Piecing together i7 system. So many options, need help!

[bageled123]

I'm piecing together a used i7 p55 or x58 system and I was thinking about reusing my old seasonic s12 430...but I don't think it will be sufficient because psus aren't designed today the way they used to be.


With so many options today, how can I choose a decent one? I want to spend less than 75 bucks on a new or preferably used one that is known to be reliable. It used to be easy; Antec or Seasonic. Now there are so many companies and reviews...I'm a little lost!

 

[TemjinGold]

Well you can start by telling us what's actually going into the machine.

 

[bageled123]

i5 or i7 on whichever chipset I can find for a decent price. I plan on overclocking on air and increasing the voltage, if necessary.
6 or 8gb ram
I'll be using 1 gpu, but this will be for gaming so the psu needs to have at least 2 pcie power connectors (mine has none!).
2 hard drives, 1 dvd, a few fans, and that's it.

I don't think this system requires anything near 1000 watts for one of those ultra-EXTREME edition. I do want something that is known for being rock solid stable, and I'll pay for it.

 

[tomoyo]

To be honest, your S12-430 probably would work for your needs, although it's probably a good idea to replace it. Anything high quality 400-500+ watts would probably work fine.

And btw it still is kinda easy, antec and seasonic are both perfectly good choices, although there are obviously other good choices.

Some good options in your price range:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371047
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817207013
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151094

 

[bntran02]

If your system is pretty minimal like the one you described then you are probably fine with your power supply. Seasonic is a very good PSU brand that probably wont burn on you even if you push it close to the limit. You also don't need the individual 6-pin connectors because you can always use a 4pin molex to 6pin converter as long as there is nothing else connected to the molex. With a minimal system this should not be a problem.

I would however invest in a newer and bigger PSU of equal quality if you were to add much more to your system.

 

[BoomerD]

I don't see anything that tells us how old your "old Seasonic S12" unit is...but that's a very good quality build...presuming the caps are all still in good condition...and that it has the appropriate connectors for your hardware.
Personally, I don't like the "2 molex to 1 PCiE" adapters, but they do get people by until they decide to buy a better PSU.

The wattage of your unit SHOULD be plenty...although the video card you get will be the deciding factor...MOST single card systems will run fine with a quality 400+ watt PSU...but not all.

 

[Bryf50]

Yea the GPU you get will make or break you.