Right, but my point was that you could spend $35 or $45 and get the same quality components and wattage, just without the gold efficiency. There are a lot of well-rated bronze 500W psus out there on the cheap
A $35 or $45 unit may be able to safely deliver the same wattage as a $65 unit, but it's never going to be as good or last as long. Cheaper power supplies use lower quality components than the more expensive ones and often simplified designs. For example, the Rosewill Hive has 60 millivolts of voltage ripple/oscillation on the 12 volt rail at full load, while the CM V550S has less than 30. It also uses cheaper chinese capacitors which are likely to degrade faster than the japanese ones used in higher end units such as the CM, meaning it will perform worse and worse over time. In general, when it comes to power supplies you get what you pay for, even though there of course are variations like other products.
You may have a point though when you say he doesn't need an expensive PSU; as long as it's reliable until his computer becomes obsolete, it's probably good enough.
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