Modular PSU to go with my GTX 770

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shadenone

Member
Nov 24, 2012
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So I just bought a new Zoltac GTX 770. I went to install it when I realized that my PSU is old enough that it doesn't have an 8 pin PCI-e! Rather than just pick up an adapter, I decided that it's time to upgrade my PSU. The one I have would just barely work for the 770 as is and it's not modular, so this let's me kill two birds with one stone. I can get a new PSU and be able to clean up the wiring in my case. I've got an i5-3570k on an MSI Z77A board with 16G RAM.

My question is, what are some good PSUs out there? Should I look to get something above 600w, just to be on the safe side? Is there anything I should be on the lookout for when buying one?

I have some money to spend, but I'd rather not break the bank either. I can probably spend upwards of around $150-$200.

To give you guys an idea of what I'd be using it for, I obviously plan to do a lot of gaming on it, but I'm not fluent in overclocking. I plan to learn how to overclock eventually, but I've been telling myself that for years now. I'm learning to program, so I'll be adding to the typical workload with lots of compiling and such.

Any suggestions and additional thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
 
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nwo

Platinum Member
Jun 21, 2005
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71
I wouldn't go lower than 600W on a PSU, it's simply not worth saving pennies to go with a 400-500W PSU instead. 600W gives you plenty of OCing room and it will be sufficient to power any single CPU/GPU system for years to come.

With that said, if you are ever planning on adding a second GPU to your system, I'd recommend you go with a 750W for slightly more.

My personal favorite PSU brands are Corsair and eVGA because they are great bang for the buck PSUs and have not let me down so far. Other reputable brands I'd recommend are Antec/Seasonic.

Thermaltake PSUs are garbage and I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy.
 
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poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
2,284
5
81
A good psu is something u buy once every 7 years. Yes 7 years if u pick it right. Platinum Seasonic & corsairs (which have seasonic rebranded psus) have 7 year warranties, and with their platinum efficency u'll more than make up the cost of the psu in 7 years of use due to the electricity savings. Infact, my hx500 Corsair with a 5 year warranty is still running fine 7 years on! So i imagine the 7 year warranty ones will work fine beyond their 7 year warranty.

I have a Seasonic Platinum 760wt in my main system that i bought for $200. If it lasts me 8 years thats $25/year for the cost of the psu (i'll prolly spend more on earswabs in 8 years time!!! Lol), and the power savings due its Platinum efficiency over 8 years will be well beyond $200. Its a no brainer to buy a high end PSU.
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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www.techbuyersguru.com
With all due respect to nwo, for a single video card, there are very good reasons to stick under 600w. First, you don't need the power. My overclocked 780ti with an overvolted 4770k uses under 400w. But more importantly, you can get an absolutely stellar gold-rated modular 550w unit for the same price as an average 650w non-modular bronze unit. Check out the Seasonic G series.

Also, lower-wattage units tend to be more efficient at the power level required at idle on a modern system, i.e. 50w.
 
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nwo

Platinum Member
Jun 21, 2005
2,308
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I agree, 500-550W PSUs would be sufficient for any single card configuration. Only reason I recommended 600W+ is because it leaves you with the option of safely running two 2x6pin power connector cards if you ever wanted to choose that route in the future. Adding a second 770 on anything below a 650W PSU is not going to work since they use ~250W each at full load.

I'm not that into modular PSUs so I really do not know too much about their price range. But for non-modulars I know that the price difference between 400-600W (Bronze) is pretty negligible and it's usually around 10-20 bucks.
 
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