Which PSU for an Intel i7-2700K with minor overclocking?

[itakey]

I've had good luck with Antec's, but I'm open to Seasonic made PSU's too since people say those are great or another reputable brand.

How many watts do I need give or take? I'm guessing 500W will do it, but I've been out of the loop for quite a while and I posted a few weeks back and people seemed to think that a 380W would be plenty. I don't game so I will either use integrated video, or get a lower end dual output video card so no crazy power here.

Current build in progress:
i7-2700K CPU (Got a sick deal on it)
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
Antec 302 Case
Hyper 212+ CPU Cooler

I'll probably run 3 or 4 internal drives (1 SSD, Sata and IDE mix), and between 8GB and 16GB ram.

How are these? If the Antec Earthwatts would cut it, I wouldn't mind that one since its priced nice and the reviews are awesome.

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
at $45.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
at $44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029

Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
at $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016


Someone recommended this one as a Seasonic made, but the NewEgg reviews are so so, and slim:
XFX ProSeries P1-450S-X2B9 450W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Core Edition V2 Full Wired Power Supply
at $38.99 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207018

Anyone recommend one of these as a great choice, or another one I didn't list? And any recommendations on minimum wattage will be helpful.

 

[Fallengod]

It doesnt really matter. I tend to not go below 450-500 watt psu's just so I know I have enough power if upgrading or something but, yeah thats plenty. $45 for a 380watt psu seems a bit pricey, you can find 500-600 watts in that price range often enough.

i5 cpu's dont use much power and especially if you arnt running a high end video card, you definitely dont need some crazy PSU. Anything above 500 watts would be a waste. I also like to have it where my PSU isnt being stressed much which helps with longevity, so I dont want bare minimum requirements on a PSU personally.

I was considering one of those XFX core PSU's, those are supposedly seasonic internals. Ive seen mixed comments on them though. And ya, you cant go wrong with a seasonic. Antec neo eco are seasonic internals as well I believe. Antec earthwatts is dealta I think, and those are decent quality as well.

I just noticed this antec 430 earthwatts is even cheaper than the 380, kind of strange.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034

 

[itakey]

It doesnt really matter. I tend to not go below 450-500 watt psu's just so I know I have enough power if upgrading or something but, yeah thats plenty. $45 for a 380watt psu seems a bit pricey, you can find 500-600 watts in that price range often enough.

i5 cpu's dont use much power and especially if you arnt running a high end video card, you definitely dont need some crazy PSU. Anything above 500 watts would be a waste. I also like to have it where my PSU isnt being stressed much which helps with longevity, so I dont want bare minimum requirements on a PSU personally.

I was considering one of those XFX core PSU's, those are supposedly seasonic internals. Ive seen mixed comments on them though. And ya, you cant go wrong with a seasonic. Antec neo eco are seasonic internals as well I believe. Antec earthwatts is dealta I think, and those are decent quality as well.

I just noticed this antec 430 earthwatts is even cheaper than the 380, kind of strange.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034

Thanks FallenGod,
Odd how the 430w is cheaper, good eye on that Think the 430 will cut it? PS, the chip is the i7, not the i5.

I'm addicted to reviews so if I see a lot of bad I usually steer clear of products like that, but I know those darn reviews can easily sway for too many reasons.

Is there a major difference between 80 Plus, and 80 Plus Bronze?

 

[Fallengod]

Read this for the ratings.

80 plus bronze means its slightly more efficient than 80 plus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_PLUS

 

[itakey]

Seems like some say 430W is plenty, others say a ton more.

How does one find out who manufactures a power supply? People always mention Seasonic makes certain ones, how is this known?

 

[Denithor]

300W is more than adequate for a system without a high-powered GPU sucking up the watts.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/52

2700K is going to run slightly higher than the 2600K which clocks in at 127W under full load.

Game changes a little if you add a discrete GPU. But generally anything mid-range and below will still fit into the 300W envelope.

Game changes a lot if you add a high performance SLI/Crossfire setup.

 

[mkmitch]

I can never see much good coming from buying a cheap power supply. It's too critical, but to each his own.

 

[itakey]

300W is more than adequate for a system without a high-powered GPU sucking up the watts.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/52

2700K is going to run slightly higher than the 2600K which clocks in at 127W under full load.

Game changes a little if you add a discrete GPU. But generally anything mid-range and below will still fit into the 300W envelope.

Game changes a lot if you add a high performance SLI/Crossfire setup.

That's one vote saying the 430Watt will cut it, right?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034

I definitely don't want a cheap power supply, instead I just don't want something that puts out too much wattage to never be used.

My budget is around $75 or under.
I've just had Antec's in the past so that 430W for $39.99 (Price is up but some still have it for the lower price) seems like a reasonable deal being Bronze Plus certified.

Should I be going Modular? Does the power supply need to say i7 compatible? I notice some say that.

I'm fine with something else too. Any recommendation

 

[Zargon]

that 430W should be more than enough

 

[Fallengod]

That earthwatts is fine.

 

[RaiderJ]

that 430W should be more than enough

Agreed - Without a power hungry GPU you'll be fine (and even then 430W would probably cover you). Lots of good choices in that range that aren't expensive. I've been very happy with my Corsair PSUs. I really like modular supplies for neatness, but they are more expensive.

 

[Zargon]

Agreed - Without a power hungry GPU you'll be fine (and even then 430W would probably cover you). Lots of good choices in that range that aren't expensive. I've been very happy with my Corsair PSUs. I really like modular supplies for neatness, but they are more expensive.

i ran #'s w/a 6770 + extra drives and fans and 380 was plenty

 

[itakey]

That earthwatts is fine.

Went with the Antec Earthwatts 430 since it was $39.99 and the 380 was $44.99. Good eye on that one FallenGod!!! Thanks everyone.

 

[Jman13]

Yeah, I'm always amazed at how little power most rigs really need. I have a mid-range GPU, an overclocked i5, 3 HDDs and an optical drive, and I'm probably nowhere near the capacity of my Corsair 520W. I'd probably need 400 since my GPU does pull 175W at load, but my CPU is only about 85W at load, so there's only 260W between the two biggest power hogs.

I used to use Antec PSUs, but I really like my Corsair...still rock solid after 4 years of use.

 

[mikeymikec]

I'm using Antec HCG-400s at the moment. If you were thinking about a great big graphics card as well, I would probably go for the HCG-520.

 

[itakey]

I'm going to plan to plug my new rig into a kill-a-watt and see how much it is pulling ultimately. My current machine has the Antec 380 and I never checked it, but it has 5 drives and a little bit of overclocking and never skipped a beat.

 

[Fallengod]

Most computers are at around 60-150 watts during idle/normal desktop use(not including monitor!).

Here is the specs of my old system I just upgraded from. I tested and wrote down all the power consumption just for my own reference.

E6400 @ 2.9ghz, 2gb of ddr2 memory, 2 hard drives, 2 dvd burners, a single EVGA 8800GT with an Antec TPII 550 watt psu.

Power consumpion was as follows(does not include monitor):

Idle/Desktop use: 150ish watts
Load: 200ish watts


Even with a much older gen card like an 8800GT and an overclocked cpu, thats still only 200 watts at full load. I have not yet tested my new 2500k system, but I am sure its even lower now. It would be unfair to test right now since I sold my video card and am using HD-3000 IGP at the moment.

 

[acefightr]

That earthwatts is fine.

+1

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Corsair vx550. Peace of mind. Or seasonic bronze 650 watts

 

[coffeejunkee]

VX550 is old and not that good compared to newer psu's. 650W is ridiculous (btw, Seasonic doesn't have a 650W bronze model, only a gold one and that's discontinued as well, they do have a 620W bronze model)

300W psu wil be plenty even with modest oc. Problem is there aren't that many quality 300W models, unless you don't care about looks, in which case SeaSonic SS-300ET is good. If you do care, Seasonic S12II 380W.

I run i5 750 3.5GHz + 5850 and max power used is around 250W. The only reason I have a 620W psu is because I need a lot of sata connectors, more than the 520W model offers.

 

[glazer1972]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139028

Corsair Builder CX600?

 

[lehtv]

This setup doesn't need anywhere near a 600W PSU. With integrated video, you're looking at 150W peak system power consumption, 200W overclocked. I'd get the XFX 450W, $38AR for seasonic quality and 5 year warranty.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

You also need to factor in that if he upgrades his pc a year or so down, the psu needs to be enough. Also, a highly overclocked and over volted 2700k can reach 150-200 watts alone

Besides, you need to consider capacitor ageing and decreasing capacity as years pass by.

 

[lehtv]

If the only type of graphics card GPU he's going to add is a low power one for more video outputs then the 450W unit is still easily enough, factoring in big overclocks and capacitor aging, and possible other upgrades like more HDD's or expansion cards.

 

[coffeejunkee]

You also need to factor in that if he upgrades his pc a year or so down, the psu needs to be enough. Also, a highly overclocked and over volted 2700k can reach 150-200 watts alone

Besides, you need to consider capacitor ageing and decreasing capacity as years pass by.

Obviously when you want the option of future gpu upgrades you'll need a beefier psu. But it's basically all been said in this thread already. And since TS didn't mention anything about it I think it's safe to assume he has no plans in that direction. Also, notice "with minor overclocking".

Besides were seeing good improvements on gpu power use. A 450W psu will easily power a 7870 which will let you play the majority of games on highest settings. Anandtech uses 3960X with fairly high oc which uses way more than a 2700K and it's still only 310W in worst case scenario (Metro 2033).