Quality psu under $100

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qzyxya

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Jan 16, 2013
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Hi. I'm looking for recommendations on a good psu under $100.
Here are the ones im looking at now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182261
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151095
My computer is an old dell xps 7100, phenom 830 x4, and I'm going to upgrade it and put in a gtx560 ti or a 660, along with upgrading the psu and adding a ssd.
The power consumption will probably be like 3-400 (guessing, maybe more idk), so I'd assume I'll need 4-500w psu? Are these ones good?
 
Eureka

Eureka

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
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Doesn't seem like you're looking for anything with bells and whistles:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139026

There's also a modular version that just came out, right now it's sitting at $50 but if you can get it below $30 it'd be a great deal as well.

The PC Power and Cooling and Seasonic ones are really nice too, but they're also much more expensive.
 
Q

qzyxya

Member
Jan 16, 2013
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ive heard the psu is one of the most important parts of a system, so i shouldn't cheap out on it. anyone else?
 
Eureka

Eureka

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Sep 6, 2005
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qzyxya said:
ive heard the psu is one of the most important parts of a system, so i shouldn't cheap out on it. anyone else?
Click to expand...

Cheap doesn't mean bad. If you look up the CX430, it's a well-reviewed unit produced by a very good company. I'd trust it more than a Rosewill brand, for one.

Also, I just realized you have a Dell pre-built. Upgrading the PSU may not be easy because it's a Dell system (they use proprietary pin-outs).

What PSU do you have in there already? A 660 and SSD draws very little power. The Dell PSU may work fine for your needs.
 
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Q

qzyxya

Member
Jan 16, 2013
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Eureka said:
Cheap doesn't mean bad. If you look up the CX430, it's a well-reviewed unit produced by a very good company. I'd trust it more than a Rosewill brand, for one.

Also, I just realized you have a Dell pre-built. Upgrading the PSU may not be easy because it's a Dell system (they use proprietary pin-outs).

What PSU do you have in there already? A 660 and SSD draws very little power. The Dell PSU may work fine for your needs.
Click to expand...

Oh really? Wow then at $25 for a good brand and whatnot is a steal haha.
I know the one it has is 460w, I'm gonna take some pics of the labels when i get home tonight. If I were to get a 660, would I just remove the old gpu and then just plug it into that same slot in the mobo? And you think the oem one might work? What would I be risking? I might just get a new case with better cooling and such and then a new psu. (that one you suggested)
 
Eureka

Eureka

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
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qzyxya said:
Oh really? Wow then at $25 for a good brand and whatnot is a steal haha.
I know the one it has is 460w, I'm gonna take some pics of the labels when i get home tonight. If I were to get a 660, would I just remove the old gpu and then just plug it into that same slot in the mobo? And you think the oem one might work? What would I be risking? I might just get a new case with better cooling and such and then a new psu. (that one you suggested)
Click to expand...

Just remove the old GPU and put in the new one, simple as that. You'll need to reinstall drivers when you're done. The 660 will need an extra power plug, if your current one doesn't have it. If the PSU doesn't have a 6-pin PCI-e, I believe the GTX660 will have an adapter in the box to pull power from a 4-pin molex. I'm looking through older reviews, and it seems like the 7100 could support some higher-end video cards for its time, which means they draw more power than a GTX660 would. Depending on what card you have in there, you could be saving power by moving to a GTX660.

It's not as simple as changing the case and PSU, if you wanted to go that route. The problem is that Dell motherboards use a different power connector and that's what you have to watch out for. It's not worth it, just keep your current power supply.

I doubt you'll be risking anything. If the Dell PSU was made well, it should just shut down the computer if you use too much power (which in this case, you are not). So the worst likely thing to happen is that you may have to wait a few days if you find out you don't have a PCI-e plug and have to buy an adapter.

You definitely have enough power on that system. The CPU draws around 100W (max), and the GTX 660 will draw around 140W (max). That's 240W on a 460W PSU.

EDIT: I lied some more. You'll be 100% fine, the XPS 7100 had the 5870, which required 2x 6-pin PCI-e connectors.

EDIT2: If you actually have a 5870 in there now, it's not worthwhile to upgrade to the 660, since the 5870 was a beast of a card.
 
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Q

qzyxya

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Jan 16, 2013
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Eureka said:
Just remove the old GPU and put in the new one, simple as that. You'll need to reinstall drivers when you're done. The 660 will need an extra power plug, if your current one doesn't have it. If the PSU doesn't have a 6-pin PCI-e, I believe the GTX660 will have an adapter in the box to pull power from a 4-pin molex. I'm looking through older reviews, and it seems like the 7100 could support some higher-end video cards for its time, which means they draw more power than a GTX660 would. Depending on what card you have in there, you could be saving power by moving to a GTX660.

It's not as simple as changing the case and PSU, if you wanted to go that route. The problem is that Dell motherboards use a different power connector and that's what you have to watch out for. It's not worth it, just keep your current power supply.

I doubt you'll be risking anything. If the Dell PSU was made well, it should just shut down the computer if you use too much power (which in this case, you are not). So the worst likely thing to happen is that you may have to wait a few days if you find out you don't have a PCI-e plug and have to buy an adapter.

You definitely have enough power on that system. The CPU draws around 100W (max), and the GTX 660 will draw around 140W (max). That's 240W on a 460W PSU.

EDIT: I lied some more. You'll be 100% fine, the XPS 7100 had the 5870, which required 2x 6-pin PCI-e connectors.

EDIT2: If you actually have a 5870 in there now, it's not worthwhile to upgrade to the 660, since the 5870 was a beast of a card.
Click to expand...

I might, but I got a lower end config (they had a fancy schmancy amd vision black edition (probably with the 5870 and the 6 core) but I got the lower end silver one (some other color than black, i forget) that had the 830 and a cheaper gpu.
Is there a way to check which I have? I guess then I won't be getting a new case and psu if the dell ones use different cables, I guess I can just clean this one out and get the better gpu. Thx.

Also, how much more of an actual preformance increase would a 660 be over say a 650 ti or a 560 ti in terms of ONLY Cuda acceleration on mercury playback engine? I know gaming will be better but I dont care much about that, I'd rather invest in other stuff (better camera for filming the stuff i'm going to be editing, ssd)
 
Eureka

Eureka

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Sep 6, 2005
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If you use a tool called GPU-Z (free small program), it will tell you everything you will ever want to know about your GPU. And even between the two versions of the 7100, they will probably share the same PSU and so you'll be fine on power. Plus it'll run cooler with a 660.

In terms of work differences, that's something you might want to ask in the VC&G forum, as I'm only really familiar with gaming differences in GPUs. I know there were differences between the Fermi and the Kepler (5xx vs 6xx) in terms how they were optimized, as the 6xx chips were designed to be gaming chips and sacrificed workstation optimization. I forget for exactly what, but I remembered reading somewhere that Fermi cards were actually better for graphics work than Kepler.
 
Q

qzyxya

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Jan 16, 2013
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Eureka said:
If you use a tool called GPU-Z (free small program), it will tell you everything you will ever want to know about your GPU. And even between the two versions of the 7100, they will probably share the same PSU and so you'll be fine on power. Plus it'll run cooler with a 660.

In terms of work differences, that's something you might want to ask in the VC&G forum, as I'm only really familiar with gaming differences in GPUs. I know there were differences between the Fermi and the Kepler (5xx vs 6xx) in terms how they were optimized, as the 6xx chips were designed to be gaming chips and sacrificed workstation optimization. I forget for exactly what, but I remembered reading somewhere that Fermi cards were actually better for graphics work than Kepler.
Click to expand...

All right, thanks I'll post a question there. Do you know of any sites with benchmarks for different gpus? I get most of my benches off anandtech's 2012 gpu thing but I should probably get some other sources to compare with
 
Eureka

Eureka

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Q

qzyxya

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Jan 16, 2013
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Eureka said:
Very good source:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

Not so reliable source, but still useful:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/directCompute.html
Click to expand...

Thanks but i was looking for more of a benchmark with like fps and stuff than a hierarchy chart. Like the anandtech gpu comparison thing says the 660 has better cuda preformance (it had a score of 830 and the 560 ti had 670, but idk what those scores mean). Also, doesn't the gtx660 have like 900 cuda cores while the 560 has only 380, wouldn't that mean it would be much better?
I know for gaming its going to be far better.
 
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Torn Mind

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
12,078
2,772
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Eureka said:
Cheap doesn't mean bad. If you look up the CX430, it's a well-reviewed unit produced by a very good company. I'd trust it more than a Rosewill brand, for one.

Also, I just realized you have a Dell pre-built. Upgrading the PSU may not be easy because it's a Dell system (they use proprietary pin-outs).

What PSU do you have in there already? A 660 and SSD draws very little power. The Dell PSU may work fine for your needs.
Click to expand...

Dell used a proprietary PSU in some of their systems, but not all of them, and I believe they no longer do it at all.

His current PSU is a crappy AcBel unit(saw it in his General Hardware thread). I came across Acbel's TFX PSU when asked to diagnose why an Inspiron 546s was not starting. That unit had bulging capacitors as the culprit.

The CX430 is now on its third version. Its previous revisions have been reviewed and tested. If one doesn't get a dud, it's a fine performer and the internals are excellent.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-CX430-Power-Supply-Review/1200
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-CX430-V2-Power-Supply-Review/1284

http://www.google.com/search?q=cx43...&sugexp=chrome,mod=1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
 
Eureka

Eureka

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Sep 6, 2005
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That's good to know that they are no longer proprietary, do you know for sure if his version is ATX standard?

In any case, there's no point in switching if the PSU still works. The CX430s can be bought at any time so might as well use the Acbel until it no longer works. The 830 + 560/660 won't stress the PSU enough to worry about overload.

EDIT: Just read the General Hardware thread of his. Sounds like OP needs general housecleaning more than anything. A SSD + fresh windows install will do wonders for the computer alone. Clean it out. Crashing could be caused by anything but not because it's old (3 years is fairly new for computer tech). Sounds like software/bloatware creep and maybe overheating.

For what you need a 560Ti for $100 is a far better deal than a 660. Power supply... I would say leave it be. I have faith in these cheap chinese PSUs, I have one running 7 years now. Run it until it dies and then replace it.

Get this SSD: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-FqR_JJCh7oZFnagqTAOUlQ

It's a good SSD for the price, not the latest and greatest but it'll last.
 
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Torn Mind

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
12,078
2,772
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Eureka said:
That's good to know that they are no longer proprietary, do you know for sure if his version is ATX standard?
Click to expand...
Well, I suppose Dell didn't go proprietary on the cheap tier desktop. Even my family's old Dimension 2400 is standard ATX, but this is a digression...


Fortunately for him, Dell dumped the practice from their XPS line in around 2008.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/dell_drop_kicks_proprietary_parts

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19334737.aspx

Seems like folks in the second link were recommending standard PSUs. Corsair was mentioned.
 
N

Necc

Senior member
Feb 15, 2011
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Iwouldn't buy the new Corsair CX430 80+ Bronze, horror stories on newegg feedback section.
 
Eureka

Eureka

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Sep 6, 2005
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Necc said:
Iwouldn't buy the new Corsair CX430 80+ Bronze, horror stories on newegg feedback section.
Click to expand...

Newegg feedback is mostly horror stories for any product. For $25, I'd take the chance, since both Newegg and Corsair both have great customer service.
 
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BTRY B 529th FA BN

Lifer
Nov 26, 2005
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If you watch for the Seasonic X 650, 750, and sometimes the 850 Gold models you may find them below 100 or at 100$ in the 850w case. New Egg is frequently having deals on them.
 
C

coffeejunkee

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Jul 31, 2010
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qzyxya said:
ive heard the psu is one of the most important parts of a system, so i shouldn't cheap out on it. anyone else?
Click to expand...

I think that's the right way to go about it. Although the Corsair CX430 is a pretty decent powersupply and a real steal at $25 I would still step it up a notch and go for the Seasonic G series bigsnyder recommends, except instead of the 550W I would get the 450W model.

Reasons:
- 105c rated caps on the Seasonic vs 85c on the Corsair, 105c will last longer.
- More sata connectors
- 2 vs 1 pci-e connectors, ready for possible graphics card upgrade.
- Ball bearing fan on the Seasonic vs sleeve bearing on the Corsair, sleeve bearing will get noisy after a while.
- Although rated 430W the Corsair is more like a 330W psu, modern pc's use mainly the 12V line and not so much the 3.3V and 5V ones.
- Modular vs non-modular, modular is just much more convenient.
- 5 years vs 3 years warranty.

Extra:
- Better voltage regulation.
- More efficient, although you probably won't make up the cost difference.
 
bigsnyder

bigsnyder

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Nov 4, 2004
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550 watts will be more than enough for the system he listed. 550w is probably overkill, so anything higher would be a waste of money. As far as the G-Series I linked, with the rebate at the time of purchase, the net cost was around $60. I realize that pricing isn't current, but mentioned that as a point of reference for when a similar deal comes around.
 
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