glance.

Now my question for you folks is, whether this is a decent power supply or not? With this one, should i worry much about it not being able to effectively power my PC? Should i still go ahead and replace it as soon as possible with a better brand (i've never actually heard of Kingwin before i started putting this rig together, though Newegg seems to like it...). Or should this power supply do the trick. Should it be a solid enough power supply for my build, and possibly even future builds, solid enough that i don't have to worry about it killing my components?

TL;DR - Is the Kingwin Mach 1 700 Watt Power Supply a good enough power supply that i don't have to worry about replacing it with something better, and can focus my funds elsewhere?

Edit: Wow, 6 12V rails O_O.

Also know, i know very little about Power Supplies xD.

 

[Phaedrus2129]

It's not... bad. Not *really* bad, anyway. But it's hardly a PSU I'd recommend, especially for $95 (though $80 isn't too shabby). But the -12V regulation is awful (not that that matters much), and the efficiency goes to hell at high load, dropping below 80% past 500W, down to 73% at 690W according to Gabe's testing:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...y-Review/624/1

You could do worse, but it's hardly something to celebrate about. After all, HEC aren't all bad. Mediocre and often over-rated, but not truly awful. Most of the times I rail on them are just when Thermaltake uses an average-ish HEC unit and arbitrarily adds a hundred or two watts to its label, even if it can't do 5W over what HEC rated it for *coughW0069RUcough*.

 

[tylerand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaedrus2129 It's not... bad. Not *really* bad, anyway. But it's hardly a PSU I'd recommend, especially for $95 (though $80 isn't too shabby). But the -12V regulation is awful (not that that matters much), and the efficiency goes to hell at high load, dropping below 80% past 500W, down to 73% at 690W according to Gabe's testing: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/artic...y-Review/624/1 You could do worse, but it's hardly something to celebrate about. After all, HEC aren't all bad. Mediocre and often over-rated, but not truly awful. Most of the times I rail on them are just when Thermaltake uses an average-ish HEC unit and arbitrarily adds a hundred or two watts to its label, even if it can't do 5W over what HEC rated it for *coughW0069RUcough*.

Meh, suppose i was just looking at the ratings of this one versus the HEC unit.

I'll certainly have to check out some more reviews, but it seems like i'll be having to shovel out another ~$200 for a new PSU still.

 

[Phaedrus2129]

What are you talking about? You won't be topping 500W draw, so you won't suffer the massive efficiency drop, and -12V regulation doesn't matter.

All I mean is don't go dancing in the street or anything, it's not a great PSU, but it isn't horrible, and it can provide more power than you strictly need.

 

[Cerberus]

basically, what phaedrus is saying its a 'Meh' PSU

 

[tylerand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaedrus2129 What are you talking about? You won't be topping 500W draw, so you won't suffer the massive efficiency drop, and -12V regulation doesn't matter. All I mean is don't go dancing in the street or anything, it's not a great PSU, but it isn't horrible, and it can provide more power than you strictly need.

I won't be with this build, but i was more looking for something that could last for the future.

However, i suppose i could wait until then to buy a new Power Supply, rather than upgrading right away.

Edit: Wait, is the Efficiency rating simply how much AC power is drawn, per the amount of power that will actually be used for my computer?

Example - 800 Watt from the wall, and 650 watts of it is utilized in the PC, giving a ~80% efficiency at 650 watts? If that's so, and the only real limiting factor of the Power Supply is a high power drain from my electricity bill, then it doesn't really matter to me as my electricity is included in my rent.

 

[murderbymodem]

If you knew the HEC could only do ~600watt and not what it's rated for, why were you still planning on purchasing it? You can get a somewhat decent 600 watt, like an OCZ, for around the same price and not support a company that over rates their supplies....

 

[Phaedrus2129]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerand I won't be with this build, but i was more looking for something that could last for the future. However, i suppose i could wait until then to buy a new Power Supply, rather than upgrading right away. Edit: Wait, is the Efficiency rating simply how much AC power is drawn, per the amount of power that will actually be used for my computer? Example - 800 Watt from the wall, and 650 watts of it is utilized in the PC, giving a ~80% efficiency at 650 watts? If that's so, and the only real limiting factor of the Power Supply is a high power drain from my electricity bill, then it doesn't really matter to me as my electricity is included in my rent.

That's exactly it. Power supplies are rated at their DC output, not their AC input. Efficiency = DCout/ACin.

If you decide to return it, the Antec True Power New units are my current pick for high-end bang for buck; the Antec NeoECO and SeaSonic S12II/M12II units are good as well, but you need a bit more power.

 

[tylerand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redmist If you knew the HEC could only do ~600watt and not what it's rated for, why were you still planning on purchasing it? You can get a somewhat decent 600 watt, like an OCZ, for around the same price and not support a company that over rates their supplies....

Short answer is i'm dumb and impatient, there is absolutely no other reason for it. Post whatever you want on that, but i told you how it is

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaedrus2129 That's exactly it. Power supplies are rated at their DC output, not their AC input. Efficiency = DCout/ACin. If you decide to return it, the Antec True Power New units are my current pick for high-end bang for buck; the Antec NeoECO and SeaSonic S12II/M12II units are good as well, but you need a bit more power.

I doubt i'll be returning it, since it's been 3 years since i've finally enjoyed a PC, and i'm really looking forward to getting my computer up and running, really don't want to wait another few weeks for a new power supply to come in (bad enough my rig is already here, sitting in front of me and the power supply just reached BC... other side of the Country).

It seems like a half decent power supply, and again if efficiency is the only real issue with it, then it's a non-issue as my electricity bill is included with my rent, so i never worry about it

.

It is a shame though, because there's a damn nice sale on the Antec True Power 750W.

 

[Eagle1337]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerand I doubt i'll be returning it, since it's been 3 years since i've finally enjoyed a PC, and i'm really looking forward to getting my computer up and running, really don't want to wait another few weeks for a new power supply to come in (bad enough my rig is already here, sitting in front of me and the power supply just reached BC... other side of the Country).

Maybe so but a psu that explodes and takes your computer with it isn't fun.

 

[Zhany]

Personally I'm avoiding kingwin like the plague I had one from them that was the 1000w lazer series and it blew itself to pieces. I'm just glad nothing else went up with it.

 

[tylerand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle1337 Maybe so but a psu that explodes and takes your computer with it isn't fun.

Exactly why i posted this thread, but i don't see anybody saying anywhere that this power supply is made at such a low quality that it's going to explode, or even fail to the point of taking hardware out.

This was the EXACT reason i made the thread, to see whether it would be worth buying a new power supply to avoid an issue like that, or if this one would be stable enough for me not to worry about exploding PC's

 

[Eagle1337]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhany Personally I'm avoiding kingwin like the plague I had one from them that was the 1000w lazer series and it blew itself to pieces. I'm just glad nothing else went up with it.

And people have an corsairs explode, same with seasonic and every other psu on the market.

 

[Phaedrus2129]

Actually the True Power New units are always priced like that, I've never seen one for over $120 on any of the reputable sites, the 750W always sits around $95-$115, which is why I consider it a TX750 killer.

 

[tylerand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaedrus2129 Actually the True Power New units are always priced like that, I've never seen one for over $120 on any of the reputable sites, the 750W always sits around $95-$115, which is why I consider it a TX750 killer.

Also note that it's the Canadian site, so prices are a bit higher normally, not quite used to a nice price like that.

Actually, i've got the money now. Think it would be possible to buy, then when i recieve it send my other one back to Newegg?

Do you figure it's worth the effort?

 

[linkin93]

I would not trust the kingwin with a lightbulb let alone a computer... I'd return it and get something like a Thermaltake Litepower 600w unit (it's actually a HEC unit but eh)

Or if you want something a bit more get a purepower or toughpower series one.

 

[tylerand]

If i can (not sure about Newegg return policy), i'm going to try and get This Antec Truepower 750W, and return the Kingwin one when it comes it.

 

[Phaedrus2129]

Sure, if you don't mind the expense. The TPNs are some of the best cost:benefit units around.