Jumping in here because it's honestly disappointing how many name brand budget units are basically just rebranded junk these days. I had issues with a basic EVGA 500 W1 80+ White a while back that started clicking after just three months, and it was so frustrating. Unfortunately, the market is flooded with units that look okay on the box but have garbage internals... even the lower end Corsair CV series isn't as good as expected because they often use older group-regulated designs that just dont hold up. Here is what you need to look out for:

• Group regulation: Many cheap PSUs under 50 bucks use this. Since your i3 build has almost no 12V draw without a GPU, the voltage rails can actually get pretty unstable.
• Capacitor quality: Most units in this range use cheap sleeve bearings for fans and low-tier caps that die if the room gets a bit warm.
• Protective circuits: You want something with OVP and SCP that actually works so it doesnt fry your motherboard if it fails. Honestly, you should go check the PSU Tier List on the Cultists Network site. It's a huge database that ranks units by actual internal component quality. If you can find the Corsair CX550 550W 80+ Bronze or the Thermaltake Smart BM2 550W 80+ Bronze Semi-Modular on sale, grab one. They're much more reliable than the white-rated stuff and stay way quieter. Since you're in Chicago, maybe hit up the Micro Center on Elston? Sometimes they have open-box deals on better units that fit your budget perfectly. Good luck with the build, you've got this!

> i just want something quiet that wont die in six months... honestly i feel your pain. i had a similar situation back when i was building a media server for my parents. i thought i could get away with one of those basic white rated units from a big name brand because it was just a low power build. unfortunately that thing was a total nightmare. it sounded like a literal jet engine starting up every time i opened a few tabs. i ended up swapping it out twice and both times the fan profile was just aggressive for no reason. the problem with those entry level lines is they use the cheapest sleeve bearing fans imaginable. they start out okay but after a few months of dust they start rattling or clicking. i actually had one of those budget units from a major manufacturer actually pop on me during a simple windows update. no joke. there was a spark and that smell of burnt ozone that you just cant get out of the carpet. it was super disappointing because i trusted the brand name but realized they really just slap their logo on some generic internal components for their bottom tier stuff. imo you gotta be really careful with the white or standard ratings. they are often poorly regulated and can have terrible ripple which eventually wears down your motherboard. i learned the hard way that saving twenty bucks now usually means buying a whole new system when the cheap unit decides to take everything else with it. definitely avoid the units that feel suspiciously light when you pick them up... that usually means they skipped on the heatsinks and capacitors. it just isnt worth the risk to your other parts.

Tbh you might want to consider the MSI MAG A550BN 550W 80+ Bronze instead. Those super cheap EVGA white units are known for being loud and failing early. Since you're doing spreadsheets, you really need a fan that stays quiet under low load.

• Check the 80 Plus rating (Bronze is minimum imo)
• Avoid the EVGA W1 series entirely Id be careful with anything under $40, it just isnt worth the headache...