Is This Power Supply Ok?

[Griffolion]

Hi all, i'll get to the point; im looking to make a SFF PC for LAN gaming and portability. Here are the specs:

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 2.66 GHz BX80605I5750 LN28596 Scan.co.uk £148.52
Motherboard: Asus P7P55-M P7P55-M LN29517 Scan.co.uk £85.73
Memory: 4GB Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 1600 TW3X4G1600C9D LN27736 Scan.co.uk £90.99
Graphics: XFX GTX 280 XXX (ALREADY OWN)
CPU Heatsink: Standard With CPU
Primary HDD: 1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 (ALREADY OWN)
Optical Drive: Pioneer Blu-Ray Reader (ALREADY OWN)
Power Supply: 550W Antec True Power New TP-550 LN28583 Scan.co.uk £62.68
Case: Silverstone SG04B-H SST-SG04B-H LN23146 Scan.co.uk £111.45
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium Retail GLC-00181 LN28326 Scan.co.uk £82.88


Looking at that spec, is the 550W power supply good enough for it all, there will be NO SLI or Crossfire at all in this setup. The only reason why i ask is that the graphics card can get a little power hungry when it wants to. In a recent review in Custom PC, the Antec True Power New 650W PSU got their premium grade award and was announced as best mid range PSU out of 20 contenders so im guessing the littler brother to it will follow suit more or less. Have any of you guys had experience with this line of PSU's, all info will be greatly appreciated. I will also take suggestions for other PSU's but i don't want to go above £80 for them as i'm trying to really stick to a £600 budget which i'm sticking within by about £17 with the spec above. Thanks all.

 

[Silvune]

I don't have experience with that power supply, but it is from one of the most trusted power supply makers, so it should be fine.
Some other power supplies you might consider include:
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w £64
650w Antec EarthWatts £65
OCZ Stealth XStream 600W £58
I'm suggesting these because personally I would want a bit more of a buffer. And they are similiar in price to that TruePower.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Agree with Silvune's suggestions. I would go with the StealthXStream, as it's cheaper and bigger.

Other brands that are good are FSP, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic and Corsair. Those might be a bit more expensive...

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I would stick with your original PSU. The StealthXStream is NOT more powerful. You have to compare a lot more than just the wattage rating. Have a look at the Amps on the 12v rail and you'll see that the Antec 550W PSU is actually more powerful than the OCZ 600W PSU. The Antec PSU is also 80+ BRONZE certified where the OCZ PSU isn't even 80+ certified. The Antec PSU is clearly superior in every way.

Just so people who don't understand PSU's don't come on here and discount what I just said, here's newegg links to the specs of each PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371020&Tpk=550W%20Antec%20True%20Power%20New

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010&Tpk=ocz%20stealthxstream%20600w

 

[MadAdmiral]

The certification only speaks to the efficiency, not actual power.

The wattage is the maximum output the unit can provide. Since 600W is greater tha 550W, the StealthXStream is more powerful. It will require more energy to produce the same wattage as the Antec. To produce 400W, the Antec will require up to 500W from the wall. The OCZ will require more than that.

By shortstuff's logic, a 300W Seasonic that's 80+ Bronze would be more powerful than a 850W without a certification. Which just isn't true.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You're once again showing your lack of PSU understanding. Have a look at the 12v Amp ratings. The wattage rating really doesn't mean anything. I didn't say the 80+ Bronze rating made it more powerful, but it does make it a higher quality PSU that doesn't waste power.

I know of your love affair with the StealthXStream PSU's, but they really aren't very good PSU's.

 

[MadAdmiral]

I love them because they're super cheap and work properly. I'm not going to say they're the most efficient or the most powerful. I know they're quality and not prone to failure (neither are Antecs). They're not the absolute best PSUs (neither are the Antecs), but they're great for the price.

The outputs look pretty similar to me. There are differences, but I don't think they will actually affect performance.

OCZ: 3.3V@36A, 5V@30A, 12V1@18A, 12V2@18A, 12V3@18A, 12V4@18A, 12V@0.5A, 5VSB@3.0A

Antec: 3.3V@25A, 5V@25A, 12V1@20A, 12V2@20A, 12V3@20A, 12V4@20A, 12V@0.8A, 5VSB@3.0A

If you're going to state that one is more powerful, don't use a reason that has nothing to do with the actual power output. And I never claim to be the end all be all about any part.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The fact that the OCZ PSU allocates a ton of power to the 3.3v and 5v rails drives home my point that it's an old PSU model. Current systems have relied more on the 12v rail for a number of years. Any PSU that allocates a ton of power to the 3.3v and 5v rails is not a current PSU design.

Anyway, back to the OP's question. The Antec 550W PSU would be better at powering your GTX 280 since it has more power on the 12v rails. The PSU draws from the 12v rail.