Looking for PSU to replace PC Power & Cooling 610 W

columbia93 · Jun 21, 2015

I need to replace my current PSU and would like advice. My system is 7 years old and won't be updating just now but may in the next 6-12 months. I recently had to replace my GPU from an 8800 GTS to GTX 750 Ti so I know the wattage has decreased for that. Those calculators put me around 375 but they don't take into account everything and I know you need to go a bit higher - how much? I'd also like to keep the costs down as much as I am able. Of course...

System:

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Mobo
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700
Zerotherm Butteryfly CPU Fan
GTX 750 Ti w/ ACX Cooling
Crucial 2x2G Ram
Seagate Barracuda 1T 7200
1 DVD Rom
1 DVD Burner
Hauppauge TV Tuner
Dell 2408 Monitor
USB Hub - 8 USB Ports
Logitech USB Mouse & DiNovo Keyboard
- anything else you need to know?

Additionally, my case is the Antec P182SE. This is a big case with the PSU on the bottom so I need LONG cables!
Thx

What about this one? Antec Basic BP550?

MarkW · Jun 21, 2015

I do not see an Antec Basic power supply in our list. And that is what we use to know if a power supply is a quality unit or a pile of overpriced turds.

I don't know which power supplies have really long cables, but I doubt that the ones that do are going to be on the smaller units out there, which seems to be what you are looking for.

I would like to suggest that you look for a seasonic unit, as I believe that Seasonic makes the best power supplies on the planet, and it is the only power supply that I buy anymore. The have a 550w gold unit, and a 620w bronze unit that would probably fit what you are looking for. And they are available all over the planet.

SeaSonic G Series 550-Watt ATX12V/EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply SSR-550RM
http://www.amazon.com/SeaSonic-550-Watt-CrossFire-Certified-SSR-550RM/dp/B00918MEZG/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1434940119&sr=1-1&keywords=seasonic+550w

Seasonic M12II 620 BRONZE ; SS-620GM2 80Plus Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-M12II-620-BRONZE-SS-620GM2/dp/B003HE260I/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1434940235&sr=1-1&keywords=seasonic+620w

Math Geek · Jun 21, 2015

what kind of upgrade are you thinking of in 6 months? there are plenty of choices that will run the system now but depending on the upgrade may need more power in the future. no need to buy a psu twice so spending a few more now would save in the long run later.

so what kind of upgrade are you thinking?

Math Geek · Jun 21, 2015

MarkW :

this psu was on the older list as a tier 2 one i believe. it's not there anymore but it is actually a decent psu and one that came to mind as i saw the specs listed. it's only drawback is it is not even bronze rated thus not as effecient as newer psu's.

for such a low end system i am thinking of the evga w1 500 or one of the corsair cs series. they would be ample for this system and will work fine. this of course is before we hear about what the possible upgrades could be later on.

geofelt · Jun 21, 2015

Has your psu failed?
If not, keep it.
PC P&C silencer610 was one of the best quality units made.
Here is a list of quality:
https://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx?Redirected=true

If your psu is failing, your power needs are gated by your graphics card.
A 400w unit would suffice for a GTX750ti.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Calculators are deadly accurate if you know the answers to the questions.
Unfortunately we don't know your future needs well, and can't evaluate such issues as capacity aging.

MarkW · Jun 21, 2015

Corsair CX and VS models are absolute junk. Do not buy those.

Math Geek · Jun 21, 2015

MarkW :

why do you feel the need to call them junk? the coveted all knowing tom's list has them as a tier 3 unit which are "Some Haswell compatible, some not (maybe unconfirmed). Still safe to use and stable, just lower quality components. Some capacitors maybe Japanese, but can include the Taiwanese capacitors. Not really ideal in serious overclocking or super-high load situations, such as a Bitcoin mining rig or a high end gaming system." they are tiered right there with some decent mainstream psus such as the rosewill photon, evga b1 series and silverstone essentials. are you suggesting that in this case tom's made a mistake, while being spot on in all other cases?

for a low end c2q and 750ti the cx or cxm is plenty of psu for the job. they are not the best on the market for sure but they are by no means junk and should be avoided at all costs. there is absolutely nothing anywhere i have read that suggests they are such a horrible unit. often the better ones can be close in price when on sale and should of course be the better choice but otherwise they do have their uses.

MarkW · Jun 21, 2015

Because they are. We get so many people here every single day with those power supplies and they are all suffering from seemingly random problems. Yet when we get them to go buy a quality power supply, the myriad of problems that they were experiencing just vanish.

Why is it that so many people with one of those two power supplies keep showing up with problems, and so few of all of the rest of the models out there are having problems. From my viewpoint here, in these forums, those two power supplies should be banned. Globally. And I do not say that about any other single brand. Just those two. I do actively work to get people to buy Tier 1 and 2 power supplies though.

Math Geek · Jun 21, 2015

i'm sorry but i can't say i have had the same experiences on this or any other forum as you describe. obviously, getting the best you can is ideal but i have built with these psu's as well as many other brands of different quality and so long as it is made for it's final use i have not seen any issues. i also push for better units but am also aware that budget and the intended system is just as important. flat out calling them junk is simply not true and in my opinion is nothing more than fear mongering. feel free to state that there are better units out there and to suggest a better one for a similar price if it is there but what you are saying is just not good for anyone. i spend countless hours a day on this forum and answer 100+ threads daily and psu is one of the spots i focus on. i have never seen the level of issues posted here with these psu's as you state. i'm sure they are a few but i bet i can dig up a few myself on the coveted seasonic psu's as well.

but this is not the place for this really. the op has a question and as soon as he gets back with an answer on the upgrades desired later on you can suggest whatever and i'll suggest whatever and the op can decide. i won't continue with an argument based on nothing more than ... well nothing....

columbia93 · Jun 21, 2015

Well, I installed the GTX 750 in my PC (as well as a replaced Seagate HD) and ran it for 24 hours (essentially installing Vista w/updates) before turning off the computer. When I turned the PC back on the next morning, it lost power just after the BIOS and before the Welcome screen. After a few weeks of trying to isolate the problem, I found out it was actually 2 things - the GPU 6pin and my sound card were suddenly dead. Why? No idea as I'd not had any issues with either the power or the sound card. Compatibility? Well, my MoBo BIOS is F7 - 2008 or 2009, can't remember - so UEFI isn't compatible. Mostly I'm told should be okay but this and this.....no real hard answer from Gigabyte (incompatible but will probably work) or EVGA (one tech says incompatible another say fine).

I plugged the 6+2 pin in the GPU and took out the sound card and it seems to start up but I'm rather worried so I've kept it off since then. Is it a PSU problem or GPU? That's why I'm looking to replace my PSU...otherwise I'd keep it as I had not experienced ANY problems prior to this.

As for upgrades, as you can see from my specs, the only thing I can do is replace just about everything. Can't really afford it right now but will eventually look to the i5-4590 (probably), Intel MoBo and 2x4G RAM. And, of course, UGGG, Win 8.1!

No overclocking and all of my games are at least a couple of years old. I do a lot of recording/editing with TV tuner, which will go with me when I upgrade. Upgrade may be more toward 12 months - depends on how everything goes with current system.

NOTE: I can get the Antec 550 from Tiger Direct w/Rebate for $40

Well, after midnight so the price went up $5.

4745454b · Jun 22, 2015

Absolute junk? No. For those, check out the death of a gutless wonder series. Those are junk. The CX/CS line aren't top of the line. That's it. They have a long way to go before they are junk.

MarkW · Jun 22, 2015

Tell the people who come here constantly with those units and have computers that are rebooting and crashing all day long. Then they go get a better power supply, and like magic the problems vanish.

4745454b · Jun 22, 2015

Tell that to the thousands of people running them that don't have a problem.

columbia93 · Jun 22, 2015

Is it possible to get back to my question as to whether or not this PSU would work with my system? Since the PSU I was asking about isn't on my list anymore, any suggestions on those below

Antec EA550 550W ATX12V EPS12V 80 Plus Bronze w/MIR $50
Cooler Master Elite V2-550W w/MIR $40
Corsair CXM CX500M 500W AT12V v2.3 SLI/Crossire 80 Plus Bronze w/MIR $40
Corsair CX600M 600W 80+ Broze w/MIR $50

Thanks in advance for your help.

geofelt · Jun 22, 2015

columbia93 :

The Antec Basic BP550 will work.
But, I would be loath to replace a superior psu unless it was failing.

columbia93 · Jun 22, 2015

Neo, thanks for getting back to me. Please refer to my post about halfway up. I recently had evga replace old 8800 GTS and they sent GTX 750 Ti that is way newer than my MoBo, with a BIOS of 2008 or 2009, so no UEFI. I started up PC, installed Vista and 7 years of updates over the course of about 24 hours, half of that idle time. I then turned off the PC. When I turned it on the next morning, the PC lost power after Bios and before the Welcome screen. After a few weeks of trying to isolate the problem, I found 2 things - dead GPU 6pin and dead sound card. I'm not sure the PSU failed or this was helped along with the GPU with the UEFI Bios (Gigabyte said if it didn't post, it would be incompatible). I have the other 6(+2) connected and everything works (except sound card of course), meaning it loads to Vista, but I've shut it down just in case it's the PSU. Any way to test PSU?

So, absolutely I wouldn't replace my PSU unless it was failing, which I'm not sure it is but afaid to risk it just in case it isn't the GPU.

Also, the Antec BP 550 is off the table now as it went up $12 during the Corsair debate!

The new PSUs I'm asing about are in the post above yours. There is also a Corsair CS550W for $60 after MIR but the pricing is going the wrong direction!

What wattage do I need? Would 500 be enough or better if I go 550?

Also, does anyone know about installing any of these PSUs upside down? My PC P&C was for 7 years in order to stretch that CPU connection from the bottom to top of my Antec182SE case. But then the old PSU didn't have the top fan...

geofelt · Jun 22, 2015

1. A psu is perfectly happy right side up or upside down.
The right orientation if possible is to use the fan to draw in outside cooling air.
If that is not reasonable, allow the fan to draw in air from the case.
Do not depend on that for case cooling though.

To test, the only way I know is to try a known good replacement psu.

Your GTX750 ti is an excellent card. You scored big there.
It also has a low power requirement. It runs on pcie slot power, where 300w is sufficient. If it is a heavily overclocked version it needs a 75w 6 pin connector. that is usually present on 400w power supplies.

I have no problem overprovisioning a PSU a bit. Say 20%.
It will run cooler, quieter, and more efficiently in the middle third of it's range.
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.
I might look at 550w to allow for a future GTX970 class upgrade.

Buy only a quality unit like Seasonic, XFX, Antec.

One possible explanation is that older power supplies did not keep sufficient voltage on the 5v. rails to enable a resume from the sleep state with haswell cpus.

4745454b · Jun 22, 2015

So the EA550 is available.? It's an older model, but a good one. I'm not sure at $50 it's worth it though. Are you in the USA?

columbia93 · Jun 22, 2015

I'm actually now looking seriously at the Rosewill Capstone 550W. (Thanks Math Geek) I know, I know. But it has good customer reviews, really good review from Hardware Logic, has long cables, a 7 yr warranty and is $40 after MIR. The only real drawback that I'm seeing is that the modular version is twice the price! With that top fan, and my case having one of its fans just in front of the PSU, I may have to get creative about where I tuck the extra cables.

Feel free to discuss this - always open.

Geo, the GTX 750 actually has the 6pin connector - that's what failed. Are you saying the 6pin connection is optional? I wouldn't think so but hadn't really thought about it. No overclocking.
Also, my system is a Core2 Quad Q6700. Kentsfield. I believe Haswell is for the new CPUs, which I don't have.
My Mobo uses BIOS (F7 '08 or '09). The new GPU uses UEFI, which I'm told is or isn't compatible!
(All the conflicting answers and no one wants to be definitive and just say yes or no - Gigabyte & EVGA - and that is why I'm stuck on what actually happened and what I can do to prevent it happening again.)

In America. Yep, when the price went up 20%, that is when I decided to look at my options!

Edit: OK, I see the 750 has a couple of looks. Mine is the Ti w/ACX Cooling - so has 2 fans, thus the 6pin, I'm guessing.

4745454b · Jun 22, 2015

I was going to link that PSU, I'm glad you found it. I have the non modular 450W in my system. They are great PSUs. I would get the 550W if it's in your budget and you aren't afraid of that $30 MIR.

columbia93 · Jun 22, 2015

4745454b :

Ha Ha Ha! When I built this PC all those years ago, I think I ended up with about 8 Rebates! And they were much harder to follow back then. I'm hoping this one will be easy...we'll just have to wait and see!

4745454b · Jun 23, 2015

Sometimes rebates don't work for people. If you only have $50 to spend, then something that costs $75 out the door does you no good. That's a deal on the PSU without rebate, and a great deal if you get it. I'm considering a bigger one, but I want one of those new Titanium ones coming out. Similar price, but more efficient.

Looking for PSU to replace PC Power & Cooling 610 W

Honorable

Judicious

Titan

Titan

Titan

Judicious

Titan

Judicious

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Judicious

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Honorable

Titan

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