I Need Help Choosing a Power Supply

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

Hey, I've recently made a PC on pcpartpicker.com and I have all my parts picked out... except for the PSU. The whole 80 Plus is really confusing to me, all I know about it is that 80 Plus means 80% efficient and it saves money I think. My PC is mainly for gaming, do I need a 80 plus PSU? Also I'm 14 and live with my parents so I don't pay for electricity.

Link to my build http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/MfC4YJ

Gorgonzer · Jul 15, 2014

Thats a good reliable PSU. Good choice. Just gonna play games with the intergrated graphics and get a dedicated card later?

Twirlz · Jul 15, 2014

For a computer build it's best to get a 80%+ Bronze power supply. The 80%+ rating is the efficiency of the power supply, the more efficient the power supply is the less power it will waste.

Bronze and gold are most common however, for most computers a 80%+ bronze is fine.

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

What graphics card are you planning to buy? In terms of price, this XFX 650W is good.

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

Twirlz :

What do you mean less power it will waste?

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

Twirlz :

What do you mean less power it will waste?

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

A power supply converts AC to DC. This conversion is not lossless, which means, some power will be lost during conversion. Power supplies that have 80+ certification meet certain standards for their efficiency at converting AC to DC with minimal loss. So for example, if a power supply is 80% efficient and your system requires 500W of power, then the power supply needs to pull 625W from the wall. 20% of it will be lost during the conversion process.

That said, 80+ certification does not measure a power supply's build quality. There are plenty of power supplies that are efficient in converting AC to DC but due to poor and cheap capacitors, they crap out even at light load. So 80+ certification mean little to selecting a quality power supply unit.

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

ksham :

So the only thing that a 80+ does is pull less watts from the wall to save power. So do I need it if I don't pay for power?

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

Any quality power supply that you buy will come with 80+ certification so don't worry about it.

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

ksham :

Could you suggest a quality 550W PSU under $50, or is that not possible?

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

Nope. You can try and wait until this one goes on sale. Sometimes, it goes down to below $30.

But right now, it's the same price as the 650W one that I posted earlier.

Gorgonzer · Jul 15, 2014

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/q9xykL
This is a good one at 600w and 49A single rail.

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

Gorgonzer :

Thanks but I prefer not to use Mail in rebates.

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

ksham :

I've heard that Corsair CX series power supply's are bad. Why is that?

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

I don't recommend it. See here and the portion below:

Tier four - Not for overclocking systems or high end gaming rigs. May not even output labeled power and fail standard ATX specifications slightly. May even use cheap components to meet a price

Aerocool
Strike-X series
Templarius Imperator series

Asus Atlas
Cooler Master GX / GX lite series (The GX 450 non-lite Watt model is fine)
E-power units

EVGA
430 / 500 80+
500B / 600B :bounce:

FSP Raider series
Futurepower
Hiper Type M (Less than 600 Watts)
HIPRO
LC power
Masscool
MGE XE
Mushkin HP series
NorthQ 4775-500S / BU

NZXT
Hale82N 650w
Hale82 V2 700w

OCZ
GameXStream (less than 1000 Watts, if manufactured before December 2007)
GameXStream 1010 Watts (it's an 850 Watt unit in disguise)
ModXStream (if manufactured before December 2007)
Fatal1ty 2013 550 and 750 Watts
StealthXStream (If manifactured before December 2007)

Scythe Kamariki
Superflower Amazon series

Ultra
Xfinity series
U2 X2 series (Less than 700 Watts)
XVS series

Xion Real Power series

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

TroyColeman :

They are not bad. They're good. The problem is that Corsair's CX line is aimed toward low-end office builds and people use them in high-end enthusiast builds. It is simply not built for that. It has poor capacitors and does not handle heavy load well.

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

ksham :

Will it work well with a r9 280x?

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

It will probably work but not well nor recommended.

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

ksham :

Oh ok I'll probably get the one you recommended. Also is the motherboard that I chose for my build good?http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135385

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

It'll suffice for your build. I would opt for a B85 chipset if possible, but you probably don't need it.

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

ksham :

Ok, what do you think about this? I got a cheaper case for better MOBO and psu!

Motherboard http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130699

Case http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553011&cm_re=cougar_spike-_-11-553-011-_-Product

PSU http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438012

ksham · Jul 15, 2014

I think we're going circles. We give suggestions. You ignore them. What's the goal of this thread again? What are you trying to accomplish?

TroyColeman · Jul 15, 2014

ksham :

The goal of this was to find out what 80+ Bronze means.

Karadjgne · Jul 16, 2014

The 80+ is not a standard as such, but a widespread adopted certification. A 80+ psu is tested and certified that at 20%/50%/100% loads itis 80/80/80 % efficient.
Bronze: 82/85/82
Silver: 85/88/85
Gold: 87/90/87
Platinum: 90/92/89
Titanium: 92/94/90

It's more than just how much energy is drawn from the wall. In order to get the higher efficiency, much better components and designs with such things as active filters, larger, more effective and efficient caps, better quality coils and transistors must be used, so the higher the rating, generally the better the build. (if its an honest rating at least). Also there is the heat issue. The more power applied to the psu, the hotter it gets. So a psu at 80% efficiency at 50% load will be hotter than a bronze unit at 85% efficiency as less power is pulled from the wall.

There is also this. With the better components and designs, there also is a tendency to have better over current and over voltage protections,pretty much starting with the 80+ bronze units. It also means that the DC outputs tend to be much cleaner, which is a necessity for better OC and general protection of the more expensive and powerful gpus used by enthusiasts.

An example would be the corsair cx, it barely passes bronze, so is not all that good for more intense builds, whereas Seasonic/XFX easily passes, so is rated much better and is more appropriate for mid-high range builds. For high+ builds, a Gold psu is generally advised.

TroyColeman · Jul 16, 2014

Karadjgne :

The 80+ is not a standard as such, but a widespread adopted certification. A 80+ psu is tested and certified that at 20%/50%/100% loads itis 80/80/80 % efficient.
Bronze: 82/85/82
Silver: 85/88/85
Gold: 87/90/87
Platinum: 90/92/89
Titanium: 92/94/90

It's more than just how much energy is drawn from the wall. In order to get the higher efficiency, much better components and designs with such things as active filters, larger, more effective and efficient caps, better quality coils and transistors must be used, so the higher the rating, generally the better the build. (if its an honest rating at least). Also there is the heat issue. The more power applied to the psu, the hotter it gets. So a psu at 80% efficiency at 50% load will be hotter than a bronze unit at 85% efficiency as less power is pulled from the wall.

There is also this. With the better components and designs, there also is a tendency to have better over current and over voltage protections,pretty much starting with the 80+ bronze units. It also means that the DC outputs tend to be much cleaner, which is a necessity for better OC and general protection of the more expensive and powerful gpus used by enthusiasts.

An example would be the corsair cx, it barely passes bronze, so is not all that good for more intense builds, whereas Seasonic/XFX easily passes, so is rated much better and is more appropriate for mid-high range builds. For high+ builds, a Gold psu is generally advised.

Ok I think I understand. With a i5 4440 and a r9 280x should I get 80 plus bronze? I'm now sure how high end a r9 280x is.

I Need Help Choosing a Power Supply

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