PSU choice

[Lyubo]

Hello everyone. I need consultation. What kind of PSU do I need for my very old platform. I'm wondering do I really need gold class or I can just go and grab bronze? I'm not planning to upgrade soon. My spec are:

 

Gigabyte ga-970a-ds3p
FX 8350 /stock/
Asus RX 480 4GB OC
4 x 2GB DDR3 1600
Hdd- 1TB
SSD- 240GB
Sound card- Creative Audigy SE (SB0570) 

 

In mid-range class I'm wandering between:

 

Pure power 11 500W
SEASONIC- SSR-550FX GOLD
SEASONIC CORE GM 500W SSR-500LM CORE-GM-500
CORSAIR CX SERIES MODULAR CX550M 550W CP-9020102-EU

 

And low-end between:

 

Super Flower PSU 500W 80+ Bronze King
Riotoro Builder Edition 500W PR-BFX500-EU
System power 9 500W
Seasonic S12III 550W 80 Plus SSR-550GB3

 

Is it worth it to give extra money for gold PSU or I'll be good with bronze? I'm playing 1-2 hours per day, the rest use is internet, movies, music and so on. I'm playing only BF4 multiplayer but the videocard is pritty hot. And is it enough 500W for my system? Some people say that is good to have 30-40% reserve, others not.
The only condition that I have is to be as quiet as possible in idle. Under load I don't care. I'm using headset. I accept any recommendation. My budget is 100$. Thank you!
 

[GorujoCY]

any of those power supplies will serve you well, it depends on what you want in terms of warranty and customer support...

[GorujoCY]

Just now, GorujoCY said:

any of those power supplies will serve you well, it depends on what you want in terms of warranty and customer support...

as for the low end, the seasonic s12III or System Power 9 is what I would recommend

[AZarkov]

You will be very good with bronze don't worry. Given the specs of your machine if you do not plan to upgrade anytime soon go with bronze to save some bucks. Gold PSUs are more reliable and futureproof. The choice depends on your future plans. Regarding the wattage it is always good to have some headroom. A 550W will do just fine for your system IMO. + SEASONIC make one of the best PSUs and a lot of big brands are rebranding their PSUs.

[Lyubo]

I see. But which one will maintain stable 12V under load? My current PSU is dropping to 11,6V and lower under load and my video card is stuttering during the game with FPS drops. Thank you all again!

[GorujoCY]

Just now, Lyubo said:

I see. But which one will maintain stable 12V under load? My current PSU is dropping to 11,6V and lower under load and my video card is stuttering during the game with FPS drops. Thank you all again!

I would say seasonic, corsair and be quiet's psus are more guaranteed to be 12v stable under load

[seon123]

Ignore the "advice" of anyone that cares about the 80+ rating, and especially those that care about the brand, and don't actually look at any reviews. The 80+ rating and brand says nothing about how good or reliable the PSU is.

Out of those PSUs, the Focus Plus Gold does have a semi passive mode, but uses an absolute crap fan, so it's particularly loud at higher loads, in case you upgrade to more power hungry parts. The Pure Power 11 has a decent fan, is quieter under load, and has multi rail OCP, but doesn't perform as well as the Focus Plus Gold.

8 minutes ago, Lyubo said:

I see. But which one will maintain stable 12V under load? My current PSU is dropping to 11,6V and lower under load and my video card is stuttering during the game with FPS drops. Thank you all again!

How did you measure the 11.6V? Stuttering and FPS drops are not caused by the PSU, try troubleshooting other things first.

[Lyubo]

Aida64 Extreme shows me the voltage if I can trust it. I've tried with more powerful and expensive PSU for a while  and the game was smooth. And my current PSU is DeepCool DN450. It's cheap and I have trouble with the fan.

[GorujoCY]

9 minutes ago, seon123 said:

Ignore the "advice" of anyone that cares about the 80+ rating, and especially those that care about the brand, and don't actually look at any reviews. The 80+ rating and brand says nothing about how good or reliable the PSU is.

Out of those PSUs, the Focus Plus Gold does have a semi passive mode, but uses an absolute crap fan, so it's particularly loud at higher loads, in case you upgrade to more power hungry parts. The Pure Power 11 has a decent fan, is quieter under load, and has multi rail OCP, but doesn't perform as well as the Focus Plus Gold.

How did you measure the 11.6V? Stuttering and FPS drops are not caused by the PSU, try troubleshooting other things first.

I mean I'm not trying to say "Oh get seasonic because they are reputable blah blah"

While any modern PSU will guarantee stable 12V, it is good to actually rely on brands knowing what they are doing like be quiet, seasonic, corsair and etc. And again I said:

33 minutes ago, GorujoCY said:

↓

 

34 minutes ago, GorujoCY said:

any of those power supplies will serve you well, it depends on what you want in terms of warranty and customer support...

and again as for the low end, I just recommend Seasonic and Be quiet because That's what I would go for.

[seon123]

1 hour ago, Lyubo said:

Aida64 Extreme shows me the voltage if I can trust it. I've tried with more powerful and expensive PSU for a while  and the game was smooth. And my current PSU is DeepCool DN450. It's cheap and I have trouble with the fan.

You can't trust that reading, it's useless. You should replace the PSU, but do know that the performance problems might not necessarily go away. 

1 hour ago, GorujoCY said:

I mean I'm not trying to say "Oh get seasonic because they are reputable blah blah"

While any modern PSU will guarantee stable 12V, it is good to actually rely on brands knowing what they are doing like be quiet, seasonic, corsair and etc. And again I said:

 

and again as for the low end, I just recommend Seasonic and Be quiet because That's what I would go for.

The fact that you said "stable 12V", rather than anything meaningful says a lot. And again:

1 hour ago, seon123 said:

especially those that care about the brand, and don't actually look at any reviews

 

[GorujoCY]

3 minutes ago, seon123 said:

You can't trust that reading, it's useless. You should replace the PSU, but do know that the performance problems might not necessarily go away. 

The fact that you said "stable 12V", rather than anything meaningful says a lot. And again:

 

ok I'll let you help the guy then...

[Lyubo]

Ok. I know that I don't have the knowledge. Otherwise I wouldn't ask for help here. My performance issues might not be connected wit the PSU but I'll replace it. So if these 12 V are  irrelevant what should I look for?

[Elisis]

14 hours ago, AZarkov said:

SEASONIC make one of the best PSUs

Well, no. They can't hold a candle to the shit actual OEMs come up with.

 

14 hours ago, AZarkov said:

a lot of big brands are rebranding their PSUs.

Not... really? Relatively few are doing so nowadays.