Advice on a new PSU please

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hero9989

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Apr 27, 2009
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My old PSU went wrong a couple of months ago, and aria have FINALLY contacted me about it and I've managed to squeeze a refund out of them for about £65

I now need a new PSU, one that won't fall apart on me whilst I'm trying to play Crysis Warhead :(

Antec nine hundred Case (4x 120mm fans + 1x 200mm fan)
MSI K9A2 Motherboard
Phenom II X3 720 CPU (overclocked is good, it'll likely be clocked at around 3.2Ghz)
Radeon HD4870 GPU (would like the option of a second one of these in the future so... 4x PCI-e connectors?)
2x 3.5" HDDs ( they can use either SATA or molex power connector)
2x DVD+-RW Drives (SATA powered)


I actually want to listen to somebody that knows what they're talking about this time, last time I went off and did my own thing and bought what seemed to be a good offer, only for it to break on me.


So yeah, I want a PSU that will power the PC I described above and won't go wrong on me, and if it does go wrong on me, I don't want it to take 2 months to sort it out like this one did...
Also don't want to pay a huge amount for it (if that's even slightly possible?) I may be able to stretch to £80-£90 at the absolute top end.

(Just for the curious, the one that went wrong was an Xilence 750W Redwing Modular)

Thanks in advance!! :)
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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A quality 500W PSU is all that system needs. I prefer Antec, but Corsair, Seasonic, PC Power & Cooling, and Enermax also make quality PSUs. Look for one that is 80+ certified (I believe all PSUs sold in Europe must have Active PFC...true?). You should be able to find an Antec Earthwatts 500W well within your budget. If you want more headroom (e.g. if you plan to run two graphics cards some day), then get the Earthwatts 650W model. Antec's TruePower New line (550W, 650W, 750W) are a step up in quality, and may be within your budget. They are also semi-modular.
 
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
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89,965
If you would like to learn more about what makes a good PSU, there are excellent articles on www.hardwaresecrets.com. They also explain how a PSU should be properly reviewed, and have quite a few you can read. Other sites with good competent technical reviews include www.jonnyguru.com and www.hardocp.com.
 
H

hero9989

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Apr 27, 2009
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Just a quick extra question, are both 6 pin PCI-E power connectors needed to power the 4870? Or is only one needed?
I seem to be seeing a lot of PSUs that say SLI/CrossfireX that only have 2 PCI-E power connectors.
 
R

RedJason

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Aug 13, 2009
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"yes it is" didn't really answer that question :p Is my hair brown or blonde? Yes it is...

But hey, now I am curious as to the correct answer to his question, do you need two PCIe 6pin connectors for each card? Thus making it 4 connectors needed before you can go Duo card SLI?
 
hefox

hefox

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The price difference between Corsair and Antec is only £2 but Corsair has 2 x 8pin and can go up to 900W and 5 years warranty.
 
hefox

hefox

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I don't think that matters too much. The important thing is to have a good psu. I prefer one powerful rail instead of multiple rails.
 
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