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planning to upgrade my OEM power supply

post #1 of 23
10/7/12 at 6:48am
Thread Starter 
I'm planning to upgrade my OEM power supply w/ maybe this
http://www.corsair.com/builder-series-cx430-v2-80plus-certified-power-supply.html

would like to make an educated guess that this Corsair will meet my requirements.
couple of ?s
1.for powering the PCI slots what are the wires referred to as? I have two PCI slots.

2.for powering a intake fan what are the wires referred to as?

how much power do the following use.
1.wireless mouse and keybroad.
2.wireless adaptor.
3.external 1TB HDD USB 2.0 (it is plugged into wall AC outlet).
4.USB TV tuner.
5.PCI TV tuner.
6.3.0 USB adaptor
7.BD burner
8.two internal HDDs 1TB/2TB

Thanks STB
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post #2 of 23
10/7/12 at 9:09am
Get a Kill-A-Watt power meter and measure what your computer actually consumes. Corsair sources their PSU from somewhere. My own preference is to get a PSU manufacturers' unit such as Seasonic, Delta or FSP somewhere around 250-350W. If your CPU is a Sandybridge, your setup certainly should not exceed 100W.

For internal fans, they can be:
1. 2 wire, just 12V power and ground. Fan turning at constant speed.
2. 3 wire, 12V, GND and tachometer output. Fan turns at constant speed.
3. 4 wire, 12V, GND, tach, and PWM input. MB controls fan speed based on temperature sensors on the MB.

If the MB fan jack has 4 posts, it should support PWM fans.

The PSU PCIe slots power leads are to support video cards (or cards in general) that require higher power than the PCIe slot power pins can support. If your tuner card doesn't require power, then you don't need these leads.
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post #3 of 23
10/8/12 at 12:19am
I have that same PSU. My HTPC has a 1.5TB HDD, an optical drive, an HD6450 video card and two PCIe dual OTA tuner cards. When recording 4 HD programs & playing back a different recording the Kill A Watt meter indicates 56 watts. So a 430W PSU is plenty, in fact in my case it it too much because it is not being used efficiently. Most PSUs are rated for best efficiency between 20% to 80% power usage.

All my cards get power from the PCIe slots so there are several PSU cables that are not used.

I have a single exhaust fan which plugs into the mobo. I could have connected it to the PSU but the fan already had the connector that fit the mobo so I went that route.
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post #4 of 23
10/8/12 at 6:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dksc318 View Post

Get a Kill-A-Watt power meter and measure what your computer actually consumes. Corsair sources their PSU from somewhere. My own preference is to get a PSU manufacturers' unit such as Seasonic, Delta or FSP somewhere around 250-350W. If your CPU is a Sandybridge, your setup certainly should not exceed 100W.
For internal fans, they can be:
1. 2 wire, just 12V power and ground. Fan turning at constant speed.
2. 3 wire, 12V, GND and tachometer output. Fan turns at constant speed.
3. 4 wire, 12V, GND, tach, and PWM input. MB controls fan speed based on temperature sensors on the MB.
If the MB fan jack has 4 posts, it should support PWM fans.
The PSU PCIe slots power leads are to support video cards (or cards in general) that require higher power than the PCIe slot power pins can support. If your tuner card doesn't require power, then you don't need these leads.
so since "Corsair sources their PSU from somewhere." I mite end up with a whorst than what I allready have?


I though I could calculate by each device example a HDD take 10 watts DVD takes 10 watts ect? thast why I listed all the PCs componets.

I have a sys. cas fan plugged into the MOBO I'm wanting a intake fan was curious how to plug it in directly to PSU I'm thinking I need a molex type adaptor that plugs into a 12V rail then splitts off into a small 3 pin connecter.or doe's this PSU allready have a plug for a intake fan?

Thanks STB

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike99 View Post

I have that same PSU. My HTPC has a 1.5TB HDD, an optical drive, an HD6450 video card and two PCIe dual OTA tuner cards. When recording 4 HD programs & playing back a different recording the Kill A Watt meter indicates 56 watts. So a 430W PSU is plenty, in fact in my case it it too much because it is not being used efficiently. Most PSUs are rated for best efficiency between 20% to 80% power usage.
All my cards get power from the PCIe slots so there are several PSU cables that are not used.
I have a single exhaust fan which plugs into the mobo. I could have connected it to the PSU but the fan already had the connector that fit the mobo so I went that route.


I used this calculater it's calculates Minimum PSU Wattage: 215 W Recommended 265W PSU Wattage: *

http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
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post #5 of 23
10/8/12 at 8:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

so since "Corsair sources their PSU from somewhere." I mite end up with a whorst than what I allready have?
I though I could calculate by each device example a HDD take 10 watts DVD takes 10 watts ect? thast why I listed all the PCs componets.
I have a sys. cas fan plugged into the MOBO I'm wanting a intake fan was curious how to plug it in directly to PSU I'm thinking I need a molex type adaptor that plugs into a 12V rail then splitts off into a small 3 pin connecter.or doe's this PSU allready have a plug for a intake fan?
Thanks STB
I used this calculater it's calculates Minimum PSU Wattage: 215 W Recommended 265W PSU Wattage: *
http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
I won't say Corsair will be worse than your OEM PSU. But my preference is to use a real manufacturer. Use the system fan header is better than PSU power unless using fans that has on fan temperature sensors. Here is a shot of how fans and internal temperature are doing in my server.

All three are controlled by PWM or by on fan thermistors. AUX fan is actually two fans connected to a single header and are positioned as intake near the HDD cages. You can see temperature is controlled to a narrow band and fan speed is varying by themselves.
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post #6 of 23
10/8/12 at 12:19pm
I'm pretty sure Corsair PSUs are made by Seasonic, which is one of the better brands available (and a real manufacturer, BTW). I use Corsairs almost exclusively in my PC builds and never had any problems. I daresay that replacing your OEM PSU with a Corsair unit will be a major improvement in stability and reliability.
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post #7 of 23
10/8/12 at 3:51pm
Seasonic does make some of Corsair's higher end PSU's. This one looks like it was made by Channel Well. JonnyGuru gave it good mark though so I'd be comfortable with it. I've actually used a couple of them myself and I'm quite happy with them.
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post #8 of 23
10/8/12 at 4:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by captain_video View Post

I'm pretty sure Corsair PSUs are made by Seasonic, which is one of the better brands available (and a real manufacturer, BTW). I use Corsairs almost exclusively in my PC builds and never had any problems. I daresay that replacing your OEM PSU with a Corsair unit will be a major improvement in stability and reliability.

Most low end Corsair used to be made by Seasonic. Not the case any more.
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post #9 of 23
10/8/12 at 6:37pm
SeaSonic X Series 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular$90 + Free Shipping...hard the beat at this price.
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post #10 of 23
10/8/12 at 6:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xfett View Post

SeaSonic X Series 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular$90 + Free Shipping...hard the beat at this price.

Why? Corsair will do the job for 25 after rebate, not 90. As if you need Gold anyway. Get it OP, its a fine PSU for the price.
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post #11 of 23
10/8/12 at 7:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiddles88 View Post

Why? Corsair will do the job for 25 after rebate, not 90. As if you need Gold anyway. Get it OP, its a fine PSU for the price.

It might be overkill for his needs but he will get a TRUE Seasonic PSU, 80 Plus Gold, and it's fully modular.
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post #12 of 23
10/8/12 at 8:38pm
Modular isn't always a benefit.

The Corsair will be an improvement, and will be fine. I would look for a Seasonic around 300 W with 80+ bronze, as the value tends to be good on those.
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post #13 of 23
10/8/12 at 9:07pm
Here are two lower power Seasonic models:
SS-350ET
SS-330GB
Both are 80+Bronze and very quiet. There are really no modular option in this power range.
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post #14 of 23
10/8/12 at 9:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lespurgeon View Post

Modular isn't always a benefit.


Modular isn't a benefit? Please explain.
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post #15 of 23
10/8/12 at 10:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xfett View Post

It might be overkill for his needs but he will get a TRUE Seasonic PSU, 80 Plus Gold, and it's fully modular.

Err, so? You don't need Gold, you don't need modular, and as for Seasonic, well it depends on what you want to spend. That corsair is a solid CWT PSU for the price. There is no need to spend more.
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post #16 of 23
10/8/12 at 11:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xfett View Post

Modular isn't a benefit? Please explain.
He didn't say modular "isn't a benefit". He said it "isn't ALWAYS a benefit".

For instance, if the build will use up all the connections on the PSU, then modular is not a benefit. If the build will only use a few connections, then modular will reduce clutter in the box. That is actually not the usual case since modular feature comes on higher power PSUs and they are more likely used in highly populated builds that would use up most of the connections, kind of a paradox. Today we no longer are using 130W CPUs that pulls a lot of power anymore. We likely will see many SATA HDDs in highly populated builds.
Edited by dksc318 - 10/8/12 at 11:19pm
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post #17 of 23
10/9/12 at 4:20am
It's rare that modular PSUs aren't a benefit. Aside from using only the connections you need, you can also obtain extra cables specific to your configuration. For instance, say you're putting together a build that requires X number of SATA power connections but the PSU only has X minus Y connections available. You could simply add splitters to the existing connections or you could substitute additional SATA power cables for the 4-pin Molex cables provided. Most of the PSU manufacturers sell additional cables for modular PSUs so you can customize it to suit your needs. Some may also provide extra cables along with the PSU, although I don't believe I've seen this with any I've ever purchased.

FYI - all modular PSUs aren't always 100% modular. They usually have one or two extra cables attached that may go unused.
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post #18 of 23
10/9/12 at 7:56pm
Modular power supplies tend to be longer - the plugs stick out the back. In short cages with tight constraints to drive cages they can prevent use of some drive cages. In other cases they are great.
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post #19 of 23
10/9/12 at 10:09pm
Modular power always means double connectors on each wire. Each connector will have a small voltage drop. This is undesirable especially for high current paths.

I only used one modular PSU. In the end pulled it and replaced with a smaller regular unit.
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post #20 of 23
10/10/12 at 9:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dksc318 View Post

Modular power always means double connectors on each wire. Each connector will have a small voltage drop. This is undesirable especially for high current paths.
I only used one modular PSU. In the end pulled it and replaced with a smaller regular unit.

You have got to be joking......Yes there will be more resistance due to having 2 connectors but it is far too small to cause significant voltage drop. High current paths on a PC?
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post #21 of 23
10/13/12 at 9:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevethebrain View Post

I'm planning to upgrade my OEM power supply w/ maybe this
http://www.corsair.com/builder-series-cx430-v2-80plus-certified-power-supply.html
would like to make an educated guess that this Corsair will meet my requirements.
couple of ?s

This particular unit is made by Channel Well Technology (CWT). The quality of the parts used look to be about OEM quality. SAMXON makes the primary filter cap, very common in OEM boxes

JonnyGuru has a teardown review of this PSU http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=214

The site contains a lot of useful information and specializes in looking at PSUs

In order to select the right unit I suggest getting a powermeter like a Kill-A-Watt, and note down then highest use number, usually during start up and size your power supply 1.5-2x of that number

This PSU sells for around $65, Seasonic sells pretty good units such as the 400SS fanless but it is twice the cost.
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post #22 of 23
10/13/12 at 9:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tong Chia View Post

This particular unit is made by Channel Well Technology (CWT). The quality of the parts used look to be about OEM quality. SAMXON makes the primary filter cap, very common in OEM boxes
JonnyGuru has a teardown review of this PSU http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=214
The site contains a lot of useful information and specializes in looking at PSUs
In order to select the right unit I suggest getting a powermeter like a Kill-A-Watt, and note down then highest use number, usually during start up and size your power supply 1.5-2x of that number
This PSU sells for around $65, Seasonic sells pretty good units such as the 400SS fanless but it is twice the cost.

Wrong review. Johhnyguru did v1. The v2 is now being sold:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-CX430-V2-Power-Supply-Review/1284

This is the correct model. For the price, its a great PSU, CWT notwithstanding.
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post #23 of 23
10/14/12 at 1:02am
Even though the CX430 V2 is more than I need, I got it for two reasons:
The reviews were pretty much positive and Newegg had it for $16.99 on sale & after rebate. For my approx 50W usage the efficiency graph indicates about 78%.
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