Which PSU Do You Recommend?

[Gamblers]

Hey everyone, I am looking into buying a new PSU. My current PSU is a Powerman 350W output. I am looking to purchase a PSU that has 650W or 750W output. Which PSU do you recommend that I purchase? I am not looking for the best one, but mainly the one that gives the most bang for the buck. :awe:

Here is my systems spec:
==System==
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.090803-2339)
Processor:Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz (2CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory:3070MB RAM
Page File:1679MB used, 5331MB available
DirectX VersionirectX 11
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG

==Display==
Name:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
Manufacturer:NVIDIA
Chip Type:GeForce GTX 260
Approx. Total Memory:2158MB
Main Driver:nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
Version:8.17.0011.9562

 

[Udgnim]

double post

 

[Udgnim]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ue&Order=PRICE

the Sunbeam 650W PSU might be decent. I'm just making this assumption since they make a decent CPU cooler, but 35.99 AR is a nice price. in all likelihood, it's probably trash though.

next comes to Silverstone OP650 PSU @ 79.99. I've owned one for 2.5 years and it's been a PSU for 2 builds so far. I've had no problems with it other than PSU whine under wierd conditions like when mouse scrolling with certain specific websites in IE (doesn't happen in FF or Chrome) or when moving my mouse around the RivaTuner HW Monitoring graph with 1 display active (doesn't happen when I have 2 displays active). wierd random shit.

next comes Antec Earthwatts 650 @ 84.99 and free shipping! I've seen the Antec Earthwatts PSU line recommended pretty often while browsing various PSU related threads. so if you don't want to go with either the Sunbeam or Silverstone PSU, the Antec PSU is a good safe bet.

I assume any other PSU below the 84.99 price bracket in the newegg link and not discussed above is trash

 

[theAnimal]

Antec Earthwatts 650 or Corsair TX650.

Of course, you don't need anywhere near that much unless you'll be adding another video card. (Which you shouldn't be doing until you've upgraded your CPU.)

 

[yh125d]

You have no need for more than a 450-500w PSU with that system

 

[v8envy]

The antec EA380 should be plenty for that build.

But I'd recommend one of the $40 AR Mod/Game/StealthXStream OCZ "700 watt" units -- hard to get a better bang for buck. It's a solid 500 watt PSU by Fortron, and with your system being hard pressed to draw anywhere near 300 watts it should fit both your needs and budget very nicely.

 

[jjmIII]

An ea380 wouldn't correctly power my 9600gt.....it was fine on an ea430 though.

In the past people bought too big of a power supply, so now everyone wants to reccommend the minimum needed....great if you never upgrade anything (not common for a poster here!).

I like Corsair. Their prices are pretty good if you don't mind rebates.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Go to Lowes and get the Reliance Load Amp/Watt tester. I did. Rig1 idles around 104-108w. I had a PSU that was WAAAY overkill for it, but a good one none-the-less. Probably the most efficient PSU around in low watts is the Seasonic X 650 Gold. At 62-70w its 88.8% efficient. Above that to about 653w it is above 90% efficient. And the voltage regulation is phenomenal! 10-20mv ripple on the +3.3v & +5v with the 12v hitting 30mv!!

 

[taltamir]

Rig1 idles around 104-108w

most rigs do, but you need your PSU to never go above 80% load, and most PSU brands lie about their wattage, often advertising double what it really is.

a really high quality PSU can get you what it really advertises (ex: seasonic are honest), but even then you don't want to overload.

 

[Lonyo]

most rigs do, but you need your PSU to never go above 80% load, and most PSU brands lie about their wattage, often advertising double what it really is.

a really high quality PSU can get you what it really advertises (ex: seasonic are honest), but even then you don't want to overload.

This.
A 400w Corsair CX400 is rated at 360w on the 12v at 40c.
Or you could buy something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-070-_-Product
Which is a "600w" PSU which says it can do 264w at 12v (and probably only rated for that at 30c)