To do or not to do - CoolMax Green 1000W PSU

A

artless1

2[H]4U
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
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Hi All,

Has anyone tried out one of these CoolMax Green 1000W PSU's?
ZipZoomFly has them on sale right now for a ridiculous $130
here: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=360938

Noob on the boards here, but a builder for a few years, and
I am working on a gaming rig for a friend, using an E8400 45nm chip,
and want to run 2 x HD2900/512MB cards in CrossFire.
He also has 5-6 SATA drives and a DVD-R/W so need plenty-o-juice.

I appreciate any help or advice on this PSU, TIA.
 
The only reviews I can find on it don't even do a proper load test. They throw maybe 300watts of stuff at it and say "cool" and stick a winner badge on it. Oh and if you look at pics of the inside, its laughable. Its not even built like a quality 500w.
 
heheheh - I just checked out the Egg, and one guy reviewed it there, the thing BLEW UP when he first put it in, blowing capacitors and fried the boards inside - guess now we know why it is 1KW for $130

thx for the insEYEt
 
I didn't think it was even possible to blow up capacitors that fast.

I'd say for $130, it's a good deal.
 
Bbq said:
I didn't think it was even possible to blow up capacitors that fast.

I'd say for $130, it's a good deal.
Click to expand...

I dunno man, there are certain things I wouldn't own at any price. Plus he doesn't even come close to needing 1000w. Better to go pay a few extra bucks and get a half-way decent 600-700 watt that doesnt sound like a chainsaw.
 
Plenty of things I wouldn't own at any price either, but this shouldn't be one of them. Nobody really NEEDS 1000w, but we don't really NEED computers, either..

For 130 though, it's a good deal. Not for more, but for 130.
 
Get a PC Power and Cooling PS. Quietly they are one of the very best in the business.
 
preesh the input all -

LOL - I noticed the guy reviewing the CoolMax 850W PSU referenced above says he was supposed
to do a review of the 1000W but the one they sent him fizzled out on him, so he went with the 850W
that he had on-hand as a backup - and proceeds to show how inefficient and LOUD it is.

Now part of the OCZ tech group, indeed PC Power & Cooling makes a great product,
and I really like their single GIGANTIC 12v rail design too - but they are always pricey.

On the other hand, so is a new mobo, CPU, RAM, and 2x HD3870s in X-fire too ;-P

OK, so maybe my pal doesn't need 1000W, but he's gonna need a lot - has anyone
got a good idea for a solid 750-1000W PSU for at or less than the CoolMax price of $130?
Preferably with a good warranty backed by good customer service ...
 
Bbq said:
I didn't think it was even possible to blow up capacitors that fast.

I'd say for $130, it's a good deal.
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on what you call blowing up capacitors. I have literally had capacitors blow off the PCB in a power supply when a load was applied like in the MSI power supply I reviewed.
 
artless1 said:
preesh the input all -

LOL - I noticed the guy reviewing the CoolMax 850W PSU referenced above says he was supposed
to do a review of the 1000W but the one they sent him fizzled out on him, so he went with the 850W
that he had on-hand as a backup - and proceeds to show how inefficient and LOUD it is.
Click to expand...

Yeah. It's based on an ATNG server patform so noise isn't much of a concern.

artless1 said:
Now part of the OCZ tech group, indeed PC Power & Cooling makes a great product,
Click to expand...

Part of the OCZ group or not, PCP&C doesn't make anything.

artless1 said:
and I really like their single GIGANTIC 12v rail design too -
Click to expand...

It's easy to like what you don't understand. That why FUD works.

artless1 said:
but they are always pricey.
Click to expand...

Actually, since OCZ bought the company and lowered their prices they are quite reasonably priced. If you think PCP&C is "too expensive" then your standards are just low. You get what you pay for. My only real beef with them, other than their FUD marketing, is that they tend to be loud.

artless1 said:
On the other hand, so is a new mobo, CPU, RAM, and 2x HD3870s in X-fire too ;-P
Click to expand...

Right. Got to get your priorities straight.

artless1 said:
OK, so maybe my pal doesn't need 1000W, but he's gonna need a lot - has anyone
got a good idea for a solid 750-1000W PSU for at or less than the CoolMax price of $130?
Preferably with a good warranty backed by good customer service ...
Click to expand...

An HD2900XT has a 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connector on each card, so ideally you want something with FOUR PCIe connectors, two of which either 8-pin or 6+2-pin. Your pal doesn't need a 1000W. A 600W will do, but it has to have enough PCIe power connectors.
 
I have also been warned away from MODULAR PSUs... is that just more obfuscation through marketing? it seems I have a LOT to learn about power supplies ;-P
 
artless1 said:
I have also been warned away from MODULAR PSUs... is that just more obfuscation through marketing? it seems I have a LOT to learn about power supplies ;-P
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with a quality modular PSU. Whether it is modular or not is independent of the quality. Same as a non-modular, some are good, some are bad. The Corsair modulars are excellent... some of the Ultra modulars are peices of flaming crap, while others of the same brand are good. It can be a crapshoot and your best bet is to find a single, well-reviewed unit. Don't assume all of one company's PSUs are the same. They are not. They are actually made by several different companies. They'll go with higher quality manufacturers for some of their units, then cheap out and use sweatshop labor on others.
 
firas said:
as you can see here
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1280333

I bought some 600W coolmax for my friend's rig
it's working flawlessly until now

I won't buy it for my self, but if you are on a tight budget....coolmax FTW :)
Click to expand...

Completely different platform. It's apples and oranges.

Paul_Johnson said:
I guess it depends on what you call blowing up capacitors. I have literally had capacitors blow off the PCB in a power supply when a load was applied like in the MSI power supply I reviewed.
Click to expand...

Amazing. I didn't even know it was possible. The more you know.

artless1 said:
so then who makes the PSU's with PCP&C on the stickers?
Click to expand...

Not PCP&C. From what we know, win-tact builds the turbo-cool units, while seasonic makes the silencers. They've used several other brands in the past (one that's part of the fsp group but I forgot which).

artless1 said:
I have also been warned away from MODULAR PSUs... is that just more obfuscation through marketing? it seems I have a LOT to learn about power supplies ;-P
Click to expand...

More marketing goodness. Modular just refers to the plug, not the actual product. Compare a modular to a non-modular product provided they are identical otherwise, and you won't see a difference. Like the Thermaltake Toughpower. They come in modular And non-modular.
 
artless1 said:
so then who makes the PSU's with PCP&C on the stickers?
Click to expand...

Bbq said:
Not PCP&C. From what we know, win-tact builds the turbo-cool units, while seasonic makes the silencers. They've used several other brands in the past (one that's part of the fsp group but I forgot which).
Click to expand...

It used to be Sparkle (SPI), but yeah currently it is Win-Tact and Seasonic.
 
ok, so after a good bit more research, I am still left with the question, who makes the best PSU for the buck? TIA any and all advice, or even rare ascerbic pith ...
 
Danny Bui said:
artless1 said:
...who makes the best PSU for the buck?
Click to expand...
It depends on your specs, upgrade cycle and what features you want.
Click to expand...

And the price you can get the PSU for as well. For example, when you could pickup an Earthwatts 380W for $5AR, I'd consider that to be the most bang for your buck, but its useless if you're running a dual quadcore system with quad SLI. ;)

Antec Earthwatts units are typically on sale at newegg.

Thermaltake Toughpower units go on sale at the egg or Fry's.

Corsair units are probably the best bang for buck from buy.com, zipzoomfly.com, or clubit.com (not newegg.com).
 
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