Help choosing new PSU

[huskerkurt]

I'm looking for a little help choosing a new PSU for my computer. The fan is going bad in my PSU, and it's getting pretty long in the tooth, so I figured I would replace it.

A quick overview of what I'm looking for. My current computer is 5 years old, with a Core 2 Duo and an AMD HD6870 for graphics card. I want to replace my current power supply, which wouldn't require much, however, I also want to look towards the future with it. I'm planning on in a year or two building a new computer, and I'm thinking I may look to purchase a second 6870 and go for a Crossfire setup, so I want a PSU capable of doing this.

I've narrowed it down to basically four choices, and I have an idea in mind of what I think, but I thought I would get some other opinions. All my options are OCZ, they all seem to get pretty good reviews, and I can get decent prices on them.

My first possibility is an OCZ ZS 750w. This is probably my bottom choice of the four, although it is the cheapest. I can get it for 64.99 (after MIR) with free shipping. It seems like a decent PSU, but it's not modular, which I had been wanting, but it's not necessarily a deal breaker.

My second choice is an OCZ Fatal1ty 750w. This one is nearly tied with my top two choices, and was my top choice until I realized how long I would have to wait for it. I can get it for 69.99 (after MIR) plus about $8 shipping, but for some reason wouldn't get to me for about a month due to supply issues or something. I like that it's semi-modular, and it gets really good reviews, and looks cool, but I'm not sure it would be worth it to wait, when my other choices appear to be just as good.

My third choice, and this and my fourth choice are pretty well tied, is an OCZ ZT 750w. I like that it's fully modular and it gets great reviews. The only knock I've seen is some complaints about the fan being loud at load. I can get this one for 69.99 (after MIR) with free shipping.

My final choice is a PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750w, which I understand is an OCZ brand. This one also gets excellent reviews, and it has over the ZT the fact that it is 80 Plus Silver certified, as opposed to Bronze. The biggest knock is it isn't modular, and it seems to have a ton of cables that I won't be needing right now, so it could cause a little clutter. It also has a 7 year warranty, as opposed to the 5 year on the Fatal1ty and ZT. I can get it for $70.75 with free shipping.

I'm kinda between the third and fourth ones, unless someone has a compelling reason for either of the others. I really liked the Fatal1ty one at first, but I can't see any reason, outside of cosmetic ones, that it's better than my other two top choices, and I would have to wait a while to get it.

Sorry for the long post, but any help is appreciated.

 

[Pinhedd]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

This one is about $20 more expensive, is fully modular and will easily be able to handle your current PC and planned upgrades for the near future.

 

[huskerkurt]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

This one is about $20 more expensive, is fully modular and will easily be able to handle your current PC and planned upgrades for the near future.

Thank you for the reply. I would prefer to stick more in the $70 range, unless there is a reason that one is so much better than the ones I've mentioned. They all seem to get pretty good reviews.

Another question about the PSU, and others I've seen. You say that would be sufficient for my future upgrades, and it says that it would work with a Crossfire or SLI setup, but it only has 2 PCI-E connectors, and I was under the impression I would need 4 for two video cards. I've seen other PSUs say they were SLI and Crossfire ready with only 2 connectors. I know they make splitters that will split 1 PCI-E connector into 2, but I was under the impression those were a bad idea to use. I guess my question is, if this only has 2 PCI-E connectors, how would it work with a Crossfire setup?

 

[bigcyco1]

PC Power & Cooling PPCMK2S750 Silencer Mk II Power Supply - 750W, 80 Plus Silver, 135mm Fan, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active PFC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=927377&CatId=2533 $74.99

 

[Deleted member 217926]

HD 6870 Crossfire only needs a recommended 600w power supply.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Here are some great choices in your price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%20600014022&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=58%7C17%2D371%2D031%5E17%2D371%2D031%2DTS%2C17%2D139%2D020%5E17%2D139%2D020%2D10%23%2C17%2D207%2D014%5E17%2D207%2D014%2DTS%2C17%2D341%2D051%5E17%2D341%2D051%2DTS

Personally I would get the Corsair 650TX V2 if you can fit a mail in rebate in your budget. If not then the Antec Neo Eco 620 is a great choice.

 

[bigcyco1]

Well out of the four you mentioned the two are pretty good OCZ ZT Series 750W unit is made by a company called Great Wall. The PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK II 750W is built by Sirfa/High Power.Out of those two I would buy the PC Power & Cooling unit.Because it has a longer warranty, probably has a quieter fan, higher efficiency.

 

[huskerkurt]

Question again, about some of the PSUs mentioned above. A few of them only have 2 PCI-E connectors, I was under the impression this was not workable for a 2 GPU setup that required 2 connectors for each card. Is it okay to use a splitter or some other method to get the required number of PCI-E connectors? I was under the impression, from some stuff I read, that it was a bad idea to do this, but maybe the stuff I read, people just didn't know what they were talking about. I know my current HD 6870 has two 6-pin PCI-E connectors, and I'm assuming a second one would too, for a total of 4.

 

[bigcyco1]

Both these ones are great and cheaper than the others mentioned and are SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready OCZ OCZ-ZT750W ZT Series ATX Modular Power Supply - 750W, 80 Plus Bronze, 140mm Fan, Active PFC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1393382&CatId=5440


PC Power & Cooling PPCMK2S750 Silencer Mk II Power Supply - 750W, 80 Plus Silver, 135mm Fan, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active PFC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=927377&CatId=2533

 

[Guest]

a "sli/crossfire ready" PSU simply means it has 2 PCI power connections; that is all. a large majority of graphic cards need only one 6 pin power connector so a PSU with two 6 pins may be able to try and market it as SLI/Xfire compatible.

i abhor splitters; you are asking for up 75 watts of 12 volts to be delivered along a sting of 4 pin molex connections that was manufactured for 40 watts. the gauge of wiring may be the same but you will have resistance caused by the connections.

its just not a good idea and should be avoided unless absolutely pessary.

 

[huskerkurt]

a "sli/crossfire ready" PSU simply means it has 2 PCI power connections; that is all. a large majority of graphic cards need only one 6 pin power connector so a PSU with two 6 pins may be able to try and market it as SLI/Xfire compatible.

i abhor splitters; you are asking for up 75 watts of 12 volts to be delivered along a sting of 4 pin molex connections that was manufactured for 40 watts. the gauge of wiring may be the same but you will have resistance caused by the connections.

its just not a good idea and should be avoided unless absolutely pessary.

So, since my video card requires 2 6-pin connections, and 2 GPU setup would require 4, I should probably look for one with 4 PCI-E connections, unless I want to use splitters?

 

[Guest]

So, since my video card requires 2 6-pin connections, and 2 GPU setup would require 4, I should probably look for one with 4 PCI-E connections, unless I want to use splitters?

advanced search at new egg works wonders
2 x 6-Pin, 2 x 6+2-Pin
XFX Core Edition PRO650W $89.99
$79.99 after mail-in rebate card

paying a few more dollars for a quality PSU relieves a lot of headaches.

**** do NOT use splitter(s) for a multi card set up!****

 

[bigcyco1]

My friend runs two 6950 with this one OCZ OCZ-ZT750W ZT Series ATX Modular Power Supply - 750W, 80 Plus Bronze, 140mm Fan, Active PFC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1393382&CatId=5440 it's also a "jonnyGURU Recommended".... http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=262 no reason to spend more than you need to although the XFX is a better PSU

 

[huskerkurt]

advanced search at new egg works wonders
2 x 6-Pin, 2 x 6+2-Pin
XFX Core Edition PRO650W $89.99
$79.99 after mail-in rebate card

paying a few more dollars for a quality PSU relieves a lot of headaches.

**** do NOT use splitter(s) for a multi card set up!****

Thanks for the response, I figured I wanted one with 4 PCI-E connectors, which is one of the reasons I choose the 4 I had above, they all had 4 connectors. I had not seen that XFX one for some reason, but it looks to be a pretty good PSU, and I see in a review it's based on a SeaSonic PSU, which I gather most think are the best.

Is it your opinion, then, that this one would be better than either of the OCZ ones I have above? I actually found a website that has that PSU for 69.99 after MIR with free shipping, NCIX, linked below. It appears to be reputable, though I've never used it.

http://us.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=59616

 

[Guest]

i am not a big fan of OCZ unless its because of budget requirements and even then i am not overly confident with the ZS or fatal1ty series; less of the former than latter.

the ZT, PC Power and Cooling the XFX is fine. but here is another aspect to look at; right now with a C2D and one 6870 your system is not hitting 300 under 100% load. a 750 watt PSU is too much. getting a 650 watt will be better off for you now and still leave room to crossfire and upgrade your cpu/mobo later.

 

[Pinhedd]

i am not a big fan of OCZ unless its because of budget requirements and even then i am not overly confident with the ZS or fatal1ty series; less of the former than latter.

the ZT, PC Power and Cooling the XFX is fine. but here is another aspect to look at; right now with a C2D and one 6870 your system is not hitting 300 under 100% load. a 750 watt PSU is too much. getting a 650 watt will be better off for you now and still leave room to crossfire and upgrade your cpu/mobo later.

+1

OCZ sources their stuff from a lot of manufacturers so the quality is all over the place

 

[huskerkurt]

i am not a big fan of OCZ unless its because of budget requirements and even then i am not overly confident with the ZS or fatal1ty series; less of the former than latter.

the ZT, PC Power and Cooling the XFX is fine. but here is another aspect to look at; right now with a C2D and one 6870 your system is not hitting 300 under 100% load. a 750 watt PSU is too much. getting a 650 watt will be better off for you now and still leave room to crossfire and upgrade your cpu/mobo later.

Thanks for the responses. I think the main reason I was looking at the 750 watt PSU is I wanted something with at least 4 PCI-E connectors for a future Crossfire setup, and pretty much all of the ones I found were at least 750 watt. I think the reason I missed the XFX one is I was initially mostly looking only at modular PSUs. I've settled on getting the XFX 650w PSU, it sounds like based on what was said on here, and various reviews I've read, it's an excellent PSU and should work well for me. I'll have some excess cables to hide, but my case is fairly large, so that shouldn't be a huge problem.

I definitely know from past experience to avoid cheap PSUs. My first PC build that I did, a little over 10 years ago, was on a little bit of a budget, and one area I skimped was buying a case that came with a PSU in it from some no name brand. While it worked okay at first, a year or so later, my computer was having issues not wanting to turn on. Turned out I had blown out my mobo, and my cheap PSU was to blame (it had blown too).

 

[bigcyco1]

the XFX is better if you can up your budget if not the others are fine