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Power supply for generic build

heymrdj

Diamond Member
Looking for a nice reliable PSU for a basic build.

Quad 9600 phenom, or 9850 Black Edition. Mild Overclocking at most.

4GB DDR2 Ram, may be expanded to 8GB in a year

Couple 120mm fans

500GB SATA, 160GB IDE HDs

Dual SATA DVD burners that will be used at the same time

ATI 4850 graphics card.

System mainly used for web browsing, Photoshop/WAACOM tablet use, some 3D art, and some light gaming from Serious Sam, Joint Operations, maybe COD4.

THanks for the recommendations 🙂.
 
You can get by with any decent 450W or higher unit. Probably won't even take as much, but best to have a bit of overhead. Brands to look for are Corsair, BFG, Antec (EarthWatts, Neo or True Power Trio).
 
I'd go with a 500W or possibly a 600W. Phenoms already take a lot of juice, overclocking them even moreso, and the 4850 needs a bunch of juice too. With a decent brand 600W or 650, there's headroom for a crossfire config.

 
I measured my 9600 Phenom+9600GT system at about 265W under load, about 200W idle using a clamp on ammeter on the power cord. (conductors split for measuring). Get a good 400-500W PS and call it a day.
 
The BP550 is an Antec Basiq, which are decent but are their lowest end line. It is Delta-made (unlike other Basiq which are made by FSP) which means quality is likely the best out of all the Basiqs.

The Seasonic is good.

The Corsair makes a good modular choice, and indeed is made by Seasonic.

The BFG is good, and at $59.99 after rebate and with free shipping is totally a steal. Seriously, it is below cost.

The Seasonic, Corsair and BFG all put out around 40-41A on the +12v rail, while the Antec trails at around 33A or so.

My recommendations are... if you want modular, the Corsair is the only one on your list. Otherwise, go for the BFG as it is the cheapest yet puts out as much quality power as any. Avoid the Antec Basiq just from the fact that the +12v rail is very weak compared to the other choices.
 
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