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need a psu for new system but its all confusing me.
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Posted January 21, 2013 at 7:40PM
Hi im building a new budget system: phenom 2 965 BE 8 gb corsair vengeance 500gb seagate barracuda hdd hd 7770 gpu 960GM/U3S3 FX mother board
not sure what budget psu to go for. I want to try and get the cheapest I can but need be safe. Wandered if anyone can recommend a good one for this sytem. thanks.
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Posted January 21, 2013 at 9:42PM
Don't skimp on the PSU. The cheap ones are very inefficient and will cost more in electricity over the lifetime of the computer. You should probably be looking at 600 Watts to be safe and give room for upgrading in the future and the difference in price is not that great.
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Posted January 22, 2013 at 12:30AM
Its all this dual and single rail stuff thats getting me and the ampage.
I have seen similar systems recommended this: link
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Posted January 22, 2013 at 8:32AM
As alanrwood quite rightly points out do not buy a cheapo PSU as they are really poor value and quality. Whereas the one you have linked to is more than enough and Corsair a good brand, may I suggest spending another £8 or so and getting this one. 500W.
This will supply all your needs even if you upgrade.
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Posted January 22, 2013 at 10:58AM
I would second what Chronos says. At 430W it could turn out to be limiting if you update your graphics card etc later on and then you would need to buy a more powerful one anyway. It is also never good policy to run a PSU near to its maximum as they then generate more heat and become less efficient and they get noisy as the fan then runs at full speed all the time. Also stressing the component will lead to a shorter working life.
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Posted January 22, 2013 at 12:36PM
Bonus ----- I bought a similar one when this budget PC was young and have been rewarded with neither glitch nor much sound from it. The large fan must have a lot to do with being quiet - low rpm little sound.
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Posted January 23, 2013 at 5:10PM
To answer a couple of your other questions, the single rail/multi rail option is not significant as there are advocates of both systems and it doesnt really matter which you choose.
You mentioneed "amps" but I guess you meant "watts". The point is that a PSU runs at its most efficient when half loaded and the more current you pull the harder it has to work, the noisier it gets, and the shorter its lifespan. Provided you dont install any high end graphics cards then a figure of 250 watts is about the max a PC will draw which, as the other guys suggested, a 500 watt supply from a recognised brand should do fine.
The other thing to bear in mind is that unbranded PSUs should be avoided as their rated values can be a lot less than they are actually capable of. With PSUs its very much a case of you get what you pay for.
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Posted January 23, 2013 at 6:29PM
Hi Bris
I think you mean that the rated value can be a lot MORE than what they are actually capable of but you are right about getting what you pay for.
The cost of a 500 Watt PSUis not proportionally that much more thgan a 350/400 watt one so I would still go for a 500 Watt one and have some spare in the bag in case of later updates.
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Posted January 24, 2013 at 1:09PM
Hi Alan
You are right I did get it the wrong way round, thanks for the correction.
