PSU Recommendation

Takaharu · Apr 8, 2011, 11:55 AM

I've managed to persuade my fiance that a £20 PSU powering an expensive rig is, in fact, a bad thing.

In short, I'm looking for a PSU with a high efficiency (80+ gold, maybe) to keep the electrical bills down but also I want to get a PSU with a decent amount of head-room and rock-solid reliability.
At the moment it's powering a Core i7 920, ASUS P6X58D-E, one 7200 SATA drive, one green drive, two optical drives and a mid-end 8000 series card. I'd like to go with the possibility of upgrading to a high-end card or two mid-range, although that won't be for a good while yet.

So far I've been looking at a Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold 600W (currently the choice but I thought I'd get extra opinions), a Corsair GS 600W, a XFX Pro 850W and pretty much anything around the £70 region (£70 being the upper limit). Has anyone got any recommendations for around a 600-700W?

**temeteus82** · Apr 8, 2011, 12:27 PM

I got the CoolerMaster Silent Pro M700 and I've been very pleased with it. In fact the modular design of the thing is a big plus. No un-needed cables hanging around.

mkk · Apr 8, 2011, 12:50 PM

That Cooler Master makes my beloved Seasonic seem overpriced. After all one can't make a 80-PLUS Gold PSU with bad parts. Don't know how it is when it comes to real world noise levels but the modularity is certainly nice too. I'd pick it over the others mentioned.

Matth · Apr 8, 2011, 10:03 PM

OCZ 750W Fatal1ty Series Semi-Modular PSU - 4x PCI-E.. | Ebuyer.com Semi-modular, red led fan (got case window?), cooldown feature (runs fan for 2min after power off).
Review: OCZ Fatal1ty 750 W Power Supply Review | Hardware Secrets
Jap caps, chemicon 105 C rated
One slight black mark, OPP did not fully protect the unit.
And it's only 80+ Bronze

blibbax · Apr 8, 2011, 10:07 PM

Seems like an inferior unit, even given the higher wattage.

Of course, I should probably get in before OldB and mention the Corsair TX650 at the same price mark :P

OldBuzzard · Apr 9, 2011, 02:56 AM

CURSE YOU blibbax!

blibbax · Apr 9, 2011, 11:04 AM

**synthesis204** · Apr 10, 2011, 11:11 PM

Made me laugh.

Votes for the coolermaster. If you want a gold rating for around that price point, can't beat them. If you bumped your options down to silver or bronze, though...

Takaharu · Apr 10, 2011, 11:58 PM

Done. Ordered the gold

blibbax · Apr 11, 2011, 01:21 AM

Congratulations. Remember to post cable management pics when you're done :P

mkk · Apr 11, 2011, 10:44 AM

And give us a word on the low load noise level.

Takaharu · Apr 11, 2011, 01:30 PM

Received the PSU today. The thing is a wonder to look at; the box for starters is 15" x (just under) 6".
I had a sneak peak - the cables come in their own material bag, complete with velcro flap (I can see that being stolen) and the cables are all neatly stuck together, making them just thicker than an IDE cable (not as wide, obviously). I should have fun tucking those away. In an overkill kind of way, each plug that goes into the PSU is coloured gold, which isn't too great too look at as it's gold-coloured plastic. They could've used black plugs on both ends. However, that should be hidden above the window and I'm not using the PC anyway lol.
Apparently I'm not allowed to fit the PSU until my arm is better, despite being able to use my left arm so pics may be a while.

OldBuzzard · Apr 11, 2011, 06:04 PM

I looked at the review Zardon did on that PSU over at KG. It looks like a winner. He managed to pull 720w out of it before it shutdown, so it has a lot of 'safety room' built into the specs.

With the exception of the gold colored connectors, those cables are the same type as the ones used by Corsair.

They are a bit on the stiffish side, but they sure are easy to hide for cable management purposes.

Takaharu · Apr 17, 2011, 11:50 PM

Tada:

Not my best work but I'm still one-handed and that case isn't designed for cable tidying at all.

**synthesis204** · Apr 18, 2011, 12:32 AM

Very nice work! Much cleaner than my case, admittedly

Also, before someone else does this: ewwwww stock cooler :P

IvanV · Apr 18, 2011, 12:50 AM

What's wrong with stock coolers except that they are uncool? Those I've seen and heard lately do the job and actually aren't loud. Unless you're overclocking, making an HTPC that needs to be absolutely silent or have a side window, I see no reason why not to use them.

Congrats, seems like a really good PSU.

blibbax · Apr 18, 2011, 01:08 AM

I'd never really consider not overclocking, which is why I will join in the ewww :P

wtourist · Apr 18, 2011, 02:52 AM

My impression is Intel, with lower power requirements and more efficient architechture, is making fair use (not overclocked) of stock coolers.
AMD, apparently as part of lower pricing, is cheaping out on stock coolers despite raising clock speeds. Anyone?

**synthesis204** · Apr 18, 2011, 04:36 AM

My feeling is the opposite. The stock AMD coolers (at least on the Phenom IIs) tend to be very good, while non-extreme-series stock coolers for Intel tend to suck. They're loud and inefficient, while AMD's (imho) are loud and efficient and allow for a much greater OC (you can OC +0.5ghz on stock AMD -- not so with Intel).

blibbax · Apr 18, 2011, 09:09 AM

I found the larger, copper cored Intel stock coolers - as seen on the higher end C2Ds and most C2Qs - to be rather good. The thin Intel stock cooler, as used on the E2, E3, E4, E5, E7, E8 and low end E6 are piss poor.

Takaharu · Apr 18, 2011, 12:04 PM

Loud and inefficient? You're kidding. 1366 HSFs are insanely quiet, despite their inefficiency of keeping an overclocked processor cool. For a processor at stock speeds it's practically ideal.
For my PC I had an overclocked Q9650 but I'm also rather fond of a quiet PC as it's in my bedroom (and I like it to be quiet in general). I just kept the heatsink and changed the fan.
I'm also quite pleased that my processor is under 40 degrees idle at minimum fan speed.

Takaharu · Jun 28, 2011, 02:07 PM

This is directly related to this thread...
I recently bought two GTX 280s for the system. Would 600W suffice or should I just sell the other card?

blibbax · Jun 28, 2011, 03:30 PM

GTX280s can pull as much as 240W iirc, so you'd be leaving 120W for the entire rest of your system with both cards under full load. I'd sell the second 280, you'll probably get a decent price for it.

**synthesis204** · Jun 28, 2011, 04:54 PM

I would see if you could somehow bump up the PSU, otherwise sell the GTX 280 -- you could definitely get at least 150USD for it (too lazy to convert to British moneys).

Apr 8, 2011, 11:55 AM	#1
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,849 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	PSU Recommendation I've managed to persuade my fiance that a £20 PSU powering an expensive rig is, in fact, a bad thing. In short, I'm looking for a PSU with a high efficiency (80+ gold, maybe) to keep the electrical bills down but also I want to get a PSU with a decent amount of head-room and rock-solid reliability. At the moment it's powering a Core i7 920, ASUS P6X58D-E, one 7200 SATA drive, one green drive, two optical drives and a mid-end 8000 series card. I'd like to go with the possibility of upgrading to a high-end card or two mid-range, although that won't be for a good while yet. So far I've been looking at a Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold 600W (currently the choice but I thought I'd get extra opinions), a Corsair GS 600W, a XFX Pro 850W and pretty much anything around the £70 region (£70 being the upper limit). Has anyone got any recommendations for around a 600-700W? __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Apr 8, 2011, 12:50 PM	#3
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,490 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation That Cooler Master makes my beloved Seasonic seem overpriced. After all one can't make a 80-PLUS Gold PSU with bad parts. Don't know how it is when it comes to real world noise levels but the modularity is certainly nice too. I'd pick it over the others mentioned.

Apr 8, 2011, 10:03 PM	#4
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation OCZ 750W Fatal1ty Series Semi-Modular PSU - 4x PCI-E.. \| Ebuyer.com Semi-modular, red led fan (got case window?), cooldown feature (runs fan for 2min after power off). Review: OCZ Fatal1ty 750 W Power Supply Review \| Hardware Secrets Jap caps, chemicon 105 C rated One slight black mark, OPP did not fully protect the unit. And it's only 80+ Bronze __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Apr 8, 2011, 10:07 PM	#5
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,230 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation Seems like an inferior unit, even given the higher wattage. Of course, I should probably get in before OldB and mention the Corsair TX650 at the same price mark :P __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Apr 9, 2011, 02:56 AM	#6
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation CURSE YOU blibbax! __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Apr 9, 2011, 11:04 AM	#7
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,230 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Apr 10, 2011, 11:11 PM	#8
synthesis204 Dragonborn Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 1,175 Rep Power: 97 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation Made me laugh. Votes for the coolermaster. If you want a gold rating for around that price point, can't beat them. If you bumped your options down to silver or bronze, though... __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure alzheimers, ALS, huntington's, parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Apr 10, 2011, 11:58 PM	Thread Starter #9
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,849 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation Done. Ordered the gold __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Apr 11, 2011, 01:21 AM	#10
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,230 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation Congratulations. Remember to post cable management pics when you're done :P __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Apr 11, 2011, 10:44 AM	#11
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,490 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation And give us a word on the low load noise level.

Apr 11, 2011, 01:30 PM	Thread Starter #12
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,849 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation Received the PSU today. The thing is a wonder to look at; the box for starters is 15" x (just under) 6". I had a sneak peak - the cables come in their own material bag, complete with velcro flap (I can see that being stolen) and the cables are all neatly stuck together, making them just thicker than an IDE cable (not as wide, obviously). I should have fun tucking those away. In an overkill kind of way, each plug that goes into the PSU is coloured gold, which isn't too great too look at as it's gold-coloured plastic. They could've used black plugs on both ends. However, that should be hidden above the window and I'm not using the PC anyway lol. Apparently I'm not allowed to fit the PSU until my arm is better, despite being able to use my left arm so pics may be a while. __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Apr 11, 2011, 06:04 PM	#13
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation I looked at the review Zardon did on that PSU over at KG. It looks like a winner. He managed to pull 720w out of it before it shutdown, so it has a lot of 'safety room' built into the specs. With the exception of the gold colored connectors, those cables are the same type as the ones used by Corsair. They are a bit on the stiffish side, but they sure are easy to hide for cable management purposes. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Apr 17, 2011, 11:50 PM	Thread Starter #14
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,849 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation Tada: Not my best work but I'm still one-handed and that case isn't designed for cable tidying at all. __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Apr 18, 2011, 12:32 AM	#15
synthesis204 Dragonborn Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 1,175 Rep Power: 97 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation Very nice work! Much cleaner than my case, admittedly Also, before someone else does this: ewwwww stock cooler :P __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure alzheimers, ALS, huntington's, parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Apr 18, 2011, 12:50 AM	#16
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,914 Rep Power: 333 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation What's wrong with stock coolers except that they are uncool? Those I've seen and heard lately do the job and actually aren't loud. Unless you're overclocking, making an HTPC that needs to be absolutely silent or have a side window, I see no reason why not to use them. Congrats, seems like a really good PSU. __________________ If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

Apr 18, 2011, 01:08 AM	#17
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,230 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation I'd never really consider not overclocking, which is why I will join in the ewww :P __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Apr 18, 2011, 02:52 AM	#18
wtourist wtourist Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: waterbury ct Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Re: PSU Recommendation My impression is Intel, with lower power requirements and more efficient architechture, is making fair use (not overclocked) of stock coolers. AMD, apparently as part of lower pricing, is cheaping out on stock coolers despite raising clock speeds. Anyone?

Apr 18, 2011, 04:36 AM	#19
synthesis204 Dragonborn Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 1,175 Rep Power: 97 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation My feeling is the opposite. The stock AMD coolers (at least on the Phenom IIs) tend to be very good, while non-extreme-series stock coolers for Intel tend to suck. They're loud and inefficient, while AMD's (imho) are loud and efficient and allow for a much greater OC (you can OC +0.5ghz on stock AMD -- not so with Intel). __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure alzheimers, ALS, huntington's, parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Apr 18, 2011, 09:09 AM	#20
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,230 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation I found the larger, copper cored Intel stock coolers - as seen on the higher end C2Ds and most C2Qs - to be rather good. The thin Intel stock cooler, as used on the E2, E3, E4, E5, E7, E8 and low end E6 are piss poor. __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Apr 18, 2011, 12:04 PM	Thread Starter #21
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,849 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation Loud and inefficient? You're kidding. 1366 HSFs are insanely quiet, despite their inefficiency of keeping an overclocked processor cool. For a processor at stock speeds it's practically ideal. For my PC I had an overclocked Q9650 but I'm also rather fond of a quiet PC as it's in my bedroom (and I like it to be quiet in general). I just kept the heatsink and changed the fan. I'm also quite pleased that my processor is under 40 degrees idle at minimum fan speed. __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Jun 28, 2011, 02:07 PM	Thread Starter #22
Takaharu I can fart in 7 languages Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: England, UK Posts: 1,849 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation This is directly related to this thread... I recently bought two GTX 280s for the system. Would 600W suffice or should I just sell the other card? __________________ I don't get paid to know the answer, therefore I'm far more likely to give you a straight and honest answer. Mods Rig, Box Mods Rig, Folding details

Jun 28, 2011, 03:30 PM	#23
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,230 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation GTX280s can pull as much as 240W iirc, so you'd be leaving 120W for the entire rest of your system with both cards under full load. I'd sell the second 280, you'll probably get a decent price for it. __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!

Jun 28, 2011, 04:54 PM	#24
synthesis204 Dragonborn Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 1,175 Rep Power: 97 System Specs	Re: PSU Recommendation I would see if you could somehow bump up the PSU, otherwise sell the GTX 280 -- you could definitely get at least 150USD for it (too lazy to convert to British moneys). __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure alzheimers, ALS, huntington's, parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!