Best (Haswell ready?) PSU for ~£50

CompuChump

CompuChump

CompuChump

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Hi folks!

I'm looking for a PSU that will last me a long time for an integrated graphics Haswell system that will start out needing about 200W (according to PC part picker) but will later have one, then probably two graphics cards added to it and later on will probably be overclocked. I'm looking at building a system that I'll still be using 5 years from now basically (albeit for nothing high end) by gradually adding to it over time, and as far as I've figured for this purpose a good MOBO and PSU are important. But I'm on a tight budget.

Basically I'm looking for build quality over modular, wattage over cost (to an extent, if my only best option is £60 I'll be waiting for it to come up at £55 in a sale >.<).

At the moment my choices are limited to 'Haswell ready' PSUs, but in all honesty I'm not even sure what that means. Is it vital that the PSU is Haswell ready to use a z87 mobo and Haswell CPU? What happens if I use a (decent quality) PSU that isn't Haswell certified? I've been recommended a PSU before that upon checking wasn't stated as good for Haswell.

And most importantly really, any recommendations? :P

Cheers for reading!
CompuChump

edit: I've looked at the CX Builder Series PSU's, but apparently they're pants despite being Corsair. Any difference between this:
Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK)
and
Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK)
worth knowing about?

I was also considering the Seasonic S12 II 520W, but it's not Haswell ready and I saw it somewhere else but can't actually find it on OC, not sure if it's going by a different name somewhere or just not here... >.<
 
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Any of these would be a good start.

For quality, you'd be looking at:

  • Antec
  • Seasonic (XFX, Corsair AX range)
  • BeQuiet
  • Silverstone
  • SuperFlower

They are but a few with more out there.
 
Ah ok, cheers, stulid - sounds like I really don't need Haswell certified then (although being able to use sleep would be nice, I guess it's not entirely necessary >.<) The SuperFlower is a little pricey for me but I'll watch it in case it goes on sale, cheers.

Weirdly I haven't seen any mention of SuperFlower as a 'good' brand anywhere else. Is their whole range strong or just the one you mentioned?

-

And thanks snips - I'm a little concerned that <450W would severely limit my ability to upgrade though. I suppose I can always upgrade the PSU later too, but for now assume it's got to be able to deal with the 200W of my base system plus a midrange GPU, a couple more fans and possibly OC. Will it be enough do you think?

Again wth the SuperFlower, I've not had them recommended anywhere else, are they OC exclusive or something? :s And BeQuiet I heard were generally poor? Is brand goodness really subjective or something?

Also I probably should've said, ideally I'm looking for something 80+ (so I can kid myself into thinking I'm saving the planet), but bronze is plenty if it gets me a better PSU for my money.
 
SuperFlower have only just started hitting the market again and produce seriously solid units. Their entire range is great, but Leadex seem to be very popular here.

What would you be looking to upgrade too?

Less than 500-550 will be fine if you intent to run only 1 GPU.

What is your spec?
 
Superflower are a OEM too, so provide designs for others to use.

Superflower PSU's that do have reviews are all positive from the quick look I had, that HX550 doesnt yet have a review.
 
It's hard to say because I'm still researching.

But I'm getting around 200W with all the systems (no GPU) I'm designing in ************, and then the GPUs add about 100W each. I'm planning to get the first GPU a few months after the rest of the system to spread the cost, the second is less important because by the time I'd be getting the second I guess I could replace the PSU as well. I might overclock with one GPU though, so not sure what I need to be safe with a 300W + extra fans and OC system?

I'll have to have a serious look into SuperFlower then, I must admit I've been ignoring anything not labelled XFX, Corsair, Antec or SeaSonic so far. :P
I'll look into SilverStone too as I've not looked at them yet, any others?
 
Ignore the label on the side of the psu stating it's output. That's total output and may be made up on the non important minor rails. The 12v rail is the important one. If you want more than 450w that rules out the Corsair CX500 v2 as it only has a pathetic 408w on the 12v rail and the one that replaced it only has 456w on the 12v rail. The CX range are garbage and i wouldn't touch one with a bargepole. They were superb units when first launched and Seasonic was the OEM. They then changed to CWT and used cheap internals and slashed the warranty period.

Have a look at the specs of the psu's you are interested in here. It's regularly updated and tells you who the OEM is, whether it's single or multiple 12v rails and what it can output across them plus links to reviews.
 
Hey, thanks for the information, pastymuncher! (great name by the way xD)
And that link looks to be a great resource, cheers. :D

Are there any specific PSUs you'd recommend for my criteria if I pushed you for it also? :P
 
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=250

Looks like the 450W version of the SuperFlower stulid recommended is pretty darn decent! And according to site you gave me, pastymuncher, the 550W version has 546W Max Load on 12V, that's got to be about as good as it gets for a 550W, right?

So is it safe to assume the SuperFlower GoldenGreen 550W is a safe buy (assuming it goes on sale, I have no choice but to budget >.<)?
 
CompuChump said:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=250

Looks like the 450W version of the SuperFlower stulid recommended is pretty darn decent! And according to site you gave me, pastymuncher, the 550W version has 546W Max Load on 12V, that's got to be about as good as it gets for a 550W, right?

So is it safe to assume the SuperFlower GoldenGreen 550W is a safe buy (assuming it goes on sale, I have no choice but to budget >.<)?
Click to expand...

You could post to the Customer Services section asking if it's planned on the daily/weekly deals?
 
CompuChump said:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=250

Looks like the 450W version of the SuperFlower stulid recommended is pretty darn decent! And according to site you gave me, pastymuncher, the 550W version has 546W Max Load on 12V, that's got to be about as good as it gets for a 550W, right?

So is it safe to assume the SuperFlower GoldenGreen 550W is a safe buy (assuming it goes on sale, I have no choice but to budget >.<)?
Click to expand...

Yep, it has just about everything you could ask for including the all important strong 12v rail. Although, if you are going to add a pair of graphics cards later on you should be looking at 750w+ units. I can make my rig (in siggy) pull 521w from the wall easy enough with both the cpu and gpu at 100% load (linx and frumark). With just the cpu fully loaded (Linx) it's 267w and with just the gpu fully loaded (furmark) it's 432w.
 
Not a bad shout, snips. Think they're likely to tell me stuff like that ahead of time, though? I'd assumed it's all a big secret! Haha.
Still, worth a try. :P

I think I'm going to have to put off dual GPUs for a while to be honest, pastymuncher, just planning ahead as much as I can afford to. Sadly though I think I will have to buy another PSU if I add a second GPU because right now I need a new PC and can't afford to splash. :/
 
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