Need help deciding which Power supply to buy

[wolar]

Hi guys , am building a new pc and am really confused about which power supply to buy .. i checked almost all brands and still cant decide ...
i need it to be compatible with haswell and if possible modular(semi or full).
I was thinking about seasonic,antec,ocz,enermax but you can suggest whatever brand and model that you think will be best .
My computer wont be a beast so under 650w will do just fine.
Also dont exceed a price of 100usd unless it makes a huge difference . Thanks

 

[McSteel]

Aaaand you managed to miss all the relevant points. So:

- Please list the entire parts list (configuration) of your (planned) PC
- Indicate how important silent operation is to you
- And what about modularity, I see you said "if possible", but is it more important than silence?
- How important are the looks of the PSU? What do you prefer, shiny, matte, industrial, black, white, gold, pink?
- List any and all places you are able/willing to buy from
- This will likely be obvious from the parts list, but is there a size constraint (because of case size)?
- If the price is to exceed $100 for a good reason, how far can it actually go?

Also, "Haswell compatibility" is an utter load of bullcrap, feel free to ignore such claims or lack thereof.

 

[wolar]

okaaaaaaaaaaaay ...

Nzxt source 530
Asrock z87 extreme 3
G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D (2x4)
ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER 7 PRO REV.2
Intel i5 4440 3.3ghz
Amd HD 6850
samsung evo 840 120gb
1tb WD black ( maybe more in the future)

i dont care about silent computer but i dont want it to sound like an airplane, also dont care about the looks of the power supply
i mainly shop through overclockers.co.uk
also the size doesnt matter i dont plan on using bottom fans and as for the price i dont ask something extreme as i want below 650w
power supply , i dont want to get a platinum one 200usd when it performs almost the same as the gold one 100usd ... i just want a "good"
power supply below 650w and around 100usd ( max 130)

 

[camoxiong]

corsair tx650w v2, i have this one in my other build. still running strong for 3 years now

 

[Elmo]

@McSteel how do u turn off your wd green idle timer.

@wolar you can use a 550w 80+ rated psu

I would choose between - seasonic / corsair

 

[wolar]

thanks for the reply guys ,
@Elmo , i checked corsair and the not expensive series is made with poor capacitors and wont last , something like that

 

[ne6togadno]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss650am

 

[wolar]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss650am

its the same as the g-series 650w ?

 

[McSteel]

Right, so as it is now, you're actually good with even 400W of power. If you're not forced or fiercely intent on buying from OCUK, Scan has a fantastic XFX TS on offer, and it's right around the US$100 (after conversion). Not modular, and a little tacky, but it's a Seasonic G-series inside (minus the modularity). I'd personally go with that one. Alternatively, stay with OCUK and take the SS G-450 for about the same price, but modular and in the shop of your choice. If you feel 450 isn't enough, you can get a 550W model for ~10 GBP more.

I know there are other manufacturers besides Seasonic, but at this price point, and looking at what you actually need, this is an investment into quality and longevity. To be honest, even the CX430 from Corsair would do the trick (out of stock at OCUK, they have the 500W one), but that's only if you're looking to pinch a few pennies. I don't think it's worth the savings, though.

@McSteel how do u turn off your wd green idle timer.

I used WDIdle3. It's a pure DOS utility, so you'll have to boot into DOS to use it. It runs on FreeDOS as well, not just MSDOS. There are bootable .ISO versions of the utility floating around, but I haven't gotten to testing them (made my own image). If you wish to use it, I used a FreeDOS/FreeCom combination, floppy image + boot catalog on an .ISO, download here.

The program has a built-in help, just start with "WDIDLE3 /?" at the command prompt to see the syntax. Works on all WD drives, but avoid using on EZRX ones. It can bug-up the firmware.


## EDIT ##

its the same as the g-series 650w ?

No, that's the M12-II 650W, a Bronze PSU, but still very good. I like my recommendations better

 

[wolar]

Thanks alot for your reply , i will check on the xfx model

 

[wolar]

i will probably go with the seasonic g series 550w , seems really good and hope it will be
Thanks for your replies guys

 

[R-T-B]

I still can't believe I haven't sold my fully modular Platinum 750W Seasonic in the sales forum... It's under $100 (wink wink, nudge nudge).

 

[micropage7]

i will probably go with the seasonic g series 550w , seems really good and hope it will be
Thanks for your replies guys

umm if the difference between 550w and 650 w not much, you may take the higher wattage so if in the future you want to add some hardware you still have some power for that
^^ maybe above me, if you interested

 

[wolar]

im a bit far away guys ( europe ) but thanks

 

[wolar]

btw , how about Be Quiet! l8 series ? are they good like seasonic ?

 

[McSteel]

Feel free to judge them yourself: 500W @ TPU, 400W @ KG, 530W Modular @ KG. I thought about recommending them, but for the money, Seasonic is the better choice (except for the fan).

 

[rtwjunkie]

wolar, I can't personally speak for the quality of Be Quiet!, but have heard good things about them. I CAN tell you however, you would be getting an excellent psu in the Seasonic, and second the recommendation for that!

 

[wolar]

Okay guys thanks alot, i will search them abit more and decide between those 2

 

[T-Bob]

My vote is for the Seasonic psu as well.

On a side note, it a shame that OCZ bought PC Power & Cooling cause they ruined that brand.
The Silencer 750 that I have in my system specs has served me well since 2006.

 

[dealseek101]

Interesting, glad for these threads!

 

[AsRock]

My vote is for the Seasonic psu as well.

On a side note, it a shame that OCZ bought PC Power & Cooling cause they ruined that brand.
The Silencer 750 that I have in my system specs has served me well since 2006.

I put mine in a box about 10 days ago i thought 6 years of usage was enough and served well.. But i noticed some company's are changing the seasonic parts here and there so it's and you will save by buying a Corsair PSU with Seasonic insides but who knows if they change them later to make them cheaper..

As it's a PSU which is vital and the most importent part of a PC and you only buy them every 3-7 years spend the extra $20 get the true product Seasonic..
X or S series are good
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119

And if you think you might want to try SLI or CF get a 750w at least.

 

[McSteel]

I don't remember ever seeing any manufacturer change anything besides the fan in a Seasonic design... Could you please point me to an example?

 

[thebluebumblebee]

You have a GPU that has a max power draw of 150 watts
Your CPU (rounding up) " " " " 100 watts
The rest of your system uses less than 50 watts.
You don't seem like a hard core gamer, so I would recommend a 380-500 watt PSU. If you have plans on upgrading the GPU, please let us know, but the newer GPU's are so power efficient that you will most likely not increase your wattage with a new card.
The reason that I recommend smaller PSU's than most others is: idle power consumption. The larger a PSU is, the more inefficient they are at low power levels, like when the system is idling or you're just doing "Office" stuff. I'd especially rather see you buy a higher efficiency smaller PSU than a lower efficiency larger PSU, which might actually cost the same. IMHO better to get a gold/platinum 450 watt PSU than a bronze 650.

BTW, you are real close to building a very quiet system, although I don't know about your GPU. Might I suggest that you consider the Corsair Carbide 330R. It's basically the same price. Then just make sure that the PSU has "quiet" features.

 

[wolar]

you might be right ... around 500w should do its work i quess ... i dont plan on getting a new gpu unless this one dies and i will get another mid range gpu so i quess a 500w should be okay with those right ? I will put more than one HDD but they dont draw alot of power so .. thanks for the replies and the recommentations i will check on the corsair carbride 330r .
+ you are correct im not the hardcore gamer , i play some games but i dont mind playing them on mid , i mostly watch some movies and stuff but i spend lot of time on my computer so i want a good power supply and from previous experience i want it to keep my other components safe .. as it seems the seasonic G 550w aint available here i am and from overclockers.co.uk cost another 35 gbp for shipping soooo no .. xD am looking into some be quiet! psu right now , i dont know if i can trust the specific products of antec and xfx they got here as they are the old ones i think ...

 

[McSteel]

All XFX PSUs, current and past, are Seasonic units internally, and are proven trustworthy. Some of them use ADDA 2BB (double ball-bearing) fans where Seasonic uses Sanyo Denki, but that's hardly a shortcoming worth mentioning.