Tech Tip of the Day: Cheapskates Never Win, Pay for a Quality PSU

Times are tough, we get it. But while you think you might be saving yourself some scratch by picking up an ultra cheap power supply on a blue light special, you're really only setting yourself up for disaster down the line.

Here's the thing -- power supplies are one of the areas where you truly get what you pay for, and buying name brand counts. If you see a vendor charging $20 for a 700W no-name PSU, run in the other direction. Shady manufacturers inflate their PSU specs by driving most of the amps through the +5V rail, but it's the +12V rail(s) you need to pay attention to, as this is where modern systems draw most of their power.

When in doubt, pick the friggin' thing up. If it's light as a feather, treat it as a telltale sign that the manufacturer skimped during production. A quality power supply typically weighs a lot more than a generic unit.

Finally, do your research. Professional power supply testing equipment is ridiculously expensive, and since we're not setup to properly analyze PSUs, we don't review them. When reading an online PSU evaluation, make sure they're using high end equipment and doing more than just running a high system load and measuring the rails.