Choosing Power Supply

[Ignorant_Toast]

Hi,

I'm ordering the parts for my budget build soon but I'm having trouble deciding between 2 power supplies.

CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-139-018&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29#scrollFullInfo)

OCZ StealthXstream II OCZ600SXS2 600W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-341-039&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=4&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29#scrollFullInfo)

I've heard that both of these are quality brands, but I'm not sure about these particular entry models. It sounds like the Corsair builder series may not be as reliable as their other series. Also, a lot of people have docked the OCZ PSU for only having 3 SATA connectors; could somebody explain what exactly I need to hook up to these SATA cables? I know the hard drive does, but what else?


Here's the rest of the build:
HEC Blitz Black Steel Edition ATX Mid Tower Computer Chassis Gaming Case w/ Front Blue LED 120mm Fan & Top 120mm Fan (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121096)

SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908)

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808)

BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138179)

G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396)

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181)

I have an external optical drive that I will be using for the first month or so until I get an internal optical.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these power supplies? Any other advice is also welcome as this is my first build.

Thanks

[Phosphor94]

With the growing technology you might wanna go for Corsair or Seasonic 750w just to play it safe and future proof.

[triskele10]

My OCZ StealthXstream II 600w give up after only 3 month and I'm very happy with a Corsair HX650. Don't save money on a PSU!

[Undead]

You should buy this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

[borg_7_of_9]

I would stay away from the Corsaie CX series, OCZ have there up's n down's with lower end models same goes for the low end antec IMO

Selverstone, Seasonic, Corsiar Non builder's or Antec New would be choice..

[LittleBaByJESUS]

If you can afford it I would get this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021&Tpk=Antec%20TP-650

[dosbox]

Hi,

I'm ordering the parts for my budget build soon but I'm having trouble deciding between 2 power supplies.

CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-139-018&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29#scrollFullInfo)

OCZ StealthXstream II OCZ600SXS2 600W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-341-039&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=4&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29#scrollFullInfo)

I've heard that both of these are quality brands, but I'm not sure about these particular entry models.

I would not buy either of them for my system. If forced to choose, the Corsair would win. OCZ use different manufacturers/designs for different models within the same range, so there's no knowing what you're really getting.

[HL2-4-Life]

When getting a PSU, common mistakes are:
1. Getting a PSU that is just enough for your present rig, plus minor upgrades.....anything major, like a more powerful vid card and the PSU might choke.
2. Scrimping, or buying a PSU like a mere afterthought, with whatever that's left of one's budget.

When buying PSUs, three great brands to consider are SilverStone, Corsair (NOT the CX series) and Seasonic. Go for broke when it comes to PSU as it IS the most important component in a system.

BTW, I put my money where my mouth is, I have a SilverStone OP1000 (which I'd gotten >3 years ago and has seen me thru 3 upgrades), Seasonic SS-850AT (2nd gaming rig) and a Corsair HX620 for my HTPC.

[dosbox]

When getting a PSU, common mistakes are:
1. Getting a PSU that is just enough for your present rig, plus minor upgrades.....anything major, like a more powerful vid card and the PSU might choke.


I disagree with this. Too many gullible people think they need more power than they do. 99% of single CPU/GPU systems draw less than 500W at the wall. That translates to less than 450W output by the PSU.

For such systems, a good quality (i.e. that delivers to its specs) 650W PSU is going to be plenty. A 1000W PSU is overkill, even for a dual-GPU setup (http://techreport.com/articles.x/20629/11).

Heck, I ran the same 550W Antec for five years in three systems and it never broke a sweat.

All bets are off if you're running a heavily OC'd system complete with OC'd dual GPU's of course.

[edit] and here are some power draws for TRIPLE-GPU (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4254/triplegpu-performance-multigpu-scaling-part1/3) systems. Note how only one of those systems exceeds 1000W at the wall.

[HL2-4-Life]

Well, dos, by 'just enough' I meant those getting ~450W for a system, 650W by Corsair/SilverStone/Seasonic is more than sufficient for most gamers. OP's looking at a 500W PSU from Corsair, CX series so may not be good, and it's this that I wish to discourage the OP from getting. Sure, 500W may seem like plenty, but OC that system + powerful GPU with various peripherals and that PSU may still take it, but it'd be running hot......or near max capacity. A 650W PSU like you'd said would more than suffice (for just about all single GPU rigs), I wasn't pushing the OP to score a 1000W unit. I was merely suggesting that if he think 500W is sufficient, get something a little beefier, like a 620W/650W unit, and have just that much extra headroom for more devices + OC.

FYI, my OP1000 has seen me from a 7950 GX2 to 2x HD2900XT to 2x 3870 X2 to my present 2x HD5870......I'd gotten the Seasonic 850W unit because my HX620 couldn't hack it when I installed a 2nd card for PhysX (GTX560 Ti + GTX460 768MB). The HX620 is doing a very nice job in my 3rd/HTPC rig, I believe in quality and a degree of 'beefiness' when it comes to PSUs, that's why I advocate getting more than what would suffice.

[joemtnbike]

Why do so many folks here bash on the CX series PSU's?
JonnyGURU (the premier PSU authority, IMO) ran it through the gauntlet and found the CX to be a solid performer and gave it a recommended status. (all 9s)
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=214

If I was looking for a reasonably prices non-modular PSU I would not hesitate to use the Corsair CX series.

... OP's looking at a 500W PSU from Corsair, CX series so may not be good, and it's this that I wish to discourage the OP from getting. Sure, 500W may seem like plenty, but OC that system + powerful GPU with various peripherals and that PSU may still take it, but it'd be running hot......or near max capacity. ...

The rig specified will barely use more than half of the capacity of a 500W PSU.
No where near max capacity.

[Ignorant_Toast]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I still have 2 weeks before I need to order the parts, so I may just wait for a better quality 600w-650w unit to go on sale in the meantime since it seems like Newegg is always having sales on power supplies.

EDIT: Just found these 2 reviews of the OCZ.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-StealthXStream-2-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/1058/10
http://www.guru3d.com/article/ocz-stealthxstream-2-600w-review/8

It looks like it got favorable reviews but is it likely that a better 600w PSU will go on sale in the next 2 weeks? The OCZ has a $10 off promo code ending in a couple days and this is a budget build.

[aplles]

The corsair psu is the better choice. Also change your CPU to the 1055T.

[Ignorant_Toast]

The corsair psu is the better choice. Also change your CPU to the 1055T.

The 1055T is $40 more and I'm just deciding on the power supply.

[aplles]

The 1055T is $40 more and I'm just deciding on the power supply. I know it's $40 more, trust me it's worth it. If you can spare the money I would definitely buy he 1055T. On the topic of psu's Corsair has impressed me over many years. Most of their Psu's have 5 year warranties and i haven't ever heard of one break. Two psu's may both say they support 500 watts, but he no name brand is probably only supporting 450 watts. He corsairs live up to their specs.

[borg_7_of_9]

I don't see the point in a lower clocked 6core CPU stick with the 955BE..

Personally the Corsair CX series PSU's get mixed reviews...

SILVERSTONE Strider Essential series ST60F-ES 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256071)

The above Silverstone is better IMO..

Corsair don't make PSU's.....(re-badge form different manufactures)

[virusfarm]

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series 650W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005) $89.99

Antec EarthWatts 650W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015) $74.99

Try to buy a PSU with some headroom, Headroom keeps your PSU from over exerting itself, Keeping your PSU cooler and lasting longer.

And,

Stay away from the Truepower line for right now, its having some serious issues that I have personally found out about. :mad:

[308]

When getting a PSU, common mistakes are:
1. Getting a PSU that is just enough for your present rig, plus minor upgrades.....anything major, like a more powerful vid card and the PSU might choke.
2. Scrimping, or buying a PSU like a mere afterthought, with whatever that's left of one's budget.

When buying PSUs, three great brands to consider are SilverStone, Corsair (NOT the CX series) and Seasonic. Go for broke when it comes to PSU as it IS the most important component in a system.

BTW, I put my money where my mouth is, I have a SilverStone OP1000 (which I'd gotten >3 years ago and has seen me thru 3 upgrades), Seasonic SS-850AT (2nd gaming rig) and a Corsair HX620 for my HTPC.

there are not only 3 brands, theres more.

i seriously dont know why enermax is so underrated on these forums. and you forgot antec.

@dosbox more power is always better. today i want to run a 8800gt, tomorrow i want to run a gtx 460, in a year ill run gtx 580, in 2 years i might decide to sli the gtx 580 and get 8 more 2tb hard drives, in 3 years i might want to go tri sli etc...

if you keep getting a psu that's "just enough" then thats like 5 psu upgrades that can be avoided by buying a quality 1kw psu right away. not to mention that a psu thats running at 90-95% load all the time will last much less than one running at 50%. Knowing the freedom that you can upgrade to anything you want is priceless. Right now im running corsair ax1200 on my q6600/9800gt system, couldn't be happier. To each his own i guess.

[borg_7_of_9]

1Kw is a little extreme IMO but there are ppl out there that need them they know what they want usually and base there build's on that, it's not for every one and until the group that handle system requirement's up the PCI-E port's max power >300W there won't be many GPU's that use more..

Newer GPU's generally use less power then there previous counter part's the trend is Power usage is slowly going down...

Also with the higher end we are starting to see extra 4 pin molex plug's on the main board last time this started happening the 20pin atx plug was upgraded to 24pin who's to say that a 1Kw PSU will still be any good in 2 years the jump to 28pin may be just around the corner esp if the industry change the PCI-E max power usage to 350W in favor of the extra 4pin molex...

[308]

1Kw is a little extreme IMO but there are ppl out there that need them they know what they want usually and base there build's on that, it's not for every one and until the group that handle system requirement's up the PCI-E port's max power >300W there won't be many GPU's that use more..

Newer GPU's generally use less power then there previous counter part's the trend is Power usage is slowly going down...

Also with the higher end we are starting to see extra 4 pin molex plug's on the main board last time this started happening the 20pin atx plug was upgraded to 24pin who's to say that a 1Kw PSU will still be any good in 2 years the jump to 28pin may be just around the corner esp if the industry change the PCI-E max power usage to 350W in favor of the extra 4pin molex...

thats what im saying though, i was 100% sure i was never going to need more than a gtx 460 when i purchased my rig, so i purchased a psu suitable for that (corsair tx650). Few months later I suddenly got the urge to get a gtx 580 + a strong physx card. Had to sell the psu, get a new one and waste more money. for me, the 1200ax solved all my psu headaches and "can it handle" questions forever. i guess im 1 in a million case though :D. Just trying to help on the all out attack against high wattage psu's by dosbox.

anyways for the op:
get this psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021&cm_re=antec_truepower_new-_-17-371-021-_-Product

that will give you plenty of headroom.

or if you're like me, go ax1200 or corsair hx850 :D

[borg_7_of_9]

spose I know where I was going so when I built this rig I went 850W as I wanted a high end Intel CPU, oc water cooling and Dual Graphics Card's.

Knowing in advanced help's so this PSU will go in to my next rig..
with similar spec's

[damaged]

(...)

anyways for the op:
get this psu:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021&cm_re=antec_truepower_new-_-17-371-021-_-Product
(...)

No, do not get that PSU, that has a known defect in some of its units, squealing when powered off (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-371-021&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=noise&Page=1#scrollFullInfo).

[Bad_Motha]

The PII X4 955 is a good CPU, don't let people talk you into the X6, it's a waste, especially at a lower clock. If anything get the highest clocked quad-core you can afford.

As for PSUs, SilverStone, SeaSonic and Corsair (non CX series) are all great choices.

I would give yourself a little headroom though and go with a 650 at the very least.
TX650 > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
HX650 > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

These are two I've used alot (at customer's request) and I also use them alot in my own builds for friends and family. The TX650 is plenty and has 5year warranty. The HX650 however is modular design and has 7year warranty. If you have a tight case or even a mid/full tower that doesn't really have room for good cable management, something in a modular design might be worth going with. I personally love the Corsair HX series and it's worth the money.

What I see to be very cheap and not worth getting though is that Biostar motherboard. I highly suggest investing in something better, like an AM3 800 series motherboard that has the possibility of supporting Phenom II X8 when those release later this year. Asus, MSI, Gigabyte are all good brands of motherboard.

[dosbox]

there are not only 3 brands, theres more.

i seriously dont know why enermax is so underrated on these forums. and you forgot antec.


All of which sell PSU's manufactured by Delta, Seasonic, Channelwell etc.


@dosbox more power is always better. today i want to run a 8800gt, tomorrow i want to run a gtx 460, in a year ill run gtx 580, in 2 years i might decide to sli the gtx 580 and get 8 more 2tb hard drives, in 3 years i might want to go tri sli etc...


Nobody in their right mind is going triple-SLI a three year old system. Similarly, adding a 7200 rpm hard drive adds a grand total of 10W power draw.


if you keep getting a psu that's "just enough" then thats like 5 psu upgrades that can be avoided by buying a quality 1kw psu right away. not to mention that a psu thats running at 90-95% load all the time will last much less than one running at 50%. Knowing the freedom that you can upgrade to anything you want is priceless. Right now im running corsair ax1200 on my q6600/9800gt system, couldn't be happier. To each his own i guess.

Maybe you should read what I actually posted and calculate the numbers. Very few single CPU/GPU systems even draw 500W at the wall. Remember, the PSU is outputting less than 450W in that case - or 69%

Attempting to future proof a PSU is a mugs game. In the last five years, we've gone from:

IDE connectors to SATA connectors
AGP to PCI-E
Floppy has disappeared
6-pin PCI-E to 8-pin PCI-E
4-pin ATX12V to 8-pin EPS12V

And given capacitor aging, I would not want to use a PSU older than five years anyway.

[308]

All of which sell PSU's manufactured by Delta, Seasonic, Channelwell etc.


yeah i know, but he wasn't talking about original manufacturers because he mentioned corsair and seasonic in the same sentence (and corsair = seasonic + CWT).