Two old PSU's - which one to use?

Puzzled · 15 Apr 2018 at 17:37

Hi

I'm building a new office pc out of some old bits but can't decide on which PSU to use.

Seasonic SS-430HB (430w) - Older but a higher quality unit and quieter (spent last few years in storage)
Corsair CX500M (500w) - Still pretty quiet, more recent but dubious reputation.

Spec will be:
i7-2600k (stock)
8GB DDDR3
ATI HD6450 (no PCI Express power connector)
1 SSD
1 HDD
1 DVD

A PSU calculator puts it at 282w and recommends a 320w PSU so both appear to be fine.

I like quiet systems so tempted to use the Seasonic, any reason I should go with the Corsair instead?

maklabouhlel · 15 Apr 2018 at 20:07

Toss a coin.

EsaT · 15 Apr 2018 at 22:02

Seasonic has quality capacitors, Corsair cheap parts.

And graphics card without extra connectors is limited to 75W so those parts would be very hard pressed to draw even 200W.

willhub · 16 Apr 2018 at 11:42

EsaT said:
Seasonic has quality capacitors, Corsair cheap parts.

And graphics card without extra connectors is limited to 75W so those parts would be very hard pressed to draw even 200W.

Corsair cheap parts since when? My HX520W and VX550W certainly are not regarded as "cheap" and used to be made from Seasonic I believe

Armageus · 16 Apr 2018 at 11:48

600W review rather than 550, but still mentions the cheap capacitors
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/CX600M/11.html

In reality either will be fine - no guarantee that the capacitors in the older Seasonic are still going to be in perfect order/

britain4 · 17 Apr 2018 at 00:00

How old are the two of them? Or have you already said and I just missed it?

I’d be tempted to go with the Seasonic personally but it depends how old/how much use they’ve both had

mattyfez · 17 Apr 2018 at 09:26

willhub said:
Corsair cheap parts since when? My HX520W and VX550W certainly are not regarded as "cheap" and used to be made from Seasonic I believe

Depends on the particular model, the old HX series was highly regarded, but some of the other series use cheaper parts, so you can't really lump all corsair PSUs in the same basket, quality wise.

willhub · 17 Apr 2018 at 10:03

mattyfez said:
Depends on the particular model, the old HX series was highly regarded, but some of the other series use cheaper parts, so you can't really lump all corsair PSUs in the same basket, quality wise.

I'm selling my HX520W I guess it'll keep some value then, I'm using a VX550W and seems to be solid and quiet with a i7 and GTX1080.

Puzzled · 17 Apr 2018 at 12:24

britain4 said:
How old are the two of them? Or have you already said and I just missed it?

The Seasonic must be at least 10 years old but has spent about half of that sat in a cupboard. Only thing I wasn't sure was if the spec had changed as the power distribution looks different but it has the right M/B connector and PCI Express power connectors so should be fine.

I've put the Corsair in for now but might swap it for the Seasonic as the Corsair is probably worth slightly more if I sell it.

Armageus · 17 Apr 2018 at 12:27

MonkeyMan said:
The Seasonic must be at least 10 years old but has spent about half of that sat in a cupboard.

Being sat on a shelf isn't any better - capacitors still deteriorate even if not used.

Habakkuk · 19 Apr 2018 at 19:38

Go with the Corsair - it's higher wattage and should be old enough that it's at the other PSU's wattage by now.