Haswell z87 chipset system: smallest Power Supply needed?

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smithchrism

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Aug 2, 2013
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Hello,

I currently have an Asus z87-Pro based system I am having some issues with. I am leaning toward the possibility I have a power supply about to go bad or is going bad. Or perhaps it isn't "Haswell Compatible" as I understand some PSU's are not Haswell suitable due to new sleep states Intel added to the CPU and chipset.

At any rate, I currently have a Corsair 800 Watt CPU which I know is to big. My question is, what's the smallest PSU size I should look at? I'm kicking around getting a 600-700 Watt unit but am unsure.

My system specs:

- Asus Z87-Pro motherboard
- Intel i5-4670k Haswell
- 16 GigB memory, 4 x 4 GigByte sticks
- 128 Gig Samsung 830 SSD
- Western Digital 500 Gig 10k RPM HD
- Western Digital 700 Gig 7200 RPM HD for backups
- Nvidia GTX 680
- Creative Labs PCI-E SoundBlaster
- usual assortment of mice, keyboards, etc..

Keep in mind my current possible needs and plus I would like a little extra headroom for future upgrades along with possibly using the PSU in future system builds for new CPUs/chipsets, what is the smallest wattage PSU I should be looking at?

Thanks.
 
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Eximo

Eximo

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Power requirements are trending down, so you should be fine with something like a 550W or 650W. If you want to SLI or Crossfire in the future 800-850W isn't unreasonable.

I usually recommend Seasonic or XFX, but Corsair also uses seasonic to make the HX and AX series supplies.
 
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chugot9218

chugot9218

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They do have a compatibility list out there for Corsair PSU's as far as Haswell compatibility, I would say that if it says 100% compatible it's not the sleep state, still could be a failing PSU, but can't hurt to at least check.
 
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Lord_Kitty

Lord_Kitty

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Here's the list of Haswell compatible PSUs: http://techreport.com/review/24897/the-big-haswell-psu-compatibility-list

650W should be enough for a good OC, a high end card, a few storage drives and a couple of fans or 900W+ for an SLI/Crossfire rig.

The Haswell C6/C7 states are disabled by default on the motherboards. If you already have a PSU, you can use that. You won't need a compatible PSU if you are not using these low-power states.
 
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smithchrism

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Thanks for the answers. Some great stuff there. After reading the responses and looking at some motherboard reviews which report power usage numbers, I'm leaning in the 650 Watt direction if I do get a new PSU. I don't overclock in the traditional sense (more below) nor am I running multiple video cards. I'm thinking 650 Watt is way more than I need while having enough left over for any additional headroom I may require in the future.

I saw the link to techreport a while back regarding compatible PSUs. I have a Corsair GS800. I'm not sure of the version I have but it's not the v3 which I assume is the 2013 addition of this PSU listed on their website. Still, the list says v1 is compatible so I assume my PSU is supposed to be compatible. Interesting stuff.

Regarding the new C6/C7 states, I checked BIOS within my motherboard. All my states were actually set to Auto per a global switch. I don't know what makes them active or not active when they are in Auto. I enabled the power states which allowed me to adjust/change each individual state. I then proceeded to disable both C6 and C7. We'll see how that goes.

I'm not sure why I didn't just go ahead and disable all the states with the global setting. As I said, I'm not overclocking. However, I am using DDR3-2133 enabled through XMP profiles. Additionally, I enabled core sync within my BIOS so all cores on the CPU run at the same speed all the time. Plus, I set my power plan to 'High Performance'. As such, all my cores are always running at 3.8 Ghz (more or less) which is the upper speed limit on my CPU when its in turbo. I don't ever put my system to sleep. I should just disable the states as they aren't needed as far as I know of.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I'll start to look for a new PSU. I'm not sure if I need one or not, but I've been looking for an excuse to get one of the newer modular ones. I'm going to do it.

Thanks!
 
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