What PSU

[JT1985]

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3

2GB DDR2-PC6400

8600GT 512MB

X-fi xtreme music

36GB Western Digital Raptor

750GB Samsung Spinpoint

DVD writer

Been looking at an Enermax 625w 82+ modular PSU would this suffice in the power requirements, also could you guys suggest anything better??

Kind regards,

JT

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

It should do the job but the warranty is only for 3 years which also could be OK.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/03/2...ax_pro_82_psu/1

[chconline Veteran]

I would suggest some of the more "major" premium brands. Seasonic M12II or Seasonic S12II 500W should do wonders in your case. Plus they're really quiet :)

[+shift. MVC]

Corsair HX520 works, so does Corsair VX550. (I think group regulation in HX520 vs. Independent regulation in VX550, but the 550W lacks the modularity aspect)

[JT1985]

Seasonic M12-600w looks good for ?91. Thanks for the replies:))

Edited October 5, 2008 by JT1985

[CPressland]

I think pretty much any PSU will do you fine, just make sure to get a decent brand and not some "extra value" crap.

[C:Amie]

If you wanted a brand recommendation, I've always had excellent results from the higher end Antec units, and they have some great design features. They aren't the cheapest though.

[+shift. MVC]

For a high end Antec (I'm guessing you're indicating something like a 650W Signature?) you can probably afford a 750W Corsair TX or a 620W HX (non modular vs. modular)

[gummyz]

Enermax is not bad imo. I don't know, 500W seems like an overkill for this system, but more wattage (even if you don't require it) is a good thing - as long as the brand/model is good :)

[+shift. MVC]

Really depends on which model of Enermax. Some have had secondary / primary side failures (I believe secondary side are the ones that result in a big puff if magic smoke followed by potential burning electronics)

[bob_c_b]

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3

2GB DDR2-PC6400

8600GT 512MB

X-fi xtreme music

36GB Western Digital Raptor

750GB Samsung Spinpoint

DVD writer

Been looking at an Enermax 625w 82+ modular PSU would this suffice in the power requirements, also could you guys suggest anything better??

Kind regards,

JT

If you have no serious plans to upgrade the video card any time soon I would go with the Corsair 450vx, no need to waste money on a 625w PSU that will never get close to taxed with that system. Also, unless you already own the 8600GT I would suggest going with the 9500GT/9600GT, you get so much more for just a few dollars.

[Boz]

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3

2GB DDR2-PC6400

8600GT 512MB

X-fi xtreme music

36GB Western Digital Raptor

750GB Samsung Spinpoint

DVD writer

Been looking at an Enermax 625w 82+ modular PSU would this suffice in the power requirements, also could you guys suggest anything better??

Kind regards,

JT

I would have to agree with others who pointed out about the Corsair series.. it's very nice..

Don't go for Silverstone one because even though they do output good power, I had them just go bust within a year.

Corsair new series are good.. I have to agree that top of the line Antec ones are pretty good but lower end they put in cases are not so great.

Of course you can't with PC Power & Cooling. Their 500W PSU is crazy strong and sturdy.

BFG PSUs I have is pretty (1000W one though) is great too and it has modular cables too which is great for neatness.

[+shift. MVC]

I would have to agree with others who pointed out about the Corsair series.. it's very nice..

Don't go for Silverstone one because even though they do output good power, I had them just go bust within a year.

Corsair new series are good.. I have to agree that top of the line Antec ones are pretty good but lower end they put in cases are not so great.

Of course you can't with PC Power & Cooling. Their 500W PSU is crazy strong and sturdy.

BFG PSUs I have is pretty (1000W one though) is great too and it has modular cables too which is great for neatness.

Pretty much all Corsair and Seasonic PSUs are good across the board.

However, with the Silverstones, just because you had one go bust within a year doesn't mean they all will. ;)

As far as Antec goes, high end Signature series are good, however their budget Earthwatts PSU's are awesome as well. Go take a look at some JonnyGURU reviews :)

As for PCP&C they used to be good, and as far as "sturdy" goes, sure any PSU can be sturdy, but that doesn't mean it'll provide good ripple supression, voltage regulation and efficiency.

[Argote]

The PDU you listed should be more than enough for that build, you could easily cut back on it and still have a comfortable buffer of excess power.

Seasonic M12-600w looks good for ?91. Thanks for the replies:))

Holy crap, 91 pounds for a PSU? That is extremelly expensive, that money is much better spent on upgrading the 8600GT to somethiing with more punch.

I think pretty much any PSU will do you fine, just make sure to get a decent brand and not some "extra value" crap.

Agreed.

Enermax is not bad imo. I don't know, 500W seems like an overkill for this system, but more wattage (even if you don't require it) is a good thing - as long as the brand/model is good:))

Agreed, but instead of spending money on a "better" PSU you should consider using that money to upgrade another component

[+shift. MVC]

You'd be surprised how important a PSU is. It is providing ALL the power to your computer, and on top of that there are A LOT of factors to put into consideration.

Ripple suppression, voltage regulation, efficiency, build quality just to name a few. If anything, the PSU is the one component of your computer that you should not skimp on.

[Argote]

You'd be surprised how important a PSU is. It is providing ALL the power to your computer, and on top of that there are A LOT of factors to put into consideration.

Ripple suppression, voltage regulation, efficiency, build quality just to name a few. If anything, the PSU is the one component of your computer that you should not skimp on.

I agree that the PSU is important, however almost any PSU over $50 on the market can handle a computer with the OPs specs comfortably. There is no need to spend $150 on a PSU for that setup when you could spend $60 and invest the $90 you saved in something more worthwhile. (Unless you are going for a very silent PC, case in which you'll need one of those fancy "silent" PSUs).

As long as it's from a reputable brand, there's no need to go for anything over 500W unless you're getting several disks in RAID (4+) or SLI/Crossfire

[+shift. MVC]

True, but even reputable brands have certain PSUs that are not as good quality as others. For example, other than high end Antec, Earthwatts and maybe Truepower Trios I wouldn't really go with any other Antec, same with OCZ's newer PSUs compared to the StealthXStream and GameXStream models which have been plagued with apparent ripple suppression problems.

[chconline Veteran]

^ Only on full load with 150mV or whatever it was, which is out of specification only. At regular loads (Like 50%) it's absolutely fine, I'm barely pushing 60% of my Seasonic M12II 500W (Higher load on the +12V rail tho) with my QX9650, Asus Striker II NSE, etc -- rest in sig.

If you can afford a tier 1 Seasonic PSU, go for it. But other than that it doesn't hurt to get a tier 2 Seasonic in Antec Earthwatts, Corsair HX, etc. and some CWT units from Antec are pretty good too. OCZ... well... StealthXStream and GameXStream have high voltage ripple problems as aforementioned, but it likely won't affect the end user at this point.

[Argote]

^^ That's what I mean, he will not be able to tell the difference because those PSUs are good enough even if they do have "ripple problems".

[bob_c_b]

Yea, some of these discussions are getting out of hand. Some of this may apply with extreme overclocking, but for most people it will never be an issue.

[Argote]

Yea, some of these discussions are getting out of hand. Some of this may apply with extreme overclocking, but for most people it will never be an issue.

Yes, I've seen many people with lesser configs than the OP be scared into spending about 25+% of what their build is worth on the PSU because they've been convinced here that anything under $150 will blow up their computer.

[+shift. MVC]

Hardly my point that anything under $150 will blow up their computer, considering an Antec Earthwatts could power the OP's system for under 90$.

Just making sure you understand my point that even reputable manufacturers have not so good PSU series. Maybe OCZ SXS and GXS were bad comparisons.

Yea, some of these discussions are getting out of hand. Some of this may apply with extreme overclocking, but for most people it will never be an issue.

Not really. You and many other enthusiasts may have a nice grasp on buying a good PSU. You'd be surprised how many times I've seen people put a crappy Apevia or a generic branded PSU into their build.

[bob_c_b]

Hardly my point that anything under $150 will blow up their computer, considering an Antec Earthwatts could power the OP's system for under 90$.

Just making sure you understand my point that even reputable manufacturers have not so good PSU series. Maybe OCZ SXS and GXS were bad comparisons.

Not really. You and many other enthusiasts may have a nice grasp on buying a good PSU. You'd be surprised how many times I've seen people put a crappy Apevia or a generic branded PSU into their build.

But we aren't talking about low end PSUs from Apevia or Deer. We are talking about your insinuation that forcing an Enermax PSU well outside it's rated capacity having ripple issues being a meaningful measurement. Any even have interested PC builder can pretty much trust anything from Antec, Enermax, CoolerMaster, OCZ or Corsair, but if pushed enough even the best PSU will start showing crazy results.

I wasn't really targeting my comment specifically at you, but too many "enthusiast" sites have confused themselves with legitimate engineers and scientist and want to argue specs they don't fully understand, operating environment varialbes and mean time between failure ratings. I'm not saying they are all wrong, just not so fully informed that we should take all of these people seriously, or at least as experts.

[Argote]

can pretty much trust anything from Antec, Enermax, CoolerMaster, OCZ or Corsair

Ok, that's the basic point I wanted to get through.

Yes, there are cases in which you DO need a powerful PSU capable of delivering very clean power, but those are the exception rather than the norm.

Most hardware is engineered to work with the ****ty power that the $10 PSUs inside OEM PCs put out (Altough that doesn't mean you should get a $10 PSU).

In a nutshell, anything over $50 will be OK

p.s. bob_c_b that last paragraph was a little aggressive (though I kinda agree with some of it), try to keep the conversation rational, the community will appreciate it. thx

[Argote]

even reputable manufacturers have not so good PSU series

Yes, I agree that they may not be as good as other PSUs, but for most builds even the ones from the lesser series will work just fine.