500w or 600w PSU?

[Nikeshp79]

Hello!

 

I'm going to be making my first build. One thing which keeps confusing me is the PSU. I know that I have to get a good quality PSU, and I've chosen the corsair cxm series, I would choose the NZXT Hale82 to match with my case - but I'm unsure what WATTAGE I require. I'm on a budget of £50 or less.

 

I don't plan on overclocking or using CrossefireX or SLI (H series motherboards do not support). However, I do plan on using the ASUS GPU Boost and Intel XMP. I also do want to get the ASUS H97-Plus/Pro depending on price difference, when it is available within the UK. The graphics card I plan to add is the Asus GTX 760 Direct CU II.

 

I've checked using the eXtreme wattage calculator which estimated 468W, however the pcpartpicker shows 364W or something around that value. I want to have a little headroom for additions I want to add such as an optical drive and an SSD with maybe another HDD for extra storage in the future. My computer will also be on for about 3-4 hours a day. So at the minute I'm looking at a corsair cx500m - will that do the job?

 

P.S Here's my build (http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/nikeshp79/saved/4GXh)

 

Thanks for reading, and helping me out if you do 

 

Thank you for all who have posted, it's has helped me A LOT! Much APPRECIATION. 

[SyedNaz]

just 600W psu n be safe with it

[MrSuperb]

I've checked using the eXtreme wattage calculator which estimated 468W,

 

HOW ?!

eXtreme Power Supply Calculator shows usage of 290 Watt and recommends at least a 330 Watt psu ?! 

[wng_kingsley7]

Would you be adding another GTX 760 DCU2 in about 3-4months or potentially upgrading it to maybe a 780 if you had the money? @Nikeshp79 seems pretty fine anything ranging between 500-650w will do.

[SeljD]

PSU will degrade over time, you should go with a safe option and get 600W

[Andi]

The CX500M isn't really that great. It's not even 80x bronze at 230V

 

You live in england? Get a BeQuiet L8 530W

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/530w-be-quiet!-pure-power-l8-bn181-modular-80plus-bronze-87-eff-120mm-silentwings-fan-eps-12v-atx-v2

 

500W is enough to power a 290X and a quadcore with HT

[wtfxmitchell]

500 watts is more then enough

[Geekazoid]

Hello!

I'm going to be making my first build. One thing which keeps confusing me is the PSU. I know that I have to get a good quality PSU, and I've chosen the corsair cxm series, I would choose the NZXT Hale82 to match with my case - but I'm unsure what WATTAGE I require.

I don't plan on overclocking or using CrossefireX or SLI (H series motherboards do not support). However, I do plan on using the ASUS GPU Boost and Intel XMP. I also do want to get the ASUS H97-Plus/Pro depending on price difference.

I've checked using the eXtreme wattage calculator which estimated 468W, however the pcpartpicker shows 364W or something around that value.

Have you tried using CoolerMaster's PSU Calculator to see what you get there? I'm not sure how accurate it is but I do believe that @LinusTech recommended it.

Here it is: http://coolermaster.outervision.com/poc.jsp

EDIT: I did a calculation with your PC Part Picker list and it said that the recommended minimum wattage was in fact 365W. Pretty much the same as what PC Part Picker estimated. Even if you were to add another GTX 760 I think you would be quite fine with a 500W PSU. But you could go for a 550W PSU to be sure.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Geekazoid

[Bogica]

Get a 600w one for a few reasons. It's going to take the load better, it's going to heat up less than the 500w one with the same hardware and it leaves room for later upgrading. That's what I would do.

[Andi]

Get a 600w one for a few reasons. It's going to take the load better, it's going to heat up less than the 500w one with the same hardware and it leaves room for later upgrading. That's what I would do.

What does "take the load better" mean? A good 500W psu will deliver 500W+maybe 15% with no complaints. His system won't need more than 250W under full load. I don't see why you would need 600W. A 600W would produce more waste heat than a 500W unit with his configuration => getting hotter.  If you don't plan on doing SLI or CF you will never need more than a 500W psu.

 

A good choice for this build would be a 400W PSU - if you plan to stick to normal 200-300$ GPUs. But i know...you all want more watts! Even if it makes no sense

[Geekazoid]

What does "take the load better" mean? A good 500W psu will deliver 500W+maybe 15% with no complaints. His system won't need more than 250W under full load. I don't see why you would need 600W. A 600W would produce more waste heat than a 500W unit with his configuration => getting hotter.  If you don't plan on doing SLI or CF you will never need more than a 500W psu.

 

A good choice for this build would be a 400W PSU - if you plan to stick to normal 200-300$ GPUs. But i know...you all want more watts! Even if it makes no sense

Maybe some people like to have overkill PSUs.

*cough* Bogica *cough*

Just messin' with ya @Bogica.

[Bogica]

What does "take the load better" mean? A good 500W psu will deliver 500W+maybe 15% with no complaints. His system won't need more than 250W under full load. I don't see why you would need 600W. A 600W would produce more waste heat than a 500W unit with his configuration => getting hotter.  If you don't plan on doing SLI or CF you will never need more than a 500W psu.

 

A good choice for this build would be a 400W PSU - if you plan to stick to normal 200-300$ GPUs. But i know...you all want more watts! Even if it makes no sense

 

Getting a good PSU offers more stability on the 5&12v rails. Having it run under less load is better for it's life cycle. Heck, my 550w PSU is from 2009 and it runs like a champion, no problems ever even though as you said my system draws 400w maximum. Left me headroom for attaching more HDD's, fans and overclocking without having to think once if it could handle it. So that's why I prefer having headroom.

[Bogica]

Maybe some people like to have overkill PSUs.

*cough* Bogica *cough*

Just messin' with ya @Bogica.

 

Hahahaha Love the humor, don't worry, I'm not offended. It's my opinion, same as everyone has theirs, the point here is to find the best suitable PSU for the poster, you guys aparently have more experience with such things, which is why we're discussing it.

My opinion in the grand total is: The extra headroom won't hurt, a bigger PSU won't increase you power bill because your system will draw the same amount of power from a 500 and 600w PSU.

[Nikeshp79]

Would you be adding another GTX 760 DCU2 in about 3-4months or potentially upgrading it to maybe a 780 if you had the money? @Nikeshp79 seems pretty fine anything ranging between 500-650w will do.

I do not plan to add any more GPUs or upgrade them. Thank you for the help!

 

The CX500M isn't really that great. It's not even 80x bronze at 230V

 

You live in england? Get a BeQuiet L8 530W

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/530w-be-quiet!-pure-power-l8-bn181-modular-80plus-bronze-87-eff-120mm-silentwings-fan-eps-12v-atx-v2

 

500W is enough to power a 290X and a quadcore with HT

Yes I live in England, and I have read reviews that the cx500m is a good power supply.

 

EDIT: That PSU seems much better than the cx500m! Thank you for pointing that out, I would have never come across it otherwise!! 

[Nikeshp79]

Many thanks to everyone who has posted, it has helped me a LOT! 

 

I think I'll will stick with a 500W PSU, I reckon the PSU Andi recommended is a great option for me. (http://www.scan.co.u...-eps-12v-atx-v2)

 

If you have any suggestions for alternatives to that, I will look into it.

[Geekazoid]

Hahahaha Love the humour,

Haha, good! But I wasn't joking. (Okay, yes I was )

don't worry, I'm not offended.

Oh dang it! I was trying to. (JK).

It's my opinion, same as everyone has theirs, the point here is to find the best suitable PSU for the poster, you guys aparently have more experience with such things, which is why we're discussing it.

I have no more experience about this then the kitten sitting next to me. (Well there was a kitten, but she left). :lol:

My opinion in the grand total is: The extra headroom won't hurt, a bigger PSU won't increase you power bill because your system will draw the same amount of power from a 500 and 600w PSU.

So if the OP wants to run 4 Titan Z's in SLI he should be set with a 600W PSU then? (JK).

[atrash]

Nikeshp79, on 18 May 2014 - 9:17 PM, said:

Many thanks to everyone who has posted, it has helped me a LOT! 

 

I think I'll will stick with a 500W PSU, I reckon the PSU Andi recommended is a great option for me. (http://www.scan.co.u...-eps-12v-atx-v2)

 

If you have any suggestions for alternatives to that, I will look into it.

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-cooler-master-g550m-gm-series-88-eff-80-plus-bronze-single-rail-atx120mm-fan-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-corsair-enthusiast-series-modular-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-psu

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-enermax-triathlor-eco-hybrid-modular-88-eff-80-plus-bronze-atx

 

I dunno your budget so just pick any of the 3 that suits your look preference. All of them are good ones. The Enermax is the newest among the bunch,and the specs look good too. All 3 are made by CWT. They all have only 2 x 6+2pins connectors so future sli+crossfire of mid tier gpu might be a problem.

[creativename]

500w, 600w is a wierd wattage, it's not enough for 2 cards, and it's too much for a single card.

[Wow Such Doge]

The CX500M isn't really that great. It's not even 80x bronze at 230V

 

You live in england? Get a BeQuiet L8 530W

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/530w-be-quiet!-pure-power-l8-bn181-modular-80plus-bronze-87-eff-120mm-silentwings-fan-eps-12v-atx-v2

 

500W is enough to power a 290X and a quadcore with HT

You're wrong, the CX500m is 80+ Bronze and it has 38 Amps on the 12v unlike the CX500 V1 and V2 which only had 34, The CX500m and CX500 are both 80+ Bronze and have 38 Amps now.

 

And too OP, you'll be fine with a 500w.

Get a CX500 or EVGA 500b and call it a day.