First PC in 12 Years!!

[Protagonist]

Either one you'll be covered for many years. Where I bought mine was just cheaper than the Seasonic variant

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/AX650/2.html

Efficiency is Gold and unfortunately the same goes for its price too. At $150 it's one of the most expensive 650W PSUs in the market. The PSU can deliver its full power even at 50°C ambient, the only protections missing are OPP (Over Power Protection) and the relatively rare OTP (Over Temperature Protection), the fan is equipped with ball bearings for extended lifespan and its footprint is small. Finally, someone surely cannot miss the seven year warranty that Corsair offers with this unit (and all AX PSUs as well). Such a long warranty period provides the ultimate peace of mind to the future buyer.

Text in bold is why i went with Seasonic X-660 i was considering the Corsair AX650 but Seasonic X-660 was a better overall package.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Just saw this and this is pure BS. Read this here review. Did you notice the "V2" part in the name? THat indicates it's a new unit. Ripple is excellent, and the fan is quiet.

EDIT: Also, "THE MOST IMPORTANT" doesn't mean you have to go for the absolute best.

The V2 has a higher fail rate then the V1. Just ask Crazyeyes. Second just because something is built by Seasonic doesn't mean its to Seasonic X specs. Its to crappy ass Corsair specs. The WHOLE REASON I went with the "X" series is because our own PSU reviewer here at TPU said it was one of the BEST PSU's on the market. Why waste your time with a lesser PSU when for the same price.....sometimes cheaper you can get the BEST. I only paid 95 bucks for mine.

Also the X is modular.

 

[Frick]

The V2 has a higher fail rate then the V1. Just ask Crazyeyes. Second just because something is built by Seasonic doesn't mean its to Seasonic X specs. Its to crappy ass Corsair specs. The WHOLE REASON I went with the "X" series is because our own PSU reviewer here at TPU said it was one of the BEST PSU's on the market. Why waste your time with a lesser PSU when for the same price.....sometimes cheaper you can get the BEST. I only paid 95 bucks for mine.

You have some links to actual failure rates, or are those aneqdotes? Also, since when is Corsair "crappy"? And if it's the same price, you should go for the better one, obviously, but here they are about €40 apart, which to me is not worth it.

And there are modular PSU's that are good that are not Seasonic X.

 

[PsxMeUP]

you over spec'd it for gaming.

you should be going with a Quadro card and taking advantage of 10-bit monitors. I would change the processor to a 2600k. you should have no less than 16GB of ram for content creation. some Adobe products take advantage of SSD so make sure you have a 120GB to boot and a scratch disk.

Well I still want a pretty good gaming rig since I'm a gamer at heart (I own GameObserver.com) so I don't think I'll be switching GPUs (Gainward Phantoms appeal to me the most since I like performance AND silence), but you're right about the CPU. I initially started my configuration with an i7 2600K because of my non-gaming interests, but downgraded it. With all that talk of hyperthreading, bridges, etc., something tells me we're on the cusp of a major CPU leap in the next few years. My intent is to go with an acceptable CPU then switch to whatever will be hot in a couple of years. I'm still debating whether to get that i7 2600K. Price will be my ultimate motivator. I'm planning on buying this rig in a month.

 

[Frick]

Well Ivy Bridge is new (and the CPU you have listed in the first post is that) and I don't know how long until the next thing comes in. That would be a major release I think, so that will probably mean a new socket.

2600k is still a very solid chip.

 

[BumbleBee]

all you need is a basic processor and a consumer video card to play video games. we passed the 3ghz barrier long ago. you don't even need to overclock a 2600k. video games don't require a lot of processing power these days. video cards barely take advantage of PCIE 2.0 so you don't need PCIE 3.0. if your not interested in a Quadro you can save a $100 and buy a GTX 670. put that money you save into 16GB of memory.

 

[Nordic]

all you need is a basic processor and a consumer video card to play video games. we passed the 3ghz barrier long ago. you don't even need to overclock a 2600k. video games don't require a lot of processing power these days. video cards barely take advantage of PCIE 2.0 so you don't need PCIE 3.0. if your not interested in a Quadro you can save a $100 and buy a GTX 670. put that money you save into 16GB of memory.

She is right. You don't need much. You could easily go down to an i3 too but at least get an i5 2500k just for overclocking fun. 16GB of memory is a lot. I have never used up my 8GB, though you will be doing more memory intensive stuff.

Phantoms are pretty quiet I hear but aren't the only quiet card out there. Asus, gigabyte, and saphire all have pretty quiet coolers too.