New PSU, which one?

R-evans · 23 Nov 2012 at 22:32

I'm wanting to get a new PSU, I was going to get the Corsair Builder Series CX 600W as it has good reviews/reasonable price but somebody said that 600W is not needed. Just wondered what determines what PSU wattage you choose for your system?

Open to recommendations too. My spec is below if it helps.

Cheers

Jinxter · 23 Nov 2012 at 22:47

Input these into an online PSU calculator, that'll give you an idea of what wattage you need.

RJC · 23 Nov 2012 at 22:50

Couple of options below which will be ample:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-012-PP&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2179

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-006-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1497

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-031-SS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2383

When using the online PSU calculators these give a recommended PSU wattage not your system wattage.

Jinxter · 23 Nov 2012 at 22:55

RJC said:
Couple of options below which will be ample:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-012-PP&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2179

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-006-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1497

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-031-SS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2383

When using the online PSU calculators these give a recommended PSU wattage not your system wattage.

Out of interest - do the calculators overestimate?

R-evans · 23 Nov 2012 at 22:57

I did the calc and it gave recommended 382W. I even added some wanted upgrades into the mix, so 400w is sufficient?

RJC · 23 Nov 2012 at 23:01

Jinxter said:
Out of interest - do the calculators overestimate?

Most of them do.

R-evans said:
I did the calc and it gave recommended 382W. I even added some wanted upgrades into the mix, so 400w is sufficient?

Yes

Jinxter · 23 Nov 2012 at 23:03

R-evans said:
I did the calc and it gave recommended 382W. I even added some wanted upgrades into the mix, so 400w is sufficient?

I'd go for a bit more personally. Maybe 500w? I read somewhere that each of these PSU has a sweet spot for hitting their 80plus rating which is a percentage of the max load depending on the spec of course.

R-evans · 23 Nov 2012 at 23:05

Cool, are corsairs reliable?

The three recommended above are all different but I like the look of the corsair.

Jinxter · 23 Nov 2012 at 23:09

I would personally go for the Seasonic - they have an excellent reputation (nought wrong with the others mind). Seems a good price and a bit of margin for upgrade at 520w.

foster grant · 23 Nov 2012 at 23:25

XFX are nice...they have Seasonic internals , i like those PC Power & Cooling PSUs too, have there not been some issues with some Corsair PSUs of late ?

Sasahara · 24 Nov 2012 at 16:32

Any these should be fine.

YOUR BASKET
1 x PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 400W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - White £49.99
1 x Seasonic G series 360w '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £48.98
1 x Seasonic S12II 380W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £42.98
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 400W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £40.00
Total : £193.96 (includes shipping : £10.00).

You'll find it impossible to hit 300W from you current system, unless you short something.

olivier renault · 24 Nov 2012 at 16:46

Does limit you as far as GPUs go. I'd get a Seasonic S12 II 520W. Worth the extra tenner imo.

Sasahara · 24 Nov 2012 at 16:54

olivier renault said:
Does limit you as far as GPUs go. I'd get a Seasonic S12 II 520W. Worth the extra tenner imo.

+1 if you think you might spend more than £200 on a GPU in the future.

If not the ones I linked would be ok to power say a HD 7850.
(even a HD 7870/7950 if no overclocking is done)

R-evans · 24 Nov 2012 at 16:54

olivier renault said:
Does limit you as far as GPUs go. I'd get a Seasonic S12 II 520W. Worth the extra tenner imo.

That's the one I have put on my xmas list

R-evans · 19 Dec 2012 at 14:29

Sorry to come back to this, but can somebody recommend a good PSU calculator?

I tried the Thermaltake and eXtreme ones (Top 2 on google) but they will not let me choose the exact CPU/GPU's I have/want.

Cheers

bledd · 19 Dec 2012 at 14:32

Take a look at these..

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18470392

Is it the spec in your signature?

If not, list what the spec is and people on here will know how much power you'll need.

Assuming it is the spec in your sig, with that graphics card, the 430w should be ample, maybe get the 500w/600w if you're planning to get a beefier card

conb123 · 19 Dec 2012 at 16:55

Corsair have a handy power supply calculator on their site, just input your system spec and it will recommend one of their power supplies to you http://www.corsair.com/learn_n_explore/