Cancelled the order for the SX500-LG

COVERSPOT, the shop I ordered the SX500-LG power supply unit for my SG13 build from was delaying the order far too long that I finally gave up and asked them to cancel my order. I had to contact (email) them and get it done because for some reason it was not possible to cancel the order from the purchase history section of my Rakuten account. Usually a button to cancel the order would appear there. It said if the button doesn't appear, we have to contact the shop.

But there is one problem. They had it for the cheapest and the next shop is selling it for about JPY 500 more. I won't pay that much for it. The cheapest price was already too expensive.

There is another player in the market, Sharkoon, who makes a SFX-L unit called Silent Storm SFX Gold with exact same specs and layout as the Silverstone SX500-LG unit, which is slightly cheaper and readily available however their choice of capacitors is a bit worrying. Sharkoon is using arguably less quality Teapo branded Korean capacitors for the primary and secondary side capacitors of the PSU. They are using a Japanese capacitor for the standby capacitor though. Silverstone, at least with the revision 1.1, is using Japanese capacitors across the board.

Everyone these days is asking for Japanese capacitors and the enthusiasts seem to reject anything that doesn't have them. But it reality, they could be overestimating the effects of having non-Japanese capacitors with regards to home computers that doesn't run at full load 24/7. JonnyGuru, a reputed PSU reviewer replied to my thread on his forums saying Teapo is fine.

But the Silverstone SX500-LG PSU has an advantage over the Sharkoon. The cables offered by Silverstone are much shorter. Cable management would be easier with short cables. However, the cables that come with the Sharkoon’s PSU is shorter than what I have at the moment though.

Soon after placing the order for the PSU last time, I felt as if I had made a mistake going with a 500W PSU. In case I get the chance to upgrade to a X99 setup, that PSU might not have enough capacity to power it up. The 600W variant, SX600-G, despite coming in the SFX form factor would be enough as long as I don't go with dual graphics cards but seems to generate a lot of fan noise. So I'm not sure about it either.

But there are two PSUs coming in the future that can put me out of misery. The 700W 80Plus Platinum SFX-L unit from Silverstone and the 600W SFX unit with a 92mm fan from Corsair. The 700W unit will solve my concern with the deficiency of the 500W unit and the 600W unit will solve my concern with the noise. The pricing and availability are yet to be seen though. If I can get my hands on either within the year, I suppose that'll be enough. My only concern with waiting is the ever so inflating Japanese currency. And even though the rumours are that the new units will come out at around the same price as the current models, shops on Japan sure knows how to hit the pockets of the early adopters hard.

If I am buying one now, I probably would go with the Sharkoon Silent Storm Gold 500W PSU. Next choice would be the Silverstone SX600-LG. Sadly the SX500-LG cannot be found for a reasonable price. But since I do not have to buy one right now, I can wait a few months and grab a newer model.

Buy a PSU now or to wait? That’s the question.