Best PSU possible under $70

[Zando_]

Alrighty, I'm building a rig for a friend, main power hungry specs being an i7 6700K from @knightslugger and an R9 290x and watercooling loop from @Damascus. So what's the best PSU to match with those under $70? I can get an EVGA G3 550W off Newegg for $70 after shipping and everything because of the $20 MIR. Are there any better deals though?

[CyberFern0]

4 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Alrighty, I'm building a rig for a friend, main power hungry specs being an i7 6700K from @knightslugger and an R9 290x and watercooling loop from @Damascus. So what's the best PSU to match with those under $70? I can get an EVGA G3 550W off Newegg for $70 after shipping and everything because of the $20 MIR. Are there any better deals though?

Any PSU with an 80+ Gold Efficiency and good ratings is great.

[gbergeron]

7 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

Alrighty, I'm building a rig for a friend, main power hungry specs being an i7 6700K from @knightslugger and an R9 290x and watercooling loop from @Damascus. So what's the best PSU to match with those under $70? I can get an EVGA G3 550W off Newegg for $70 after shipping and everything because of the $20 MIR. Are there any better deals though?

That CPU is rated one of the best just go for it

[Princess Luna]

Canada or USA?

[Zando_]

2 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

Canada or USA?

US of A. 

[knightslugger]

3 minutes ago, gbergeron said:

That CPU is rated one of the best just go for it

My chip pulls about 150w when it's screaming full throttle with it's hair on fire FWIW.

[Princess Luna]

There was a killer deal on the Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold 550w for 50ish bucks just a week ago but sadly the offering ended already... mah bad

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Princess Cadence said:

There was a killer deal on the Seasonic FOCUS Plus Gold 550w for 50ish bucks just a week ago but sadly the offering ended already... mah bad

RIP. So this is looking like the best I can get so far. I mean, there aren't many PSUs that are noticeable better than the G3 though, at least AFAIK. 

[GrayTech]

24 minutes ago, CyberFern0 said:

Any PSU with an 80+ Gold Efficiency and good ratings is great.

This is probably true in many cases but I still wouldn't say that every gold rated PSU with decent ratings is actually great.

[Doomed83]

Based on the information given I would highly recommend at least a 700 watt 80+ gold rated PSU for your system. PC part picker puts your components right around the 500 watt area and I'm assuming with a water cooling loop you will be doing some overclocking which will place you over the 550 watt units your looking at. Newegg has a Corsair CS750M for $80 or $60 after rebate. Link below.

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139061

[Zando_]

Just now, Doomed83 said:

Based on the information given I would highly recommend at least a 700 watt 80+ gold rated PSU for your system. PC part picker puts your components right around the 500 watt area and I'm assuming with a water cooling loop you will be doing some overclocking which will place you over the 550 watt units your looking at. Newegg has a Corsair CS750M for $80 or $60 after rebate. Link below.

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139061

Hmmmm.... I should be good though, I've powered a 6 core Xeon and 980 Ti off of a 450W CXM... I may be maxing out the G3 though. 

[knightslugger]

That 290x is a power hungry SOB though. 375w max according to AnandTech. That load alone without a CPU, MB, and pump behind it would be fine for a 550w Gold power supply. throw a 100-150w CPU on top of it with MB and pump/fans/HDD/RAM power and you're in some pretty sketchy territory. I'd not ever recommend running a consumer grade PSU at or near full rated output for any amount of time. Plus even if you are under the full load threshold, you're well outside the efficiency curve making it even more sketchy.

 

i'd recommend a 650-750w PSU if you can swing it.

[Zando_]

18 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

That 290x is a power hungry SOB though. 375w max according to AnandTech. That load alone without a CPU, MB, and pump behind it would be fine for a 550w Gold power supply. throw a 100-150w CPU on top of it with MB and pump/fans/HDD/RAM power and you're in some pretty sketchy territory. I'd not ever recommend running a consumer grade PSU at or near full rated output for any amount of time. Plus even if you are under the full load threshold, you're well outside the efficiency curve making it even more sketchy.

 

i'd recommend a 650-750w PSU if you can swing it.

Alrighty, I'll see what I can do. I could always get this for myself and use my current 620W M12II Evo, but the thing is blasted loud and kind of defeats the purpose of watercooling. 

[Zando_]

@knightslugger this look better: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438085 ?

[knightslugger]

My personal recommendation is this one:

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139199

 

currently running the 3 x 1070 rig the 6700k is on no problem.

[seon123]

Anandtech measured a bit under 400W from the wall in their 290X review. So 550W should be more than enough. 

Other than the G3, you have the TX750M for $70. 

[knightslugger]

1 minute ago, seon123 said:

Anandtech measured a bit under 400W from the wall in their 290X review. So 550W should be more than enough. 

Other than the G3, you have the TX750M for $70. 

q: how do you test ATW power draw on a GPU alone? wouldn't you only get that with system power or a double PSU config that powers the GPU alone? In which case, the ATW power is dependant on the efficiency of the power supply used, which are not all the same from one gold to another, and even a Ti rated PSU would likely be far under the load rating to mean much.

[Zando_]

Just now, knightslugger said:

My personal recommendation is this one:

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139199

 

currently running the 3 x 1070 rig the 6700k is on no problem.

oke doke. My only worry is wires everywhere, since the case is a P5 and has no sides. But all the cables should go in the middle section so I should be good.

 

[seon123]

2 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

q: how do you test ATW power draw on a GPU alone? wouldn't you only get that with system power or a double PSU config that powers the GPU alone? In which case, the ATW power is dependant on the efficiency of the power supply used, which are not all the same from one gold to another, and even a Ti rated PSU would likely be far under the load rating to mean much.

They measured the total system power. The point was not to say how much the GPU drew from the wall, it was to show that 550W is enough. 

[Zando_]

Just now, seon123 said:

They measured the total system power. The point was not to say how much the GPU drew from the wall, it was to show that 550W is enough. 

What CPU though? Since I'll be running an overclocked i7 6700K and watercooling pump and then the normal fans and hard drive and all that. 

[seon123]

3 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

What CPU though? Since I'll be running an overclocked i7 6700K and watercooling pump and then the normal fans and hard drive and all that. 

They used a 4960X at 4,2GHz. The PSU they used was platinum rated 1200W, so the system probably drew closer to 360-370W from the PSU. 

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, seon123 said:

They used a 4960X at 4,2GHz. The PSU they used was platinum rated 1200W, so the system probably drew closer to 360-370W from the PSU. 

Hmmm... the TX750M does look really nice though, and got a 9.5/10 from Johnny Guru, which is just behind a G3 or RMx PSU. 

[CyberFern0]

2 hours ago, Doomed83 said:

Based on the information given I would highly recommend at least a 700 watt 80+ gold rated PSU for your system. PC part picker puts your components right around the 500 watt area and I'm assuming with a water cooling loop you will be doing some overclocking which will place you over the 550 watt units your looking at. Newegg has a Corsair CS750M for $80 or $60 after rebate. Link below.

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139061

650W is enough.