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Which mid-end power supply?

T

thefreeaccount

Member
I'm looking for a mid-end power supply for the following low-end system:
Radeon 4870
Phenom II X4 3.8Ghz
4x Seagate Barracuda 1.5 TB hard drives

300W video card + 150W processor + 80W hd spin-up= ~600W should generously exceed what I need.

I've narrowed it down to the following PSUs:
Cooler Master Silent Pro 600W (Modular, $90)
SeaSonic S12D 750W ($100)
Corsair TX750 ($110)

The problem is that all of those power supplies have very good reviews on jonnyguru and other sites. Any ideas on which one would be better, or which properties of the psu should be most important? Is it better to have very low ripple, excellent 3V/5V regulation, or a very low power-up spike?

I'm tempted to go for the cooler master simply because it's the cheapest and it has a decent variety of modular cables (ie, not a single "modular" SATA cable with 7 SATA connectors hanging off of it - yes, we are looking at you Enermax).
 
billyb0b said:
the seasonic and the corsair are both great picks. you'll be completely happy with either one
Click to expand...

This x2, own a corsair 850tx and its a great PSU. Cant go wrong with the seasonic either. Would take either of those over the CM any day.

And thats not really a low end system lol, i would call a P4 a low end system.
 
Thanks a lot for your advice! The differences I found between the Seasonic S12D and the Corsair 750TX were:

  • The Corsair has slightly longer cables (24" vs 20" m/b cable)
  • The Seasonic has more cables with fewer connectors on each cable (3xSATA cables with 3 connectors each vs 2x4)
  • The Seasonic is split into two power-capped virtual rails (one w/MB, hard drives, and one PCIE, the second with the remaining 3 PCIE connectors) for overpower protection; the Corsair does not have OPP.
  • The Corsair has over-temperature protection; the Seasonic does not.
  • One reviewer claimed that the many large heat sinks inside the Corsair were blocking internal air flow; he measured temps of up to 75C in one corner of the PSU case.
  • The Corsair had mixed reviews for ripple and noise (one review claimed low ripple but very high noise, another claimed to measure very high ripple but very low noise).
  • The Corsair had slight to moderate (but still within spec) voltage drop under progressively heavy loads.
In the end, I decided to go with the Seasonic. Why? Because the Corsair comes with a fine velvet bag, but no sample of fine liquor - an unwarranted tease and ultimately a fatal omission.
 
A++ would read again. Can't drink without building 😛

I read someone on the forums claim that the Corsair 650tx (made by Seasonic) was "more powerful" and not just "better" than the 750tx anyways. Wish I had saved that.
 
AVP said:
A++ would read again. Can't drink without building 😛

I read someone on the forums claim that the Corsair 650tx (made by Seasonic) was "more powerful" and not just "better" than the 750tx anyways. Wish I had saved that.
Click to expand...

the Corsair 650tx is made by channel well technologies... Just a heads up!
 
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