Upgrading PC, want new PSU

[severus]

Hello all,

Upgrading my system from a 11 year old Antec 520w High Current Gamer 80+ bronze. This PSU has adequately powered two builds, an e6750 with a variety of GPUs and a i7 2600k at 4.5ghz with an r9 fury nitro, 2 SSD, 2 HDD, 5 120mm fans, and 1 250mm fan.

Upgrading to a ryzen platform system, x370 board. Using either a 2600 or 2700 (non x) and manually overclocking. Carrying over the r9 fury nitro. Just 1 ssd, 1 hdd, 5 140mm fans.

Looking at Seasonic and FSP (and the brands they manufacture for). Antec, BeQuiet, etc. No EVGA or Corsair units. I've had countless failures from both brands, could just be the models I bought, but I refuse to buy another PSU from either one no matter how good it is.

I'm thinking I need 550-650w? Budget is around 100$ or less. Seasonic Focus Plus 550w platinum is 100$ with 30$ MIR at the moment. Perhaps this is the best deal? Also like the FSP Hydro G 650w for 89$

Suggestions are welcome and helpful. Bonus points if the unit has a white housing as my new case has white internals. Semi modular is probably fine, I'm going to have to use those cables anyway!

 

[UsandThem]

I have to say while it's not too surprising to see someone like Seasonic, this is probably the first time I've seen anyone here specifically give a shout out to FSP.

Anyways, both of the units you seem to like are good units (the Seasonic comes with double the warranty at 10 years vs. 5 years for the FSP). So if I were buying, I'd get the Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum or Gold.

As far as size of PSU, I'd recommend of getting a 650w unit as your GPU is a power hog, and you want to overclock your CPU on top of it. While I doubt you would ever hit 550w, but Seasonic specifically states when using GPUs that pull more than 225w, to use one cable per 8-pin PCIe cable. And since I own a 550w Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum, it only comes with one PCIe cable. So you will need to go up to 650w to get a unit that comes with two PCIe cables.

And lastly, I have to say EVGA and Corsair don't make their own units. The Corsair RMx series is made by Channel Well, and the EVGA G2/G3 units are made by Super Flower, and they're both among the best out there (right up there with Seasonic). While some of their other series are made by other OEMs, and are just average in quality. Nothing wrong with not wanting to consider them based on past experiences, but thought I'd just let you know that little nugget of knowledge.

 

[UsandThem]

Also, another one that is a really great series is the Seasonic Prime:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817151205

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817151172

They both come with 12 year warranties.

 

[VirtualLarry]

One thing that I haven't seen adequately discussed, about PSUs and GPUs, is the transient loads that GPUs can sometimes create. The rated TDP, is the average "max" power draw, but at smaller time-scales, the actual "peak" power draw can be quite a bit higher. And, I have read of some PSUs, that have OCP set too low (for safety, I assume), that these transient peak GPU loads, can trigger OCP, and cause a PC shutdown.

So I'm starting to believe, that, absent specific OCP and peak GPU load knowledge, that just possibly, to avoid this potential issue, one should "upsize" their PSUs by a couple of notches. So instead of getting a 550W or 600W PSU, consider a 750W. Of course, some PSUs, in reviews, are tested out to higher wattages than they specify on the label. Those might have the headroom for the peak GPU loads built-in. Others? Not so certain.

 

[UsandThem]

One thing that I haven't seen adequately discussed, about PSUs and GPUs, is the transient loads that GPUs can sometimes create. The rated TDP, is the average "max" power draw, but at smaller time-scales, the actual "peak" power draw can be quite a bit higher. And, I have read of some PSUs, that have OCP set too low (for safety, I assume), that these transient peak GPU loads, can trigger OCP, and cause a PC shutdown.

So I'm starting to believe, that, absent specific OCP and peak GPU load knowledge, that just possibly, to avoid this potential issue, one should "upsize" their PSUs by a couple of notches. So instead of getting a 550W or 600W PSU, consider a 750W. Of course, some PSUs, in reviews, are tested out to higher wattages than they specify on the label. Those might have the headroom for the peak GPU loads built-in. Others? Not so certain.

Several review sites, like Tom's, TechPowerUp, and KitGuru test the safety features and transient times, so a person can still buy a unit that scores well in those areas without having to go with larger units they will never need.

The problem with going with a larger unit than needed is the "desktop" efficiency levels. Unless someone buys a titanium rated PSU, loads under 20% of the capacity are much lower. For example, a gold rated unit is required to be at least 87% at 20% of the total PSU load. For most people, sitting at their desktops they are consuming less than 70w, so the efficiency for low loads like that can be in 70s if they get too big of an unit.

 

[VirtualLarry]

That is true, but honestly? I'd rather spend the extra pennies running the thing, than having the whole PC shut down under heavy load.

 

[UsandThem]

That is true, but honestly? I'd rather spend the extra pennies running the thing, than having the whole PC shut down under heavy load.

Many of the PSUs I look at, like the Seasonic Prime Platinum I am about to order, can go over their output rating by quite a bit before the OPP is triggered, the the motherboard shuts the PSU down. For example, I'm getting the 650w version, and it won't shut off until it hits 712w. Some of the larger units with bigger capacitors, can go an extra 150w-200w before it happens.

Here's the unit I'm getting:

https://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/seasonic-prime-650w-platinum-psu-review/5/

If I wanted to spend the extra money, I could buy the 650w Titanium version, and the OPP doesn't get triggered until 844w

https://www.kitguru.net/components/...ic-prime-650w-titanium-power-supply-review/6/

 

[UsandThem]

Oh, I have to add one more thing. Since when have you not saved extra pennies on PC hardware? For goodness sake, you love buying cheaper hardware and accessories. You might be the most frugal enthusiast we have here.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Oh, I have to add one more thing. Since when have you not saved extra pennies on PC hardware?

On the hardware, sure. On the operating expenses, of which power consumption is a large part, not so much. Then again, it might matter to me more, if I paid for my power myself. (included in rent)

For goodness sake, you love buying cheaper hardware and accessories. You might be the most frugal enthusiast we have here.

Hardly.

I'm a deal-hunter, but I don't pretend to make the wisest purchases out of anyone. If anything, possibly, I make the most foolish. Bulk buys, when you might personally only need/want one or two of an item, just because you think it might possibly have some resale, has led me down quite a few financial rabbit-holes during the month.

 

[severus]

Before the current Antec I'm using, I had an Antec 430w True Power ( the original not the rev 2) which was made by Channel Well. I read a bit about the RM---X series from Corsair and the white 850w one went on sale a few days back. I picked it up for a song and a dance with an additional $20 MIR. I'm going to give it a shot, but if it ends up being a dud (which Corsair units have been in my experience), I'll buy the FSP Hydro PTM or a BeQuiet unit (made by FSP, but sometimes have 15% coupons on Newegg). There also was a phenomenal deal at microcenter that I found out after the fact. Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850W for $75. I believe that this is either a Channel Well or FSP unit disguised as a Thermaltake.

 

[UsandThem]

Before the current Antec I'm using, I had an Antec 430w True Power ( the original not the rev 2) which was made by Channel Well. I read a bit about the RM---X series from Corsair and the white 850w one went on sale a few days back. I picked it up for a song and a dance with an additional $20 MIR. I'm going to give it a shot, but if it ends up being a dud (which Corsair units have been in my experience), I'll buy the FSP Hydro PTM or a BeQuiet unit (made by FSP, but sometimes have 15% coupons on Newegg). There also was a phenomenal deal at microcenter that I found out after the fact. Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850W for $75. I believe that this is either a Channel Well or FSP unit disguised as a Thermaltake.

I saw the Hydro PTM on sale at Newegg, and was tempted to grab one. However, I read a few reviews about how the EMI is on the unit, so I instead went with the Seasonic. Hopefully the Corsair works out for you. They generally make good higher-end units, but since they don't give the user the option to disable the fan-stop feature, I've haven't bought a PSU from them for quite some time.