TR Forums

What came first? The chicken...Or the question about what/which power supply? Sorry, i'm a bit nuts.
Hey all

I'm building a new pc over xmas and i'm trying to keep the price as low as possible (ya i'm cheap). So my problem is the PSU. What power do i need/can get away with? I've done so much reading from different sources that it's all cancelling each other out (in my head anyway). The Debunking Power Supply Myths article on AnandTech provided good info as does TR. Now some people say get a 700W for my system, which to me is overkill i think (therefore i am...stupid), but then others do say 500/600W isn't enough to run what i want

So, below is the system i'm going with and the PSU's i've narrowed it down to. Remember i'm trying to spend the least here, and i've already gone waay over budget (but who doesn't?). Which one (if any) will power it please?

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R or GA-P55-UD4
Core i7-860 - small overclock
4GB G.Skill NQ DDR3 PC3-10666 - small overclock
Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB
Possible ssd drive after 6 months
LG DVD±RW burner GH22LP20
Creative SB X-FI Xtreme Gamer
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5
Xigmatek Thor's Hammer CPU Cooler
Antec 300 w/ 3 case fans

OCZ StealthXStream 500W http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=343135
Corsair VX 550W http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=339898
OCZ StealthXStream 600W http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/1909544/ar ... pc-po.html
Corsair TX 650W http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=340676

Many thanks for any input,
Cheers,
Superneat

Just look at TR's total power measurements for the Lynnfield CPUs: the i7-870 in that setup, which was paired with a 260 GTX -- a more power-hungry video card -- pulled 182W total system power. Conversely, the test system for the 5770 used a very power-hungry i7-965 Extreme (plus the X58 chipset with an extra channel of memory), and the total system load there was 221W. You could round that up to 250 to give yourself some margin for error (and expansion) and losses in the PSU itself. Then, because you presumably want to maximize efficency (and not burn out your PSU early by running it at full tilt all the time), you should double that -- most PSUs have peak efficiency somewhere around 50% load. Thus 500W would be adequate -- provided it was a quality 500W PSU. Cheap, crappy PSUs with high Wattage ratings are often outperformed by quality PSUs with lower output... and the quality ones are reliable. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to figure out what's wrong with a system that is BSODing randomly because the PSU is occasionally drooping voltage to some component.

OCZ and Corsair are both reliable PSU brands, so any of the ones you listed would be fine. Some folks here might have direct experience of one or more of them to sway you in a particular direction (there are other aspects, like the set of available connectors and the suitability for Crossfire/SLI, that may matter to you down the road, as well as niceties like fan control / noise, modular connectors, etc), but for powering the components you've selected any of those will do.

I'll throw in my vote for the Corsair TX650, but I'd also steer you towards saving money on the CPU by going with the i750, and stepping the GPU up to an HD 5850, if at all possible.

That is, if gaming is your goal. The 5770 is already behind the times, and generally overpriced for it's raw performance, compared to the outgoing generation of cards. If there were something in-between, like say a 5830, that would make a better recommendation, but as it stands the 5850 is the recommended minimum for gaming with a new system.

Thanks alot UberGerbil. That gives me some much needed reassurance!
I'll most likely go for one of the StealthXstreams then.

Airmantharp, originally i was going for the i750, but the higher clock and HT, especially, of the i860 kind os swung it for me and in turn, lowered my GPU budget.
Am i making a huge mistake as i would like to play games on my 32" LCD? Going the i750/5850 route costs very simmilar

i5-750 - € 185
PowerColor Radeon HD 5850 1GB GDDR5 - € 263
Total - € 448
or
i7-860 - € 262
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 - € 167
Total - € 429

Now i'm confused

To answer your question, I'll ask you these:

1. What games do you intend to play, immediately and over the course of the system's un-upgraded lifetime? If it's nothing heavy, you could get the ligher/cheaper GPU today and then easily upgrade your GPU in the future, with the 860 still being fast and relevant.

2. What resolution is that LCD? 32" screams 720P to me, that is, 1280x720. 720P is a rediculously small resolution in computer gaming standards, and at that point it won't matter what new USD150+ GPU you throw at it; however, if it's 1080P, that is 1920x1080, getting the higher powered GPU will definitely help with newer games and higher settings- which leads back to question 1 .

First off, i play all new games but i don't need to break any records for Fps, just nice quality visuals.
Secondly, i'm looking to get a big monitor with high res in 6 to 8 months, so until then i'm using a 32" LCD TV which i've only used for watching 720p movies on.
The TV has a Panel Resolution of 1366 x 768 and it also says Supported Timing - HDTV: 720p, 1080i, 1080p.

On this screen will my max res possible be 1366 x 768? That should look nice enough for me anyway, as i said i'm not looking for jaw dropping visuals, but definately some nice ones!
Am i out of luck until i get a new monitor?

Well, then it comes down to what you want to upgrade next. If you're getting a higher resolution monitor, getting the 5850 will suit you better, especially if you're picking up games as they come out. However, the 5770 is no slouch, nor are the 4870's and GTX260's also within it's price range, and on your 32" TV they'll do well. You could easily get the 5770 or one of it's alternatives, and run that until you have games that it can't handle with your new monitor's resolution, or, you could just grab the 5850 and be done with it for a while. What's important to you?

First off is price, unfortunately, so i'm going to go with my initial setup and see what way prices for cards go in the first week of december, i'd like to keep it around 150. The more powerfull CPU will be something i won't be upgrading in a hurry so it makes more sense right now.
Then in however many months i'll splash the cash for a new monitor AND a new GPU.

Thanks Airmantharp for the valuable info!
Cheers
Superneat

Try Using these tools as a guide:

http://www.corsair.com/psufinder/default.aspx

http://www.antec.outervision.com/

A 500W PSU would be perfect for your PC, anymore would be overkill unless you plan to crossfire later

A good pick is the SeaSonic SS-500ET Bronze 500W $70 FS, has two PCIe x16 6-pin connectors.

eric93se wrote:

A 500W PSU would be perfect for your PC, anymore would be overkill unless you plan to crossfire later

A good pick is the SeaSonic SS-500ET Bronze 500W $70 FS, has two PCIe x16 6-pin connectors.

While I definitely agree with you on the lack of a need of more total wattage, out of the PSU's the OP listed the 650TX is by and large the best pick, both on build quality and future expandability. Since we don't know what country the OP is in we cannot assume that he'll have just anything available to him that we can dream up, as there are obviously many other good choices out there. It's not like having more wattage than he's going to use will put him outside of the efficient curve of the PSU, so the extra connectors coming with the 650TX make sense .

Thanks dave27
The antec site confirmed exactly the response from UberGerbil. 275W is what was recommended by the site.
Thanks for the advice eric93se
I don't see myself going down the dual grahics path in the near future so my connector requirements are average.
Also, i'm in ireland and the usual sites i use don't stock that particular power supply and i'm not a fan of Int. delivery charges.

Airmantharp
While i would love to "spend the extra few bob" to get the best supply, saving money on an already out of control budget is my main concern. So my choice considering price/reviews will be the OCZ StealthXStream 600W.
Generally on the irish sites alot of components tend to be cheaper than newegg, but power supplies are somewhat overpriced, (i think it's down to the sheer volume of crappy no name supplies that flood themarket like the HEDEN PSXA830 480W PC Power Supply for 15 euro, therefore the big names are a premium) so this supply will cost me 80 euros delivered.
If anyone finds it or knows anywhere to get it delivered to ireland cheaper, by all means let me know!

Thanks to everyone for the help
Much appreciated
Superneat

guess what power supply I'd recommend?

If you're trying to get as much bang for your buck *and* are a gamer, get an Athlon II X3 435 and use the money you save to upgrade the GPU to a 5850. Really, when the 5850 is overclocked, it is godly.

A 450-500W PSU should be plenty, I endorse danny e's Corsair VX450W and also throw in the Antec Earthwatts and NeoHE units as great performing value PSUs.

Just to update, i've had to change the build, downgraded a few things and will have to wait to buy other things. Oh, life.

Instead i went with the i5 and a hd 4770.
But i got the Corsair VX 450W anyway!
Will get the parts next week (DHL are soo slow)