$1200 Gaming / Work PC

[martinduque86]

$1200 Gaming / Work PC

Approximate purchase date: Next 2 weeks.

Budget range: $1200 US

System usage:

Gaming (WoW, Rift, etc.)
Work (Adobe CS5 Illustrator, Dreamwaver, etc.)
Misc. (web surfing, movie watching, etc.)

Parts not required: any other than those specified in the rig below.

Preferred website for parts: http://www.newegg.com

Country of origin: Colombia.

Overclocking: Slightly (CPU / GPU).

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, in a future.

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050, 1920x1080.

CPU: INTEL i5 2500k (BX80623I52500K)
MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth P67 (REV 3.0)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 1866 (CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9)
GPU: SAPPHIRE 6950 2gb (21188-00-40r / 100312SR)
HDD: WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar Black 1TB (WD1002FAEX)
PSU: THERMALTAKE Black Widow 850w (TR2 RX / W0319RU)
CASE: any recommendations for about $100 USD?

Additional comments:

I have access to a 6950 GPU - flasheable to 6970; GPU's min. power req. is 550W.
Not gonna be doing lots of video editing / transcoding, not really THAT interested in Z68's SSD Caching.

What are your thoughts? Thanks!

 

[mjmjpfaff]

mobo- asrock p67 extreme4
1866 ram has no improvements really in gaming or cs5 1600 is fine
get the samsung spinpoint f3 1tb hdd
psu- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050&cm_re=antec_900-_-17-371-050-_-Product
case- cooler master haf 922 or storm enforcer

 

[martinduque86]

thanks. bump btw...

 

[mjmjpfaff]

stop bumping just ask what else you want to know

 

[martinduque86]

i just want to hear some more opinions...

 

[mjmjpfaff]

ok ask for more opinions and why dont you ask specific questions while you are at it

 

[martinduque86]

i dont have specific questions, i just want to know opinions.

and i appreciate yours but im sensing some kind of aggressiveness from your part so im leaving this board now.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

aggresssiveness i just dont like people bumping and overall it is frowned upon.

 

[flong]

Hello,

I think that you have done a great job of selecting components. I have some other options for you to consider:

1. The Asus Pro P67 and Prp Z68 have reviewed better than the Sabertooth in the professional reviews that I have read. The Sabertooth does have a longer warranty.

You list that you will be using your computer for work. If so some of the features on the Z68 motherboard platform may be useful

2. I really like your RAM, GPU and HDD choices. The Samsung F3 mentioned before is a good alternative - check which one is cheaper. The WD you have chosen is also very good. Seagate has come out with 1TB single platter drives but as far as I know the 1 TB model is not on the market. The 1 TB single platter drives promise to be faster than today's models, depending on the access controller

3. The Thermaltake PSUs have reviewed poorly in professional reviews. I would suggest the Corsair 850 HX or Corsair 850 TX which are about the same price and are in general much better units.

Here is a review of their "tough power" unit: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=147

Some of their units have not made their stated voltages (although the one in the above review did)

The Corsair 850 HX can be found form $120 - $150 depending on if it is on sale. It is very efficient and SLI certified.

4. I know you have a $100 budget for your case, but I would beg borrow or steal an additional $80 to get the Corsair 650D. If you have to go below $100, try the Cooler Master 912. It's $50 - $60 and you can still add some good fans.

Everything else looks really good. You may want to consider the Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler if you OC your computer for gaming.

 

[martinduque86]

thanks alot flong!

EDIT: btw do you think 850w is too much for this rig? should i downgrade a bit? thanks in advance!

 

[flong]

thanks alot flong!

EDIT: btw do you think 850w is too much for this rig? should i downgrade a bit? thanks in advance!

I don't think that the 850 W is too much for this reason. Even if you run just one GPU your system will be operating at 250 W - 400 W depending on the amount of components that you install. That means for the Corsair 850 HX you will be operating in the 30% - 50% capacity range. At this capacity the 850 HX is 90% efficient, which is gold plus performance (note it is only silver plus rated). So it will be quiet, efficient and cool. Because it is so efficient at this operating range it will save you money on your power bill.

I only have one GPU and I bought the 850 HX for my system because it was so well reviewed and efficient. It is also a very good buy. About a week ago it was $119 after rebates on Newegg - so look for sales

 

[vibhas]

thanks alot flong!

EDIT: btw do you think 850w is too much for this rig? should i downgrade a bit? thanks in advance!

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460
1866MHZ RAM; 8GB for $80. G.skill is also better than corsair in ram making, and the sniper series is really good.

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371050&Tpk=hcg%20900
$110 AR; it got 9.5/10 from jonnyguru, its 900w. The corsair HX 850 got 9.6/10, but is $155AR at the moment..it was never at $120 (you can check product price history for newegg/amazon here https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ghnomdcacenbmilgjigehppbamfndblo#

(The cheapest the HX 850w was was $135 2 weeks ago).. the HCG is 0.1/10 marks worse than the HX850 from jonnyguru hcg900w, but the 900watter it is rated 50w vs 850 and $45~ cheaper. (Note theTR2 series is CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!!)

Motherboard : Z68/Sabertooth etc are good, but $200+ mobos for a $1200 system isn't good; spending that money on a better GPU etc will impact performance at lot more than minor ocing...

CPU: i5 2500k is really good, esp if you are overclocking.

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20spinpoint%20f3 This HDD is 1TB, and is faster and $25 cheaper than the WD black. The samsung f3 in the link i have shown is the most recommended product for any system by forummers @ tomshardware here... Its basically the only product we recommend for almost any system..

Graphics: The $255 6950 you have listed is good BUT...consider the GTX 570.
The cheapest GTX 570 is only $290AR, and is around 10-15 % better...

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=306 <69502gb vs GTX 570
The 570 doesn't win the first 5 benchmarks, but after that it dominates i.e. 91 fps vs 65.
I'd personally choose the GTX 570.... it is around 15% more cost, but it gives about 12% more performance, and that is a really good return at the $200 plus mark; i.e. a GTX 460 768mb can be found for $110, but it gives around 75-80% of the performance of an HD 6950 @ $250..and even wins in a few games...So getting the same % return per % money put in is really good above $200... People spend 40-50% more on a 580 and get 10%~ more performance.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=315 <GTX 460 768mb vs 6950 2gb
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/305?vs=306 GTX 570 vs GTX 580 ($290vs $475~)
I'd say a GTX 570 is great compared to a 6950... and really recommend it.

Heres a non-oc'd version ($290):: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162075&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-162-075-_-Product by gigabyte

Heres an super OC'd EVGA version for $315: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=gtx+570&x=0&y=0 (797mhz OC vs 732 normal speed). Either is a great buy.. but better maybe to buy the gigabyte version and oc it yourself; saving $25, unless you really like EVGA and their lifetime warranty for gpu's etc.

Get the HCG900 watter if you want 2 x 6950's / gtx 570's / gtx 580's in SLI. The first 2 will easily be powered by it, even with high overclocking.
Get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207007&cm_re=xfx_650w-_-17-207-007-_-Product for $69 (haha) xfx650w, if you want ANY single GPU (even hd 6990/gtx 590). It will easily run an overclocked 570/580, with an oc'd i52500k.

Motherboard: If you "REALLY" want z68 (no idea why you would..) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494&cm_re=gigabyte_ud4-_-13-128-494-_-Product $180
The ud3 is $130 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128476&cm_re=ud3-_-13-128-476-_-Product

and ud3z68 version is $144 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128500&cm_re=ud3-_-13-128-500-_-Product

Sabertooth is better than these mobo's, but at $210 far too expensive; invest the savings of $30-80 in getting the gtx 570. Definitely get my memory recommendation; $40 saved for better RAM. The hcg900 will perform miles better and save another $15. The HDD will be faster and save $25.
That's a saving of $80 on better parts compared to your current build, and a further $30-80 on a motherboard downgrade.
The only thing i recommend you actually pay more for is the GPU; $35 more, or $60 more (60 for EVGA). That means you'll potentially save $125 on my recommendations, with a better gpu, better ram, better psu and better hdd, and worse mobo. That means you can actually buy an SSD for your boot drive (further speed up)... If you start saving in key areas, you can get a more powerful system, and a faster system . The GPU is always the most important; the only balanced system is the one where most of the money goes to a good gpu!

 

[mjmjpfaff]

all you need is 750w and that will run it easily. also flong why are z68's features better for cs5 and dreamwaver since that was his work?

 

[flong]

all you need is 750w and that will run it easily. also flong why are z68's features better for cs5 and dreamwaver since that was his work?

I agree that a 750 W will probably run the system even with two 6950 in CF. However I had the Corsair 750 HX (a very efficient highly rated PSU) in an I-7 920 system with an XFX ATI 5850, a Raid 1 - 1 TB HDD setup, a Hauppauge 2250 HDTV card and a couple of other items running. The 750 HX often would gear up and run at a higher level (especially when the 5850 was running on a higher fan rpm) and this was with just one card.

For my next system I spec'd the 850 HX because it will almost always be in running in the 30% - 50% capacity of the PSU. In that range it is over 90% efficient (actually 91%) which is gold-plus rated (it is a silver plus rated PSU). The PSU will run cooler, quieter and because it is in its maximum efficiency range it will save money for power costs. It is like getting a gold plus performance for a bargain silver plus price.

Add to this that the 850 HX goes on sale frequently, is modular and comes with an abundance of cables and has a 7-year warranty I feel this is a great choice for a PSU to run one or two GPUs. When you add up all the pluses, it is a great choice and offers many advantages that a 650 W PSU does not.

To compete with its performance, you will have to get a silver or gold rated 650 W PSU and they generally cost $110 - $130 depending on make and manufacturer. The 850 HX runs from $120 - $155 depending on if you catch it on sale. So the cost difference is not extreme.

As far as the Z68, board I have read several reviews and all of them recommend them over the P67 boards for non-gaming uses. I am not familiar with the software that the OP lists but it is a non-gaming use. That is why I mentioned that the OP may want to take a look at the Z68 board. Frequently an person will not list all of the non-gaming software they will be running when they post and so if someone says they are using a PC for "work" as this OP did, I think they should at least look at the Z68 boards to see if the added benefits better fit their needs than the P67 boards. I am not stating dogmatically that the Z68 board is better for this OP, I am saying they should look at it as an option.

 

[martinduque86]

thanks a lot flong, vibhas and mjmjpfaff for the excelent advice

if not a p67 sabertooth, what would you recommend? at first I kinda wanted a cheaper P8P67 pro, but after seeing the newegg reviews... ugh :/

also the p67 sabertooth + i5 2500k + 8gb corsair veng. 1866 is all part of a sweet deal combo, getting 'em all cheaper when buying all 3. since I already wanted an i5 2500k, and also liked the sabertooth p67, decided to go with it... even while on a budget.

EDIT: already looked at the Z68 chipset and decided against it. so far I understand the Z68 has the same CPU/GPU OC capabilities as the P67, also enables the integrated HD / quicksync abilities of the H67, plus the SSD Caching.

as I explained in the first post, im not gonna be doing a lot of video editing / transcoding, so i dont really have an use for the HD / quicksync. also, i dont have the money for an SSD, nor do I want to get one (i think an SSD is currently EXTREMELY expensive for the boost it provides).

since I wont be needing a Z68 chipset (for now at least) then I'd prefer a heat-proof P67, in this case the Sabertooth. that's my reasoning behind the mobo choice

 

[flong]

thanks a lot flong, vibhas and mjmjpfaff for the excelent advice

if not a p67 sabertooth, what would you recommend? at first I kinda wanted a cheaper P8P67 pro, but after seeing the newegg reviews... ugh :/

also the p67 sabertooth + i5 2500k + 8gb corsair veng. 1866 is all part of a sweet deal combo, getting 'em all cheaper when buying all 3. since I already wanted an i5 2500k, and also liked the sabertooth p67, decided to go with it... even while on a budget.

EDIT: already looked at the Z68 chipset and decided against it. so far I understand the Z68 has the same CPU/GPU OC capabilities as the P67, also enables the integrated HD / quicksync abilities of the H67, plus the SSD Caching.

as I explained in the first post, im not gonna be doing a lot of video editing / transcoding, so i dont really have an use for the HD / quicksync. also, i dont have the money for an SSD, nor do I want to get one (i think an SSD is currently EXTREMELY expensive for the boost it provides).

since I wont be needing a Z68 chipset (for now at least) then I'd prefer a heat-proof P67, in this case the Sabertooth. that's my reasoning behind the mobo choice

I'm sorry I missed where you said you had already looked at the Z68 boards - my bad.

Hey it sounds like you found a sweet deal - you got great components. I wish you the best. After you are done post a thread and let everyone know how it worked out

 

[xrodney]

the HCG is 0.1/10 marks worse than the HX850 from jonnyguru hcg900w, but the 900watter it is rated 50w vs 850 and $45~ cheaper. (Note theTR2 series is CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!!)
The hcg900 will perform miles better and save another $15.

Please read some more tests about HCG900 before you start recommend, its fail PSU as it shutdown itself within few minutes when under rated 100% load. Normally good PSU should work even when slightly overloaded.

Corsair HX PSUs are tested and proven already which HCG900 is not !!!

HCG900 review

Not even mentioning that its rated output is at 35 degrees when any other manufacturer is testing it for 50.

 

[xrodney]

thanks a lot flong, vibhas and mjmjpfaff for the excelent advice

if not a p67 sabertooth, what would you recommend? at first I kinda wanted a cheaper P8P67 pro, but after seeing the newegg reviews... ugh :/

also the p67 sabertooth + i5 2500k + 8gb corsair veng. 1866 is all part of a sweet deal combo, getting 'em all cheaper when buying all 3. since I already wanted an i5 2500k, and also liked the sabertooth p67, decided to go with it... even while on a budget.

EDIT: already looked at the Z68 chipset and decided against it. so far I understand the Z68 has the same CPU/GPU OC capabilities as the P67, also enables the integrated HD / quicksync abilities of the H67, plus the SSD Caching.

as I explained in the first post, im not gonna be doing a lot of video editing / transcoding, so i dont really have an use for the HD / quicksync. also, i dont have the money for an SSD, nor do I want to get one (i think an SSD is currently EXTREMELY expensive for the boost it provides).

since I wont be needing a Z68 chipset (for now at least) then I'd prefer a heat-proof P67, in this case the Sabertooth. that's my reasoning behind the mobo choice

Sabertooth have some mixed reviews, some says its construction makes it run hotter on internal components.

try look at ASRock P67 EXTREME4, its rated as one of best at its price, or if you want to get best board that Asrock offer check ASRock Fatal1ty P67 PROFESSIONAL.

 

[flong]

It appears that the OP has already purchased the Sabertooth (judging from their post). It is a solid board and has a longer warranty than the Asrock extreme. I like the extreme too, they are both great boards. Tom's Hardware picked the Z68 Asrock as the best middle range Z68 board.

 

[martinduque86]

thanks flong, will tell how it goes.

also, thanks xrodney for the good advice!

one thing I've learned while looking at mobos... there's no perfect mobo.

even the best rated have mixed reviews, let it be the sabertooth p67, the asrock extreme4, or even the fatal1ty pro. all of them have both good and bad reviews, mostly good (that's how I know they're all strong choices), but also bad reviews nonetheless.

there's always gonna be someone saying I may have taken a wrong turn. also, there's always gonna be someone saying I made the right choice. I decided that most likely it will end up being all about luck, whether I end up having problems with my choice or not; if i do, that means I made the wrong decision, if I dont, then I made the good one. the same goes as getting an HDD: 50/50 ratio.

there's no ultimate truth when getting a piece of hardware. either it works for you, or it fails on you. either you love it, or you hate it. and since no piece has a 100% nor a 0% approval rating... I guess it could really go either way!

my2cents.

 

[vibhas]

Please read some more tests about HCG900 before you start recommend, its fail PSU as it shutdown itself within few minutes when under rated 100% load. Normally good PSU should work even when slightly overloaded.

Corsair HX PSUs are tested and proven already which HCG900 is not !!!

HCG900 review

Not even mentioning that its rated output is at 35 degrees when any other manufacturer is testing it for 50.

How dare you?
The only exact products i recommend are reviewed by a site (aside from GPUs..) except for the samsung spinpoint / motherboards...
HardOCP obviously got 2 bad units, because I have read 4+ reviews for the HCG900; All of them are excellent aside from HardOCPs review...

Kit guru http://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/antec-high-current-gamer-900w-power-supply-review/6/ they said it was "MUST HAVE"

http://www.rwlabs.com/article.php?cat=&id=390&pagenumber=7 'editors choice'

The Jonnyguru (Which i hold the best tests; the least biased/best testers.. and funniest..) 9.5/10. The hx 850w got an AMAZING 9.6. Phew. We can't have 2 great psu's, or have to ride the 'great quality but expensive corsairs are a MUST.'

Theres the HARDOCP one, but i rate that the worst reviewer of PSU's.. and they said it 'failed.'

About your 35 degree testing.. the antec boys might test it at that but jonny guru doesn't..
quote

'Since the 268 is doing all the loading today, that box is going to get super hot. I mean, it's going to get way hotter than that 35 degree number I was quoted by Antec. We're going to see where the overtemp trip point is, yes we will. There's nothing to do now but let out an evil cackle and hit the run button. Muahahahaha!'

'Anybody have some tape? Anyone? My mouth won't stay closed. We did not find out the trip point on this unit, because it did not shut down. Not even when the box hit 48 degrees. Very impressive. '

'Efficiency was predictably down in the hot box. By test five, the unit missed Bronze by half a percent. This is again quite impressive given how blatantly over the top the ambient temperature was. I'm surprised efficiency wasn't worse.

The voltage readings also showed some effects from the temperature being so high. The unit did not remain as stable in the oven as it did at room temperature. That said, all rails are still inside 2%. Most impressive[/b]. And even the heat could barely budge those crossload test readings. Great job, Delta.'

'Hey, did I say "great job?" I really mean "fantastic job."

Could you please eat some humble pie sir?

Summary

Antec has once again gone fishing in Delta's pond and caught a winner. The HCG 900W unit is a fine example of engineering - it's stable, it's clean at the outputs, and it's affordable. It's not the be all, end all of power supply engineering; but you'd have to pay more to do significantly better. What more could a gamer ask for?

The Good:

very good ripple suppression
very stable regulation
looks good
rated to 35 degrees but capable of 45 or more

 

[xrodney]

Oh well OCP have one of best and most complex testing process.

There was already big discussion 2 years ago about rated values at lower then 50degrees. you can easily get ambient over 30 and temperature in PSU close to 50.

Its like doing car crash test at 30mph when others test it at 50 and then compare they are better.

 

[vibhas]

Oh well OCP have one of best and most complex testing process.

There was already big discussion 2 years ago about rated values at lower then 50degrees. you can easily get ambient over 30 and temperature in PSU close to 50.

Its like doing car crash test at 30mph when others test it at 50 and then compare they are better.

Did you even read my post? Half of it was dedicated in showing jonnyguru's hot-testing.. they said that the psu ran fine at 48 degrees, and stated that 48 degrees is already ridiculous conditions in terms of real life...So, unless you know more than jonnyguru and co... again, since you didnt bother reading (perhaps its you who doesnt read before opening your mouth hmm?)

"Anybody have some tape? Anyone? My mouth won't stay closed. We did not find out the trip point on this unit, because it did not shut down. Not even when the box hit 48 degrees"

Even if antec don't test at 50degrees, and tested at 35, doesn't mean it won't work at above 35. As jonny said, it worked fine up till 48 degrees, and didn't trip at full load. They stopped testing at 48..

"Efficiency was predictably down in the hot box. By test five, the unit missed Bronze by half a percent. This is again quite impressive given how blatantly over the top the ambient temperature was. I'm surprised efficiency wasn't worse. He states that 48 degrees is way above ambient temp.

He then goes on to say that antec have done a 'great job' and then says 'did i say great, i mean fantastic job.' Obviously, this unit (and they tested several) is not to be trifled with. There are bad units from every psu company, and im sticking to my guns that this psu is a great deal. all but 1 reviewer thinks its excellent/editors choice/equal to hx 850 so well... yeah. Please read before you accuse others of not doing so tyvm.
'

 

[flong]

Perhaps Xrodney's point was that even though the Antec passed the bronze ratings in the other reviews that you mention, the fact that it failed a professional review makes its quality suspect.

The reviews you list also mention that it is noisy, it is not modular and it is not nearly efficient as the PSUs that were being presented in this thread. I looked up the Johnny Guru review you mentioned and the unit did shut down on the second high power test. Here is the quote:

"That said, I do have a confession - I had another review sample. That one did shut down at 46 degrees ambient, two minutes into test five. There is likely just enough tolerance in each unit to allow one to pass these tests, while the next can't do it. Antec says they'll be relaxing the trip point and raising the maximum temp spec on this puppy to 40, however. So, before long, most of them should be passing my hot box regimen. Whatever - 46 degrees is still pretty amazing considering my first was only rated to full power at 35 degrees."

And so Xrodney is correct. We have two professional tests that mention that two separate units shut down when pushed to their maximum limits. Johnny Guru is nice about how he mentions it, but that does not negate that fact that it happened during his testing. I certainly would not want a unit that has shut down during two separate professional tests no matter what it costs.


Really you are being unfair to yourself Vibhas to present a bronze rated PSU to compete with established Silver rated PSUs with modular cabling. I say this in kindness.

When you read reviews of the Corsair HX 850 you do not read of any failures or anything even close to failure. In the HX 850 reviews you read statements like, "it looks like Corsair brought a bazooka to a gunfight." You read about efficiencies being over 90%. You read about the unit putting out over 1100 W and not shutting down.

There really is no comparison in quality, convenience (modular cabling) and performance between the HCG900 and the 850 HX. The Corsair 850 HX hands down is a better unit. But it should be. It is a silver rated plus (nearly gold rated) unit and the HCG900 is bronze rated. That is why I am saying that you should be fair to yourself and recommend like quality items (silver PSUs to silver PSUs).

 

[vibhas]

Perhaps Xrodney's point was that even though the Antec passed the bronze ratings in the other reviews that you mention, the fact that it failed a professional review makes its quality suspect.

The reviews you list also mention that it is noisy, it is not modular and it is not nearly efficient as the PSUs that were being presented in this thread. I looked up the Johnny Guru review you mentioned and the unit did shut down on the second high power test. Here is the quote:

"That said, I do have a confession - I had another review sample. That one did shut down at 46 degrees ambient, two minutes into test five. There is likely just enough tolerance in each unit to allow one to pass these tests, while the next can't do it. Antec says they'll be relaxing the trip point and raising the maximum temp spec on this puppy to 40, however. So, before long, most of them should be passing my hot box regimen. Whatever - 46 degrees is still pretty amazing considering my first was only rated to full power at 35 degrees."

And so Xrodney is correct. We have two professional tests that mention that two separate units shut down when pushed to their maximum limits. Johnny Guru is nice about how he mentions it, but that does not negate that fact that it happened during his testing. I certainly would not want a unit that has shut down during two separate professional tests no matter what it costs.


Really you are being unfair to yourself Vibhas to present a bronze rated PSU to compete with established Silver rated PSUs with modular cabling. I say this in kindness.

When you read reviews of the Corsair HX 850 you do not read of any failures or anything even close to failure. In the HX 850 reviews you read statements like, "it looks like Corsair brought a bazooka to a gunfight." You read about efficiencies being over 90%. You read about the unit putting out over 1100 W and not shutting down.

There really is no comparison in quality, convenience (modular cabling) and performance between the HCG900 and the 850 HX. The Corsair 850 HX hands down is a better unit. But it should be. It is a silver rated plus (nearly gold rated) unit and the HCG900 is bronze rated. That is why I am saying that you should be fair to yourself and recommend like quality items (silver PSUs to silver PSUs).

Hahahaha.
So you read the review, and saw a 9.5/10, and yet its no comparison in quality at 9.6/10?

The fact is, ALL units shut down at a particular temperature. The HX series will definitely shut down at a temperature, but jonny chooses to select a temperature above and beyond ambient temperature, but doesnt go crazy to a ridiculous temperature such as 60 degrees.

"Today, I'm going to have to clap and jump up and down with glee for another reason, for the HX850 has totally yawned off my hot box. The nerve of it, just shrugging off those forty-seven degree intake temperatures like that. Corsair said this unit could handle full power at fifty degrees, and they weren't joking, guys."

Don't you think jonny considered that in his rating? Are you suggesting a 9.5/10 unit is BAD?

Well, no it isn't modular. I'm going to assume that the person asking for the help is willing to pay another $45 as it is ($110 AR vs $155 AR) for the hx850 vs the hcg900. Once you include taxes.. thats another $5 difference, which becomes $50.

It failed with HardOCP. Can they make mistakes in testing, small ones 'experimental error' or big ones too? The fact that all the other reviewers (ive now seen 6-7 reviews) all give it at least 9/10 suggests something. This PSU is not meant to compete with the HX 850; its set at a price point 30% below the HX 850. It is meant to compete with the TP750, TX 750, TX 950 TX 850w v2s. It's cheaper than all but the 750 watters, isn't modular like them, they are all "BRONZE" certified.
Everything has potential to be good at its price point, and i believe this psu is really good at its price point; $10 more than 750 watters of lower quality, and $10 cheaper than the tx 850 (v2), and even better value against the tx 950. I'm loathe to also show newegg reviews; but its gotten 78% 5-egg ratings - People don't give those if their units 'shut down' or DOA..

Its $110, 900 watts, not modular, bronze 80 plus and 9.5/10 from jonny.
The HX is $155, 850 watts, modular, silver 80 plus and 9.6/10.

Thats what I'm going to say each and every time, and let the buyer pick.
Not everyone wants to spend $45 to get an amazing 3-5% more efficiency. Cause really, its not that much of a difference in your power bill, or to the environment. Modular is great, but let the BUYER warrant the extra $$ paid.