Need PSU replacement on a budget. 600-800w, bottom mounted, modular, quiet.

HiCZoK

HiCZoK

Gawd
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Messages
860
Hey everyone.
I am getting a lot of coil whine from my corsair 600w gs from 2012 and I Guess it needs replacement. About the coil whine - I get it as constant low whistle or short whistling if that means anything. Usually when vid is jumping around. Already set voltage to fixed but that didn't completely fixed the whine.

It is also lound when activating the fan and when the fan is spinning and my build is super quiet besides this (passive cooling cpu with macho and only case outtake fans)
Gpu is overclocked 7870 btw as in signature.

I've been looking at some cheaper stuff. Maybe Chieftec 750W A80 CTG-750C ? It's not exactly my color but the price seems good and chieftec is rather well regarded german brand isnt it ?

The other choice is recommended in another topic Corsair RMx750 but it;s twice the price and my experience with corsair is mixed.

Any ideas or recommendations ?
 
EVGA is super nice now that I look at it. I love the black cables. Finally no colorful cables near plug where braid ends. Hows the noise?
But P2 is not available in Poland.
Of modular evga psu's inbetween 600w-800w I found these models that fit my price range:

EVGA Supernova GS 650W 80+GOLD
Also G1 and G2 models. B models dont have full black cables. Don't know how any of these compares to P2 in the review tho
 
I currently have a 1000w P2 in my current build and it's pretty quiet. The fans only kick on when needed. The cables are very nice as well. All braided, black cables.
 
but do the evga fans kick in laudly and then run at full speed all the time?
My corsair fan is also kicking in when needed but it's very audible when turning on and loud when running
 
GS is made by Seasonic. If memory serves me right, the G2 is made by Superflower. Both are very similar in performance and quality. G1 is a subpar line, so avoid that. The GS and G2 are a very small step down from the P2, and reviews on both the GS and G2 can be found by simple google searches.
 
Thanks.
One more idea - Is oiling fans a thing that people do?
I should be able to just open up that corsair psu fan, put some 10w40 or whatever oil in there and be done with it ?
 
I own the G2 650. The G2 (Super Flower) is marginally better than the GS (SeaSonic). The G2 gives you some semblance of fan control, whereas the GS does not.

EVGA Supernova G2 650W Review

EVGA Supernova GS 650W Review

Note that the G2 has the same annoying CPU cable as the P2. OklahomaWolf took off 0.5 on the P2 for the issue and 1.0 on the G2. It's based on how he feels at the time, I suppose. Bottom line is that the G2 based on his comments is a very good P2 replacement, whereas the GS is a notch below and often found not significantly cheaper than the G2 anyway.
 
Oiling of fans is not something you should need to do regularly, and to properly oil them you'll need to break your PSU's warranty.
 
10W40? Uh no. You don't use automotive motor oil in an electric fan.
 
Yeah I don't know anything about oiling fans :p

Gs and g2 both sound good.
 
HiCZoK said:
Yeah I don't know anything about oiling fans :p

Gs and g2 both sound good.
Click to expand...

Don't be afraid to also consider higher quality lower wattage PSUs. You gain no benefit from having a higher wattage PSU, but you do lose efficiency and put additional strain on them. I regret buying the G2 650 when I should have gotten the 550. I run a Haswell i5 w/GTX 970 setup, so my peak system power draw is somewhere around 300w. Ideally, a 400-500w PSU would have been preferred, but sub-500w high quality modular PSUs cost more than the 500-650w high quality modular PSUs.

So, if you like the G2 650, consider the 550 variant of it. In the US there's currently a $25 difference between the two after mail-in rebate.
 
Thats a great idea !
Hope my oced 2500k and oced 7870 could hande that. I need to get myself some Wattometer.
I never use sli or more than 1hhd and 1ssd. I also only have 2 case fans

Also, wouldnt fan spin almost all the time on lower wattage psu, because it would be "fuller" than high wattage?
 
Nope, the fans are temperature controlled. The same efficiency PSU will put out the same amount of heat at the same amount of power regardless of maximum power rating. Larger PSUs might have larger heatsinks which will translate to slightly lower temperatures, but not a huge difference.
 
So now that I look at 500 and 550W psu's, G2 is about affordable and there is also GQ.
What does eco button does on evga stuff ?
 
Tsumi said:
Nope, the fans are temperature controlled. The same efficiency PSU will put out the same amount of heat at the same amount of power regardless of maximum power rating. Larger PSUs might have larger heatsinks which will translate to slightly lower temperatures, but not a huge difference.
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To piggy back on this - higher efficiency = less heat = less fan spin. If a PSU is 80% efficient and needs to supply 400w to the PC, it will draw 500w from the wall, dissipating 100w as heat. Ideally, you want to find a PSU that is at its peak efficiency around your peak usage, but this isn't an absolute necessity. The efficiency curve from 10% load to 100% load is relatively flat (you'll see an actual curve when they shorten the graph). PSU efficiency tanks at <10% load, but really, this isn't a huge deal these days. On an 80+ unit, you're still looking at a minimum 65% efficiency for a subpar unit.

As I stated, getting a 650w PSU was plain pointless on my part due to my usage being less than half that. For about $30 less I could have gotten a SeaSonic G-series 460 that is also fully modular, and would have made more sense. And I simply don't see myself getting a GPU that draws more power than my 970, as I've always been the mid-range type (Radeon 9600xt, GeForce 6600/7600/9600/560). I splurged on the 970 and I don't see myself doing that again, ever.

With an HD 7870, you seem to be at or above the same market. You really don't need a 600-800w PSU. It's a complete waste for you. In theory, you could do fine with a PSU that you fully maxed out, but you really want 20-30% headroom to allow for the PSU's aging.
 
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HiCZoK said:
So now that I look at 500 and 550W psu's, G2 is about affordable and there is also GQ.
What does eco button does on evga stuff ?
Click to expand...

EVGA has several series. The P/G stands for Platinum/Gold rating. The second part is which series they actually belong to. Here's how I've seen it described:

P2 = platinum flagship (made by Super Flower)
G2 = gold flagship (made by Super Flower)
GS = gold silent (made by Seasonic)
GQ = gold quality (made by FSP)

The eco mode is a toggle allowing you to choose between the fan running 100% of the time, or semi-fanless operation (turns on when needed). The GS, made by SeaSonic, runs in semi-fanless all the time (hence the silent).

In terms of PSU quality, P2 > G2 > GS > GQ. All are above good quality, and the difference between P2 and G2 is negligible for non-business use, certainly not justifying the price. But the $5 price difference between G2 and GS dictates that G2 should generally be the choice here (unless the GS is on a major sale).

Also, the G2-550 doesn't have the annoying CPU cable found on the G2/P2-650 models.
 
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HiCZoK said:
Thanks.
One more idea - Is oiling fans a thing that people do?
I should be able to just open up that corsair psu fan, put some 10w40 or whatever oil in there and be done with it ?
Click to expand...
No. The lubricant used in the ball bearing fans of the EVGA G2 and GS series should outlast the life of the power supply under normal use.
 
Just to summarize, I am 99% sure I will get evga g2 or g2.
probably G2 550w as it sgetting praised everywhere. one thing I've noticed in jonnyguru review is that one of pcie cables is kinda weird but that shouldnt be a problem.

I will wait a bit with buying it, since I am camping out for deal on it. (don't post store links, I am from Poland).
Thanks for help :)
 
If you are concerned about noise, and since you want a 550 watt PSU, i would advise you to go for Corsair's RMx 550. ( Corsair RM550x Power Supply Review - Introduction / Corsair RM550x review ). It's an excellent all around PSU, with excellent noise performance as well, since it is about 10db quieter than the G2 550 o_O( Performance, Performance Per Dollar, Noise and Efficiency Ratings - Corsair RM550x Power Supply Review ).
In my opinion, after reading a lot of PSU reviews, i think that the RMx 550, might be the best all-around 550watt PSU !!
 
wow. Is that so ?
I need to consider it then.

I am a bit afraid to go with crosair as I have 600w GS from 2012 and it have crazy coil whine etc. But its been 4 years ago. Probably a lot has changed
 
Few years ago, i was one of Corsair's greatest haters for their mediocre PSU lines such as the CX, CS, VS and even the older RM line.
But with the new RMx & RMi lines, Corsair has made a great come back that made me change my mind for the company.
And although at >550watt categories there are great PSUs that can overpass Corsair's, for the 550watt line specifically, i think that Corsair's RMx 550 is the best all around PSU;)
 
Sith'ari said:
If you are concerned about noise, and since you want a 550 watt PSU, i would advise you to go for Corsair's RMx 550. ( Corsair RM550x Power Supply Review - Introduction / Corsair RM550x review ). It's an excellent all around PSU, with excellent noise performance as well, since it is about 10db quieter than the G2 550 o_O( Performance, Performance Per Dollar, Noise and Efficiency Ratings - Corsair RM550x Power Supply Review ).
In my opinion, after reading a lot of PSU reviews, i think that the RMx 550, might be the best all-around 550watt PSU !!
Click to expand...

This wasn't even on my radar, so thank you for that.

1.71% better in relative performance than the G2
15.66% worse in performance per dollar
10.00db lower in noise rating than the G2 (note: both are considered "inaudible")
0.39% worse in efficiency than the G2

Overall, it's a near tie in performance and efficiency when compared to the G2. It's more expensive*, but quieter (but again the G2 is inaudible to most). Pick your poison, but still, thanks for sharing. I was unaware how good this PSU was, and it definitely warrants consideration.

*Was true at time of review, but not so much today! On Newegg, it's $69.99 after MIR for the Corsair, and $59.99 after MIR for the G2. That's neck and neck to me. I think for my needs I'd still prefer the tighter voltage regulation (see that 12V rail!), the $10 savings, and the proven stability of the Super Flower platform used (Corsair is also an excellent Channel Well), but again, it's close. I could recommend either. Go with whatever is cheaper in your neck of the woods.
 
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Sith'ari said:
Well, personally, since i noticed the tragic performance of the SF Leadex 550, -the G2 550 is based on the same platform-, at the new "Power_OK signal test" (Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time And Inrush Current - Super Flower Leadex Gold 550W PSU Review ) i don't recommend them anymore!!
On the contrary, RMx 550 passed every test with flying colours.
Click to expand...

You bring up a good point, so I wanted to expand on this for readers who may not know what it means and the importance of it.

The hold-up time is how long a PSU can supply power, at max load, after the power to the PSU is cut off. The ATX spec is for >16ms. The majority of UPS (uninterrupted power supplies) are designed to cut on within 16 ms during a power failure. The idea behind hold-up time is that the PSU can supply the PC while the UPS is kicking in.

So if you use a UPS, unless you know that your UPS is beyond spec, you'll want a PSU that is at or above spec in hold-up time. (I checked, and the 550 G2, like the SF Leadex above, doesn't meet the spec, but the EVGA 550 GS, based on a SeaSonic design, does). But if you do not use a UPS, this spec is 100% meaningless to you.

Are there advantages to using smaller capacitors and not meeting spec for hold-up time? Yes, there are two - lower cost and better voltage regulation (two areas where the G2 edges the Corsair). So, if you use a UPS, I'd go with the Corsair or the 550 GS over the G2. If you don't use a UPS, go with the cheaper PS. While I personally feel that the G2 is superior, it's by a hair at most and price should be the determining factor.
 
No, you misunderstood. I was not reffering at the normal Hold-up time tests (in which the EVGA G2 550 was tested), i was reffering at the new "Power_OK signal" test (the G2 wasn't tested, but since it's the same platform with the SF Leadex 550, i can assume that these 2 will have similar performance at this test).
Check the link i put in my previous thread ( Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time And Inrush Current - Super Flower Leadex Gold 550W PSU Review ). The rails go out of spec, and the PSU continous to send Power_OK signal to the motherboard!!
This could lead to very dangerous results for the motherboard & the rest of the hardware!!:eek:

P.S. Since i saw this test i stopped recommending the G2 550 or the SF Leadex 550 (*I want to emphasise that i'm reffering only to the 550 watt category, since the same platform might present different behaviour at greater wattage, so my comment is for the 550 models only)
P.S2: And since i own the G2 750 & 850 i hope that they have better performance than their "smaller brother":nailbiting:
 
The Power_OK is a signal, not a test. The PSU is supposed to properly report the state that it's in during and after a power failure. The Super Flower model in that review fails to properly do this. However, from the same article:

The SF-550F14MG isn't available in the U.S. anyway. Here, you can get EVGA's 550 G2 instead, which offers similar performance. Notable differences between the two include a slightly smaller fan and illuminated/cube-shaped modular connectors on the SF-550F14MG. EVGA uses only Japanese capacitors, while Super Flower employs some CapXon caps on its modular PCB.

This is the first time we've seen a high-end Leadex PSU without all-Japanese caps, and to be frank, we didn't expect it. More than likely, Super Flower didn't have enough Japanese caps on hand (since they're difficult to obtain), so the use of CapXon caps was forced. Nonetheless, the company should have used Teapo caps instead, which are considered a safer and higher-quality choice. At least the CapXon caps are used in a low-stress area, and the hard part of ripple filtering is handled by Chemi-Con (Japanese) capacitors. We know that many users will be let down once they learn that this Leadex unit doesn't exclusively use Japanese caps.

To conclude, if you want only high-quality caps in your PSU and you also want to avoid the SF-550F14MG's problem with its power-good signal, then stick with EVGA's 550 G2, which uses only Japanese caps and, although it has a lower than 16ms hold-up time, its power-good signal is inline with the actual hold-up time.
Click to expand...

This is a flaw with a specific model, not the entire platform. Super Flower cheaped out on some components on this specific model, whereas EVGA and many others did not.
 
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Again. Thanks for all the information.
I will choose between EVGA G2 and crosair RM.

Thanks for help :)
 
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