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Another "Which PSU?"

F

Foladar

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
183
Not looking for anything fancy, just something reasonable priced for this budget build:

Intel E5200
PNY 9800GT "Energy Efficient" 512mb

Plan on buying:
this motherboard
As well as a 500GB hard-drive sometime soon, before building the PC and likely 2gb of ddr2 ram.

Any suggestions? Not looking for something for $15, but not looking for some over-the-top $100 PSU either.
 
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If you are looking at Corsair as a brand, the CX400 would power that system fairly easily.
 
Redbeard said:
If you are looking at Corsair as a brand, the CX400 would power that system fairly easily.
Click to expand...

I'm open to something that would leave room for upgrades too, and there wouldn't be any overclocking as I'm not really familiar with it and content with it at stock.

Is OCZ any good? like this one?
 
Foladar said:
Is OCZ any good? like this one?
Click to expand...

Right now, only OCZ's Z-series of PSUs are any good and those are typically overpriced compared to similar performing counterparts. That Modxstream is not that good.

Anyway, the best deal right now for a PSU is this:
$90 - Antec Truepower New TP-750 750W PSU

It is complete overkill for your planned setup but it does offer pretty damn high overhead for future upgrades and is a pretty good deal for a 750W PSU.

However, that Corsair 400W PSU would still be enough for that setup with some video card upgrades (as high as the HD 5770 power range at the very least) and a CPU upgrade (Q6600 power range)
 
So I'm assuming power supply calculators are way off? Based on one of those, it said something like 400 watts wouldn't be enough and to aim for 500+
 
i recomend OCZ power supplies, they are cheaper than Corsair but still very reliable, i have had the modxstream and stealthxtreme and they are awsome, i now have a corsair but i dont see any difference
 
Foladar said:
So I'm assuming power supply calculators are way off? Based on one of those, it said something like 400 watts wouldn't be enough and to aim for 500+
Click to expand...
Yeah those calculators are a bit off sometimes. One of the more accurate PSU recommendation engines I've come across is the Corsair PSU finder.

CrypticOC said:
i recomend OCZ power supplies, they are cheaper than Corsair but still very reliable, i have had the modxstream and stealthxtreme and they are awsome, i now have a corsair but i dont see any difference
Click to expand...

They're cheaper than Corsair but significantly lower quality than many Corsairs. For example, the StealthXStream is based on the FSP Epsilon design which is well known to be a pretty bad PSU once you push it above 500W of power.
 
The PC is going to be doing your basic internet surfing and some Warcraft playing, nothing major if that matters in regards to the OCZ. The only other problem I heard w/ OCZ was their rebates are unlikely to work out.
 
Foladar said:
The PC is going to be doing your basic internet surfing and some Warcraft playing, nothing major if that matters in regards to the OCZ. The only other problem I heard w/ OCZ was their rebates are unlikely to work out.
Click to expand...

Still wouldn't recommend the OCZ due to their low quality.
 
Danny Bui said:
Still wouldn't recommend the OCZ due to their low quality.
Click to expand...

If I went with the 400w Corsair listed in post #2 though, it would be enough power to leave room for an upgrade or two? Not use to 400w being "enough" and figured I'd need 500+
 
Foladar said:
If I went with the 400w Corsair listed in post #2 though, it would be enough power to leave room for an upgrade or two? Not use to 400w being "enough" and figured I'd need 500+
Click to expand...
Depends what kinds of upgrades we're talking about.
 
CrypticOC said:
i recomend OCZ power supplies, they are cheaper than Corsair but still very reliable, i have had the modxstream and stealthxtreme and they are awsome, i now have a corsair but i dont see any difference
Click to expand...

Its great you haven't had any problems with your OCZ, but that doesn't mean others won't. Personal experiences dont always give a good reading of quality, after all they can't all fail and OCZ stay in business. Enough people buy these and don't tax them to the point of failure. I noticed you have your i7 in your sig clocked to 4.0, did you try that with the mosxstream or stealthxtreme? Your overclock might not have been as stable with those PSUs.

Regardless, PSUs are a pivotal part of your computer and I wouldn't risk my system on a PSU that wasn't HIGH quality.
 
Zero82z said:
Depends what kinds of upgrades we're talking about.
Click to expand...

Truthfully, no idea. But I just wanted to make sure the power supply would last and have the ability to power something down the road, unlike my current PSU. I don't overclock at all, but possibly an i5 and a better Geforce, whatever the next step up is from the 9800 (the 2xx)
 
I would suggest that you look at something with some more power if you plan on powering a decent mid-range system in the future.
 
Best deals right now for a higher wattage/amperage PSU:
$60 - Antec EA500D 500W PSU
$90 - Antec Truepower New TP-750 750W PSU
 
Okay, no OCZ questions this time

Based on the specs (e5200 + 9800gt energy efficient + 2 IDE HDDs) the Corsair 400W should power it fine for numerous years? I think I'm sold on it, just not use to purchasing a lower power supply in terms of wattage and afraid of "going over" 400w.

It's between the Corsair and this Antec, but I wasn't sure if it was worth the extra $25 (AR) for the Antec, when the Corsair seems to be the better brand.

Going to order them tonight overnighted from Amazon - so thanks for the advice!

Edit: Cancel the 500w Antec, I'm deciding between the 400w Corsair, and this Antec instead.
 
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From my experience stay away from OCZ. The one i had went out and damaged my mobo. Friend of mine had 2 of them go out.
 
skytripa said:
From my experience stay away from OCZ. The one i had went out and damaged my mobo. Friend of mine had 2 of them go out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the great guys here at Hard Forum already tugged me from the flashy lights and modular ability. Trying to decide between Antec/Corsair now, and whether I need 400w or something larger - tough decision since I'm PSU illiterate.
 
Foladar said:
Yeah, the great guys here at Hard Forum already tugged me from the flashy lights and modular ability. Trying to decide between Antec/Corsair now, and whether I need 400w or something larger - tough decision since I'm PSU illiterate.
Click to expand...

pick which ever one comes with free shipping and is cheaper. If they are the same then flip a coin.
 
hossdaddy said:
pick which ever one comes with free shipping and is cheaper. If they are the same then flip a coin.
Click to expand...

The Corsair 400w comes out ~$20 cheaper, and $30 cheaper AR. I wasn't sure if 400w Corsair would be enough to power the system for 3+ yrs tho, since the power calculator listed it at approx 300w. Which is what brought me to the Antec 650 ($30 more AR) that you suggested last page.

Corsair CMPSU-400CX 400w @ 54.99 ($44.99 AR)
Antec EA650 650w @ 74.99 (no rebate)

both are shipped free via Amazon assuming I choose in the next 24 minutes.
 
I opted for the EarthWatts 650w so it'd have room for upgrading, alot of room. Better safer than sorry, since it's just $20 + $10 AR.
 
I've built maybe 10-12 computers for people with various OCZ power supplies and not one has ever come back bad, not one computer was unstable (other than a stick of ram or two going bad) and all were overclocked, some pretty heavily. Now Corasir, Antec, Seasonic PSU's are of course better quality and for myself, I would personally go with one of them, but for a average user wanting to save some money I would not really hesitate installing a few of the select OCZ power supply units.

The Fatal1ty 700W reviewed well at hardware secrets which not as good as using Jonny Guru for reference, but they still do a very good job at reviewing power supplies: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/704/10

So did the 600W StealthXStream: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/451

StealthXStream 500W did not do as well, so no gold award, but was acceptable: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/798/9

My brother has been using the Fatal1ty 550w to power his i5-750 @ 3.8Ghz, 4GB ram, 2 HD's, 2 optical and GTX275 for a while now and I swear that thing is going 24/7 with not a single issue. Plus I have seen the 550w for $45 after rebate from time to time.
 
you'll be happy with that 650 next time you get the upgrade itch.
 
Foladar said:
It won't hurt anything if the system only runs stay 40% of the power supply, correct? (other than my wallet of course)
Click to expand...

It's actually even better. PSUs are most efficient when running at 40-60% of their maximum rated output. Additionally, a larger PSU (but reasonably large, not overkill) will provide you with headroom should you choose to upgrade in the future.
 
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