PSU advice for FSX build...

snadge

snadge

snadge

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on one of my other threads asking if ths 500 watt corsair 'Builder Series' 500CX was good enough to power my dads new PC someone suggested I read a page on Toms Hardware about PSU's
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/psu-manufacturer-oem,2729.html

it seems to suggest that 'Channel Well' (A PSU manufacturer) produce low quality PSU's and thats some 'Corsair' PSU's are made by them? - is this right or am I reading it wrong? - how do I know if the CX500 Builder Series is Seasonic (good) or Channel Well (bad)...?

we want to be spending about £40-£50 on a PSU for 1 gfx card that requires 2xPCIE power , overclocked 2500k and 4Gb 1600Mhz memory overclocked to 1600Mhz and 2 SATA hard-drive and one SATA DVD drive (and 2 internal fans)

can anyone suggest a very good reliable PSU ?

thanks
 
Enermax a top dog in PSU's?

i would rather go with tried & tested brands - who knows they could have designed them for Enermax to build and not be very good.
 
snadge said:
Enermax a top dog in PSU's?

i would rather go with tried & tested brands - who knows they could have designed them for Enermax to build and not be very good.
Click to expand...

You never heard of Enermax? blimey:eek:

In your price range you have,

CX500
Bequiet 530W
OCZ StealthXstreamII 600
 
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Very similar build to mine and i'm VERY happy with my 620w Antec High Power Gamer. Not sure if they're still on offer mind.
 
MrChops said:
Very similar build to mine and i'm VERY happy with my 620w Antec High Power Gamer. Not sure if they're still on offer mind.
Click to expand...

that was the other psu i was going to suggest but for the extra £3 or what ever it is the XFX seemed a good choice the Antec was awesome when it was on offer
 
i was going with the CX500 but how do i know its not a 'channel well'..?

no never heard of enermax lol... only Corsair, Coolermaster, Antec etc...what you see on web stores... i didnt even know that almost all of these brands dont make their own PSU until today lol...

so is the CX500 a seasonic? if so im sticking with it
 
Channel Well seem to make a wide range of PSU, and the ones they make for Corsair have so far been very good. Personally, I am using a Corsair HX 850W which is a channel well design and it is among the best 850W PSUs on the market.

As for the CX 500W, it is made for a much lower price point so isn't as high quality as most other corsair units (for one thing the efficiency is pretty low) - but it is still a solid PSU based on the CWT DSA platform. Here is a review of the 430W version which is based on the same design as the 500W.

As for the new lepa range, I can't see any reviews for the N and W series (the ones within the OP's budget), so personally I would wait for some reliable reviews giving them the thumbs up before buying. But lepa is enermax's lower-end branding - so they should still be decent quality (though not up to the level of what you would expect from a true enermax unit).

If you can, I would increase your budget slightly and go for the 650W XFX unit mentioned by Randall. This is known to be a good quality unit (review here) with good efficiency and plenty of power for future upgrades.
 
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i thought the CX500 got 80+ bronze award for efficiency and that was good? or at least showed it was reliable...or something like that - all these 'awards' lull you into thinking its a good unit I suppose it doesnt neceserily mean it is

does it have good protection against Voltage, Current and Power etc.. this is what that article tackles and says to stay well away from ones that dont.
 
That's the new CX 500W v2 which has just come out.

If the 500W CX PSU you are looking at doesn't explicitly say "V2" then you are looking at the earlier sub 80% efficency model.

This review shows how the Corsair CX v2 series fares (again, the 430W model).
 
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Corsair Builder Series CMPSU-500CXUK 500W Power Supply (PSU)
500W Corsair CMPSU-500CXUK Builder Series, 80% Eff', 120mm Fan, Single Rail, ATX

doesnt say V2 but says 80% efficency and "hot seller" ...

seems to get a good review if its same one
 
Yea, it's a decent PSU - but based on that product number it's certainly not the V2 one.

It may be advertised as "80%" efficiency, but in reality corsair only advertise it as "up to 80%" and it hasn't been certified "80plus" - which is the standardised rating system for PSU efficiency.

If you want a higher efficiency unit then the slightly more expensive Antec High Current Gamer 520W (seasonic design) is a good bet as is the XFX Core 550W (again a seasonic design).
 
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higher efficiency would be good for my dad as he hates to know hes wasting money hehe
but really most important for us is that its reliable, good build and wont blow shortly after installing lol... we have a £30 margin currently so may use that... I told him we may have too anyway
 
gunna get the XFX for only £8 extra...you also get 5 years warranty... DEFO going for that

thanks

edit: actually... does it have 2 x 6+2 PCIe connectors? according to one wesbsite it only has 1...surely thats not right? most graphics cards require 2 x 6 pin adapters yes?
 
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just im sure that 460 said it needed 2 x 6+2 connectors.... could be wrong... anyway a spanner has been thrown in the works with that 460 as someone said EE cards are noisy (or noisier) - I dont want a noisy PC for my dad and as FSX only comes under 30% load on these top end cards I think something thats quiet is more important (but still 560)

see my new thread on it here
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=19466713#post19466713

thanks for all your help BTW :)
 
I'm certain that no matter which GTX 460 you go for it won't require two 6+2 pin connections - only cards like the GTX 480/580 require that much power. All GTX 460 cards I have seen only require two 6 pin connections - which the XFX 550W can happily provide.

As for the rear exhausting GTX 460 being noisy - it really depends on the cooler it uses. If it's the gigabyte windforce 2 cooler that's on the GTX 460 SOC, then you really don't need to worry - just Google "gtx 460 super overclock review" and look for the second review - then go to the "Power consumption, temperature and noise" section (unfortunately I can't link directly to this site as OCUK doesn't like them - but this is a good review).
 
thanks

the one i was getting didnt have dual-fans on and seemed more boxed in than that one

EVGA 460 SOC

jst wanna £145-£155 card thats quiet - cant be more than £155 as with the new PSU pencilled in it means I cant stretch to more than £155 for GPU

I will have a look at some reviews
 
Ah, if you are planning to spend that much then I would suggest you just buy a GTX 560 or go for a cheaper option. You can get a GTX 460 1GB with a 725MHz core clock and a decent cooler for £110 here - so I wouldn't spend £45 more to get the SC or SSC EVGA version.
 
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