New Build - Sanity Check

[RCoon]

Corsair HX series are good, I had a HX1050 Gold rated for a year, sold it on. XFX XXX editions or Core editions are nice. Enermax are a very reliable brand to fall back on, and FSP get 9.0/10 in a lot of Johnny Guru reviews (the ones you mentioned earlier)

 

[M0rt]

At the same price point, the Silverstone Strider 550w would be my choice.

If you can swing an extra $25, I concur with RCoon on the Corsair HX 650.

The HX is just the SeaSonic G series I recommended rebranded at a higher wattage.

It has a 7 year warranty vs. the 3 year on the Silverstone too.

 

[Steff345]

yea thats exactly what I was thinking as well - if all fails, I could opt for a TX650 ($135 at PCCG).

Just out of curiosity, any experiences with In Win? The Commander 3 seems to get some pretty good reviews (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_535&products_id=25288) at $125 for a 700W Gold PSU.

Any personal experiences with this, as this is the first time i've heard of their PSUs apart from cases

 

[Steff345]

At the same price point, the Silverstone Strider 550w would be my choice.

If you can swing an extra $25, I concur with RCoon on the Corsair HX 650.

The HX is just the SeaSonic G series I recommended rebranded at a higher wattage.

It has a 7 year warranty vs. the 3 year on the Silverstone too.

yup that for $155 (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=21240) is a good viable choice as well as it still is within budget. any thoughts on the In Win one just out of curiosity?

 

[RCoon]

any thoughts on the In Win one just out of curiosity?

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/In-Win-Commander-III-700-W-Power-Supply-Review/1726/13
All in all, pretty good.

 

[Steff345]

Exactly the same review that I was referring to as well - maybe I might add it to the list to consider once the custom R290s come out.

Any one over here with personal experiences with In Win PSUs?

 

[RCoon]

Exactly the same review that I was referring to as well - maybe I might add it to the list to consider once the custom R290s come out.

Any one over here with personal experiences with In Win PSUs?

I swear somebody on here has an InWin Desert Fox PSU from them, which means they are at least considered by members with high end systems. Might be GrieverBlade who has one.

EDIT: Yep @GreiverBlade has an InWin Commander III Desert Fox 800w Gold. Message him and ask. He runs an Intel Xeon on it.

 

[Steff345]

sure thing - thanks for that mate

 

[M0rt]

Here's Jonny on the 800w version, a "mixed bag." Link

The Strider. Link

Take a look at the forum discussions for each too.

If it's doable dollar wise, the HX is still the smooth move.

 

[GreiverBlade]

I swear somebody on here has an InWin Desert Fox PSU from them, which means they are at least considered by members with high end systems. Might be GrieverBlade who has one.

EDIT: Yep @GreiverBlade has an InWin Commander III Desert Fox 800w Gold. Message him and ask. He runs an Intel Xeon on it.

i run a 700w and it did also hold a i7-920@4.4 + 2 Asus GTX580 Matrix Platinum@950/4880 without any problems

cheap in price and not OEM also

 

[Steff345]

GreiverBlade, thats awesome news - will definitely give this one a bit of serious thought now that I've got some personal experiences of it

yes the HX series (although a bit pricier) is my ultimate alternative if all else fails, peace of mind as well

 

[GreiverBlade]

personal opinion only but i had seen so much Corsair PSU failing (despite all other saying) and even had some Corsair fails on me (even high end models) that i would not even think to consider one of those PSU if i had to do a new build, i would rather take a Be Quiet (power zone 850w for example) or Seasonic than corsair (nope even a Seasonic OEM branded Corsair, i won't touch it, because of some sad experience with the customer service.)

 

[Steff345]

wow thats quite contradictory to what a lot of people say about corsair (I honestly have no personal experience with them apart from their RAM sticks).

I've stumbled upon a guy selling an HX-1000 for $120 (australian) and claims to have around a year's warranty remaining from PCCG (although PCCG doesn't handle warranty claims, you need to contact corsair directly for any warranty).

looking this up on review sites such as TPU and Johnny Guru, this unit has received stellar ratings, but my concern is that this unit is quite old (it was released around 2008-9) I believe. Would this matter? and considering all this, do you guys think this a good deal?

 

[GreiverBlade]

as i said its a personal opinion ... i guess im just unlucky with Corsair PSU (tho they tend to be overrated, and i'm not alone in that way of thinking) for the one you talk about: it's precisely one like that, that failed (right out of the box) and the RMA went long and painful (i don't know why tho) it's quite contradictory indeed but sometime peoples opinion tend to be shadowed by marketing, i had some Vengeance LP red 1866 but i prefer my actual G.Skill Ares 2133, timing are higher but the price is way lower than Corsair's equivalent product, i had some WC AIO from them but i realized later that the Seidon line from Cooler Master or the Antec Kühler serie achieved same results for a lower price (both use Asetek design~) i still have a H70 and it's a good performer but i keep it because i paid 29$~ for it i wanted a Corsair AIR540 but in the end it's a CM HAF-XB on the side with a higher price (tho the build quality is really good)

i don't know i hate Corsair and peoples seems to hate me because of that? oh well if their personal experience differ from my personal experience : i can't and won't make them change it

sidenote : 2008-09 PSU ? is it a 2nd hand one? if yes : it's the only thing i would not take in second hand in a build, rather take a good new 700-800w than a 2nd hand high end 1000w psu

 

[Steff345]

of course certain people are just 'unlucky' with certain brands - its nothing new which I guess is the entire purpose of forums such as this one where people ask others for advice.

Yes it is a second hand one. and by second hand, I dont mean that this particular unit was manufactured in 2008-9, i meant the HX-1000 in general is one which was released around that period. Another thing is like you said, weighing the Pros and Cons of a heavy-weight (at that time) second-hand PSU just for the sake of future-proofing as against a shiny new one specific for this build.

 

[GreiverBlade]

if a actual 700w new from the shop can hold the rigs i listed above... 1000W and up is for workstation in multigpu or enthusiast SLI/CFX above dual

actual gpu line need a lot less w than before (if we except the R9-290/290X but its stil not high as some old gpu) for example :
average w needs
for the i7-920 @ 4.4ghz 1.429 vCore + 6 DDR3 1600 @ 1.5 vRAM + 2x Asus GTX580 Matrix Platinum @ 950/4880 min 783w recommended 833w
yet no problems running it on a 700w and pushing it thru bench on highest settings or burning in with some stability test

for the Xeon E3-1275v2@ 3.5ghz (3.9 turbo) + 2 DDR3 2133 @1.65 + 1x Zotac GTX770 AMP @ 1150-1202/7200 min 445w recommended 495w,
if i add a 2nd 770 min 610w recommended 660w

if i take your build in account, i don't know how many fan you planned so i keep my 12 fan in the process (5*120 7*140)
min 514w recommended 564w @ stock and with a R9-290X (need to check the 290 but it's not so much different)

a bit of OC i5 @ 4ghz
min 524w recommended 574w

OC + CFX R9-290X
min 756w recommended 806w

so a Be Quiet Power Zone 850w 80+ gold would be future proof with one R9 and the possibility to add a second one later, as for me my 700w will be enough to add a 2nd 770 later on.

supposedly a Desert Fox 800w could also hold it.

the only corsair PSU i like atm is the new RM serie ... i don't know why...

 

[Steff345]

true that - I think I'd better stick to getting a new PSU (something like a decent 550-600W) rather than going for the HX-1000 and taking the chances (especially since its been used for sometime)

I was initially thinking on the lines of future-proof for a second R290 when I checked up on the HX1000 but I suppose its not worth risking like you correctly pointed out

 

[GreiverBlade]

with the price tag of the Desert Fox specially in 700w and 800w or the Be Quiet i named or even a corsair RM (850) they are all good candidate and quite future proof (800-850 more)

also the RM and the Be Quiet (powerzone) are quite close in price and the Desert Fox is the cheaper (in price ofc ) at last where i live, dunno specifically for your zone, but it might be worth a deep search

 

[Steff345]

unfortunately Be Quiet is not quite as popular as Corsair over in Australia (as far as I know atleast). I'll do a bit of research and see if I can get my hands on one of those, else I guess I might stick to an RM550 for now and think about a higher wattage PSU if I decide to go for another R290 later on

 

[Steff345]

thanks for all your help in picking the PSU guys - I think I'll go for the RM550 for this one and think of upgrading the PSU if I decided to CF another R290 later on.

Apart from the PSU, any other comments on the rest of the components?

 

[GreiverBlade]

just go for a RM750 http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/RM750/

you won't regret to take 200w more than what you did choose.

its what i would have or a Desert Fox 800w if they where available when i took my 700w

it might even hold a 4670k with a mild OC and 2 R9 at stock OC (safe side would be a 850w as i wrote previously)

for the rest : it's a pretty solid build for gaming (no need to go for a 4770k or a E3-1275v3 unless you find a block buster deal)

 

[ne6togadno]

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=23796
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story9&reid=357

 

[micropage7]

even with 500W you'll be fine since setup above will draw 400W max., but you won't be able to CFX/SLI in the future. Check Cooler Master VS 550W, it's really good value for the money.

i suggest you to take 650w or 700w since you may add some or upgrade some hardware in the future

 

[GreiverBlade]

if i take your build in account, i don't know how many fan you planned so i keep my 12 fan in the process (5*120 7*140)
min 514w recommended 564w @ stock and with a R9-290X (need to check the 290 but it's not so much different)

a bit of OC i5 @ 4ghz
min 524w recommended 574w

OC + CFX R9-290X
min 756w recommended 806w.

Little reminder about the average powerdraw

 

[Steff345]

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=23796
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story9&reid=357

thats guite interesting - I've never really given Antec much thought due to their 'crappy' cases - I've always overlooked Antec for CM or Corsair in quite everything from cases to PSUs. Now that you've mentioned it, I've brought 2 of their PSUs into this comparison - please see below.

i suggest you to take 650w or 700w since you may add some or upgrade some hardware in the future

true that - which is why I was thinking of the 750W silverstone in the first place, but that doesnt really cut it either ways (too low if you CF 2 R90s and overkill for the current build)

Little reminder about the average powerdraw

Not too sure if the R290X would be hungrier than an R290 (my initial guess is that it would be a bit although the PSU calc doesnt feature an R290 to cross check that), but do you guys think any of the below PSUs would cut it in terms of a mildly OC'd 4670K and 2 x Factory OC'd R290s? Their reviews seems to be pretty good..

Antec HCG-850M - $179 at http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=23797
Antec HCG-900 - $179 at http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=16143

I do prefer getting the 850M due to it being modular but not too fussy about it (if they are any good at all)