New PSU buying help!

[reallydeepnut]

Okay well I'm about to buy a new PSU and I just can't decide which one to go with. I'm looking for a good quality one around $100. After hours of contemplating this, I decided asking my own question on here would be the best.

Here are my specs

Graphics card- radeon 6750

Processor- intel i3 2100

Motherboard- Stock HP one...

RAM- 6gb

Harddrive- 1tb (stock HP)

I know my wattage for this set up will be low, but I plan to upgrade everything in the future.

SO, please leave suggestions on what I should go with. Thanks!

 

[HostileDonut]

We need to know what you plan to upgrade to. If you are just upgrading drives, RAM, or something like that, a 430w by Corsair should be more than enough, but if you start upgrading CPUs, GPUs, Fans, etc, you will need more power.

 

[reallydeepnut]

I plan to upgrade the CPU to probably the i5 series. GPU to a rather high end card. I'm not looking into that in the near future, but definitely eventually.

 

[reallydeepnut]

Oh and I would prefer modular.

 

[Rugger]

Seasonic M12II-520W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093&Tpk=m12ii%20520

Not as good, but less expensive OCZ Moxstream Pro: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

I'd definitely go for the Seasonic between these two...it's only $5 more after shipping, has a 5 yr warranty, and is a better quality unit.

A third Option is the Rosewill Capstone 550W Gold certified: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182068&Tpk=capstone%20550
$5 less than the Seasonic, High quality unit with 80+ Gold certification, but it's not modular.

 

[geofelt]

The upcoming 28nm graphics cards will need less power. The 7970 can run on a 500w psu, and I expect the GTX680 to be the same.

But, I like to overprovision a bit so that the psu does not need to operate at max and get noisy under load.
I think a 650w unit would be appropriate.
For quality, look at Seasonic, Corsair, PC P&C, Antec or XFX.
For value, you just can't beat this Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W for $60 after rebate. I know it is not modular, but you are going to be using most of the leads anyway.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

For modular, here is a Seasonic 620w unit for $90:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

 

[HostileDonut]

Yeah, if you add a high end GPU, some more RAM, a new CPU, and a new board, a 650w PSU would be nice. An XFX, Antec, PC Power and Cooling, Corsair, or Seasonic should do very well!

 

[reallydeepnut]

I've been looking at both of those seasonic that you two mentioned for awhile, and I think I'm going to go with the 620w. Thank you very much!

 

[reallydeepnut]

Best answer selected by reallydeepnut.

 

[Rugger]

Take a look at this article on power consumption in 3 modern PCs at Silent PC Review. http://www.silentpcreview.com/Power_Distribution_in_Three_PCs

An i5 2500K and an HD6870 at standard clock speeds used 271W while running Prime95 and Furmark simultaneously to maximize power draw. Do you really think you need 620W for extra power? You're more likely to simply decrease your systems efficiency by running at low loads.

 

[catatafish]

I got my PSU for just under 100 and its modular, see signature. I'd recommend not buying something that just barely is enough. You don't want your PSU operating at the top of the efficiency curve.....the most efficient range is in the middle of the curve. Can't go wrong with Seasonic, Corsair, or Antec.