Need 500W PSU + Case for $100

[twelvesaints]

Hi everybody,

I'm building a new system, and it was suggested to me to get this combo from Newegg, the Antec Sonata III w/ an Earthwatts 500w PSU; he said that power supply is great. I'll be running an i5 setup with a Radeon HD 5770, and I'm not sure if that will have enough cooling capability (1x 120mm fan). Link is below is to the PSU/case combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024&cm_re=sonata_case-_-11-129-024-_-Product

I looked on xoxide.com to see about other case + psu combos, just for aesthetic reasons, and I found this case by Logisys. I'm curious how their powersupplies are?
http://www.xoxide.com/black-in-and-out-case.html

Also, how is sunbeam as a PSU manufacturer? On this case, they give me the option of adding a PSU in, and more fans! I like that option anyway.
http://www.xoxide.com/modtek-modesa-250mm-case-black.html

If someone could give me a bit of feedback on those, and/or recommend some other cases for at or under $100 shipped, I'd appreciate it a lot. Thanks in advance.

 

[o1die]

The antec sonata III will work fine for a mid range video card and one or two hardrives. Or you can go for the enermax staray ECA3170 for $38.99 after rebate shipped. Add to that the BFG GS 550 550w for $49.99 shipped. I like the large 140mm fans on some ps. They are almost silent. I haven't heard anything good about logisis or sunbeam ps.

 

[o1die]

Frys (in stores only) has the antec 200 gamer case for $29.99 after $10 rebate, and the antec earthwatts 650w for $59.99 with no rebate.

 

[tkgclimb]

See if any of these fit your liking
http://www.newegg.com/Store/ComboDeals.aspx?ComboStoreID=5&name=Power-Supplies-Cases

As for Logisys I haven't herd of any PSU's from them, and you want a good PSU if your going to run a lot on only a 500W.

Sunbeam makes fine PSU's as long as your not too hard on them, check the amps on the 12v though and make sure it's enough for your 5770.

If your willing to go 20$ more this is a good opition too, nice PSU that will last a while and a case that will work until you get more money to upgrade it, and look the case is free.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.303287

 

[AsAnAtheist]

My Recommendation.
Power Supply 650w: Tuniq Potency 650w (80 PLUS certified, Active PFC, 2 12v Rails@25a each etc) $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817611007&Tpk=tuniq%20650w

EDIT: Elite 332 was out of stock/no free shipping
Case: Rosewill DESTROYER $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147144

Total: $108.55 Shipped ($9.85~ shipping) In USA.

@tkgclimb's recommendation: definitely worth the money. Much better buy then the one I listed but costs $145.66 shipped ($26~ for shipping)..

FYI: Sunbeam is know for making mid-quality products at low costs (such as they're awesome heatsinks. Sunbeam's power supplies are very much along the cheap side however:
Tuniq is actually a subsidiary company to Sunbeam, but focus more on higher quality products such as the Tuniq 120 extreme tower heatsink, high quality thermal compounds, as well as good quality power supplies like the one I recommended on this post..

 

[tkgclimb]

^ You're absolutely right on sunbeams PSU's I was thinking Tuniq when I said they were fine (I have a Tuniq ripper), never really used a sunbeam PSU before.

 

[twelvesaints]

Thanks a lot for the help; now all I've got left to do is decide what to use!

 

[traxix]

OCZ, Cooler Master, Corsair, Thermalake, Silverstone
Any of those would be fine
The most important thing in PSU is to be branded, never take a no-branded PSU

For Case, any case that has good air flow, unless you stare at your case 6 hours a day and you wanna get a good looking one...

Thats my 100$

 

[Newf]

Actually, the Sonata is a really nice case and comes with a known good quality psu.
That combo will make a fine system with the other parts you want.

 

[tkgclimb]

OCZ, Cooler Master, Corsair, Thermalake, Silverstone
Any of those would be fine
The most important thing in PSU is to be branded, never take a no-branded PSU

For Case, any case that has good air flow, unless you stare at your case 6 hours a day and you wanna get a good looking one...

Thats my 100$

Get a good looking case no matter what, it's the only part of your system you really see

 

[AsAnAtheist]

Sonata III is okay case.

Poor features, bad design make it a 6.5/10 for a case.

Cons:
1. Only 1 120mm Tri-cool fan at the back for exhaust. Optional badly placed intake fan (120mm). Decent to mediocre cooling.

2. Not really a tool-less design as you still need a screw driver to screw on the plastic adapters to the 5.25 bay drives.

3. Loud fan (your going to need to run at max to get rid of the excess hot air that will accumulate in that case.

4. Few 5.25" bays (3). The two 3.5" bays are a nice touch, but really not enough to rate this great for expansion.

5. No ventilation besides were the fans go.

6. Cable management is a no-go since the right side panel is riveted.

7. Top mounted PSU means any left over cables will dangle.

Pros:
1. Comes with a lockable side panel/front panel.
2. Power supply is good.

 

[twelvesaints]

tkgclimb showed me that Apex case with the 850 Watt PSU by Seventeam.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.303287

It's an active power supply, I'm assuming that's better than non-active or whatever(?). Anyway, it's got plenty of power, and it's modular, which I think means that you can change the connectors to fit your specific needs instead of being limited to the amount of specific connectors a power supply comes stock with. Is that true? If so, I'm thinking that combo is the way to go because a modular power supply with that kind of power has plenty of upgrade room in the future, and 5-6 years down the road I could probably do a complete new system build using that same PSU. That'd be a good reason for me to pay for a nice one up front and be able to still use it several years from now.

 

[AsAnAtheist]

tkgclimb showed me that Apex case with the 850 Watt PSU by Seventeam.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.303287

It's an active power supply, I'm assuming that's better than non-active or whatever(?). Anyway, it's got plenty of power, and it's modular, which I think means that you can change the connectors to fit your specific needs instead of being limited to the amount of specific connectors a power supply comes stock with. Is that true? If so, I'm thinking that combo is the way to go because a modular power supply with that kind of power has plenty of upgrade room in the future, and 5-6 years down the road I could probably do a complete new system build using that same PSU. That'd be a good reason for me to pay for a nice one up front and be able to still use it several years from now.

Okay. Let's get started explaining.
It's not called an active power supply, you must be referring to the Active PFC. Active PFC is an energy saving technology (Active power factor corrector). This helps by controlling the input power and the power used by the load. Over all you should know it helps save power, that is all an end-user should care about this technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_factor#Active_PFC <-- you can check this out if you want to know more about it.
Most high quality power supplies (like the one from Seventeam) carry a 99% Power factor correction (I have only seen one power supply hit 100% but I am sure that was a one time fluke).

It does have plenty of power and should last several years.
Modular means that the cables on the power supply can be removed (apart from core component cables such as CPU/motherboard.) (Some PSU's are fully modular which means ALL cables including motherboard/CPU cables can be removed). This means the modular power supply does have a specific amount of certain types of connections and cannot be changed. Cables that are not used can be remove of course which makes it a modular power supply.

One thing that does alert me is the rather pathetic 1 year warranty. With high quality power supplies the usual standard is 3 years or longer. Specially considering power supplies are suppose to last over 1 year easily, this short warranty is kinda scary.
Also another alarming specification is the amps on 12v rail are actually quite low for an 850w PSU. It has 30A/35A respectively (1/2rail) for a total of 65a. While an Antec true power has 4 12v rails@25 a each or 100a total. This is quite alarming to be honest, but none the less should be sufficient for future builds since new technology keeps pushing power consumptions down and not up while keeping performance up.

I do not recommend the use of power supplies for longer then 5 years, as even a power supply sitting unused does weather and die.

 

[delluser1]

Also another alarming specification is the amps on 12v rail are actually quite low for an 850w PSU. It has 30A/35A respectively (1/2rail) for a total of 65a. While an Antec true power has 4 12v rails@25 a each or 100a total. This is quite alarming to be honest, but none the less should be sufficient for future builds since new technology keeps pushing power consumptions down and not up while keeping performance up.

65a x 12v = 780w, not bad for an 850 watt psu ( even if the quality is suspect )
The 4 x 25a rails on the TPN are not additive, the combined output is 62a ( keep in mind it's a much higher quality unit ).

 

[twelvesaints]

That Tuniq PSU you recommended for me only seems to have 2 12v rails @25a each, so wouldn't I actually get more overall wattage AND amps out of the Seventeam? Only reason I'm asking is because you said the Tuniq would work fine, and it just seemed like you didn't like the whole Seventeam recommendation.

EDIT: I'm also seeing some PSUs that say "i7 & i5 compatible." I'm buying an i5 rig, so naturally, this sounds like it might be important for me to know. What exactly makes it compatible with the i5?

 

[AsAnAtheist]

i7/i5 compatible just means that the PSU has a 8 pin CPU connector and that it has enough amps on 12v rail, which Tuniq/Seventeam do.

@delluser1
Ah yes 62a on the 4 12v rails for the true power antec 750w. I stand corrected.

@TwelveSaints

The Seventeam does have more favorable reviews then the Tuniq PSU.
In all honesty if it wasnt for that 1 year warranty I would recommend it big time.
Between recommending the Tuniq PSU that has received favorable reviews as well (1 bad one by a really dumb reviewer) and the Seventeam it's really a hard decision. Once again I am not worried so much about quality but warranty, year is really short for such a critical computer component...

I would prefer someone more experienced with Power supplies to do the recommendation between the two.

 

[delluser1]

Between recommending the Tuniq PSU that has received favorable reviews as well (1 bad one by a really dumb reviewer).

This is something you need to read

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/410

 

[AsAnAtheist]

This is something you need to read

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/410

I am well aware of hardware review site's limited testing equipment as well as knowledge. Which is why I check each methodology before I even consider the review valid. I am pretty much a skeptic by nature, so this leads me to questions everything and anything that has no proof or credential data.


http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=734&pageid=4

They have a pretty solid methodology. Whether or not they carry on with the testing of each power supply the same is something we would have to trust on them for. There are several things I would love to see such as complete stress testing on the power supply at specification peaks (pushing it to 100% load for hours on end), as well as overvolting of power supplies for hardcore enthusiasts but of course I doubt any manufacturer would dare send a piece of hardware for reviewing to them under that type of testing as you will most likely complete burn the power supply by the end of testing (not to mention perhaps having exploding power supplies).

 

[twelvesaints]

From what I remember, Seventeam has been a big name in PSUs for a long time. I know Tuniq has, as well. I really, really don't want to under power my system, especially knowing that, as delluser said, most power supplies reviews are wrong and manufacturer specs are many times fudged to make it look better. I know that overpowering a pc with a high output PSU also isn't good for the PSU, as it is "underloaded" or so I hear. I have absolutely no idea what to look for when it comes to amperage on each rail, nor how many 12v rails one needs, so I'm pretty much limited to recommendations only. From what you both say, either power supply will work and that's mostly what matters to me. By the way, I keep hearing that Rosewill is such a crap brand for PSUs, so why in the world do all their PSUs at Newegg have really good reviews? There were a few that I actually might have purchased if it weren't for hearing of their notoriety for junk products.

 

[delluser1]

Other than them throwing some thermocouple's on the unit to check temps, you can get most of the same info at the 80+ website.
http://www.80plus.org/manu/psu/psu_reports/TUNIQ_PSU-POT650(-EUAP)-BK_ECOS816.1_600W_Report.pdf
Which is not an indicator of quality.
[H] does "torture testing" at 80% load for 8 hours , more than enough to determine if the psu will survive under what would be considered higher than normal use.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/02/04/tuniq_ripper_1000w_power_supply/6
And, of course, JG's does some of the most comprehensive reviews available
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=164 ( this Silverstone is based on the 850w Seventeam platform )
Overvolt testing may be desirable for some , but the idea is to make sure that the unit works to it's rated specifications.
As far as burning one up due to overvolting, it happens without doing it in some cases, and in some, leads the manufacturer to rework the configuration.

 

[twelvesaints]

I don't really like the design flaw on page 4 of the JG review.......anybody else have thoughts? For one thing, though, I can't be sure that the Silverstone PSu is exactly the same as the Seventeam one I'm contemplating. I know its based off of it, but those two parts could be different in the Seventeam version.

 

[AsAnAtheist]

Jonny Guru is definitely one of the most notable reviewers available.

It appears the Silverstone PSU wasn't all that up to specs. One died on them. If this is based off the Seventeam, I am not too sure what to expect from Seventeam themselves on this particular unit.

I have only found one reviewer for the Tuniq Potency 650w that I found acceptable testing procedures, and they rated the PSU as decent.

Several parts can be different on the Seventeam version, in all honesty you have three options:
I would personally go with the Tuniq Potency 650w (once it's in stock... eventually...) and the Rosewill Destroyer if I had to. (cheaper and your not running some sort of incredibly power hungry machine.

 

[twelvesaints]

What should one look for as far as 12v rails? It seems that one large amp rail or 4 smaller amp rails do the same thing, the only difference being the more rails, the more safety mechanisms. What kind of overall amperage should I be looking for without SLI/Crossfire?

 

[AsAnAtheist]

What should one look for as far as 12v rails? It seems that one large amp rail or 4 smaller amp rails do the same thing, the only difference being the more rails, the more safety mechanisms. What kind of overall amperage should I be looking for without SLI/Crossfire?

if I remember correctly:

650w= at least 50a load
850w= at least 65a load
1000w+=at least 85a load+

Active PFC is good for ANY PSU. I would never purchase a non active PFC.
80 plus is good for a 500w-700w PSU.

80 plus BRONZE is good for a 700w-850w

80 plus SILVER is good for a 900w+

 

[twelvesaints]

I like this one, too.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4362115&CatId=4294

Any thoughts? Seems to have good reviews, too.