New power supply recommendations?

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burkett375

n00b
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
4
First off, my current build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ OutletPC) OC'd to 4.4Ghz
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston 30GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($47.00 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 500GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card OC'd to 1050Core/1500Mem
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.97 @ OutletPC)
Total: $794.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-11 20:48 EDT-0400)

Two questions:

1. I picked up a CX750M for $99+tax ($108 total). Is this a decent replacement if I plan to Xfire a 280x when prices come back down? If not, can you suggest one at the same exact price? (budget is FIRM)

2. How much am I going to see in savings from 80+ Certified vs. Bronze or Gold?

Thanks!!
 
1. That is a vastly overpriced power supply. Seasonic X750s have been as low as $100, and is in a whole completely different league than the mediocre CX series. 750 watts will be enough for 280x crossfire.

2. Not enough to matter in general.

Rosewill Capstone 750 watts is $100 at Newegg. If you want modular, the Rosewill Tachyon is well worth the $30 over the CX750M. Otherwise, pick the Rosewill Hive 750w over the CX750M.
 
There's been a few good sales on Seasonic units in recent weeks which would put a Gold/Plat 750W+ unit in the $90 to $100 range for you.
I wouldn't put too much faith on the CX series or any bronze unit with those kinds of loads, but that's just me being picky. You can get a gold-rated 750W for around $100 but you're going to have to abandon the Corsair price-premium. Rosewill Capstone is $99 on Newegg right now.

Honestly I would say if you value a quality unit / efficiency then aim for something better. Personally I would never put SLi/XFire on a bronze or sub-par unit like the CX series.
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a Bronze unit powering SLI/crossfire, nor anything that inherently makes Gold better than Bronze for powering high power systems.
 
TaintedSquirrel said:
There's been a few good sales on Seasonic units in recent weeks which would put a Gold/Plat 750W+ unit in the $90 to $100 range for you.
I wouldn't put too much faith on the CX series or any bronze unit with those kinds of loads, but that's just me being picky. You can get a gold-rated 750W for around $100 but you're going to have to abandon the Corsair price-premium. Rosewill Capstone is $99 on Newegg right now.

Honestly I would say if you value a quality unit / efficiency then aim for something better. Personally I would never put SLi/XFire on a bronze or sub-par unit like the CX series.
Click to expand...

where are you seeing the seasonic deals? PCPartpicker isn't showing anything...i'll check out the capstone, thanks!
 
I actually haven't seen the X650/X750 in the $100 range on Newegg for quite a number of months. I think they got close around end of December last year, but other than that, I remember waiting for that deal all year last year and it never came despite multiple chances in 2012.
 
rastaban said:
I actually haven't seen the X650/X750 in the $100 range on Newegg for quite a number of months. I think they got close around end of December last year, but other than that, I remember waiting for that deal all year last year and it never came despite multiple chances in 2012.
Click to expand...
X650 in January.
http://slickdeals.net/f/6609490-sea...power-supply-70-after-20-rebate-free-shipping

660XP2 Platinum February and December.
http://slickdeals.net/f/6670484-sea...ower-supply-80-after-20-rebate-free-shipping?
It was a Shell Shocker this year, too.

760XP2 ~3 weeks ago.
http://slickdeals.net/f/6725404-sea...ly-ss-760xp2-99-99-after-rebate-free-shipping
 
I buy the Corsair CX-430M (modular) for my AMD APU builds. I can usually buy them for $29.99 AR. They works great. But for serious gaming, I wouldn't do the CX-750 @ $99.00 Example: I purchased a Antec Neo 620 PSU for $35.00 AR $35.00 which I received within 4 weeks. As others have mentioned, there are plenty of great PSU's out there for $100.00! Return that CX-750 & find something better!
 
If you have a budget for a PSU of around $200 and most do, in addition to having a Microcenter near you. You can get the very highly rated EVGA 1300watt G2 for $229 .. this price matched somewhere .. ask a sales guy to find the best price for you.

It's really not a huge PSU
 
Not trying to derail this PSU thread, but I noticed although your CPU and MOBO will work together, they are not the best match. Your CPU is unlocked and easily overclocked, but your MOBO won't allow you to take advantage of that. You should be looking for a z87 based MOBO if you plan on overclocking, or if you don't plan to overclock you can easily go with a cheaper 4670 or 4570 "non K" CPU. Of course if you plan on selling your CPU someday, it will be easier to sell if its an unlocked "K" model, but if you are looking to build this a inexpensively as possible, there is no need to buy the unlocked 4670K.
 
SixFootDuo said:
If you have a budget for a PSU of around $200 and most do, in addition to having a Microcenter near you. You can get the very highly rated EVGA 1300watt G2 for $229 .. this price matched somewhere .. ask a sales guy to find the best price for you.

It's really not a huge PSU
Click to expand...

Vastly overpowered for the OP's build
 
I got a Seasonic Plat Cert 850w and I seem to be having issues with it shutting off randomly. Then it takes 30 min of rapid pressing the power button to get back on again. luck of the draw sometimes....
 
I have a Seasonic Platinum, no problems at all.
I`ll get the same again next time, but now I know they do go on sale!!!
 
Corsair or Seasonic are my in all my machines, 24x7 folders and desktops. I have had it with other brands and failures. Anything cheaper is not work the time or frustration.
 
Probably the only time the efficiency of 80+ Certified vs. Bronze vs Gold vs Platinum directly matters is if you're setting up a bitcoin mining rig.

An indirect use is to get an idea of the likely quality of a PSU. If the PSU is able to conform with Gold or higher standards, it probably didn't do that with cheap parts that will blow up if you use more than half its rated power output.

But just because a PSU is advertised as complying with an efficiency standard doesn't mean that it will, which is why HardOCP, Jonnyguru and other sites test them. For example, HardOCP just recently found a PSU that doesn't comply with the 80 Plus Bronze that it advertises.
 
Yeah, 80+ is so easily cheated that 80+ ratings quite literally mean nearly nothing, especially on off-brand power supplies.
 
burkett375 said:
....................
1. I picked up a CX750M for $99+tax ($108 total). Is this a decent replacement if I plan to Xfire a 280x when prices come back down? If not, can you suggest one at the same exact price? (budget is FIRM)
Thanks!!
Click to expand...

At this specific price, the PSUs i would probably buy are:
1) Seasonic G-650 at 104,99 $ http://www.amazon.com/SeaSonic-650-...qid=1395557659&sr=8-1&keywords=seasonic+g-650
review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=348
2)Antec HCG-750 M at 115$ http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Current...&qid=1395557959&sr=8-2&keywords=antec+hcg-750
review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=357
 
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