Lower midrange vs upper midrange psu

[vetu104]

Hi!

 

I'm planning a gaming PC for my brother, on which I'm also planning to teach him how to overclock.

 

We have chosen already to use the i5 7600k with a Asus Prime Z270-A and Thermalright hr02 macho cooler. GPU we haven't chosen yet, but it will be a midrange gpu, amd or nvidia. Maybe even used.

 

PSU is the part that I have trouble to choose. Choises are Seasonic S12-520ii or Corsair RM550x. I know they are quite different price range. As our budget is kinda tight, I'm trying to justify the cost of the Corsair for myself. They both have gotten pretty decent reviews. What will I gain overclocking vice in going for the Corsair, other than modularity?

Edited May 6, 2017 by vetu104
Accidental entry of unfinished post

[themctipers]

lower midranged is worse than upper midranged

but at the price you're paying for midranged, just pay $10 more and get something thats really high quality

G2 550w, it's like $90

 

for overclocking you would want to go zen (all unlocked) or a Z270 motherboard with a unlocked 'k' sku (7700k, 7600k, etc)

[quan289]

You are comparing a budget unit (S12II-B) with an high-end unit (RMx). The RMx will offer superior electrical performance, build quality efficiency, functionality, lower noise, warranty, etc.

If you can afford it, it would go for the RMx; however, why only those two options?

[vetu104]

The money spent on the PSU is away from the money spent on the case. Noise isn't that big of a concern as the GPU will make a lot of sound anyway with overclocking. I'm trying to justify the 50€ price difference, does it provide the system "cleaner power" to make the oc more stable or some of that sort? From what I've gathered the Seasonic is said to be a trustworthy unit too.

 

There are more options of course. The Evga g2 and g3 for example, but they are similar price to the RMx, and the RMx is said to have more silent fan profile. If I go with that price range, I will probably choose the RMx.

[quan289]

The RMx will have a tighter voltage regulation, as it isn't as influence by the load ratio between the 12V rail and minor rails. 

As you can see in the load regulation graph [LINK], no matter how you load the 12V and the minor rails, the voltage stay within 1% of it nominal value.

A group-regulated design like the Antec HCG 520 (internally based on the S12II-B) [LINK] can have a very large deviation.

 

Since the PSU will have to deal with greater dynamic / transient loads in a modern day gaming PC than you tend to see in PSU reviews at Jonnyguru (which are more linear and static), the RMx will handle it much better in which the VRMs of the motherboard and GPUs doesn't have to work as hard to compensate for the larger oscillation. Of course, after a certain point the returns do start to diminshed (unless, maybe, you are going for balls to the wall or record breaking overclocks under a full custom water loop, DICE, or liquid nitrogen).

 

If they have the option to do so, I tend to push people towards getting an indy / DC-DC regulated PSU. If you don't think the longer warranty, lower noise, functionality, build quality warrant a 50€ price difference, it doesn't have to be just the RMx, EVGA G2/G3, etc. The Corsair Vengeance 550M may be a good option. The Antec VPF550 (not to be confused with VP550F) is a good alternative to the S12II-B. Seasonic G / S12G 550w or the XFX TS Gold variant of that platform. There's also the Bitfenix Whisper 550M (it's priced very well in some location).

 

Can you provide a link to the stores you can buy from, so we can see what's available to you?

[vetu104]

We will order from here https://www.mindfactory.de/

[quan289]

So the S12II-B 520 is 52.85€.

 

Instead of the S12II-B, I would recommend the Corsair Vengeance 500w for the same price point [LINK]

You can get the modular 550w version for 10 more: [LINK]

If want a Seasonic based unit that's higher quality than the S12II-B, then the XFX TS 550 Gold (lacks modularity though). [LINK]

[genexis_x]

4 hours ago, vetu104 said:

PSU is the part that I have trouble to choose. Choises are Seasonic S12-520ii or Corsair RM550x. I know they are quite different price range. As our budget is kinda tight, I'm trying to justify the cost of the Corsair for myself. They both have gotten pretty decent reviews. What will I gain overclocking vice in going for the Corsair, other than modularity?

For overclocking, I recommend tier 1/2 PSUs instead of tier 3 (still tier 3 is fine)

 

@quan289's suggestions are not bad. You should take a look on them.

[faziten]

You can't go wrong with Seasonic. Really.

The best way to get around a certain unit is check if Jonnyguru did a full review on the unit. If it's reviewed read his conclusion for a quick info burst. Most of us here do exactly that before posting opinions on this threads. 

 

Don't cheap out on PSUs or jonny will haunt your dreams.

 

Cheers!

[quan289]

6 hours ago, faziten said:

If it's reviewed read his conclusion for a quick info burst. Most of us here do exactly that before posting opinions on this threads.

 

...jonny will haunt your dreams.

While it may be better than nothing to read the last page, but "jonny will haunt their dreams" as well if they only formulate their opinion based solely off of the last page. Sadly most only read the first and last (or more specifically, the score of the last page), when the core of the review is based on what is between that. You missed a lot off vital information by just looking at the conclusion, which can make the opinion weak especially when comparing units from different time periods.