How much power do I need?

[SMOGZINN]

So the PSU on my HTPC has died. RIP.
Time to get a new power supply. But the rig is something like 4 years old now, and I'm doing a lot more with it than I ever anticipated. I've already added a GTX 750 Ti to the build and am contemplating upgrading again. So, the question is, what upgrades should I consider, and how much power will I need?

Current components:
CPU: Pentium G620
MB: BIOSTAR TH61 ITX LGA 1155
RAM: G.Skill DDR3 1333 4GB X2
Mass Storage: Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 3TB
SSD: PNY CS1311 240 GB SATA
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti
Case: Fractal Design Array R2

It hooks up to my 1080p TV, and I do most of my general computing and do a moderate amount of gaming on it. So far it had done okay with everything, but I am thinking of upgrading to a i5-2500 that I have in a different computer currently, and maybe dropping a GTX 1050 Ti into it, if that would be a decent upgrade?

The other option would be to go all out and rebuild this computer around a Kaby Lake CPU. If I go that option it would be a few months before I could afford to do all.

Oh, and all this has to fit into the Array R2 case so ITX MB with a SFX power supply.

So, given these ideas what would be a good SFX PSU for this HTPC?

Here is the answers form the sticky:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

HTPC (very little transcoding and that can run overnight), general computing (web pages, MS Office tasks), medium gaming. The games I tend to play on this PC are like Diablo 3, Binding of Isaac, Terraria, Divinity:OS, Wastlands 2, Torment: Tides, Shadowrun Returns series. Mostly games a few years old.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

I'm trying to keep it low. For a PSU I would like to spend under $100, For a full upgrade I can probably kick about a $100 a month to it, so the higher the amount the longer it will take me to build it.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. 5. 6.

I have no brand preferences, and I listed my parts above.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Since the main goal of this PC is to be a HTPC that will run 24/7 and be quiet and unobtrusive sitting next to my AVR, I don't think overclocking is a good idea. Maybe I'm wrong. Let me know if you think I could OC this with out it being too loud while watching a movie.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

1080p probably will not be upgrading this for a few years yet.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

That matters on price. I'm going to buy a PSU tomorrow at the latest. The rest of the upgrade might wait a while. I wouldn't mind seeing if RYZEN shakes up the CPU market some.

10. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

Probably not. I upgraded to Win10 from a full retail copy of Win8 while it was still a free upgrade. I hope that means I can still transfer my copy of Win10 to a new build.

 

[lehtv]

I am thinking of upgrading to a i5-2500 that I have in a different computer currently, and maybe dropping a GTX 1050 Ti into it, if that would be a decent upgrade?

Yes, that sounds like a good upgrade.

Oh, and all this has to fit into the Array R2 case so ITX MB with a PSX power supply.

PSX? No such thing . Array R2 takes an SFX power supply.

There aren't a that many SFX power supplies out there, or at least not that many high quality ones. I'd say Corsair SF450 is your best bet.

 

[SMOGZINN]

PSX? No such thing . Array R2 takes an SFX power supply.

Yeah. It was a typo, or maybe brainfart. I'll edit the original post to fix it. Thanks for pointing it out.

There aren't a that many SFX power supplies out there, or at least not that many high quality ones. I'd say Corsair SF450 is your best bet.

Corsair also makes a 600 watt SFX power supply, at a $30 premium, but bigger is not always better with PSUs. I need to take heat into consideration as well considering this PC sits in a entertainment center. I guess I need to take a look at the power requirements for a i5-2500 and a GTX 1050.

Thanks for pointing that PSU out to me.

 

[lehtv]

@SMOGZINN The SF450 will handle a GTX 1080 if need be, it's a quality unit and supplies two 8-pin PCIe power connectors (reference 1080 takes one, some third party cards take two). At higher loads, it will probably ramp up fan speeds and make noise, but it will be stable no doubt.

The GTX 1050 Ti is a very lower power card, it doesn't even require a PCIe power connector (maybe some models do). With i5-2500 and GTX 1050 Ti you're looking at about 150W power consumption when gaming.

 

[SMOGZINN]

@SMOGZINN The SF450 will handle a GTX 1080 if need be, it's a quality unit and supplies two 8-pin PCIe power connectors (reference 1080 takes one, some third party cards take two). At higher loads, it will probably ramp up fan speeds and make noise, but it will be stable no doubt.

The GTX 1050 Ti is a very lower power card, it doesn't even require a PCIe power connector (maybe some models do). With i5-2500 and GTX 1050 Ti you're looking at about 150W power consumption when gaming.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Valantar]

The Corsair SF450 should be a good choice. Silverstone also recently released some refreshed SFX PSUs, the ST45SF v3 should be a decent budget choice. Same fan size as the Corsair, $20 cheaper, good components and build quality. Not modular, though, and it could have better ripple control.

And as lehtv says, with an i5-2500 and a 1050, you'll most likely not exceed 150W while gaming. If you wanted to, you could easily power it off of a HDPlex 160W DC-DC PSU (rated for 160W continuous, 200W peak) or a PicoPSU. You'd need an external power brick for those, though, which might be a bit of a waste if you have room for an SFX unit. On the other hand, you'll clear up room for better airflow or a bigger CPU cooler in the case.

 

[Charlie98]

My HTPC is similar to yours... I picked up a used i3 2100 to replace the original G620, TBH, I can't tell much of a difference unless I'm updating it or running a scan or something. Given you are gaming on yours, that 2500 would be a nice step up. I've put the Kill-o-Watt on mine and even running LinX or Valley I don't know if it ever hit 150w at the wall, so any ~400w PSU is overkill. The GTX950 FTW makes no noise at all, in HTPC role, certainly the 1050Ti would work well, too.

 

[SMOGZINN]

I bought the Corsair SF450 and installed it yesterday. The system is back up and running. I decided not to swap out the i5-2500 or get a 1050Ti yet, but I will probably do that in a few weeks when I build a new gaming system for my step son. Thank you all for your help!