Question Looking for a good, quiet, modular PSU.

[nOOky]

I'm looking to replace my older 750 watt Corsair PSU with something newer and modular. Calculated usage of the upgrade I'm making soon is 700-799 watts. I want to possibly go with an 800 (850) watt unit for future overclocking and connectivity, mine is an older model with adapters for some plugs which I hate.

I will be upgrading to possibly an AMD 7900XTX and Intel 13900K CPU with an Asus mobo. I will have 3 nvme drives, and two 7,200 RPM disks as well as DVD-ROM drive and 32gigs of memory if that helps. Mainly I want a quiet PSU, with the latest connectivity, and modular with plenty of cable length as I have a full tower case.

It seems like he jump from 750 watt to 850 can be quite a price hike, are they that much beefier?

 

[WelshBloke]

With overclocking, fans and any other bits 750 watts is going to be cutting it fine IMHO.

I went overkill and got a Silverstone 1000 Watt DA1000R (because it was on offer, an available ATX3 psu, and I trust Silverstone) and I've beeen very pleased with it. My main bitch is the flat cables are a bit chunky for tidy cable management, they arent that flexible and the PCIe cables have those annoying twin headers on them (seriously who is running twin video cards now?).

It is pretty much silent (it has a 0RPM setting but even with that off I cant hear it).

Just realised that this post isnt that useful!

I'd go at least 850w if you are overclocking and going to be pluggin a ton of things in. I'd go ATX3 as new videocards powerdraws are a bit spikey and ATX3 PSUs are specifically made to deal with that. I'd go for a 0RPM PSU if you wanr REALLY quiet. and I, personally, (because I'm old and only know and trust old PSU manufacturers) would go with Silverstone or Seasonic.

 

[nOOky]

With overclocking, fans and any other bits 750 watts is going to be cutting it fine IMHO.

I went overkill and got a Silverstone 1000 Watt DA1000R (because it was on offer, an available ATX3 psu, and I trust Silverstone) and I've beeen very pleased with it. My main bitch is the flat cables are a bit chunky for tidy cable management, they arent that flexible and the PCIe cables have those annoying twin headers on them (seriously who is running twin video cards now?).

It is pretty much silent (it has a 0RPM setting but even with that off I cant hear it).

Just realised that this post isnt that useful!

I'd go at least 850w if you are overclocking and going to be pluggin a ton of things in. I'd go ATX3 as new videocards powerdraws are a bit spikey and ATX3 PSUs are specifically made to deal with that. I'd go for a 0RPM PSU if you wanr REALLY quiet. and I, personally, (because I'm old and only know and trust old PSU manufacturers) would go with Silverstone or Seasonic.

Thanks, I forgot to add all of the case fans I'll be running etc. I have been worried about the spiking issue also, I did not know about the AATX3 spec. but I have just started to research PSU's again.

 

[In2Photos]

I got my RM850x for $150 a few months back, still seems to be the same price. I had purchased the FSP Hydro 850W, but I couldn't stand the noise from it so I returned it. I can't say that I have ever heard the Corsair since I swapped to it which was the point. They also have the new Shift version which moves the cables to the side of the PSU if that helps with your particular install.

 

[WelshBloke]

Thanks, I forgot to add all of the case fans I'll be running etc. I have been worried about the spiking issue also, I did not know about the AATX3 spec. but I have just started to research PSU's again.

I think that it's easy to overthink PSUs. I know that I did.
Plenty of watts, trusted manufacturer, modular, ATX3... That would rule a lot of stuff out. Then look what's on offer that fits your needs.

 

[Tech Junky]

@nOOky

I use EVGA 850's on my builds and they're $100 usually and have a 10 year warranty. Never hear them.

Getting into the ATX3 / 12VHPWR setup is still a bit over priced but, will last through a few upgrades in the next decade.

Shop around and for a better idea on what you need with room to grow put your hw into PCPartPicker.com to get an idea of max watts needed.

 

[nOOky]

@nOOky

I use EVGA 850's on my builds and they're $100 usually and have a 10 year warranty. Never hear them.

Getting into the ATX3 / 12VHPWR setup is still a bit over priced but, will last through a few upgrades in the next decade.

Shop around and for a better idea on what you need with room to grow put your hw into PCPartPicker.com to get an idea of max watts needed.

Thanks, I did that, it said 700-799 watts so I'm allowing a bit of headroom for overclocking. IIRC you size the PSU by trying to keep the wattage close to the middle of the PSU's output...
I'll probably find a good 850 watt unit.

 

[Tech Junky]

trying to keep the wattage close

I aim for 50% load personally. If it's saying max of ~800 then 1000 would be a better idea for some headroom if there's a power spike. It only uses what it needs and if it's idle it will probably sip electricity at ~200w and ramp up when you game.

Lower use means less heat and lower fan noise. Of course the case and fans make a difference as well. If the case breathes well then it should be near silent. It's all about planning when it comes to the overall build and goals.