Hmmm - so you'd see some of i7's benefit over i5 7xx, but being realistic, i7 will only give you up to around 25% (usually less) gain over i5 when rendering. i7 950 costs 67% more than i5 760 though, then there's the extra mobo cost. All in all, a lot of your tight budget for little performance gain. I'd go i5 760 and with the saved cash you can afford a decent PSU, a better GPU if any gaming is being planned, or bigger SSD, etc etc. Will also suit an 8GB RAM kit much better.
PSU - Really that important?? Really!?
- Thread starter Christo
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Hmmm - so you'd see some of i7's benefit over i5 7xx, but being realistic, i7 will only give you up to around 25% (usually less) gain over i5 when rendering. i7 950 costs 67% more than i5 760 though, then there's the extra mobo cost. All in all, a lot of your tight budget for little performance gain. I'd go i5 760 and with the saved cash you can afford a decent PSU, a better GPU if any gaming is being planned, or bigger SSD, etc etc. Will also suit an 8GB RAM kit much better.
Associate
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Personally I'd spend the extra and get a decent PSU for 20-40 quid its worth the piece of mind. Having said that going back 3-4 years ive had lots of cheapy cheap PSU's QTEC etc and never had a problem!
Buying hundreds of pounds worth of computer parts and attempting to skimp on the psu, is not a good idea, which I kind of learnt myself, I had 2 hiper (yeah lol check the thread) ones go boom on me, one taking almost everything, thankfuly that one was RMA'ble but what a ballache it was! 2-3 months downtime.The replacement only took the hard drive, but yeah, maybe you'll get lucky this time, but continue t do it you shall reap what ye sow!
Man of Honour
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Of course it is. The psu is the single most important component in a pc. It needs to supply reliable constant power to your components. Cheap ones will never supply their stated output, have weak rails and when they fail/blow are likley to take some of your other components with them. You have selected a £18 psu to power a high end rig and are asking for trouble. If money is that tight drop the spec down to a i5 rig and invest in a decent psu.
If you still have any doubts have a read of this article about budget psu's.. This guy know's what he is talking about.
When OCUK first stared selling these psu's i said people would end up trying this. Either they need to stop selling them or amend the description again to make it clear beyond a doubt that they are not for high end rigs. Personally i don't think they have a place in any rig but that's just me.
If you still have any doubts have a read of this article about budget psu's.. This guy know's what he is talking about.
When OCUK first stared selling these psu's i said people would end up trying this. Either they need to stop selling them or amend the description again to make it clear beyond a doubt that they are not for high end rigs. Personally i don't think they have a place in any rig but that's just me.
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First of all, you don't need 8gb of ram so switch to that to a 6gb triple channel kit please.
Second, get a Corsair CX 500W at 49.99, I don't think your brother will be impressed if his PC blows up because you decided to save a couple of quid.
Second, get a Corsair CX 500W at 49.99, I don't think your brother will be impressed if his PC blows up because you decided to save a couple of quid.
First of all, you don't need 8gb of ram so switch to that to a 6gb triple channel kit please.
Second, get a Corsair CX 500W at 49.99, I don't think your brother will be impressed if his PC blows up because you decided to save a couple of quid.
Hang on, this is for Maya, if you are creating large scenes more RAM = good. Of course 8Gb isnt needed for regular usage though.
But you guys have convinced me Im going for a Corsair.
Cheers for the help.
I would avoid those new Corsair Builder PSU's. They are seriously underspecced, not very efficient (heck not even 80Plus!) and its really only a 408W PSU as it can only deliver 408W on its 12V rail. Warranty is also poor at 2 years.
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Agree.
The CX430 is actually weaker than the CX400. The CX500 & CX600 are low end CWT-DSA builds and cannot output their rated wattage at more than 30c ambient which is ridiculous. The new OCZ Stealthxstream2's are miles better.
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I spent more on my PSU than I did any other componant in my build other than the obvious graphics card
Its a Seasonic X Series and its awesome, mostly because it supplies me with peace of mind as well as power
Its a Seasonic X Series and its awesome, mostly because it supplies me with peace of mind as well as power
+1 It would be helpful if we could see reviews of them, but according to Corsair themselves, the people who are interested in the CX series aren't going to be reading reviews. They are unlikely to be crap, but I'd still go for the OCZ StealthXStream II 500W, it is a similar price and it's quality is known: Hardwaresecrets has tested the OCZ SXS 500, 600 and SXS II 600. It was shown that the 600W second version was just the same as the original version, but with a few changes which brought the efficiency up to 80Plus Standard. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-StealthXStream-2-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/1058
Also, yes X58 motherboards can run memory in dual channel, and according to this thread there is virtually no difference in performance, sometimes dual channel is even faster than triple channel, altho not significantly: http://www.overclock.net/intel-memory/681697-truth-about-i7-1366-memory-both.html#post8646322
If 8GB is more cost effective to get a large amount of memory, and if that is beneficial for the program that the OP wants to use then I don't see a problem with it.
Noted, looks like I'll have to stop recommending CXs and start going for the pricier VXs, or of course Seasonic/XFX/Antec Earthwatts.
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Corsair also said none of these new CX units will be sent out to reviewers, I wonder why! 
Oh lord, I do so hate the budget PSU market.
Why do people spend £1k on a computer, but feel the need to only spend £20 on a PSU when £40-£50 (that's an extra 2-3% of their budget for the number-crunchers out there) will stop it from making a loud POP and frying every component beyond repair?
Why do people spend £1k on a computer, but feel the need to only spend £20 on a PSU when £40-£50 (that's an extra 2-3% of their budget for the number-crunchers out there) will stop it from making a loud POP and frying every component beyond repair?
Well I ordered the Corsair then cancelled for a Silverstone with 2 rails, I have a Silverstone and its treated me v well so hoping it will be ok!
But really how often do PSU's go wrong. I agree you shouldn't skimp too much but Im sure its very rare that things go wrong. Sorry Im not trying to troll, I appreciate the help and have bought a better PSU as a result.
But really how often do PSU's go wrong. I agree you shouldn't skimp too much but Im sure its very rare that things go wrong. Sorry Im not trying to troll, I appreciate the help and have bought a better PSU as a result.
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Man of Honour
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With what you were going to try to run off a £18 psu things would have gone wrong very quickly indeed and may have cost you a lot of money to put right. If a quality psu goes wrong it is highly unlikely to do any damage to the rest of your rig. A cheap and nasty piece of garbage however, being built down to a price, is extremely likely to take other components with it.
Exactly, normal FSP with what ever China caps they can get for cheap enough at the moment.
And as standard for FSP metal oxide varistor whose job is to filter "normal" voltage spikes present in AC lines is "missing in action".
I would rather speed the money on a quality PSU, and always hope that a quality PSU will provide.
Better general power delivery
Better efficiency resulting in lower power consumption
Lower operating temperature
Also I have had a cheap PSU before and it went bang, and took only the ramw ith it thankfully. So a quality PSU also deliverys peice of mind. (Or it does to me).
Better general power delivery
Better efficiency resulting in lower power consumption
Lower operating temperature
Also I have had a cheap PSU before and it went bang, and took only the ramw ith it thankfully. So a quality PSU also deliverys peice of mind. (Or it does to me).
Reilly?
Haven't read through the rest of the post, But SERIOUSLY spend time and money choosing your psu, cheap power supplies will not last, especially on an i7 system, and if they blow, they can take other components with it, it's just not worth it, you can get a good 600w psu that would be perfectly sufficient: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-035-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat= for £55 there's no reason not to.