Power supply recommendations

wpshooter

Golden Member
Mar 9, 2004
1,662
5
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The toggle switch broke off of the power supply on my main computer, therefore I am looking for a good power supply replacement for that computer. That computer is one that I built 4 to 5 years ago and is fairly well vintaged by now but still works just fine for what I am doing right now. It is a P4 478 Pin 3.0 ghz Intel class M/B processor machine.

I will probably also be using this NEW power supply on a new computer build if I can ever get around to building it. Perhaps when I retire in a year or two.

I am looking for a MODULAR design PS in about the 550 to 600 watt range and I want it to be as QUIET as possible (or even SILENT would be even better). I am thinking that that power range should be fairly sufficient for any system that I might build in the near future. Please let me know if you think I might need to consider a higher power range.

It has been a good while since I have been in the market for power supply so I have fallen behind as to what might be the latest and greatest. Most of what I have purchased in the past has been from either Antec, Xconnect or Zalman. Should I stay with one of these 3 or are there others that I should consider. Please feel free to give me specific models to consider if you can.

Thanks for your help.
 

Jhatfie

Senior member
Jan 20, 2004
749
2
81
What kind of budget you looking at? Corsair, Seasonic, XFX, Antec all have some great psu's. I would look in the 600W range just to give you some headroom for the future since you do not know what you'll need, plus if it not working that hard the efficiency will generally be better and the fan spinning less. Also the 500w versions really are not much cheaper generally unless you find a nice sale.

Based on some quick price look up observations, the XFX 650X is $80 AR right now as is the Seasonic M12II 620. The Antec Neo Power 650w is $75. Corsair 650HX is $90. I think any of those 4 would be excellent choices.

The Antec TPN-750 is another excellent choice and it often on sale, right now only $90 AR at newegg. However it is only half modular, I love mine though.
 
Jun 6, 2010
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The Antec TruePower New 750W is a great PSU from Seasonic and the price is very good. However, if the modularity is a priority for you, I would look for something different because, unfortunately, it has a lot of cables attached to the PSU.

I recommend you to take a look at the Seasonic X-series 650W (SS-650KM) for the best modularity and silent performance.
Anyway, take in mind that the new 660W X-series model is comming soon and it presents some improvements (OCP protection included).
 

KingerXI

Senior member
Jan 20, 2010
222
1
81
I have picked this PSU up for as low as $35 after rebates, but it is now $50 at Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341022

My 1000W Ultra x3 died (the 2nd one that died, so I can't recommend Ultra PSUs), and I ordered a 750w modular Corsair. In the interim, the OCZ 550w ran my PC for 3 weeks flawlessly, and my PC is rather high powered. (Core i7 W3540 @ 4.1Ghz, XFX 5870, 6GB G.skill @ 1820, Gigabyte x58 ud5, 2 hard drives, many fans, etc.) There was never a hiccup in gaming or anything.

I have built several gaming PCs with the OCZ Fatal1ty 550W, and they have all run beautifully. I strongly recommend it, and it gets great reviews.

Good luck.
 
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wpshooter

Golden Member
Mar 9, 2004
1,662
5
81
I have picked this PSU up for as low as $35 after rebates, but it is now $50 at Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341022

My 1000W Ultra x3 died (the 2nd one that died, so I can't recommend Ultra PSUs), and I ordered a 750w modular Corsair. In the interim, the OCZ 550w ran my PC for 3 weeks flawlessly, and my PC is rather high powered. (Core i7 W3540 @ 4.1Ghz, XFX 5870, 6GB G.skill @ 1820, Gigabyte x58 ud5, 2 hard drives, many fans, etc.) There was never a hiccup in gaming or anything.

I have built several gaming PCs with the OCZ Fatal1ty 550W, and they have all run beautifully. I strongly recommend it, and it gets great reviews.

Good luck.

Your link does not take me anywhere !!! Which P/S are you referring to ?

Thanks.
 

theAnimal

Diamond Member
Mar 18, 2003
3,828
23
76
Your link does not take me anywhere !!! Which P/S are you referring to ?
That would be the very mediocre OCZ Fatal1ty 550W. Any of the other PSUs mentioned would be a much better choice.
and it gets great reviews.
I don't believe any proper review has been done for this PSU. If you mean newegg reviews, those are worthless.
 

Jhatfie

Senior member
Jan 20, 2004
749
2
81
That would be the very mediocre OCZ Fatal1ty 550W. Any of the other PSUs mentioned would be a much better choice.

Agreed, it is made by Sirtec which is not known for making very high quality power supplies. Spend the few extra $$ and get a quality unit, your computer will thank you.
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
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OCZ makes mid grade PSU's at best, i have no idea why people keep reccomending them as if they were good. Get a quality Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, XFX and you will be fine.
 

KingerXI

Senior member
Jan 20, 2010
222
1
81
He has a P4 system... the OCZ Fatal1ty 550W will be fine for him. It ran my sytem great for 3 weeks, and I have rocket compared to his set-up. The OCZ PSU has stable power, is very quiet, and it is a super deal for $40-45. And he doesn't even know if/when he is going to build a new system. If he isn't a gamer with an Nvidia 470 or higher, this will work fine for him. Not everyone needs an $80+ PSU.

Granted I was willing to spend more and get the Corsair HX750, but for someone with a mid-range system, the OCZ PSU is fine.

Search "OCZ Fatal1ty 550w" on Newegg, and you will find it.
 

wpshooter

Golden Member
Mar 9, 2004
1,662
5
81
I decided to purchase a Seasonic 620 Watt.

That one seemed like it has the best overall rating and features for the price.

Thanks.
 

MagickMan

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2008
7,537
3
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OCZ makes mid grade PSU's at best, i have no idea why people keep reccomending them as if they were good.

People recommend them because they "mostly-kinda-almost" work. If you keep them below 60% of their optimistically rated max load, they seem to be ok, but God help you if you push much further than that for very long.

If you're going to run a 600W OCZ PSU on a system that only needs 400W at max load, you'll likely be ok, but I'd rather spend a little more money and get a much better unit. It's worth the extra cash for peace of mind alone.