POWER SUPPLY WOES

[suzerain_00]

Guys, I gotta be honest I'm feeling pretty dejected right now. Around this time last year, I built my first system with my own money. It was something I always wanted to do, an emotion I'm sure most of you share with me. This is my exact system specification: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/pZ7nyX

 

After a while of using the Wraith Spire cooler, I upgraded my cooling solution to the Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240. The fans that the cooler comes with were absolute garbage, they made far too much noise from even from 1% fan speed all they way up. So I replaced them with Arctic F12s. Not the best upgrade, but they were super cheap so whatever.

 

Now for a while after I changed the fans, I had been acutely aware of my system still being quite noisy, in spite the replaced radiator fans! For the longest time (nearly a year I'll remind you), I had thought that the noise was just the Masterliquid pump being really trash at managing it's speed relative to CPU temps. And so I fiddled around with fan curves and plugging fans into the motherboard vs into a controller, I tried different thermal pastes, I even tried some different fans on the radiator.

 

On a whim, I decided to put my ear up to my system just to really confirm that the MasterLiquid pump was the source of this uncomfortable noise. To my shock, the source of the noise was actually the Cooler Master 550w Elite V2 power supply. Unbelievable.

 

I'm sorry for all this anecdote, but I had been incorrectly trying to troubleshoot this issue for a year, and due to my own ignorance, I spent a lot more money than I really needed to. I just needed to vent this somewhere

 

In hindsight, it makes a lot of sense, the Elite V2 isn't even 80+ rated, and its the lowest tier on the PSU tier list on this forum. (go figure)

 

TLDR

 

What I ask of everyone on the forum is some recommendations for a power supply that fits my system AND doesn't sound like a god damn jet engine while at idle. I certainly don't expect a silent PSU, but anything that's quieter than the Elite V2 is an improvement.

For a little more context, somewhat miraculously given the weak PSU, I'm running my R7 1700 overclocked, 3.875 GHz @ 1.3375 V.

 

**!!FOR FUTURE REFERENCE!!**

DO NOT BUY THE ELITE V2 UNLESS

A) You don't plan on overclocking anything

B) Your system draw is far below what the Elite V2 can deliver

C) You can get the thing for super super cheap, Like $20 or something

(even then I still highly recommend you just get something else, at least 80+ rated!)

 

Thanks for reading this everyone lmao, I appreciate any feedback!

[awesomegamer919]

If you want setting pretty silent then the Bitfenix Formula is like $55 USD ATM (450w) and is good, if you need it to be even more silent then you are looking at a Bitfenix Whisper M or Corsair RMx which will run you anywhere from $70ish up to over $100...

[Ashleyyyy]

i've had to deal with a crap PSU before... when it blew up it took the motherboard, ram and an audio interface connected to that system out.. 

 

i suggest you stop using it for now if it's really that crappy, if it does blow up it could get expensive considering the rest of your components are still very good. 

[STRMfrmXMN]

A Corsair RMx 550W is very, very quiet and might be in your budget. If not, then get an EVGA G2. Some people around here complain that it's too noisy but it's still the quietest thing in any system I've installed them in.

[suzerain_00]

20 minutes ago, awesomegamer919 said:

If you want setting pretty silent then the Bitfenix Formula is like $55 USD ATM (450w) and is good, if you need it to be even more silent then you are looking at a Bitfenix Whisper M or Corsair RMx which will run you anywhere from $70ish up to over $100...

I'll definitely keep those in consideration, thanks for your recommendation! I do want to keep the price down, but at this point cheaping out probably won't help my case...

[suzerain_00]

4 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

i've had to deal with a crap PSU before... when it blew up it took the motherboard, ram and an audio interface connected to that system out.. 

 

i suggest you stop using it for now if it's really that crappy, if it does blow up it could get expensive considering the rest of your components are still very good. 

Is it really that unreliable?? Should I dial back my OC? Just run the R7 at stock?

[suzerain_00]

1 minute ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

A Corsair RMx 550W is very, very quiet and might be in your budget. If not, then get an EVGA G2. Some people around here complain that it's too noisy but it's still the quietest thing in any system I've installed them in.

I've only ever seen good things said about Corsair units, definitely considering going Corsair. If it's quiet I'm happy!

[Ashleyyyy]

Just now, ExodusR said:

Is it really that unreliable?? Should I dial back my OC? Just run the R7 at stock?

you said in your OP it's tier 7... so very bad. i definitely wouldn't overclock it until you get a better PSU...

 

Just now, ExodusR said:

I've only ever seen good things said about Corsair units, definitely considering going Corsair. If it's quiet I'm happy!

i currently have an AX860. to me it's quiet, but i have 6 case fans and 2 cpu fans, and a power hungry gpu... so my definition of quiet might not be the same as yours. but i don't notice it. the rest of my system is louder than the PSU...

[Ashleyyyy]

6 minutes ago, ExodusR said:

Is it really that unreliable?? Should I dial back my OC? Just run the R7 at stock?

for clarification, the PSU that blew up on me was a different one than the one you have, but since then i'm never taking a risk with a psu again... 

[suzerain_00]

Just now, firelighter487 said:

for clarification, the PSU that blew up on me was a different one than the model you have, but since then i'm never taking a risk with a psu again... 

At this point, If there's any risk at all I'm not willing to take it. I'm upgrading anyway so back to stock for me, for the time being at least. In terms of noise, The fan on this thing literally operates at what must be at 50% speed at idle. It's loud enough that I can still hear it quite clearly while listening to media on my closed back over ears.

[STRMfrmXMN]

8 minutes ago, ExodusR said:

Is it really that unreliable?? Should I dial back my OC? Just run the R7 at stock?

You shouldn't be running a dGPU or an octacore CPU on that unit at all, lol.

 

An overclock is like putting that PSU into an oven while doing it's job to the best of its ability.

[Ashleyyyy]

1 minute ago, ExodusR said:

At this point, If there's any risk at all I'm not willing to take it. I'm upgrading anyway so back to stock for me, for the time being at least. In terms of noise, The fan on this thing literally operates at what must be at 50% speed at idle. It's loud enough that I can still hear it quite clearly while listening to media on my closed back over ears.

do you have a laptop or something? because i wouldn't risk running it at all to be honest... 

 

like @STRMfrmXMN said, a unit like that is too crappy to use with this class of hardware... 

[suzerain_00]

1 minute ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

You shouldn't be running a dGPU or an octacore CPU on that unit at all, lol.

 

An overclock is like putting that PSU into an oven while doing it's job to the best of its ability.

I'm looking around, and Thermaltake, EVGA and Seasonic stuff is seems fairly reasonable in terms of price for me. What do you think of these units?

 

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/6RTrxr/thermaltake-smart-600w-80-certified-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-ps-spd-0600npcwus-w

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/nB3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/r2TPxr/evga-br-600w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-100-br-0600-k1

Also this Corsair Unit:https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/jZ22FT/corsair-vs-550w-80-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020171-na

[suzerain_00]

3 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

do you have a laptop or something? because i wouldn't risk running it at all to be honest... 

 

like @STRMfrmXMN said, a unit like that is too crappy to use with this class of hardware... 

I don't have any other system to run on unfortunately, although I have been using this PSU for a year now. Certainly I don't want to continue using it, but as long as I don't push it beyond it's threshold, it should be serviceable at least, right?

[Ashleyyyy]

Just now, ExodusR said:

I don't have any other system to run on unfortunately, although I have been using this PSU for a year now. Certainly I don't want to continue using it, but as long as I don't push it beyond it's threshold, it should be serviceable at least, right?

that psu that blew up on me was "500W" and all i ran on it was a Q9550 OC'd to 3.7ghz, and a GTX 1050. not enough to reach 500W i believe.. 

 

to be honest you are very lucky... 

[suzerain_00]

1 minute ago, firelighter487 said:

that psu that blew up on me was "500W" and all i ran on it was a Q9550 OC'd to 3.7ghz, and a GTX 1050. not enough to reach 500W i believe.. 

 

to be honest you are very lucky... 

As much as I hate bet on luck, I'm just going to run my system at stock clocks and voltages, and wait a week or two until I can get another PSU. Hopefully nothing explodes Wish me luck

[Ashleyyyy]

Just now, ExodusR said:

As much as I hate bet on luck, I'm just going to run my system at stock clocks and voltages, and wait a week or two until I can get another PSU. Hopefully nothing explodes Wish me luck

yeah good luck.. 

 

if your pc starts doing weird stuff unplug it right away... 

when the psu that blew up on me died my pc turned off as if i unplugged it, and a few seconds later there was a big bang and that was that.. so if it does weird things unplug it. 

[seon123]

19 minutes ago, ExodusR said:

I've only ever seen good things said about Corsair units, definitely considering going Corsair. If it's quiet I'm happy!

It's not that Corsair units are inherently good; it's that Corsair has some units that we would recommend.

8 minutes ago, ExodusR said:

I'm looking around, and Thermaltake, EVGA and Seasonic stuff is seems fairly reasonable in terms of price for me. What do you think of these units?

 

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/6RTrxr/thermaltake-smart-600w-80-certified-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-ps-spd-0600npcwus-w

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/nB3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/r2TPxr/evga-br-600w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-100-br-0600-k1

Also this Corsair Unit:https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/jZ22FT/corsair-vs-550w-80-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020171-na

The first and last ones are super low end PSUs. The second one is ancient and known for not being particularly quiet. The third one has no reviews and a 30°C temp rating. 

 

With an RX 580 you'll draw like 300W under load total, so just get the $80 Formula 450W. 

[STRMfrmXMN]

11 minutes ago, ExodusR said:

I'm looking around, and Thermaltake, EVGA and Seasonic stuff is seems fairly reasonable in terms of price for me. What do you think of these units?

 

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/6RTrxr/thermaltake-smart-600w-80-certified-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-ps-spd-0600npcwus-w

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/nB3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/r2TPxr/evga-br-600w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-100-br-0600-k1

Also this Corsair Unit:https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/jZ22FT/corsair-vs-550w-80-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020171-na

None of those are good.

 

The cheapest unit you should be looking at, especially considering you can afford an octa-core CPU and an RX 580, should be something like a Corsair CX450/CX450M or Cooler Master MasterWatt.

[suzerain_00]

5 minutes ago, seon123 said:

It's not that Corsair units are inherently good; it's that Corsair has some units that we would recommend.

The first and last ones are super low end PSUs. The second one is ancient and known for not being particularly quiet. The third one has no reviews and a 30°C temp rating. 

 

With an RX 580 you'll draw like 300W under load total, so just get the $80 Formula 450W. 

 

3 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

None of those are good.

 

The cheapest unit you should be looking at, especially considering you can afford an octa-core CPU and an RX 580, should be something like a Corsair CX450/CX450M or Cooler Master MasterWatt.

So both of you guys are recommending 450W power supplies, but I still want to OC my 1700, and Seasonic's online PSU calculator gives me a number just above 500 watts. If I go with something in the Corsair CX line at a higher wattage should I still be okay? Also the Bitfenix Formula isn't available from any retailer in my region.

[seon123]

2 minutes ago, ExodusR said:

 

So both of you guys are recommending 450W power supplies, but I still want to OC my 1700, and Seasonic's online PSU calculator gives me a number just above 500 watts. If I go with something in the Corsair CX line at a higher wattage should I still be okay? Also the Bitfenix Formula isn't available from any retailer in my region.

 

All of the PSU calculators are useless and overestimate by a ton. You won't draw anywhere near 450W when overclocked, let alone 500W. With a 7820X and a 1080 Ti, you'll draw under 400W. With a Vega, under 500W.

 

Why are you using PCPP CA, then? What country will you buy from?

[suzerain_00]

5 minutes ago, seon123 said:

All of the PSU calculators are useless and overestimate by a ton. You won't draw anywhere near 450W when overclocked, let alone 500W. With a 7820X and a 1080 Ti, you'll draw under 400W. With a Vega, under 500W.

 

Why are you using PCPP CA, then? What country will you buy from?

I'm in Canada, southern Ontario to be specific. Also I double checked and the Formula actually is available on Newegg in my region, my bad. Just for future reference, what could I expect the same system to draw if instead of an R7 1700, it was an R5 1600 @ 3.8 gHz @ 1.35 v and an AIB R9 290? I'm thinking about building a system for a friend in the future and repurposing some old hardware.

[Spotty]

5 minutes ago, ExodusR said:

So both of you guys are recommending 450W power supplies, but I still want to OC my 1700, and Seasonic's online PSU calculator gives me a number just above 500 watts. If I go with something in the Corsair CX line at a higher wattage should I still be okay? Also the Bitfenix Formula isn't available from any retailer in my region.

The RX580 is only going to be drawing about 200W. Even with the most insane CPU overclocks, the Asrock AB350's VRMs would melt before you could deliver anywhere near 250W to the CPU.

 

Even PCPartPickers calculator taking in to account HDDs, fans, and peripherals (but not CPU overclock) puts your system at 415W.

That said, just grab a Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 550W or Corsair RM550x, since both of the Focus Plus Gold and RMx product ranges start at 550W anyway.

[STRMfrmXMN]

2 minutes ago, ExodusR said:

I'm in Canada, southern Ontario to be specific. Also I double checked and the Formula actually is available on Newegg in my region, my bad. Just for future reference, what could I expect the same system to draw if instead of an R7 1700, it was an R5 1600 @ 3.8 gHz @ 1.35 v and an AIB R9 290? I'm thinking about building a system for a friend in the future and repurposing some old hardware.

A 1600 at that voltage and a 290 I would expect about 400-450W under load.

[suzerain_00]

3 minutes ago, Spotty said:

The RX580 is only going to be drawing about 200W. Even with the most insane CPU overclocks, the Asrock AB350's VRMs would melt before you could deliver anywhere near 250W to the CPU.

 

Even PCPartPickers calculator taking in to account HDDs, fans, and peripherals (but not CPU overclock) puts your system at 415W.

That said, just grab a Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 550W or Corsair RM550x, since both of the Focus Plus Gold and RMx product ranges start at 550W anyway.

I remember hearing Steve from Gamers Nexus saying good things about Seasonic. I'm definitely considering Seasonic alongside Corsair.