Help me choose a PSU

[delijoe]

I'm about to order a custom PC from AVAdirect with the following specs:

# COOLER MASTER, Elite 310 Black Mid Tower Case, ATX, No PSU, Plastic/Steel
# INTEL, Core™ i5-2500K Quad-Core 3.3GHz, HD Graphics 3000, LGA1155, 6MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 95W, EM64T EIST TB VT-x XD, Retail
# ASUS, P8P67, LGA1155, Intel® P67, DDR3-2200 (O.C.) 32GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI CF /2, SATA 3 Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 6 Gb/s /4, USB 3.0 /4, HDA, GbLAN, BT, FW /2, ATX, Retail
# ADATA, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.55-1.75V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
# ASUS, EAH6850 DirectCU/2DIS/1GD5, Radeon™ HD 6850 790MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4000MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI /2, HDMI, DP, Retail
# SAMSUNG, 1TB SpinPoint F3, SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200-RPM, 32MB Cache, Retail
# MICROSOFT, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, OEM

I'm trying to decide which PSU to go with for this build. I'm planning on using it for both gaming and everyday use. I have no plans for any massive overclocking or multiple GPUs, but I might want to upgrade the graphics card within the next couple years. Unfortunately, the PSU that I want (Seasonic S12II 520W) isn't available from AVAdirect. Given my budget, I can get one of the following PSUs:

Antec Earthwatts EA500
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W
Corsair CX600 (or CX500)

I also looked at a few other more expensive ones (Earthwatts EA600, Corsair VX550) but they are just out of my budget range. Please either recommend a PSU above or another (that AVAdirect carries) and something in my above build I can downgrade without killing gaming performance too much. I need to keep the overall cost at below $1000 after shipping (about $960 before). I can't build my own PC right now unfortunately, so that's not an option... Thanks in advance...

 

[TemjinGold]

I would go with the Antec from that list.

 

[Rifter]

me too

 

[delijoe]

My only question is will the Antec EA500 be good for GPU upgrades down the road? I don't plan on ever using high end cards, but I'm sure in a couple years there will be a $200 card that blows the 6850 out of the water. I thought maybe I could go with a cheaper Gigabyte mobo and get the better PSU (and better case):

COOLER MASTER, HAF 912 (RC-912-KKN1) Mid-Tower Case, ATX, No PSU, SECC/Plastic
ANTEC, EarthWatts EA650, 80 PLUS®, 650W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, One 6-pin + One 8-pin PCIe
GIGABYTE, GA-P67A-UD3, LGA1155, Intel® P67, DDR3-2133 16GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /2, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 6Gb/s /2, USB 3.0 /2, HDA, GbLAN, ATX, Retail
INTEL, Core™ i5-2500K Quad-Core 3.3GHz, HD Graphics 3000, LGA1155, 6MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 95W, EM64T EIST TB VT-x XD, Retail
ADATA, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.55-1.75V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
ASUS, EAH6850 DirectCU/2DIS/1GD5, Radeon™ HD 6850 790MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4000MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI /2, HDMI, DP, Retail
SAMSUNG, 1TB SpinPoint F3, SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200-RPM, 32MB Cache, Retail
MICROSOFT, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, OEM

This goes for $995 shipped.

 

[TemjinGold]

Well let me give you an idea then: See my system below? My UPS tells me I'm pulling ~220 watts from the wall at peak usage when gaming. At 80% efficiency for my PSU (estimating), that means my system is using at most 176 watts. That means my PSU can power my system THREE TIMES OVER.

Your proposed system should use the same or less power than mine. You do the math.

People WAY overestimate how much power they actually use these days because of PSU marketing...

Get the better mobo. Realistically, a 380watt Earthwatts would easily power your system.