PSU overkill and other concerns
Last response: in Systems
Hi everyone!
A while back I promised myself a new PC when I finally found permanent employment, and the time has (finally) arrived. I've planned the following build out with my roommate, but I'd like a second opinion on what I have set up. As outlined below, my most taxing activity will be running a private minecraft server (currently we've had no more than six people at a time online) whilst simultaneously playing Starcraft 2 on med-low settings (it's easier to distinguish units, if you're wondering)
Anyways, the build is below, but I have the following questions:
Is using a mid-range motherboard with such a high-end processor a waste? I have a hard time ascertaining the overall quality of a motherboard... all I can distinguish are disparate features.
I ran the components through a wattage calculator, and it said I'd need 472W total. I know that you should have a buffer, but is 275W+ overkill? There's an 80+ Gold rated 650W modular Seasonic for the same price ($130), but I've read that PCP&C is the be-all-end-all of PSUs. I've also seen a lot of good-looking Bronze PSUs in the $90 range on Newegg. Is the rating and name brand really worth the extra money?
Finally, is there anything else about this build that jumps out at you? I know I'm going kind of weak in the GPU department for a gaming rig, but I've never been one to be concerned with ultra-high graphics and the like.
Any input you can give would be appreciated. Thanks!
Approximate Purchase Date: 3/11/11 (payday!)
Budget Range: <$1000
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Simultaneous Minecraft server and medium-level gaming (SC2)
Country of Origin: USA
Overclocking:Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: 1920*1080
Motherboard:
ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU:
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core
Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Video:
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
HDD:
2x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Case:
ENERMAX Staray ECA3170-BL Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
PSU:
PC Power and Cooling Silencer 760W PPCS760 Max 760W, Peak 836W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified
I don't know if you care about fans, but:
3x COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP 120mm Blue LED Case Fan
A while back I promised myself a new PC when I finally found permanent employment, and the time has (finally) arrived. I've planned the following build out with my roommate, but I'd like a second opinion on what I have set up. As outlined below, my most taxing activity will be running a private minecraft server (currently we've had no more than six people at a time online) whilst simultaneously playing Starcraft 2 on med-low settings (it's easier to distinguish units, if you're wondering)
Anyways, the build is below, but I have the following questions:
Is using a mid-range motherboard with such a high-end processor a waste? I have a hard time ascertaining the overall quality of a motherboard... all I can distinguish are disparate features.
I ran the components through a wattage calculator, and it said I'd need 472W total. I know that you should have a buffer, but is 275W+ overkill? There's an 80+ Gold rated 650W modular Seasonic for the same price ($130), but I've read that PCP&C is the be-all-end-all of PSUs. I've also seen a lot of good-looking Bronze PSUs in the $90 range on Newegg. Is the rating and name brand really worth the extra money?
Finally, is there anything else about this build that jumps out at you? I know I'm going kind of weak in the GPU department for a gaming rig, but I've never been one to be concerned with ultra-high graphics and the like.
Any input you can give would be appreciated. Thanks!
Approximate Purchase Date: 3/11/11 (payday!)
Budget Range: <$1000
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Simultaneous Minecraft server and medium-level gaming (SC2)
Country of Origin: USA
Overclocking:Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: 1920*1080
Motherboard:
ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU:
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core
Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
Video:
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
HDD:
2x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Case:
ENERMAX Staray ECA3170-BL Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
PSU:
PC Power and Cooling Silencer 760W PPCS760 Max 760W, Peak 836W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified
I don't know if you care about fans, but:
3x COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP 120mm Blue LED Case Fan
More about : psu overkill concerns
Best solution
Looks fine. You can also look for cas 7 or 8 RAM instead, though not a big diff there. You do want DDR3 1600 if you plan on any major OCing though.
Don't like the case and PSU choice though. PC P&C has been pure crap quality wise since OCZ bought them out. Top choices are Corsair, XFX Black edition, Seasonic or Antec TP or earthwatts series.
A good 550w is enough, though feel free to grab a 600 or 650 if you plan to OC a lot.
Case wise I'd suggest spending a little more and going antec 300 or centurion 5.
xfx 650W $65 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Antec 300 illusion $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
G Skill Ripjaw ddr3 1600 cas 7 $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Don't like the case and PSU choice though. PC P&C has been pure crap quality wise since OCZ bought them out. Top choices are Corsair, XFX Black edition, Seasonic or Antec TP or earthwatts series.
A good 550w is enough, though feel free to grab a 600 or 650 if you plan to OC a lot.
Case wise I'd suggest spending a little more and going antec 300 or centurion 5.
xfx 650W $65 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Antec 300 illusion $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
G Skill Ripjaw ddr3 1600 cas 7 $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Minecraft, huh? Seems to be quite a popular game.
ANYWAY, unless you're set on running an AMD processor, I would have to suggest a sandybridge, 2500k. I know it's 2 cores less, but it's still 50% more processor than the Thuban for 30 dollars more. Very easy to overclock as well.
I like that memory.
The graphics card is fine for what you need the computer for.
The HDDs are fine for Raiding in stripe (0), but it's a lot of space for normal use.
I like that case. You won't need more than one extra fan though, as long as you have good cable management.
The PSU is overkill. You shouldn't need more than a 550w.
That's all I have.
ANYWAY, unless you're set on running an AMD processor, I would have to suggest a sandybridge, 2500k. I know it's 2 cores less, but it's still 50% more processor than the Thuban for 30 dollars more. Very easy to overclock as well.
I like that memory.
The graphics card is fine for what you need the computer for.
The HDDs are fine for Raiding in stripe (0), but it's a lot of space for normal use.
I like that case. You won't need more than one extra fan though, as long as you have good cable management.
The PSU is overkill. You shouldn't need more than a 550w.
That's all I have.
Your PSU choice is absolutely fine. The only drawback is that it's not modular.
Every model of the PC Power & Cooling Silencer series are made by Seasonic and have always had good reviews. I'd stay away from the Turbo-Cool series made by Win-Tact. Four of the six Turbo-Cool models have already been discontinued. They must be doing a refresh of that series.
Every one of XFX's PSU series and models are made by Seasonic.
The Thuban is not really a good choice for a gaming build. Games largely don’t seem to utilize more than four threads at a time.
For a gaming build I would recommend a Sandy Bridge i5-2500K over any current AMD CPU.
Every model of the PC Power & Cooling Silencer series are made by Seasonic and have always had good reviews. I'd stay away from the Turbo-Cool series made by Win-Tact. Four of the six Turbo-Cool models have already been discontinued. They must be doing a refresh of that series.
Every one of XFX's PSU series and models are made by Seasonic.
The Thuban is not really a good choice for a gaming build. Games largely don’t seem to utilize more than four threads at a time.
For a gaming build I would recommend a Sandy Bridge i5-2500K over any current AMD CPU.
Related ressources
- Is a 750w PSU overkill for this build? - Forum
- Mid vs high end build, is it overkill for my use? - Forum
- General SFF PC for family - build suggestions (i3, or i5 " overkill ")? - Forum
- Planning a New System - Is it overkill ? - Forum
- PSU - Corsair GS or TX r2 series? 700w enough or overkill ? - Forum
Not all PC P&C PSU's are seasonic. Most new ones post OCZ acquisition are sirtec aka sirfa. Not exactly the best OEM to go with.
Granted that model, the Silencer 760w is based on the m12d platform by seasonic.
However, given OCZ's horrendous track record in the last few years in terms of customer support, poor products (recent vertex 2 issues, them abandoning the RAM business after a generation of crappy poor performance RAM) I'm not going to recommend their products to anyone anymore.
Granted that model, the Silencer 760w is based on the m12d platform by seasonic.
However, given OCZ's horrendous track record in the last few years in terms of customer support, poor products (recent vertex 2 issues, them abandoning the RAM business after a generation of crappy poor performance RAM) I'm not going to recommend their products to anyone anymore.
Wow, thanks for all the great info, guys. It's good to know that PCP&C isn't building them like they used to... or aren't building them at all, I guess. By the way, how can you tell who actually manufactures a PSU if it just gets rebranded? That seems kinda shady to me, but I digress. I suppose I'll go with the modular 650W Gold Seasonic: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
I think I'm going to stick with the AMD simply because I think my multitasking is going to be more taxing than anything I'll do with games alone, and the six cores will give me lots of breathing room for a browser, media player, etc.
Also, I'm going to be upgrading the case to a full tower in a few months (I like the Corsair Obsidian, but holy crap $300 is a lot for a case) - I only chose the Enermax because it's big enough for now, has good airflow... and is friggin $15. I'm sure it'll sound like an airport, but I can deal with that for a couple months.
Once again, thanks everyone for your input!
I think I'm going to stick with the AMD simply because I think my multitasking is going to be more taxing than anything I'll do with games alone, and the six cores will give me lots of breathing room for a browser, media player, etc.
Also, I'm going to be upgrading the case to a full tower in a few months (I like the Corsair Obsidian, but holy crap $300 is a lot for a case) - I only chose the Enermax because it's big enough for now, has good airflow... and is friggin $15. I'm sure it'll sound like an airport, but I can deal with that for a couple months.
Once again, thanks everyone for your input!
GloomyBear said:
By the way, how can you tell who actually manufactures a PSU if it just gets rebranded? That seems kinda shady to me, but I digress. I suppose I'll go with the modular 650W Gold Seasonic: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/370
Jonny guru and their forums is also a good resource.
also: Full PC P&C model list and OEM's
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page1418.ht...
Related ressources:
- ForumHow to Ask For Build Advice
- ForumREAD THIS before posting about boot/no video problems!
- ForumHow to Ask For Build Advice
- ForumREAD THIS before posting about boot/no video problems!
- ForumHow to Ask For Build Advice
- ForumREAD THIS before posting about boot/no video problems!
- ForumNew Build! X1900XT concerns
- ForumThoughts and concerns for new build
- ForumHelp: Asus or EVGA & Other Concerns
- ForumOverkill ? Dual 8800 GTX 768's
- ForumIs this power supply overkill ?
- ForumIs this PSU overkill for my system?
- ForumIs my PSU overkill for my system?
- ForumQ6600 OC Concerns /Issues
- ForumPCI compatibility question
- More resources
Read discussions in other Systems categories
!
