Power Supply Help

[Drake10114]

Hello,

So last Friday I had an idea to try and put together a possible work pc (I'm an accountant), to see if it would be cheaper than a pre-built, laptop, mini or a tablet to replace my current work pc.

After some research over the weekend, I realized the PSU someone recommended for a seemingly low price was actually not a good tier at all.

Now question time.

Is either a corsair cxm 450w 80+ bronze semi-modular better than a seasonic M12II 520 Bronze or are they pretty much equal in terms of performance.

Should I spring for a 550w supernova g2 (total wattage of the whole system is expected to be 140w (pc.partpicker's number)) in hopes of being fine by having a tier 1 PSU?

 

System specs for those curious:

Intel Core I5-7500

Gigabyte GA-B250M-DS3H

Corsair Vengenance LPX 8GB

Samsung 850 Evo 250 SSD

Fractal Design 1100 Case

 

Also what is the main difference between semi-modular and modular? I noticed on the pictures for semi-modular only the 8pin is attached, which is perfect, because I should only need 2 cables (1 sata, 1 8pin) throughout the system. Or would it be better to go modular, due to not having any extra cables?

[Tenadisic]

I would go for the Supernova because the higher the total wattage the less strain on the psu and the longer it will last.

As for the Semi modular vs full modular, Semi modular leaves the 24 pin and cpu power 4+4 pin connected to the PSU while on a fully modular PSU every cable is detachable

[Drake10114]

13 minutes ago, Tenadisic said:

I would go for the Supernova because the higher the total wattage the less strain on the psu and the longer it will last.

As for the Semi modular vs full modular, Semi modular leaves the 24 pin and cpu power 4+4 pin connected to the PSU while on a fully modular PSU every cable is detachable

Only thing is I doubt a 450w will be strained, since all it really is powering is an i5 not being overclocked, and an ssd, but I could be wrong, hence the post.

Sounds like semi-modular can be an option (forgot about the 24pin).

[STRMfrmXMN]

13 minutes ago, Drake10114 said:

Hello,

So last Friday I had an idea to try and put together a possible work pc (I'm an accountant), to see if it would be cheaper than a pre-built, laptop, mini or a tablet to replace my current work pc.

After some research over the weekend, I realized the PSU someone recommended for a seemingly low price was actually not a good tier at all.

Now question time.

Is either a corsair cxm 450w 80+ bronze semi-modular better than a seasonic M12II 520 Bronze or are they pretty much equal in terms of performance.

Should I spring for a 550w supernova g2 (total wattage of the whole system is expected to be 140w (pc.partpicker's number)) in hopes of being fine by having a tier 1 PSU?

 

System specs for those curious:

Intel Core I5-7500

Gigabyte GA-B250M-DS3H

Corsair Vengenance LPX 8GB

Samsung 850 Evo 250 SSD

Fractal Design 1100 Case

 

Also what is the main difference between semi-modular and modular? I noticed on the pictures for semi-modular only the 8pin is attached, which is perfect, because I should only need 2 cables (1 sata, 1 8pin) throughout the system. Or would it be better to go modular, due to not having any extra cables?

For accounting work it's likely cheaper to get a prebuilt PC. That said, the CX450M will work fine for that system.

[Drake10114]

12 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

For accounting work it's likely cheaper to get a prebuilt PC. That said, the CX450M will work fine for that system.

Thanks and not necessarily.

Average laptops we are looking at for future replacements are $800, and I think tablets are about the same.

The mini-pc's are around the $500 mark for something barebones w/ an i5 processor, but you need an ssd and ram on top of that price. And upgradeability is limited, which in our world it seems we do constant upgrading when we can.

My boss seems to ignore pre-built tower pc's though for whatever reason.