Need help choosing new power supply and graphics card.

braeseven

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Hi guys and gals,

I need a new power supply (probably 1000w) as the fan on my current one is starting to have noise flare-ups (budget $200). I also need a 4g graphics card for next gen games (budget $400).

Here's my current set-up:

power supply: 440w
motherboard: Asus P8P67 LE
processor: Intel i7 2600
ram: 8gigs
hard drives: 2 SATA (will be adding a third)
graphics card: Radeon 5700

Thanks!


 

braeseven

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I'm thinking 1000w so I don't run short, especially if I add a third hard drive. Better safe than sorry? Rainbow Six:Seige at 1080p. Down the road looking at For Honor. Basically want to be set for games that come out in the next 4 years or so.
 
There's no such thing as a power supply "running short" or "not having enough power". Any circuit could technically carry a current that is high enough that, when the resistance of the wire is the proper value, merits 1000W of energy or power. Once you get rid of the wattage and power misconception, your understanding of power supplies will increase trifold. A power supply is not a squirt gun with "power" inside it, and it can only squirt so much power. Power is not a physical stuff. It doesn't exist physically! There is no such thing as power in the material world. There is such a thing as current, but power is just energy which is the resultant of current * voltage, or voltage squared / resistance, etc. It's Ohm's Law.

In any power supply, it can theoretically create current that merits 1000W of power, but there are three factors on how power supplies "can't":

1) Some of them have internal components that cannot handle such amount of current, which means the internals can catch fire or melt.
2) Protections shut down a power supply at a certain threshold, meaning it restricts itself from the above happening if it's close to happening.
3) Voltage goes out of the ATX specification, which can damage computer hardware.

The importance of a PSU is not its labelled wattage, but how well it can sustain the required current for the PC while having safe voltages and voltage fluctuation, not burning or catching fire, and not shutting off. The moment when one of these goes wrong, I consider the "maximum threshold". Temperature also plays a role and can decrease this, but in general this threshold is off from labelled wattage, so labelled wattage can not be trusted.

So, where can you find these things in a power supply? Professional reviews online.
 


Still a overkill, 1000w are for extreme overcloking CPU/GPU and almost crossfire pair of R9 390x. With 650W is a base to be in the range -fine-.

You have 2 options here. R9 390, or GTX 970.

Both have pro and const, but, its your choice, with 650W you will be able to handle fine both cards.
 

braeseven

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Thanks for the feedback guys, really appreciate. Good to know a PS in the range of 650w will be adequate. I looked at the R9 390 and GTX 970. First off, I live in Canada (sry I forgot to mention that) so pricing is a little steeper, which means both models are out of range at well over 400 : / However, this gives me a starting point to work back from. I think no matter what an 8g card will be beyond budget for me.
 

braeseven

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So far, looking at this power supply:

EVGA SUPERNOVA 650 P2 80 PLUS

As far as video cards go, at my local NCIX there are 8 different models of R380 and 5 different R380x's (all 4g). Any particular specs I should be focusing on?

Thanks i'm almost done!
 

DustinV

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The Evga P2 is great, and for graphics card get the cheapest one with the highest clock speed, I highly recommend Sapphire

And as long as the 380x isn't way overpriced it will be a great buy
 

TofuLion

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why is the 390 out of your budget range?? you said you have $200(PSU) + $400(GPU) = $600 total budget...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB SOC Video Card ($429.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $549.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-15 21:16 EDT-0400

leaves $50 (plus $20 MIR on each part), and they are both from NCIX
 

DustinV

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Thats when he thought he needed a 1000w power supply
Not sure he wanted to spend that much
 

TofuLion

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doesn't need a platinum certified PSU either, but its going to be better quality... the noticeable difference will be the GPU anyway, and the 390 is MUCH better than the 380X, especially in minimum frame rate (again, the noticeable difference).
 

xXCrossfireXx

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Haha, a 1000W power supply, that's funny, this thing would probably be fine with a 500W, don't quote me on that though, I didn't calculate.

If I were you, I'd use eXtreme power supply calculator, or any calculator as long as it has an advanced view similar to eXtreme to figure out how many watts you need. I'm not gonna do it because I'm too lazy right now. From there, get a unit with 100-250W more than you need, if you're not going to seriously upgrade, get one with 100W more, as you can spend more on PSU quality. Once you've selected, follow these steps:

1. Choose a power supply with a good efficiency rating. 80+ Standard is minimum you need, don't get below it. 80+ Gold is maximum you need, probably useful if you leave your computer on all day. 80+ Platinum is for either extreme power users who use a PC that sucks out a ton of watts and jacks up their power bill, even then an 80+ Gold may still make more sense, or (probably) more commonly environmental nerds who want to use the least amount of electricity as possible to save the environment, drive solar powered cars, use solar powered grills, and their house looks like a solar farm. ANYWAY back on topic I suggest either 80+ Bronze, or if you want to be more efficient and spend a few extra bucks an 80+ Gold.

2. Build quality. Just because it looks nice and has high efficiency ratings or even in some cases has good reviews doesn't mean it has a good build quality. Build quality can be determined by the power supply tier list, which is mostly accurate, however I believe the Photon deserves a better tier, as I'm an owner of it, and I'm totally satisfied with it. The second way to determine quality is JohnnyGuru. They have great ratings, Linus recommended it in his power supply shopping tips video (which you may want to watch), but even then JohnnyGuru has its flaws. First of all, do not look at the conclusion to tell if a power supply is good or not. Johnny Guru dude rates it out of 10. Just because he rates it a 7.5 doesn't mean it's decent, it could have stupid flaws like a broken PCB specific to his power supply, non compatible connectors, not modular, bad value based on the time when HE was viewing the price, etc.

Finally I'll include a few facts. Choose a PSU with good quality Japanese capacitors, and good ripple suppression. Voltage regulation on the other hand, get one with good voltage regulation if you want your components to last longer.

So what would I suggest? An EVGA 650W G2. Again, don't quote me on that. I don't know how many watts you need, I'm just eyeballing it and making a decision based on your specs. So use all that info above and try to choose a good one ;).
 

xXCrossfireXx

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Just gonna chime in here, you're completely right, +1, no one needs that tiny efficiency gain over 80+ Gold and spend 30-40 dollars more
 

DustinV

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Hi again lol, i've gotten like 10 rebates, never had a problem. I'm tempted to buy it, I was gonna get the 550w G2 for $80. Should i get the 650w p2 for $80? I might put it on my shelf and keep my corsair in for the lols though, (just kidding)
 

xXCrossfireXx

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Much better? Really?

The P2 scored 0.2 points more on JohnnyGuru. And both had excellent ripple suppression, voltage stability, and capacitors. They both had nothing bad rated about them
 
Well, much was sort of a stretch but it is better, point be told. It even uses better inline cable capacitors, Chemi-Con polymers instead of Capxon electrolytics. $100 is a solid price for the 650W P2. I usually don't care for efficiency, but Platinum is one thing that makes it better.