Update by EVGA, here is the official reply:

“EVGA stands behind its full line of products, and the 5-Year Warranty on each B3 power supply demonstrates the confidence EVGA has in the quality and safety of each product shipped. If anyone has questions or concerns, please contact EVGA Customer Service and we are more than happy to assist. In the rare instance that a replacement unit is necessary, EVGA will support with a free Advanced RMA on all EVGA SuperNOVA B3 Power Supplies.
 
In addition, the EVGA SuperNOVA B3 review samples, as well as the production, were all built at the exact same qualified facility.”
 
Thanks,
EVGA

 
[H]ardOCP has an article claiming shenanigans by EVGA, via Overclock.net forums: (https://www.hardocp.com/news/2017/09/29/evga_caught_sampling_psus_to_reviewers_same_as_retail). 
"EVGA is sampling PSU review samples from one manufacturer, but when you go to the store and purchase the same "unit," it is made by a totally different company."
I'm a bit confused since both TomsHardware (retail) and JonnyGuru (sampled by EVGA) state in their review that SuperFlower is the manufacturer. But OklahomaWolf @ JonnyGuru later posts in his forum that:
"Aris told me all of his units were store bought. That could explain the difference in solder quality. Press kits are actually made by Super Flower while retail units are made by RSY."
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14808
I almost bought one of these prior to researching it. Any clarity about retail vs. sample manufacturer would be appreciated!
 

yeah, tbh i only have gold and above units in my current machines, but it's always appealing to research if the next can be built cheaper (and the planning is most of the fun anyways:)

Wonder what evga has to say about this.

maxfly
not cool at all. that 450 b3 unit is one of the most popular entry level psus. i want to see much wider retail b3 series testing done. like all of them!
 im shocked. no pun intended. this had better not be true or evga is going to take one right upside the nugget. bad press can and usually does squeeze the profits right out of a line up like the b3.
 EDIT- cheap isnt always low quality. look at the seasonic s12 and m12 4-620w series. excellent quality and cheap as they come. ive been using them for years in budget and mid range rigs. not to mention ive suggested them more times than i can remember on forums. makes me shudder to think that i have come really close to using the 450 b3 in a couple of tight budget builds rather than the usual s12 520(didnt want to fudge around with the rebate). ive also posted them up on forums for their supposed value.
 i am also looking forward to hearing what evga has to say
 

I could say that I am shocked that you think what is being said on their Forum to be 100% Correct.
"450 b3 unit is one of the most popular entry level psus" From where did you get this Info?
At least that is what is being put forward in the Overclock.net forums.
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-450-b3-psu,5160-11.html Warranty: 3 Years
Final Analysis
EVGA hits the mainstream category hard with its new B3 line. The 450 B3 demonstrates excellent performance for the standards of this price range, a fairly long hold-up time, and quiet operation. Modular cabling, a user-selectable semi-passive mode, and a five-year warranty are icing on the cake. Most important is EVGA's impressive performance-per-dollar ratio. The company used to sell hardware at cost to batter its competition, and it appears to be using a similar tactic with the B3 family. After all, it's hard to offer all of the 450 B3's functionality for just $50.
 
Verdict
Our sample died during OPP testing with 580W load, with the main fuse staying intact! This is a serious problem and till we get to the bottom of this we cannot recommend the 450 B3, although it has great performance for the standards of this category.
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-850-b3-psu,5186-11.html Warranty: 5 Years
Final Analysis
The 850 B3 achieves good overall performance, despite the 3.3V rail's bad transient response (hopefully EVGA fixes that as soon as possible, since the rail failed all of our tests). But regardless of a strong showing in most of our benchmarks, this PSU appears to have a serious flaw: our retail sample finished its OPP test and wouldn't fire back up. Apparently, something broke on the secondary side. Although we're glad the 850 B3 didn't blow up like the 450W model, this is our second (so far) B3-series power supply to die on the bench. And given that the 850 B3 is the family's flagship, we are worried about the platform's reliability.
 
Verdict
Another B3 unit that died during our tests and this makes us very skeptical about the whole B3 line. This time we didn't have a spectacular failure but still a 100 bucks PSU should not break during the protection features evaluation.
 
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showpost.php?p=142553&postcount=10

You know what's a joke, the 80 Plus voluntary certification program. They only test samples sent to them by the mfg. They don't test retail sourced power supplies. That leaves the door open for a bait and switch.  (I'm not saying EVGA does that, if they do, i haven't seen any proof of it)
 
I always tell people to avoid buying any bronze power supply. They cost you more to operate in the long run.

Jacob -- thanks for the reply, I (and I'm sure others) appreciate! 

Not sure what the issue [H]ardOCP has exactly, I've read the [H]ardOCP article claiming shenanigans by EVGA, & Overclock.net forums
 
- [H]ardOCP needs to take a Basic Statistics Class ---> two Data Point, is Not Statistically Significant
 
- Most PSU, MFG do not seem to announce process changes, tweaks, revisions  (Corsair comes to mind when X99 MB were having Voltage issues)
 
- MFG do change vendors all the time for many reasons
 
- OMG price point products are Not as Good as the Top tier, more expensive units
 
 
Seems like someone has an axe to grind ? @  [H]ardOCP

EVGA_JacobF
Please see below:
 

“EVGA stands behind its full line of products, and the 5-Year Warranty on each B3 power supply demonstrates the confidence EVGA has in the quality and safety of each product shipped. If anyone has questions or concerns, please contact EVGA Customer Service and we are more than happy to assist. In the rare instance that a replacement unit is necessary, EVGA will support with a free Advanced RMA on all EVGA SuperNOVA B3 Power Supplies.
 
In addition, the EVGA SuperNOVA B3 review samples, as well as the production, were all built at the exact same qualified facility.”
 
Thanks,
EVGA

Hardocp is known to be shills and blowhards. Take that for what it is.

EVGA_JacobF
Please see below:
 

“EVGA stands behind its full line of products, and the 5-Year Warranty on each B3 power supply demonstrates the confidence EVGA has in the quality and safety of each product shipped. If anyone has questions or concerns, please contact EVGA Customer Service and we are more than happy to assist. In the rare instance that a replacement unit is necessary, EVGA will support with a free Advanced RMA on all EVGA SuperNOVA B3 Power Supplies.
 
In addition, the EVGA SuperNOVA B3 review samples, as well as the production, were all built at the exact same qualified facility.”
 
Thanks,
EVGA

   

MSim

fearpoint
Hardocp is known to be shills and blowhards. Take that for what it is.

When has [H]OCP been a shill? 
 
They have spoken out about issues like many other review sites have over the years.
 

he has for a long time, his love affair with BFG was down right creepy. i remember reading his column in CPU magazine years ago and thinking this guy is a total jerk. i check them out every now and then but it's usually a eyeroll fest when i do.

I like the Consumers Report model of reviews -- unbiased -- No sponsorship & they buy the product at retail

Did anyone read Tomshardware review on EVGA 450 B3?
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-450-b3-psu,5160-11.html
 

In the end, it may not matter because the 450 B3 has other, more serious problems. It looks like Super Flower made a huge mistake in its design, which poses a major safety risk. We noticed that the over-power protection triggering point is set way too high. Even under normal operating temperatures, one of the primary FETs in our store-bought sample, along with some other components, blew up. Either SF should set its OPP point much lower or use components able to handle higher amperage. We were also disturbed by the fact that, after the primary side shorted out, the PSU's fuse didn't blow. Every time we applied power, we saw sparks. Obviously, that's a fire hazard.
 
Of course, we notified EVGA of our findings, even though the company wasn't able to send a review sample before or after our mishap with the store-bought solution, stating it didn't have any to send. This looks suspicious to us, since plenty of online stores have them in stock. Seasonic recently started providing review samples through online stores to show it has nothing to hide. And after our trouble with EVGA, this approach is starting to look a lot better for transparency.
 
If the 450 B3 hadn't blown in a spectacular way, it would be one of the best PSUs in this category. But we are seriously troubled by its issue and EVGA's lack of a response when we probed for possible causes. Although the 450 B3 is solid and sells for a great price, we recommend being extra careful with this model until we can better explain why ours died on the bench. Maybe some day EVGA will follow Seasonic and offer reviewers samples through a retail channel to ensure that plain users have the same access to good hardware as the tech press. We'd like to confirm the whole batch of 450 B3s isn't bad, after all.
 

 
Having better transparency is always a good thing for consumers. I think it's time for a new industry standard. Do all review samples through a retail channel, just like Seasonic does. This is long over due imo.
 
I wonder how that works with Seasonic, do they reimburse the reviewer or do they give them a prepaid visa card?