Looking for a good PSU

[xzenon]

Hi there, I'm building a new PC and am looking for a good PSU. At first I decided to go with the Antec CP-850, but after reading some reviews I noticed that it wouldn't fit a non-Antec case. I will go for the HAF 932 Advanced case. Do I have any chance of fitting the Anted PSU inside the case and if not(most probably) what similarly-priced PSU would you guys recommend? An 800W PSU might suit my needs as well, but the 850W one just caught my attention when I looked for PSUs

 

[TemjinGold]

What exactly are your needs? Are you OCing two high powered GPUs?

 

[xzenon]

No, currently thinking of OCing just the processor - i5 3570K. I only got 1 GPU atm, a second one would leave a crater in my wallet I admit, I don't know a lot about the recommended power of a PSU(as in how much I need for a system) so maybe 850W is too much?

 

[lehtv]

What graphics card do you have? Are you overclocking it?

Where are you located?

Does your motherboard support SLI/Crossfire?

 

[Jetster...]

Use a PSU calculator there all over google. Then add about 150 watts. Get a Corsair, SeaSonic, Enermax or Antec. Decide on a modular or not. I never heard of a Antec PSU only fitting in a Antec case. I dont thing thats correct. But some PSU are too big for some cases

 

[lehtv]

PSU calculators overestimate the wattage you need because they compensate for bad quality units that aren't actually capable of outputting their rated wattage cleanly. Normally you can subtract a few watts from a PSU calculator's recommendation

 

[xzenon]

What graphics card do you have? Are you overclocking it?

Where are you located?

Does your motherboard support SLI/Crossfire?

EVGA GTX 670 FTW - won't OC

I live in Romania(is this what you meant by where i'm located?)

The mobo does support SLI, but as I've said I will(for at least a few months) use just one GPU.

I've been looking at some PSU calculators and each site gave me way different numbers. One was saying 550, one from ASUS said 650 and another one from MSI (and I'm pretty sure I checked the correct things) said 400-450...

 

[lehtv]

OK. I've visited some Romanian online stores before, but can't access my browsing history at the moment (at work). If you're buying online can you post a link please

A single GTX 670 consumes around 150-170W off the top of my head, while an overclocked i5-3570K is about 100W. A 500W PSU is optimal for you, it'd be beyond ridiculous to buy an 850W unit.

Some examples of good 500W units you might find in Romania
Antec Neo Eco 520C
Antec Earthwatts EA500D
Antec HCG-520
Enermax Naxn 82+ 550W
Corsair CX600 V2 (the +12V output rating is similar to the 500W units mentioned here)
Corsair GS500
Seasonic S12II & M12II 520W
XFX Core Pro 550W

 

[xzenon]

Thanks a lot for your reply. This is the site I'm buying from: http://www.pcgarage.ro/surse/

EDIT: I've been looking at 500-600W units and I've narrowed the list down to 3 PSUs:
Seasonic X-560KM 560W: http://www.pcgarage.ro/surse/seasonic/x-560km-560w/
Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 600W: http://www.pcgarage.ro/surse/cooler-master/silent-pro-gold-600w/ and
Corsair Modular TX550M: http://www.pcgarage.ro/surse/corsair/cmpsu-tx550m/

The price difference between the first 2 is very small(2-3 bucks). However the difference between the Corsair and the CM is about 40 bucks, but the CM and Seasonic ones are GOLD certificated. Is the CM/Seasonic one worth 40$ more? One thing that slightly makes me want the Seasonic more than the others is the fact that it's fully modular(at least from the pics) and it's GOLD certificated(but this also makes the CM attractive), but the others seem to have most of the cables removable as well(I don't like having a lot of cables hanging around in my case like I have in my current PC).

Can't wait to hear your opinion

 

[lehtv]

None of the units you listed are good value for money. Efficiency isn't worth paying that much more for because Bronze is just a few percent off from Gold and efficiency has practically no bearing on reliability and quality. Neither is modularity, you'll be using most cables anyway and your case has very good cable management.

The best value units that are 80+ Bronze and non-modular:
Corsair CX600 V2 300 RON
OCZ ZS550 306 RON
Corsair GS500 330 RON
Seasonic S12II 520W 350 RON
Seasonic S12II 620W 395 RON

The best value modular unit:
Seasonic M12II 520W 385 RON, also a better unit than TX550M

The best value 80+ Gold unit:
FSP Aurum Gold 500W for 390 RON

I'd get the S12II 520W.

 

[xzenon]

Thanks a lot. I'll stick to Seasonic then. I'll have to choose between the 620 and 520, but I'll wait a bit more till I buy any of them, maybe I'm lucky and find it on sale

 

[lehtv]

All of the Seasonics are on a 5% discount at the moment