Help on picking a PSU

[ITNewbster]

Hi, i'm having a hard time picking the amount of wattage I need for my brand new build, it's my first ever build and i'm having a hard time figuring out which website is correct, what's bogus, and what won't destroy my computer. I'm aware that the better ratings go from 80, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, titanium; but I am unaware of what kind of wattage i'll need

this is the part's list for the build - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TmHgrH

Now I heard that if you don't get a high enough PSU, then it might screw up the parts, but if you get one that's too high, then the performance goes down, and i'm not the one paying the Power bills, so i'd like to be mindful of that. The only thing that changed in that build is that I changed the Memory to DDR3-2400 2x8. All help is appreciated, thank you in advance

 

[prkle]

The one on the list is a bit of an overkill. You'd be fine with a quality 600-800W psu.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cs750m

 

[Darkbreeze]

Higher PSU than needed has nothing to do with lower performance. At all. It might decrease the efficiency somewhat, but it's negligible. The system will only use what it needs and the PSU will only supply according to demand. This will work just fine for your build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $49.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-11 02:01 EDT-0400


Or this one would even be a better choice:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $68.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-11 02:04 EDT-0400

 

[ITNewbster]

The one on the list is a bit of an overkill. You'd be fine with a quality 600-800W psu.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cs750m

Thank you, i'll look into that! But just wondering, that's not an absurd amount of power, is it?

 

[ITNewbster]

Higher PSU than needed has nothing to do with lower performance. At all. It might decrease the efficiency somewhat, but it's negligible. The system will only use what it needs and the PSU will only supply according to demand. This will work just fine for your build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $49.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-11 02:01 EDT-0400

Ok, another question, Do I need a gold/platinum level of efficiency with this kind of wattage?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Those ratings are crap and in many cases don't mean anything. The only time they mean anything is on units that are quality built already, which you should know about before buying. Companies that build with quality components also build with efficiency in mind. Here is a couple of links for you to read. I suggest you do so.

How to pick a power supply:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-psu-review,2916.html

Power supply Tier list:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Why the 80+ rating don't mean crap:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/10/04/80_plus_irrelevant_to_you_when_buying_psu/#.VBE9IOl0xhE

 

[indy17]

The best way to figure out the what PSU you need is make a sum of the maximum wattage consumption of all your components, and consider that amount to be ~70% of the total power supported by the PSU (EG: you have 700 W max power drawn by the PC, so you will need 1000 W PSU).
Here you can read more
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025425/how-to-pick-the-best-pc-power-supply.html

By the look of that system and fast calculations, it would draw maximul 500 W, so you will be ok with a 700-750 W PSU.

You might ask WHY? Well, you can read the link above, or consider a short answer: the power conversion ratio from AC to DC is best at 60-70% of the PSU total output.

You might indeed consider a gold EVGA 700 W PSU. The bronze, platinum, gold etc refers to the efficiency as well, and in this case it regards the quality of components used to construct the PSU.
For a reasonable pick, go into the Tier 1 or 2 in here http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Good luck
indy

 

[Darkbreeze]

The best way to figure out the what PSU you need is make a sum of the maximum wattage consumption of all your components, and consider that amount to be ~70% of the total power supported by the PSU (EG: you have 700 W max power drawn by the PC, so you will need 1000 W PSU).
Here you can read more
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025425/how-to-pick-the-best-pc-power-supply.html

By the look of that system and fast calculations, it would draw maximul 500 W, so you will be ok with a 700-750 W PSU.

You might ask WHY? Well, you can read the link above, or consider a short answer: the power conversion ratio from AC to DC is best at 60-70% of the PSU total output.

You might indeed consider a gold EVGA 700 W PSU. The bronze, platinum, gold etc refers to the efficiency as well, and in this case it regards the quality of components used to construct the PSU.
For a reasonable pick, go into the Tier 1 or 2 in here http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Good luck
indy

His entire system doesn't pull more than 450. The TDP on his card is only 250 which we all know is more than it will ever pull. A 550 is 100w more than necessary and 620 gives him even more room to stretch his legs. He does not need a 700-750w PSU. Of course, it wouldn't hurt anything either, he just doesn't need it is all.

 

[martinch]

As the previous posters have said, you don't need a 1.2KW PSU for your build. Generally, anything made by Seasonic (e.g. Corsair AX), SuperFlower (e.g. EVGA SuperNova G2/P2), or Flextronics (e.g. Corsair AXi) is going to be absolutely excellent.

Personally, I'd go with something around 650W - this is more than enough, and allows for some expansion room, as well as the inevitable decrease in performance with capacitor ageing (that, and manufacturers don't seem to make many high-quality lower-rated units).

Any one of these should be an excellent choice (and cost no more than half the cost of the 1200W one):
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss660xp2
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss650km

If you want to spend a little less, this one is supposed to be very good:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr650rm

 

[ITNewbster]

The best way to figure out the what PSU you need is make a sum of the maximum wattage consumption of all your components, and consider that amount to be ~70% of the total power supported by the PSU (EG: you have 700 W max power drawn by the PC, so you will need 1000 W PSU).
Here you can read more
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2025425/how-to-pick-the-best-pc-power-supply.html

By the look of that system and fast calculations, it would draw maximul 500 W, so you will be ok with a 700-750 W PSU.

You might ask WHY? Well, you can read the link above, or consider a short answer: the power conversion ratio from AC to DC is best at 60-70% of the PSU total output.

You might indeed consider a gold EVGA 700 W PSU. The bronze, platinum, gold etc refers to the efficiency as well, and in this case it regards the quality of components used to construct the PSU.
For a reasonable pick, go into the Tier 1 or 2 in here http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Good luck
indy

His entire system doesn't pull more than 450. The TDP on his card is only 250 which we all know is more than it will ever pull. A 550 is 100w more than necessary and 620 gives him even more room to stretch his legs. He does not need a 700-750w PSU. Of course, it wouldn't hurt anything either, he just doesn't need it is all.

What i'm looking for is a PSU that is perfect for the system as it stands.

 

[ITNewbster]

As the previous posters have said, you don't need a 1.2KW PSU for your build. Generally, anything made by Seasonic (e.g. Corsair AX), SuperFlower (e.g. EVGA SuperNova G2/P2), or Flextronics (e.g. Corsair AXi) is going to be absolutely excellent.

Personally, I'd go with something around 650W - this is more than enough, and allows for some expansion room, as well as the inevitable decrease in performance with capacitor ageing (that, and manufacturers don't seem to make many high-quality lower-rated units).

Any one of these should be an excellent choice (and cost no more than half the cost of the 1200W one):
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss660xp2
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss650km

If you want to spend a little less, this one is supposed to be very good:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr650rm

is 650w perfect for my system or is that going to account for expanding it later on? Because that build will last me a while

 

[ITNewbster]

So gentlemen, (I assume we're all men, if there's a woman here then I apologize) would you recommend this PSU for the build I was going to do? http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

 

[Darkbreeze]

So gentlemen, (I assume we're all men, if there's a woman here then I apologize) would you recommend this PSU for the build I was going to do? http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

There is no reason that PSU won't be perfectly fine for your build. Any of the models recommended above would be fine. Getting a quality PSU is an important aspect of any build, no doubt, but you're reading too much into it. So long as there is AT LEAST sufficient power supply and the build quality is of a known high standard, that's all that matters. Get your EVGA PSU and you'll be fine. Anything from Seasonic, XFX, BeQuiet or EVGA is a good quality unit.

 

[ITNewbster]

So gentlemen, (I assume we're all men, if there's a woman here then I apologize) would you recommend this PSU for the build I was going to do? http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

There is no reason that PSU won't be perfectly fine for your build. Any of the models recommended above would be fine. Getting a quality PSU is an important aspect of any build, no doubt, but you're reading too much into it. So long as there is AT LEAST sufficient power supply and the build quality is of a known high standard, that's all that matters. Get your EVGA PSU and you'll be fine. Anything from Seasonic, XFX, BeQuiet or EVGA is a good quality unit.

Thank you so much I just don't want to burn down the house or whatever this PSU is capable of doing if it goes haywire, or if I got a crappy psu! Thanks a lot

 

[Darkbreeze]

No worries. That won't happen unless you fail to listen to the mostly good advice offered here at Tom's or do something profoundly stupid, which I doubt you will. Spectacular PSU failures are the exception, not the rule, but it's just best to limit the chances or likelihood of it by not buying cheap parts. Good luck to you with your build and if you need any help you know where to find us.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=377
Review ^
850w EVGA G2 at a great price.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($95.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $95.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-12 22:46 EDT-0400