What Size PSU

drwho · Dec 14, 2011, 02:58 AM

Ok, I'm getting ready to build myself a new computer and am having some difficulty deciding what size PSU I should purchase. The parts are listed below.

Case - Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower
Motherboard - Asrock P67 Extreme4 Gen3
CPU - Intel i7 2600k
Cooler - Corsair Hydro Series H100
Memory - G.Skill DDR3-2133 (2x4GB)
GPU - Sparkle GTX570
SSD - Samsung 830 128 GB.
Burner - Pioneer BDR-206

There will also be three spinner HDD for storage. Now my question is this, would 750w be enough or should I go with an 850w?

WxMan1 · Dec 14, 2011, 04:19 AM

You can't go wrong with 850w (even if its overated by 100%).

The reason is that PSU capacity deteriorates over time. It could be as high as 10% in the first year. The deterioration may be linear, i.e., 10% annually, or it may be some amount less than 10%, but the deterioration increases at an exponential value. For example, 1%, 3%, 9%, 15%, 30% Obviously that would be rather poor quality El Cheapo unit.

The first case would be a higher quality PSU. The affective capacity after 5 years would be 59% of rating. In the latter case: 52% affective capacity of rating.

An 100% overrated El Cheapo PSU will most likely not deteriorate as quickly given that its bearly breakin' a sweat at any time; its not getting hot and as everybody knows heat is the electronic component killer (just slightly behind electrical noise on input power lines). However, it doesn't necessarily follow that a 300% overrated El Cheapo PSU will operate indefinitely without deleterious deterioration of affective capacity. It may run fine at 1% decrease for the first 3 years and then 15%, 25%, 50% Furthermore, any overrated PSU will be able to tolerate mains noise much longer than a lesser rated unit.

Best thing one can do to baby their PSU: a decent mains filter. This is most effeciently accomplished by plugging one's PSU into a decent SPS of serious capacity. Why serious capacity? Because SPS behave akin to PSU: the larger the capacity of the SPS, the less impact that going to standy-power will have on affective battery lifetime.

Once you go to stand-by power provided by SPS, your battery's 100% capacity is less than rated (you'll never get it back). If you hammer a 10 minute reserve SPS with a 50% stand-by load run-time, that battery will only provide 9 minutes the next time. The next time you hit it with 50% stand-by load, i.e., 4.5 minutes, you'll only have 8 minutes (if that). Before you know it: you'll only have a minute or two of reserve.

OTH, if your SPS can provide 1.5 hours of stand-by load, 10 minutes of stand-by load can be acomplished every day for 6 months before losing 30 minutes.

But all that SPS nonsense is a horse of a different stripe.

drwho · Dec 15, 2011, 01:14 AM

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

mkk · Dec 15, 2011, 02:10 AM

Any PSU rated upwards 500W of decent quality would be more than enough. Pick something certified for 80PLUS Bronze or better if you plan to use it over a number of years. Only garbage products would deteriorate like described above. If you don't mind spending a buck, value a low noise level and want top quality I would recommend something like the Seasonic X-560, a PSU that turns the fan off at low loads. But there are perfectly dependable alternatives for half its price if you don't need a top of the line quiet PSU.

Tyrsonswood · Dec 15, 2011, 04:25 AM

Also note, the only harm in being over spec on wattage is to the wallet. A system will only draw what it can use, so a "500 watt system" will draw 500 watts from a 600 watt supply or a 1000 watt supply anything over that is not used. It could be seen as wasted money, headroom, or future proofing. Get the best quality, highest wattage supply you can afford if you plan to keep the system for awhile.

Also check and make sure you have the proper connectors, so you don't need any adapters (shouldn't be to much of an issue as most modern supplies are well equipped) and that the cables are long enough, or short enough for the case and motherboard combination.

Judas · Dec 15, 2011, 08:04 AM

50%-80% load is typically your BEST solution, so playing within anything that will cause a psu to load down to that amount.. (i would try to push a PSU over 80% personally).... will net the best efficiency typically

niceguyrichy · Dec 15, 2011, 08:50 AM

for that build, a good quality 600W will be plenty
but that doesn't leave much room for future expansion, so if you can afford it anyway you're as well going with a slightly higher rated PSU, as the likelihood is that it will outlive at least some of the rest of the system

blibbax · Dec 15, 2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niceguyrichy

for that build, a good quality 600W will be plenty
but that doesn't leave much room for future expansion, so if you can afford it anyway you're as well going with a slightly higher rated PSU, as the likelihood is that it will outlive at least some of the rest of the system

+1

Sihastru · Dec 15, 2011, 03:28 PM

Anything from a good quality 550W and up PSU would be good enough. Should you consider overclocking, you should jump to a 650W one.

If you think you'll add a second GTX570 in the (near) future, 850W would be the best bet (including any OC of both the cards and cpu). Without OC, 750W is viable with this (dreamy) SLI config.

drwho · Dec 16, 2011, 02:01 AM

First, let me say thanks for the help you guys have so kindly given, I truly appreciate it.

Also after some due consideration I've decided go with the Corsair HX850w PSU.

blibbax · Dec 16, 2011, 02:41 AM

Overclocked SLI it is then :P

WxMan1 · Dec 16, 2011, 07:09 AM

So you sprung for a decent high watt unit; you shouldn't have any problems with that PSU for at least 5 years (provided quality of mains input to PSU is good).

Again if you want to baby the PSU you're going to want to input clean A/C into it via SPS. I do NOT believe it to be overkill to suggest that a decent surge protector should be implemented for the SPS to plug into. Depending on quality of surge protector: it should be thrown away every three years (no matter what). If your surge protector is approaching 5 y/o: throw it away.

Its up to your wallet: throw $20 away on surge-protector every year, or more $'s in longer time frame. Bottom line: surge-protector will NOT last longer than 5 years w/out deleterious decrease in protection.

Its up to you: whatever your wallet can handle at a moment's notice.

drwho · Dec 17, 2011, 03:11 AM

There been a slight change in plans for my PSU. I was online tonight looking at PSUs over at Newegg and came across this PSU. It's on sale and there is a $30 mail-in-rebate card. Couldn't pass it up. I spent about the last hour reading reviews including one here at Hardware Heaven and just finishing ordering it. What do you guys think?

OldBuzzard · Dec 17, 2011, 03:27 AM

I wouldn't put ANYTHING from OCZ in my system. Their reputation for quality is just too spotty. Some of their stuff is very good quality, some is just average, and others are pure junk. The problem is figuring out which is which.

Stick with your original choice of the Corsair PSU. Their quality, across their entire line of PSUs, is well known and documented.

Tyrsonswood · Dec 17, 2011, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwho

There been a slight change in plans for my PSU. I was online tonight looking at PSUs over at Newegg and came across this PSU. It's on sale and there is a $30 mail-in-rebate card. Couldn't pass it up. I spent about the last hour reading reviews including one here at Hardware Heaven and just finishing ordering it. What do you guys think?

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBuzzard

.........

Stick with your original choice of the Corsair PSU. .............

I'd say you're a little late, buzzard.......

blibbax · Dec 17, 2011, 09:51 AM

Jonnyguru really liked the OCZ ZX 1000W, I wouldn't worry too much OldB (though your point is a valid one).

drwho · Dec 17, 2011, 02:45 PM

I appreciate your concerns about the OCZ PSU, OB. I did not jump into this without some consideration. I read many reviews on this PSU including the one over at jonnyguru, also this one here at hardware heaven. According to all the reviews the OCZ was a good quality product and when I saw it go onsale at newegg, I decided to take the pluinge. I guess time will tell if it turns out to be a bad purchase on my part.

niceguyrichy · Dec 17, 2011, 03:00 PM

some folk have bad experiences with brands that forever taint their perceptions thereof
i know that a lot of people bought Hiper PSU's (M series i think it was) that all went bang, and Hiper died a death. but i had a Hiper Type-R that was, and still is, the most rock solid reliable psu i've ever owned

if the overwhelming reaction to that OCZ ZX is positive, chances are you'll be just fine

Judas · Dec 17, 2011, 04:04 PM

OCZ's older PSUs are top notch stuff..

unfortunately about 1 to 2 years later... failure after failure.

I've got about 6 Stealth Extreme Modular power supplies.. you know the VERY first OCZ PSU's they launched? Those are all out there still working flawlessly..

However the newer powerstream from about 4-5 years ago.... not "almost" but... EVERY single one of them has failed on me...

quite irritating.

I'm sticking with currently in all of my builds.. either Coolermaster's Extreme power Series for the cheaper builds and Corsair for the more expensive higher end ones.

blibbax · Dec 17, 2011, 04:21 PM

My CM Extreme Power 460 (actually a 430W unit) died on me a few weeks ago Judas, if it's of interest. Nearly three years of running a modestly overclocked C2D, a few hard drives and, for most of the time, a 9800GTX+. It didn't take anything else with it, though.

Judas · Dec 17, 2011, 04:53 PM

psu's will die.. for no apparent reason ... no doubts about that.

but OCZ's recent failure rates are a little extreme... at least considering the time period and different models of OCZ PSUs i had used and sold.... and how all of them failed...

I've sold i think 250 Coolermater 500 watt power supplies over a course of approximately 5 years.

out of that.... about 10 have failed..... the ones that failed were usually plugged solid with debris, the fans had stopped completely which seems to be a common habit for a specific fan that was used at one point in them or happened shortly after a thunderstorm..

In all cases, nothing else was damaged, they just wouldn't start after being shut down manually or by force of it's own.

I've only sold maybe 3 of the 460 watt versions however.... and having taken them apart.. the way they are designed is one reason i don't sell them even if they are near identical rail amperage and such... They are a much lighter psu, and at about 10 bucks cheaper.... reason for it. Personally i think coolermaster shouldn't have named the 460's Extreme power....

drwho · Dec 17, 2011, 05:33 PM

I'm feeling like I have to defend my decision here. I was not aware of the fact that OCZ had been having problems with their PSUs of late. I've used OCZ power supplies in the past and never had any problems with them. The deal that Newegg was offering on the OCZ was in my mind too good to pass up. If I've ended making a mistake with my decision I'll RMA the blame thing and work from there. Probably will go with the Corsair if that happens, but like I said before, only time will tell.

Tyrsonswood · Dec 17, 2011, 06:05 PM

You're probably going to be fine with that supply..... Don't worry about it.

blibbax · Dec 17, 2011, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwho

I'm feeling like I have to defend my decision here. I was not aware of the fact that OCZ had been having problems with their PSUs of late. I've used OCZ power supplies in the past and never had any problems with them. The deal that Newegg was offering on the OCZ was in my mind too good to pass up. If I've ended making a mistake with my decision I'll RMA the blame thing and work from there. Probably will go with the Corsair if that happens, but like I said before, only time will tell.

The OCZ ZX is pretty good. The moral of what we're saying is do your research if you're going to buy OCZ, and you've done that. A recommendation from JonnyGuru isn't easy to get.

WxMan1 · Dec 20, 2011, 05:34 AM

Your PSU is over-rated by 50% load-requirement. You're fine for at least 5 years.

If you want to baby your PSU for another two/three years: get a decent and seriously sized SPS and plug that into a respectibly joule rated power-strip.

Replace the power strip between 3-5 years (depending on wallet), and replace the battery in the SPS when it fails self-testing (depending on trips, load & temperature: probably between 3-5 years), your PSU should last at least 5 years w/out issue.

What I just presented is the most pessimistic case; think down the road: how likely are you to run then on technology what was considered to be top-of-the-line 5 years ago?

blibbax · Dec 20, 2011, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WxMan1

...how likely are you to run then on technology what was considered to be top-of-the-line 5 years ago?

It's getting to the point when a five-year old rig would be better than what I'm using now :P

Certainly I could still use a high-end rig from 2005, now 6 years ago - dual Opterons and a WD Raptor, with perhaps a GPU upgrade around 2007-2008.

**synthesis204** · Dec 20, 2011, 10:43 PM

Just a note if you haven't ordered the gfx unit yet, stay away from Sparkle. I have a Sparkle PSU and had a Sparkle graphics card for a while, and the build quality is okay but the customer service is horrendous -- go for EVGA for support, ASUS/MSI/Gigabyte for build quality.

Dec 14, 2011, 02:58 AM	#1
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	What Size PSU Ok, I'm getting ready to build myself a new computer and am having some difficulty deciding what size PSU I should purchase. The parts are listed below. Case - Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Motherboard - Asrock P67 Extreme4 Gen3 CPU - Intel i7 2600k Cooler - Corsair Hydro Series H100 Memory - G.Skill DDR3-2133 (2x4GB) GPU - Sparkle GTX570 SSD - Samsung 830 128 GB. Burner - Pioneer BDR-206 There will also be three spinner HDD for storage. Now my question is this, would 750w be enough or should I go with an 850w? __________________

Dec 14, 2011, 04:19 AM	#2
WxMan1 HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 221 Rep Power: 40	Re: What Size PSU You can't go wrong with 850w (even if its overated by 100%). The reason is that PSU capacity deteriorates over time. It could be as high as 10% in the first year. The deterioration may be linear, i.e., 10% annually, or it may be some amount less than 10%, but the deterioration increases at an exponential value. For example, 1%, 3%, 9%, 15%, 30% Obviously that would be rather poor quality El Cheapo unit. The first case would be a higher quality PSU. The affective capacity after 5 years would be 59% of rating. In the latter case: 52% affective capacity of rating. An 100% overrated El Cheapo PSU will most likely not deteriorate as quickly given that its bearly breakin' a sweat at any time; its not getting hot and as everybody knows heat is the electronic component killer (just slightly behind electrical noise on input power lines). However, it doesn't necessarily follow that a 300% overrated El Cheapo PSU will operate indefinitely without deleterious deterioration of affective capacity. It may run fine at 1% decrease for the first 3 years and then 15%, 25%, 50% Furthermore, any overrated PSU will be able to tolerate mains noise much longer than a lesser rated unit. Best thing one can do to baby their PSU: a decent mains filter. This is most effeciently accomplished by plugging one's PSU into a decent SPS of serious capacity. Why serious capacity? Because SPS behave akin to PSU: the larger the capacity of the SPS, the less impact that going to standy-power will have on affective battery lifetime. Once you go to stand-by power provided by SPS, your battery's 100% capacity is less than rated (you'll never get it back). If you hammer a 10 minute reserve SPS with a 50% stand-by load run-time, that battery will only provide 9 minutes the next time. The next time you hit it with 50% stand-by load, i.e., 4.5 minutes, you'll only have 8 minutes (if that). Before you know it: you'll only have a minute or two of reserve. OTH, if your SPS can provide 1.5 hours of stand-by load, 10 minutes of stand-by load can be acomplished every day for 6 months before losing 30 minutes. But all that SPS nonsense is a horse of a different stripe.

Dec 15, 2011, 01:14 AM	Thread Starter #3
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. __________________

Dec 15, 2011, 02:10 AM	#4
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,490 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU Any PSU rated upwards 500W of decent quality would be more than enough. Pick something certified for 80PLUS Bronze or better if you plan to use it over a number of years. Only garbage products would deteriorate like described above. If you don't mind spending a buck, value a low noise level and want top quality I would recommend something like the Seasonic X-560, a PSU that turns the fan off at low loads. But there are perfectly dependable alternatives for half its price if you don't need a top of the line quiet PSU.

Dec 15, 2011, 03:28 PM	#9
Sihastru Never been clicked Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 433 Rep Power: 45 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU Anything from a good quality 550W and up PSU would be good enough. Should you consider overclocking, you should jump to a 650W one. If you think you'll add a second GTX570 in the (near) future, 850W would be the best bet (including any OC of both the cards and cpu). Without OC, 750W is viable with this (dreamy) SLI config. __________________ There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of in your philosophy. Intel Core i7 3820 \| Corsair H80 \| Asus P9X79 \| Kingston HyperX T1 Black 32GB DDR3 \| Gigabyte 8800 GTS 512 \| 2xIntel X25-M 160GB RAID0 + 2xWD 1TB Green RAID1 \| Asus Xonar DX \| Asus ES2-750 \| Sony OptiArc DVD+/-RW \| Corsair AX850 Gold \| Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium \| Dell 3007WFP-HC2 30" 2560x1600 \| Corsair SP2500 \| Logitech UltraX Premium \| CM Storm Advance \| Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64bit

Dec 16, 2011, 02:01 AM	Thread Starter #10
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU First, let me say thanks for the help you guys have so kindly given, I truly appreciate it. Also after some due consideration I've decided go with the Corsair HX850w PSU. __________________

Dec 16, 2011, 02:41 AM	#11
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,231 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU Overclocked SLI it is then :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!

Dec 16, 2011, 07:09 AM	#12
WxMan1 HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 221 Rep Power: 40	Re: What Size PSU So you sprung for a decent high watt unit; you shouldn't have any problems with that PSU for at least 5 years (provided quality of mains input to PSU is good). Again if you want to baby the PSU you're going to want to input clean A/C into it via SPS. I do NOT believe it to be overkill to suggest that a decent surge protector should be implemented for the SPS to plug into. Depending on quality of surge protector: it should be thrown away every three years (no matter what). If your surge protector is approaching 5 y/o: throw it away. Its up to your wallet: throw $20 away on surge-protector every year, or more $'s in longer time frame. Bottom line: surge-protector will NOT last longer than 5 years w/out deleterious decrease in protection. Its up to you: whatever your wallet can handle at a moment's notice.

Dec 17, 2011, 03:11 AM	Thread Starter #13
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU There been a slight change in plans for my PSU. I was online tonight looking at PSUs over at Newegg and came across this PSU. It's on sale and there is a $30 mail-in-rebate card. Couldn't pass it up. I spent about the last hour reading reviews including one here at Hardware Heaven and just finishing ordering it. What do you guys think? __________________

Dec 17, 2011, 03:27 AM	#14
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU I wouldn't put ANYTHING from OCZ in my system. Their reputation for quality is just too spotty. Some of their stuff is very good quality, some is just average, and others are pure junk. The problem is figuring out which is which. Stick with your original choice of the Corsair PSU. Their quality, across their entire line of PSUs, is well known and documented. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Dec 17, 2011, 09:51 AM	#16
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,231 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU Jonnyguru really liked the OCZ ZX 1000W, I wouldn't worry too much OldB (though your point is a valid one). __________________ 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!

Dec 17, 2011, 02:45 PM	Thread Starter #17
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU I appreciate your concerns about the OCZ PSU, OB. I did not jump into this without some consideration. I read many reviews on this PSU including the one over at jonnyguru, also this one here at hardware heaven. According to all the reviews the OCZ was a good quality product and when I saw it go onsale at newegg, I decided to take the pluinge. I guess time will tell if it turns out to be a bad purchase on my part. __________________

Dec 17, 2011, 04:21 PM	#20
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 4,231 Rep Power: 254 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU My CM Extreme Power 460 (actually a 430W unit) died on me a few weeks ago Judas, if it's of interest. Nearly three years of running a modestly overclocked C2D, a few hard drives and, for most of the time, a 9800GTX+. It didn't take anything else with it, though. __________________ 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!

Dec 17, 2011, 05:33 PM	Thread Starter #22
drwho HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 572 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU I'm feeling like I have to defend my decision here. I was not aware of the fact that OCZ had been having problems with their PSUs of late. I've used OCZ power supplies in the past and never had any problems with them. The deal that Newegg was offering on the OCZ was in my mind too good to pass up. If I've ended making a mistake with my decision I'll RMA the blame thing and work from there. Probably will go with the Corsair if that happens, but like I said before, only time will tell. __________________

Dec 20, 2011, 05:34 AM	#25
WxMan1 HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 221 Rep Power: 40	Re: What Size PSU Your PSU is over-rated by 50% load-requirement. You're fine for at least 5 years. If you want to baby your PSU for another two/three years: get a decent and seriously sized SPS and plug that into a respectibly joule rated power-strip. Replace the power strip between 3-5 years (depending on wallet), and replace the battery in the SPS when it fails self-testing (depending on trips, load & temperature: probably between 3-5 years), your PSU should last at least 5 years w/out issue. What I just presented is the most pessimistic case; think down the road: how likely are you to run then on technology what was considered to be top-of-the-line 5 years ago?

Dec 20, 2011, 10:43 PM	#27
synthesis204 Dragonborn Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 1,175 Rep Power: 97 System Specs	Re: What Size PSU Just a note if you haven't ordered the gfx unit yet, stay away from Sparkle. I have a Sparkle PSU and had a Sparkle graphics card for a while, and the build quality is okay but the customer service is horrendous -- go for EVGA for support, ASUS/MSI/Gigabyte for build quality. __________________ Donate the spare computing power of your PC to help to cure alzheimers, ALS, huntington's, parkinson's disease and cancer: Fold for HH!