PSU for my build?

[c_marriott]

My current build is:

 

AMD FX-6300,

Gigabyte 970a-ds3p,

Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 (possibly upgrading to a GTX 960 or a R9 280X soon),

Zalman Z11 Plus,

Samsung 840 Evo,

1TB HDD,

500W PSU.

 

The PSU is a cheap £30 Coolermaster one so even though it will do for the current build I know that once I upgrade my GPU the PSU won't be able to handle it so I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good PSU that is reliable, modular/semi-modular and will do for my build.

 

Any help would be great, thanks

[ivan134]

The PSU is fine, even when you upgrade to a 280x. An R9 290 can run perfectly on a 550W power supply, so a 280x is fine on that one.

[Aniallation]

The PSU is a cheap £30 Coolermaster one so even though it will do for the current build I know that once I upgrade my GPU the PSU won't be able to handle it so I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good PSU that is reliable, modular/semi-modular and will do for my build.

Depends what GPU you're upgrading to. A 290X for example that PSU won't be able to handle but a 280 or 970 will be fine

[a_block_of_wood]

Which cheap CM 500watt PSU do you have? At £30 I'm wondering if it is the Elite V2 model.

 

Be warned this is a non-PFC model, low in efficiency and is only rated at 360watt on the 12v rail, whatever they print on the box doesn't matter. It's fine for Radeon 7770, but it will be a very close call for the GTX960. 280X will blow that PSU up.

 

However, if it's not the Elite models, but the B500 or B500v2 models, which should be cheap as well, then it should do fine. They are rated 400/450watt on the 12v rail, which most power hungry CPU/GPU feeds on.

[c_marriott]

Which cheap CM 500watt PSU do you have? At £30 I'm wondering if it is the Elite V2 model.

 

Be warned this is a non-PFC model, low in efficiency and is only rated at 360watt on the 12v rail, whatever they print on the box doesn't matter. It's fine for Radeon 7770, but it will be a very close call for the GTX960. 280X will blow that PSU up.

 

However, if it's not the Elite models, but the B500 or B500v2 models, which should be cheap as well, then it should do fine. They are rated 400/450watt on the 12v rail, which most power hungry CPU/GPU feeds on.

 

It is the Elite V2 yeah, that's why I thought it might be wise to get an upgrade. When I first built the PC I was under a budget of around £400 so the PSU I went cheap on, obviously I now realise that was not a wise decision.

Would it be best to upgrade the PSU before getting the new GPU then? Just to be safe

 

[Aniallation]

It is the Elite V2 yeah, that's why I thought it might be wise to get an upgrade. When I first built the PC I was under a budget of around £400 so the PSU I went cheap on, obviously I now realise that was not a wise decision.

Would it be best to upgrade the PSU before getting the new GPU then? Just to be safe

Again, depends on what GPU you're getting.

[c_marriott]

Again, depends on what GPU you're getting.

 

Well, so far I've managed to find a nicely priced refurbished R9 290 on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/R-MSI-R9-290-GAMING-4G-AMD-Radeon-R9-290-4GB-GDDR5-512-BITS-4K-Resolution-/301618282292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4639d9bf34

 

Or the r9 280x if the 290 is not worth it due to being second hand etc. 

 

280x link: http://www.ebuyer.com/581410-msi-r9-280x-gaming-3gb-gddr5-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-card-r9-280x-gaming-3g

[Aniallation]

Well, so far I've managed to find a nicely priced refurbished R9 290 on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/R-MSI-R9-290-GAMING-4G-AMD-Radeon-R9-290-4GB-GDDR5-512-BITS-4K-Resolution-/301618282292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4639d9bf34

 

Or the r9 280x if the 290 is not worth it due to being second hand etc. 

 

280x link: http://www.ebuyer.com/581410-msi-r9-280x-gaming-3gb-gddr5-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-card-r9-280x-gaming-3g

 

Yeah the Elite V2 500W won't be enough for a 280X-290. 500W is enough, but you'll want a much better quality one.

 

Since you're in the UK grab the 550W Antec TruePower Classic. It's a fantastic PSU and hands down the best in the price range. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-tp550c

[c_marriott]

Yeah the Elite V2 500W won't be enough for a 280X-290. 500W is enough, but you'll want a much better quality one.

 

Since you're in the UK grab the 550W Antec TruePower Classic. It's a fantastic PSU and hands down the best in the price range. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-tp550c

 

It doesn't specify whether or not it is modular? I was hoping for at least semi-modular to help with cable management 

[Griffscavern]

It doesn't specify whether or not it is modular? I was hoping for at least semi-modular to help with cable management

That one is not modular. It's listed in the specs tab.

[TheModMonster]

A Corsair CX430M would be fine if you don't want to overclock. But I would get a Corsair CX600M.

[Aniallation]

It doesn't specify whether or not it is modular? I was hoping for at least semi-modular to help with cable management 

It's not modular. The semi-modular version of the same PSU is almost 50% more expensive. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ssr550rm

 

If you really want a modular PSU then consider the XFX Pro 650 http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1650xxxb9

[a_block_of_wood]

Personally I would pick this for my own build if I have a FX-6300 and plan to drop an R9 290 inside.

 

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cs550mit's good but not overkill.

 

In fact, that unit is most likely my next unit (until something better/cheaper but just as good came out) if my current PSU ever failed on me. I'm using a Coolermaster GX 750, bought it 5 years ago, still works, but not sure for how much longer. Noisy as hell, more cables than I ever need, big cable mess.