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Started by Eric642 | | 5 answers
Hi, I'm looking for a decent PSU for this build, there are so many around that even after reading the guidelines I'm not sure where to go from here, it concerned me to read that PSU's can vary so much even within the same brand.
i5 4670k
No GPU, just the graphics on the chip.
ASRock Z97 Extreme4
32gb HyperX Genesis RAM ( 4 x 8gb )
1x WD Black 1TB HDD
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
1x DVD drive
Full size case
Next upgrade is likely to be another HDD and/or blu ray drive for back-ups.
The PSU calculators i tried say between 226w and 289w
Should I be looking at 300w in 12v to start with? Or more leeway than that, I've been looking any between 300w and 450w, is that reasonable?
Does it matter if a PSU is designed for a mini PC and used in a standard ATX PC?
Are some of the highly rated brands better than others for the lower power levels?
Should £45 get a decent PSU at this wattage?
Any units you might recommend for a low power PC such as this?
Many thanks.
i5 4670k
No GPU, just the graphics on the chip.
ASRock Z97 Extreme4
32gb HyperX Genesis RAM ( 4 x 8gb )
1x WD Black 1TB HDD
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
1x DVD drive
Full size case
Next upgrade is likely to be another HDD and/or blu ray drive for back-ups.
The PSU calculators i tried say between 226w and 289w
Should I be looking at 300w in 12v to start with? Or more leeway than that, I've been looking any between 300w and 450w, is that reasonable?
Does it matter if a PSU is designed for a mini PC and used in a standard ATX PC?
Are some of the highly rated brands better than others for the lower power levels?
Should £45 get a decent PSU at this wattage?
Any units you might recommend for a low power PC such as this?
Many thanks.
Eric642
August 21, 2014 12:29:12 PM
Best solution chosen by Eric642
GorfTheFrog
July 20, 2014 1:32:19 PM
Hi -
Ok, that helps a bit.
On the RAM I might try starting at 2x8GB. You can always add the other two. Memory is easy to add, and starting w/ a 2x8 may save you a few bucks if you find that it meets your needs.
If you want to keep your options open for overclocking in the future, but have no immediate plans, you might also consider going with the stock Intel cooler that comes with the i5. If you're not overclocking, you don't really need the EVO 212. Also, I always remove whatever "stuff" Intel includes as the thermal paste, and I use a tube of something else. I think the solution Intel has is not very good, but to be fair I have no empirical evidence. I've been using one of the Arctic Silver compounds with good results.
I'm a big fan of SSDs, just because it makes the entire system seem to respond much quicker. It's not just boot-up; applications will load faster as well. But there's nothing wrong with just running a high-quality HDD.
I've never heard of an "over-powered" PSU causing a problem, nor have I seen any articles that suggest this. A 300W and a 1000W PSU will both provide 12V of power on the 12V line. The extra amperage will happily just sit there, unused. However, I would be interested if you wanted to pass along a link on why an "over-powered" PSU may be problematic.
Yes, if your case has a vent in the bottom, you'll want to install "fan down" so that your PSU draws cooling air from outside the case, rather than warm air from inside the case.
If you're convinced it's either 0 GPUs or 3 GPUs at some point in the future, then just go with a minimal PSU now. In general yes, your higher quality PSUs will cost more, and your higher wattage PSUs will usually be higher quality. I've used Corsair's PSUs without any problem, but I also see folks recommend any number of other brands. If you can find a couple of positive reviews on a given brand, you should be ok. If you narrow it down to between two or three, post them back here. Guaranteed someone will have an opinion.
Hope this helps.
###
Ok, that helps a bit.
On the RAM I might try starting at 2x8GB. You can always add the other two. Memory is easy to add, and starting w/ a 2x8 may save you a few bucks if you find that it meets your needs.
If you want to keep your options open for overclocking in the future, but have no immediate plans, you might also consider going with the stock Intel cooler that comes with the i5. If you're not overclocking, you don't really need the EVO 212. Also, I always remove whatever "stuff" Intel includes as the thermal paste, and I use a tube of something else. I think the solution Intel has is not very good, but to be fair I have no empirical evidence. I've been using one of the Arctic Silver compounds with good results.
I'm a big fan of SSDs, just because it makes the entire system seem to respond much quicker. It's not just boot-up; applications will load faster as well. But there's nothing wrong with just running a high-quality HDD.
I've never heard of an "over-powered" PSU causing a problem, nor have I seen any articles that suggest this. A 300W and a 1000W PSU will both provide 12V of power on the 12V line. The extra amperage will happily just sit there, unused. However, I would be interested if you wanted to pass along a link on why an "over-powered" PSU may be problematic.
Yes, if your case has a vent in the bottom, you'll want to install "fan down" so that your PSU draws cooling air from outside the case, rather than warm air from inside the case.
If you're convinced it's either 0 GPUs or 3 GPUs at some point in the future, then just go with a minimal PSU now. In general yes, your higher quality PSUs will cost more, and your higher wattage PSUs will usually be higher quality. I've used Corsair's PSUs without any problem, but I also see folks recommend any number of other brands. If you can find a couple of positive reviews on a given brand, you should be ok. If you narrow it down to between two or three, post them back here. Guaranteed someone will have an opinion.
Hope this helps.
###
Eric642
July 15, 2014 2:27:37 PM
Thank you for your replies.
I may or may not add a GPU, but not for a year at least. Depends if a new future version of the software I use includes OpenCL in a way that would make it worth while. It might be 3 GPU's, or none at all.
PC will be used for photo editing, vectors, etc. I max out 6gb memory in a few minutes, so I'm adding all the memory I can.
Might overclock in the future, some of the processes are CPU heavy, it would be nice to add a bit of processing power on top of the stock ghz. The programs seem to be single threaded. (On a 4 core CPU the maxed usage is 25%) so I don't think hyperthreading would be helpful, so I chose an i5 chip.
Thought about an SSD, but the hard drive doesn't seem to get much use until I save a file, or the memory maxes out, I guess it uses the HDD as virtual memory. It would make booting up quicker, but I can go make a cuppa while the PC wakes up :-)
I've been reading about PSU's and it seems that an over-powered unit could be a mistake almost as much as an under-powered unit, is this true? If I do get a GPU (or 3) I can always get another PSU appropriate to the new usage.
There are so many to choose from, and so many brands, I started looking at the websites for some of the top rated brands from this list:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1804779/power-...
Looking for any that were 300w to 450w but there are so many, it's bewildering.
Finally, the case has a window, and the PSU goes at the bottom, probably fan down as there is a vent. So I wouldn't want a particularly ugly PSU, as it wouldn't be hidden.
Not sure which size to go for, or which brands to focus on.
Do I need to look at PSU's which are higher in watts than I need, to get a higher quality unit? This would of course also add to the cost. I have a huge list of brands, are there some brands that are better for the low power units than other brands?
Many thanks for your help.
I may or may not add a GPU, but not for a year at least. Depends if a new future version of the software I use includes OpenCL in a way that would make it worth while. It might be 3 GPU's, or none at all.
PC will be used for photo editing, vectors, etc. I max out 6gb memory in a few minutes, so I'm adding all the memory I can.
Might overclock in the future, some of the processes are CPU heavy, it would be nice to add a bit of processing power on top of the stock ghz. The programs seem to be single threaded. (On a 4 core CPU the maxed usage is 25%) so I don't think hyperthreading would be helpful, so I chose an i5 chip.
Thought about an SSD, but the hard drive doesn't seem to get much use until I save a file, or the memory maxes out, I guess it uses the HDD as virtual memory. It would make booting up quicker, but I can go make a cuppa while the PC wakes up :-)
I've been reading about PSU's and it seems that an over-powered unit could be a mistake almost as much as an under-powered unit, is this true? If I do get a GPU (or 3) I can always get another PSU appropriate to the new usage.
There are so many to choose from, and so many brands, I started looking at the websites for some of the top rated brands from this list:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-1804779/power-...
Looking for any that were 300w to 450w but there are so many, it's bewildering.
Finally, the case has a window, and the PSU goes at the bottom, probably fan down as there is a vent. So I wouldn't want a particularly ugly PSU, as it wouldn't be hidden.
Not sure which size to go for, or which brands to focus on.
Do I need to look at PSU's which are higher in watts than I need, to get a higher quality unit? This would of course also add to the cost. I have a huge list of brands, are there some brands that are better for the low power units than other brands?
Many thanks for your help.
GorfTheFrog
July 15, 2014 1:42:10 PM
Hi -
Can you tell us more about how you intend to use this machine?
For what purpose do you intend to use this machine?
You're buying a "K" series processor, a "Z" series mobo, and a good after-market CPU cooler. Are you planning to overclock? If no, never, not ever, then you may be able to get a less expensive CPU/MOBO combo that would perform quite well for what you need.
You're loading up with 32 GB RAM. This is quite a bit. What are you planning to do that will need all of this RAM? Otherwise you can easily drop back to 8GB for almost all every-day tasks and games. In this case, I'd probably go 2x4GB for the dual-channel performance.
You haven't included an SSD, which is a great performance enhancer. If you cut back on the RAM you can add an SSD for the boot drive and still keep the 1TB HDD.
Are you ever planning for this to be a gaming machine? If yes then this might influence your PSU decision.
In general when I build, I get more PSU than I need for two reasons. Invariably I add more stuff to the box as time goes on, and I don't want to worry about having to re-size the PSU. Additionally, the better brands/models are built to higher specifications, and I feel that these are less likely to give me problems over time.
I've built with Corsair before, but I'm not wedded to that brand. It's a good brand, but I would buy their higher end models. Based on Corsair's own website, the CX model is only temperature rated for about 80 degrees F. The inside of your case is likely to get warmer than that if you are pushing your machine.
http://www.corsair.com/~/media/Corsair/download-files/a...
You may also want to search Tom's for review articles on PSUs. As it turns out, they have a review article that they just published:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/80-plus-gold-power-...
Let us know, and hope this helps.
###
Can you tell us more about how you intend to use this machine?
For what purpose do you intend to use this machine?
You're buying a "K" series processor, a "Z" series mobo, and a good after-market CPU cooler. Are you planning to overclock? If no, never, not ever, then you may be able to get a less expensive CPU/MOBO combo that would perform quite well for what you need.
You're loading up with 32 GB RAM. This is quite a bit. What are you planning to do that will need all of this RAM? Otherwise you can easily drop back to 8GB for almost all every-day tasks and games. In this case, I'd probably go 2x4GB for the dual-channel performance.
You haven't included an SSD, which is a great performance enhancer. If you cut back on the RAM you can add an SSD for the boot drive and still keep the 1TB HDD.
Are you ever planning for this to be a gaming machine? If yes then this might influence your PSU decision.
In general when I build, I get more PSU than I need for two reasons. Invariably I add more stuff to the box as time goes on, and I don't want to worry about having to re-size the PSU. Additionally, the better brands/models are built to higher specifications, and I feel that these are less likely to give me problems over time.
I've built with Corsair before, but I'm not wedded to that brand. It's a good brand, but I would buy their higher end models. Based on Corsair's own website, the CX model is only temperature rated for about 80 degrees F. The inside of your case is likely to get warmer than that if you are pushing your machine.
http://www.corsair.com/~/media/Corsair/download-files/a...
You may also want to search Tom's for review articles on PSUs. As it turns out, they have a review article that they just published:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/80-plus-gold-power-...
Let us know, and hope this helps.
###
mamamia13
July 15, 2014 1:15:42 PM
I would get something like this so that when you do add a GPU, you can SLI or CF it and have no problem. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx...
See all answers