Budget PSU for rx480/i7 6700

Fluke? · 15 Sep 2018 at 13:07

Hi guys,
pretty sure my corsiair TX650 is on its way out ( https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/rog-strix-rx480-100-red-led-no-display.18831215/ ) and I'm looking for a new psu to power an RX480 and i7 6700.

Really looking to spend less then £50 if pos. Did see the corsair CX range but seems to have pretty bad reviews and other than that there are loads of brands I've never heard of

Any suggestions?

Ta

pastymuncher · 15 Sep 2018 at 13:57

The new Corsair CX series (white label, Great Wall built) are much better than the older CWT units. The CX-M series are still CWT built but the newer white label version is better than the old versions. A good 450-550w is what you should be aiming for. A 550w would be better as you would have the psu running more efficiently than a heavily loaded 450w unit. If you do go for a 450w unit then make sure it's a good one with all of it's power available on the 12v rail. It's no good going for a cheap so called 450w psu that only has 360w on the 12v rail as it will be running flat out trying to keep the system powered. Like I said, a good quality 550w would be much better. There isn't a single psu for sale at OCUK under £50 that I would recommend. In fact there isn't a single psu under £56 that I would recommend. I will only recommend a psu that I would be 100% happy to run myself. I am not sure that I would trust a Corsair CX450M to power your system as it is still a budget unit built down to a price. The cheapest 450w unit that I would recommend is the Bitfenix Formula series 450w at £60. All cables are fixed but it's gold rated, has a 5 year warranty and all of it's 450w is available across it's triple 12v rails. The cheapest 550w unit that I would recommend is the Bitfenix Formula series 550w at £67. Like the 450w version the cables are fixed, it's gold rated, has a 5 year warranty and the whole 550w is available across it's triple 12v rails. I really wouldn't go any cheaper than those, not from here anyway. The psu is not a place to save money.

How old is your Corsair TX-M? The bronze rated versions have a 5 year warranty while the gold rated version has a 7 year warranty so if it was purchased in the last few years it may well be still in warranty.

EsaT · 15 Sep 2018 at 14:11

Like pastymuncher said wouldn't recommend any cheap PSU, if you use that PC daily for many hours including also gaming.
Heck, quality PSU can be PC's longest life time component after case.

Fluke? · 18 Sep 2018 at 19:35

Thanks for taking the time to reply chaps
Sadly my Corsair was purchased in early 2011 so is out of warranty either way.

I ended up going for the B Grade Antec Edge 550w modular psu for £50 which will hopefully be ok, although I am starting to wonder if the sweet FA warranty (90day) that b-grade stuff comes with is a bit short sighted

Suppose I still have DSR if it was a bad idea lol....

JasonM · 18 Sep 2018 at 20:57

The two most important components in a PC are the PSU and the case, the reason being these two components are the environment of your system - Think of a data center and see all the power regulation and environmental controls, your in a house so you can't implement these things, but you can choose a good PSU and case for your PC.

A good quality PSU it's not only quieter, but it's better regulated, means you can overclock / undervolt more.

My oldest PSU is a Seasonic X650 that was purchased in 2009, it has interstellar miles on it. I did a back of an envelope calculation once, and after about 6 years I worked out it pretty much paid for itself in energy saving over a bronze PSU, and 9 years later the X650 is still running fine.

ExoMale · 29 Sep 2018 at 23:34

while i havent used the computer much and it is only powering an am1 apu, i recently installed the white label cx450 and its quiet, did fine for the short run, not long enough testing, but would use it with my system in sig, never had issues even with the green labels before. i paid £40 on the zon.