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Looking for a new PSU

F

Flogger23m

Fully [H]
Joined
Jun 19, 2009
Messages
16,737
I might be in the market for a new PSU. I would be interesting in knowing which of the following PSUs is better in terms of quality and low noise:

Antec Earthwatts 650:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NBZAES/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1GYND9VQ7SXMHS28MWFM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Corsair Builder Series 600:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2T2UQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1GYND9VQ7SXMHS28MWFM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846


Are there any other models/brands I should be considering?

A 600 watt PSU should be plenty for my system, so the extra 50 watts in the 650 is not of much importance for me.

System specs:
GTX 560ti or HD 6950 2GB
AMD 965 with LOKI 92mm
4x 2GB DDR2 DIMMs
ASUS M3N78 Pro
1 HDD, will add another in eventually
1 DVD/CD combo drive
1 PCI card
3x case fans
Win 7 Pro 64bit

And replacing an Antec Earthwatts 500.

And if I want to do some mild OCing on my video card and CPU, will either of these PSUs be sufficient?
 
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Your current Earthwatts 500 would probably be enough for mild overclocking.
 
Tsumi said:
Your current Earthwatts 500 would probably be enough for mild overclocking.
Click to expand...

That is true, however I believe due to age it is not supplying a sufficient amount of power for my system. I have problems booting my PC, I am not sure if it is my new video card (560ti) or my PSU at this point. I am just assuming it is the PSU for the moment so I know what to look for if my PSU is indeed going bad.
 
I'd go with the CX600. It would provide plenty of overhead. Your system is far from being a beast.

If you could wait, it might be beneficial to lurk in the Hot Deals section for a deal on a premium PSU unit from either Corsair or Seasonic. But if not, $60 is a steal.
 
BurntToast said:
I'd go with the CX600. It would provide plenty of overhead. Your system is far from being a beast.

If you could wait, it might be beneficial to lurk in the Hot Deals section for a deal on a premium PSU unit from either Corsair or Seasonic. But if not, $60 is a steal.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. How do noise levels compare between the two?

If the Corsair is quite I will probably buy that then. $60 isn't too expensive.
 
Yeah, I go with the Antec for sure. I've not heard great things about the CX series from Corsair.
 
Flogger23m said:
I might be in the market for a new PSU. I would be interesting in knowing which of the following PSUs is better in terms of quality and low noise:

Antec Earthwatts 650:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NBZAES/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1GYND9VQ7SXMHS28MWFM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Corsair Builder Series 600:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2T2UQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1GYND9VQ7SXMHS28MWFM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846


Are there any other models/brands I should be considering?

A 600 watt PSU should be plenty for my system, so the extra 50 watts in the 650 is not of much importance for me.

System specs:
GTX 560ti or HD 6950 2GB
AMD 965 with LOKI 92mm
4x 2GB DDR2 DIMMs
ASUS M3N78 Pro
1 HDD, will add another in eventually
1 DVD/CD combo drive
1 PCI card
3x case fans
Win 7 Pro 64bit

And replacing an Antec Earthwatts 500.

And if I want to do some mild OCing on my video card and CPU, will either of these PSUs be sufficient?
Click to expand...

I think you might find better deals through NewEgg. Also you might consider this unit instead for a little less money compared to those:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031

In addition, if you are still deciding on video cards the 560 Ti with 448 cores is a good buy although you will probably still find great 6950 2GBs for cheaper.
 
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Last Antec PSU I had blew up in a big way!
I'm not saying they are bad but well I've been using the Corsair CX builder range for most pc builds and I'm pretty happy with them.

They are pretty quiet, well priced, decent build and cabling, 80plus, and so far I've not had any problems at all with them

IMO Antec are not the force they used to be my failure rate on Antec PSU's is off the charts many just out of warranty. I don't know why they even get a mention being blunt about it.
 
Mr Spocko said:
Last Antec PSU I had blew up in a big way!
I'm not saying they are bad but well I've been using the Corsair CX builder range for most pc builds and I'm pretty happy with them.

They are pretty quiet, well priced, decent build and cabling, 80plus, and so far I've not had any problems at all with them

IMO Antec are not the force they used to be my failure rate on Antec PSU's is off the charts many just out of warranty. I don't know why they even get a mention being blunt about it.
Click to expand...
Your opinion is wrong and your suggestion is poor.. the CX600 is inferior to the EarthWatts 650D in ever possible way.

They are being mentioned and more so, suggested, because most are very good units and some are excellent.. the best PSU on the market today is sold by Antec ;)
 
I would not bother with the CX600 600W since its 40A on the +12V rail is lower than other 600W PSUs. For example, the Antec EA650 and the Neo Eco 620C have 54A and 48A on the +12V rail respectively. Considering that all three of the aforementioned PSUs have similar pricing, I don't see a reason to get the CX600 when higher quality and higher amperaged PSUs are in the same price range.

Though the 54A rating for the EA-650 Green does sound a tad fishy to me. But meh, even if it only provided 45A like its older predecessor, it still would be a better buy than the CX600.
 
Danny Bui said:
Though the 54A rating for the EA-650 Green does sound a tad fishy to me.
Click to expand...
It's not fishy. It uses the same design as the Antec HCG-750 and HCG-900, both of which have +12V capacities close or identical to their full rated output.
 
Zero82z said:
It's not fishy. It uses the same design as the Antec HCG-750 and HCG-900, both of which have +12V capacities close or identical to their full rated output.
Click to expand...
Ahhh I see. I thought it was fishy because I haven't seen that a 54A rating on a 650W PSU before. At least as far as I can recall anyway. Well glad to see I was wrong about the fishy feeling.

Thanks for the info.
 
NoOther said:
I think you might find better deals through NewEgg. Also you might consider this unit instead for a little less money compared to those:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031

In addition, if you are still deciding on video cards the 560 Ti with 448 cores is a good buy although you will probably still find great 6950 2GBs for cheaper.
Click to expand...

What is the main difference between the Earthwatts and NEO models?

I am leaning towards the Antec. The extra amps can be helpful. While it might be over kill now, perhaps I can use it 3 or so years from now in a new build.
 
Flogger23m said:
What is the main difference between the Earthwatts and NEO models?
Click to expand...
The Earthwatts is more efficient, and slightly better-built. The NEO ECO is quieter and has slightly lower ripple. The two PSUs are made by different companies and use entirely different designs.
 
My opinion is merely mine it's not wrong my failure rate on Antec PSU's is dramatic and far higher than it should be. I've been pc building for a good few years..Antec downgraded their QC no question about it def not as good as they should be. Maybe they're a lot better now but that's not a lot of comfort for all the dead Antec PSU's I've had over the years.
 
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Flogger23m said:
What is the main difference between the Earthwatts and NEO models?

I am leaning towards the Antec. The extra amps can be helpful. While it might be over kill now, perhaps I can use it 3 or so years from now in a new build.
Click to expand...

Mainly I was looking at price. Both units are good units, but given the links you had provided the Earthwatts was about $10-15 more.
 
I'm wrong as in over ten years buidling computers I base my views on what's worked and what's gone wrong. Antec are IMO not as good as some are making them out to be.

Besides most of these makers farm out production to 3/4 major PSU manufacturers, some design their own PSU's some re-badge.
For my own build I've bought coolermaster unit silent pro, it's a far better PSU than any Antec I've used.

I built a lot of Sonata pc's nice case, but the failure rate on the PSU's is disturbing that's across the series I, II, and III. Voltage drops very common before a major failure the II being the worst of them all.
All PSU's wear out, but I've had to replace every single one of the Antec units.
 
First of all, Antec doesn't, and has never made their own power supplies.
Antec's problems occured when they switched to CWT for their new multi rail designs, and the early CWT models (used in the smartpower and true power lines) had some reliability issues. These issues were later corrected, and now CWT is used by other high end manufacturers like Corsair.

It still pays to do research, of course.
 
As I said previously for those less well informed some makers design their own PSU's to a spec and they are then made by major PSU makers.

I disagree because many of the failed units were actually made by Sea Sonic including a few nice "spark jobs" I'm talking about premature failed or dropped voltages. But again this actually involves doing your research or actually knowing a bit about computers ;-)

Lots of bar stool preachers on these forums few actual hardware engineers.
Another point is that if a maker pays for one of the big companies to make their PSU's they should and do get involved in QC aspects. Clearly Antec had problems along this line.
 
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