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PSU recommendation for build? Also, best 240/256GB SSD?

post #1 of 29
6/15/12 at 3:22am
Thread Starter 
Looking at the following components for my new build, not sure of what PSU I should go with.

CPU: i5-3570K w/ Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme6
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 (may end up with 2 more 2GB sticks)
GPU: GTX 670 2GB
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM
CD/DVD: ASUS SATA 24X Burner
Case: Xigmatek Midgard II (has 2 80mm fans)
PSU: ???

Not sure what wattage I'd need in a PSU with the above. Also, what if I were to SLI the GPU? Or if I add any additional case fans?

Any PSU recommendations, specific or general, are appreciated. Don't know what brands to favor/avoid. Also, if anyone has suggestions for the actual PC components, you can throw those my way as well.

Thanks in advance.
Edited by yalikedags - 6/20/12 at 9:04am
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post #2 of 29
6/15/12 at 5:30am
You have many options. If you might do SLI with two 670s, then a solid 750watt power supply will do the trick. However, a solid 850watt power supply won't cost you much more. Below are some recommendations for 850watt power supplies at different price points.





If you wish to spend less, then look at the 750watt versions of those models.

Corsair models are good as well. I personally use SilverStone power supplies.
Edited by MSmith83 - 6/15/12 at 5:48am
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post #3 of 29
6/15/12 at 1:00pm
For that system, I'd go with : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171049
or if your not worried about a modular supply : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703028 doesn't get much better than that. I've used both in quite a few builds, great supplys. The Silkverstone strider that MSmith linked is also a very good supply. I don't have any experience with NZXT supplys so I can't comment on them.
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post #4 of 29
6/15/12 at 1:45pm
Thread Starter 
Wow, more watts than I was expecting! Is modular/sem-modular worth the extra bucks?

Like these for instance

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021
vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

I know one is certified silver though, is that more where the price difference is? I'm having a really hard time choosing a PSU. For a while I was looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018 but that's probably more because OCZ is what I have in my current build, and that new PSU is pretty cheap after rebates. Was advised to not choose that PSU though.

Gotten suggestions low as 620w and now as high as 1000w, so as a tech newbie, I'm not really sure what to do. Just want something powerful enough, quiet, and reliable.
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post #5 of 29
6/15/12 at 4:28pm
Modular is really sweet but some people don't have windowed cases and don't care, if thats the case the PC power & cooling supply are some of the best on the market. Corsair, silverstone, seasonic, coolermaster, zippy (very expensive), higher end antecs have very good supplys throughout all their supply lines. i tend to stay away from OCZ stuff but thats not to say their higher end supply's are not great also. Get a budget and look for the most wattage and best build quality you can find in that price range. You can never have to much power. Buying a good power supply now can save you money in the future if you start adding things to your PC.
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post #6 of 29
6/15/12 at 4:57pm
Yes, there's no reason to think too much about this. If you are unsure about a particular power supply, search the Internet for professional and user reviews. The good brands usually carry warranties of 3 or more years with excellent replacement policies in the event something goes wrong, and failure typically happens sooner rather than later if there is something seriously wrong. As N8 said, don't cheap out since this is one component that will last a long time if chosen wisely.

I go with fully modular power supplies, mainly because being able to disconnect the cables at the power supply's end makes cleaning dust out of my machines a bit quicker and easier. Another reason is that SilverStone offers a short cable kit that works perfectly in the small cases I use.
Edited by MSmith83 - 6/15/12 at 5:06pm
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post #7 of 29
6/16/12 at 12:46pm
Thread Starter 
I've decided I'm probably not going to SLI (not right now anyways), so I've shifted focus to a less powerful PSU. I am pretty sure I want the design to be single-rail (disqualifies a SeaSonic I'd been looking at), and modular seems like a nice bonus. Not for looks, but more just the hassle and neatness associated with putting everything together. I've all but decided on a Corsair PSU, and trying to decide between these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

As far as I can tell, the latter is more modular and adds an extra 2 years to the warranty, where as the former is less modular, but is slightly more adept to +12V A levels. About an $18 price difference, current coupon considered. What do you guys think? Or am I way off here by choosing these 2...
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post #8 of 29
6/16/12 at 1:47pm
The corsair pro versions are much better than the enthusiast supplys. If you ever do add a second card, you will likely need another psu. Please take our advise and get a bit bigger supply. also single or multi rail makes no difference. Seasonic is the OEM to a TON of different supplys.
Seasonic is the OEM for the ax650 and the tx 650.
I will say to take our advise and buy as much power as you can afford though. IMO a 650 is a mistake that will cost you double if you ever decide to upgrade.

this is $20 more than the rebated ax650 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139029 and also made by seasonic.
or this : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256058

Do yourself a favor, spend the little extra and get something that will be future proofed.
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post #9 of 29
6/16/12 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
I feel pretty comfortable with Corsair as there are just so many (positive) reviews. Silverstone looks good but the small numbers of reviews frighten me (pc/tech newbie). Something about Silverstone PSUs having bad fans?

I think I'm going to just rule out SLI all together. In the past, instead of doing SLI I've just upgraded to a card that would be better/comparable than the combination anyways.

If I was dead set on Corsair, you would recommend the Pro series over the Modular Enthusiast series? I could probably budge and do 750w or 850w if you feel that's really the way to go. Also, having posted this same question elsewhere, a helpful poster is standing firmly by this suggestion.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

He says that PSU would be adequate for my set up, SLI or not, and that it's a better buy than the Corsairs I linked.
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post #10 of 29
6/16/12 at 7:27pm
Well, they are both built by seasonic so..... It would work for your system BUT, it's always better to have a bit of reserve power on hand IMO. The pro is fully modular also and yes, I'd buy the pro. that seasonic is a bronze rated one, nothing special about it at all. Run of the mill supply.
Just trying to give you some advise that you were asking for. I've built hundreds of gaming pc's and have had lots of people buy supplys only to have to upgrade them when adding a second card, wanting to OC everything, adding other stuff etc.. But hey, it's your money not mine, so buy what every you feel comfortable buying.
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post #11 of 29
6/17/12 at 2:59am
Thread Starter 
Pretty sure I won't add anything in the future (rather do a new build in a few years), but I am prone to taking your advice for a good PSU. The Pro corsair series is mostly modular I thought? The AX series is Corsair's fully modular offering I believe.

For just $13 more, the HX750 seems like it's gotta be worth it over the HX650. Don't know if I can upsell myself to the 850 though, ha.

Also, one question I still have is how much of a performance difference I'll see in terms of gaming and general usage versus my current build?

Current
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition w/ Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Mobo: MSI 870-G45
PSU: OCZ StealthXstream II 500W
Ram: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
GPU: EVGA GTX 560 Ti Superclocked
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM
CD/DVD: ASUS SATA 24X Burner

New
CPU: i5-3570K w/ Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme6
PSU: Debating...
Ram: G.Skill Ripjaws 12GB (2x4GB+2x2GB) DDR3 1600
GPU: EVGA GTX 670 FTW 2GB
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM
CD/DVD: ASUS SATA 24X Burner
Edited by yalikedags - 6/17/12 at 4:21am
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post #12 of 29
6/17/12 at 8:40am
Personally I don't think you'll see that much of a difference but it's cool to hate on AMD so I'm sure you'll hear differently from other people.

I went with a Seasonic 80+ Plat 1050 watt supply as I got it for a much lower price than it normally goes for. I wouldn't have sprung for it otherwise and I agree that unless you plan on going SLI at some point anything above 750 is kinda overkill.
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post #13 of 29
6/17/12 at 12:33pm
The HX750 semi modular with only the main 24 and 8 pin cpu wires attached. You need these anyways so it doesn't matter that they are not detachable and a very good supply.
As for you old and new system, I'm with pcweber111 that you probably won't see a ton of difference other than in games and maybe benchmarks (for lots, those are the 2 most important things lol). the 670 is a beat of a card and with destroy the 560 in every way.
I would recommend you get a SSD to go along with your new system. there are TONS of good SSD's under the $120 mark and your system will feel 20x more responsive. IMO ANY new build should have a SSD in it. Yes they make that much of a difference.
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post #14 of 29
6/17/12 at 9:02pm
Yeah I didn't even notice the lack of an SSD. Why would you assemble a system like that and not go with one? I did two OCZ Agility 3's 120gb in RAID 0 and am constantly amazed at their performance. Not the best drives around but they aren't bad by any means and man are they blazing fast! I agree that for some synthetic tests and benchmarks are as important as every day use and if that's the case for you yeah you'll appreciate the difference in processors. You're gonna notice more of a difference in games with the newer Kepler card.
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post #15 of 29
6/18/12 at 1:51am
Thread Starter 
Games is definitely where I want to see the most difference.

Also, how do you guys recommend I use an SSD if I were to get one? Just as a boot drive? Hard drive for games? I wouldn't know how to make a SSD my boot drive and keep my current HDD for everything else. Could I move (some of) my installed programs to the SSD somehow?

Honestly I don't know if I'm into SSD yet. My computer boots and shuts down fast as is. Games load fast to where I don't notice otherwise. But I guess if I'm treading into the luxuries category anyways by building a new pc...
Edited by yalikedags - 6/18/12 at 2:24am
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post #16 of 29
6/18/12 at 4:41am
Thread Starter 
One more thing, because I (also) have no idea how to shop for a motherboard, what do you guys think of the Extreme6 I listed?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295

That choice is a suggestion and I just instantly went with it. Wondering if that's the best bang for my buck.

I know compatibility is a thing, picking the right mobo for the CPU you want, whether or not you want SLI and such, but what does the Extreme6 offer over say, the Extreme4? Some of the models look very comparable, but I don't understand the tech well enough to know why one would be more expensive or a favorable choice.

The Extreme6 versus this Extreme4 for instance?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

Any motherboard comments/suggestions are very much appreciated.
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post #17 of 29
6/18/12 at 4:46pm
Stick with the 6, it's a good board. Lots of guys are having good luck with them.
As far as a SSD goes, look into getting at least a 120 gig drive. There are lots for around $100 Crucial M4 is one of my favorites, it's a rock solid drive, intel, muskin, samsung also make great drives. all you'd do is install windows and you sound and graphics drivers, your antivirus and a few games on there.Your programs you want to install that are not important to running your PC, get put onto you storage drive' When you install a program and it asks where you want to install it to (c drive by default) you just choose you storage drive and thats it. Done. you don't need to install all your programs on your SSD drive, just important ones. Everything else gets installed on your storage to save room on your SSD. though it was funny that you say you pc boots fast with a platter drive, prepare to have your mind blown! My raid 0 M4's, go from power button press to fully loaded windows in 13 seconds.
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post #18 of 29
6/18/12 at 5:05pm
SSDs can be good for gaming as well. They can significantly reduce stutter in select games that do lots of texture swapping from the drive. Of course, shorter in-game load times are great as well; playing Skyrim off an SSD is very rewarding.

But, an SSD for a gaming PC really is a luxury rather than a must have.
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post #19 of 29
6/19/12 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSmith83 View Post

SSDs can be good for gaming as well. They can significantly reduce stutter in select games that do lots of texture swapping from the drive. Of course, shorter in-game load times are great as well; playing Skyrim off an SSD is very rewarding.
But, an SSD for a gaming PC really is a luxury rather than a must have.

I dunno, I can't deal with pc's without them now. I try to use my older laptop and I just want to hulk smash it lol
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post #20 of 29
6/19/12 at 6:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by N8DOGG View Post

I dunno, I can't deal with pc's without them now. I try to use my older laptop and I just want to hulk smash it lol

Yeah to me an SSD is just about a necessity regardless of the type of build. I just got through redoing my old build for my son to use as a learning pc in the kitchen cubbie and I had to use an SSD lol. I just can't go back to platter drives for OS.
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post #21 of 29
6/19/12 at 11:04pm
Thread Starter 
Which SSD do you guys suggest in the 240/256GB range? Collected some Amazon credit/gift cards so I'm hoping to get a pretty good deal. Been looking at these three, but I'm open to suggestions:

Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB SATA III MLC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226226

Crucial M4 256GB SATA III MLC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443

Corsair Force Series GT 240GB SATA III MLC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-233-208

Just wondering how these stack up in terms of performance, value, reliability, overall bang for buck.

The Samsung 830 Series SSDs also look really nice, but they do come at a price premium...
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post #22 of 29
6/20/12 at 9:42am
Intel is highly regarded for SSDs. I went with two for RAID-0.

You can currently get a 120GB Intel 330 Series SSD on NewEgg for $105 after rebate. Two of these in RAID-0 will get you absurd read speeds of around 1GB per second, and you get the Intel reliability.
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post #23 of 29
6/20/12 at 10:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSmith83 View Post

Intel is highly regarded for SSDs. I went with two for RAID-0.
You can currently get a 120GB Intel 330 Series SSD on NewEgg for $105 after rebate. Two of these in RAID-0 will get you absurd read speeds of around 1GB per second, and you get the Intel reliability.

I forgot to add that the rebate also applies for purchases made at Amazon (US and Canada only, the same as NewEgg). The rebate supports up to two units, and expires in a few days.
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post #24 of 29
6/20/12 at 4:14pm
The Mushkin will be the fastest drive out of the bunch and a really great drive. The M4 will be a bit behind in 4K writes but right up there otherwise BUT it's a tried and tested SSD with great all around performer and very few problems reported with it. It's one of the most solid drives on the market. i would not want the force GT as I had one at launch and it was a disaster lol. Like MSmith said also, intel drives as well as samsung as really great drives. the mushkin could end up being just as stable as the M4 but it just hasn't been out as long. So far the deluxe version is the fastest drive out right now I think, other than the PCI-E drives OCZ makes.
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post #25 of 29
6/20/12 at 4:38pm
The Intel SSD management software is really nice as well. There are even plans to initiate TRIM support for RAID-0 arrays. This was promised a while ago, but I suppose properly testing such a thing can take a lot of time.
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post #26 of 29
6/20/12 at 7:34pm
Intel should be there with trim in raid, the M4's now support it. if intel doesn't , I'm sure it will be very soon.
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post #27 of 29
6/20/12 at 8:11pm
There is a recently released Beta driver from Intel that allegedly supports it for Windows 8, but we still await a release that enables it through Windows 7.
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post #28 of 29
6/21/12 at 2:27am
Thread Starter 
Wish I knew what you guys were talking about. Trim? Raid? Raid-0? Huh
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post #29 of 29
6/21/12 at 4:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by yalikedags View Post

Wish I knew what you guys were talking about. Trim? Raid? Raid-0? Huh

I wish I had some idea! biggrin.gif

RAID-0 (also known as striping) is when two or more drives are read from and written to in parallel, with data split-up evenly amongst drives. This increases bandwidth in both reads and writes. The benefits can be seen in real-world applications, but usually not to the extent that some synthetic benchmarks would suggest.

This obviously carries the risk of losing all data if one drive fails, but with SSDs it's not really a problem since the contents of the small capacity will presumably be backed-up on a large hard drive(s) anyway.

TRIM programming instructs the SSD to clear user-deleted data that is no longer useful. This is done in an efficient manner that helps the SSD run optimally throughout time, because useful data is not being read or written over now useless data from the past.
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