Help finding a new power supply?

[sakamoto747]

Hello, recently my old power supply died on me and the replacement EVGA Bronze BQ 650w has a fan that now whines like a banshee. Seriously this thing messes with my tinnitus. I am a complete newb at researching computer parts and felt the positive Amazon reviews were good enough, but apparently I was wrong. Since I was under warranty but too late for a replacement, I RMA'd a replacement from EVGA that cost me about half the buy price to ship, and the one they sent me has the same issue. So I will not try that option again.

 

My budget is around 100 dollars and silence is important to me. I'd like something with a reasonable sound output, it doesn't have to be totally silent. I was looking into the EVGA Gold G2 or G3, because I read somewhere that they are not made by the same manufacturer as the BQ. But before buying I was hoping for some more educated or experienced thoughts.

 

• CPU
  AMD A6-5400K
• Motherboard
  MSI A58M-E33 (MS-7721) (P0)
• RAM
  2 x 4gb ADATA DDR3 1600 PC3-12800
• GPU
  3072MB ATI AMD Radeon R9 200 Series (Sapphire/PCPartner)
• Storage
  119GB ADATA SP 600 SATA Disk Device (SSD) 1863GB Seagate ST2000DM 001-1ER164 SATA Disk Device (SATA)
• PSU
  EVGA BQ 650watt Bronze
• Display(s)
  Compaq Q2009, HZ194A
• Cooling
  Arctic Freezer A11
• Operating System
  Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

   

   

[owen_pi]

My EVGA is a 600 Watt bronze(got it for like 40 bucks), you don't need any better then bronze unless you just... really want it? I doubt you will recover the cost of the gold/ platinum through less power bills any time soon.

 

Anyway, if you really dont want an EVGA stick with known brands, I'm sure linus has a vid on this.

[owen_pi]

 

[sakamoto747]

Oh that's interesting, assuming I input everything correctly I'm being rated at 529w.

 

Thanks for the tip. Amazon currently only has BQ and B3 models for Bronze in a wattage compatible for me. Mind if I ask which model you currently have?

[Stefan Payne]

26 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

My budget is around 100 dollars and silence is important to me.

Then you should stay away from EVGA as they are all but quiet in general.

Look for Bitfenix Formula, WhisperM, be quiet Pure Power 10 and Straight Power 11.

 

450 or 550W, 650W is garbage.

 

[sakamoto747]

3 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Then you should stay away from EVGA as they are all but quiet in general.

Look for Bitfenix Formula, WhisperM, be quiet Pure Power 10 and Straight Power 11.

 

450 or 550W, 650W is garbage.

 

Total silence isn't a requirement, just something that will not screw with my tinnitus. I wasn't aware EVGA had this reputation, but thank you I will look into and consider these models.

 

Why is 650w no good?

I rated 529w on the calculator and would like a little bit of wiggle room in case I upgrade something in the future, I was thinking perhaps 600 or 650, but I'm not totally sure what I'm doing.

[sakamoto747]

I feel like I should put this here.

[Stefan Payne]

4 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

Total silence isn't a requirement, just something that will not screw with my tinnitus. I wasn't aware EVGA had this reputation, but thank you I will look into and consider these models.

Why not?
Doesn't cost more, if you know what units are on the quieter side, why not just take it?

Its more like a design philosophy, so no premium required.

You just need to know what to avoid...

 

4 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

Why is 650w no good?

Because more "headroom" doesn't give you any advantage at all.

It often is louder, its more expensive, often doesn't even have much more connectors.

 

So it is too weak for a single CPU/GPU System and not good enough for a multi GPU or High End System becausse often the 2nd CPU Connector (for High End Boards) also starts with the 750W version.

 

So that's just a waste of money that doesn't give you much benefit...

 

4 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

I rated 529w on the calculator and would like a little bit of wiggle room in case I upgrade something in the future, I was thinking perhaps 600 or 650, but I'm not totally sure what I'm doing.

Calculators are wrong, especially if you input too much information.

 

And when the Calculator says 529W is OK, then its more than that as they overestimate the real consumption by 50-100%, depending on the stuff.

My i7-3930K for example consumes less than 400W with the RX480 OC.

And I've used it without issues with a 400W Pure Power 10...

 

1 minute ago, sakamoto747 said:

I feel like I should put this here.

urgh, that lying piece of software again...

 

Lets calculate:
Your CPU has a TDP of 65W

Your GPU is around 225 or 250W, can't be bothered to look it up but its in that ballpark. So that makes at worst something like 315W TDP.

The rest is negligable.

And TDP in this case means absolute worst case that isn't violated with usable software (Exceptions are Power Virus Programms).

 

I have to use _TWO_ of your R9-280X Cards and a Ryzen 7/1700x to get close to MEASURED 550W. And even that is pretty far from 550W...

Don't believe that garbage, measure for yourself! 

 

And your stuff is around 200-300W.

And you should replace your dual Core CPU, though that doesn't make too much sense with your Board anyway...

[sakamoto747]

8 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Why not?
Doesn't cost more, if you know what units are on the quieter side, why not just take it?

Its more like a design philosophy, so no premium required.

You just need to know what to avoid.

Hey first off, thanks for the time replying to all this. As for not minding a little bit of sound, I was just trying to be flexible. I'm not against silence and I appreciate the recommendations you made for it.

 

Quote

Lets calculate:
Your CPU has a TDP of 65W

Your GPU is around 225 or 250W, can't be bothered to look it up but its in that ballpark. So that makes at worst something like 315W TDP.

The rest is negligable.

And TDP in this case means absolute worst case that isn't violated with usable software (Exceptions are Power Virus Programms).

 

I have to use _TWO_ of your R9-280X Cards and a Ryzen 7/1700x to get close to MEASURED 550W. And even that is pretty far from 550W...

Don't believe that garbage, measure for yourself! 

Haha, I didn't realize I could measure these things by myself. Thanks for doing it for me. That's really interesting.

Quote

My i7-3930K for example consumes less than 400W with the RX480 OC.

And I've used it without issues with a 400W Pure Power 10..

Unfortunately that wattage model appears to be out of stock from the recommended sellers in my country from the brand's website. Would a 500w be overkill for my build? I saw you recommended a 550w earlier but I think that was before you calculated everything.

 

Quote

And you should replace your dual Core CPU, though that doesn't make too much sense with your Board anyway...

Oh I see, yes that was something I was going to get around to eventually but never did. Is there something you could recommend for my build for say a budget of around hundred dollars? I'm not sure if that's a reasonable amount to budget for a CPU, so I will accept any recommendation I suppose.

[awesomegamer919]

 

14 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

Haha, I didn't realize I could measure these things by myself. Thanks for doing it for me. That's really interesting.

Unfortunately that wattage model appears to be out of stock from the recommended sellers in my country from the brand's website. Would a 500w be overkill for my build? I saw you recommended a 550w earlier but I think that was before you calculated everything.

550w is fine, it's 650w where you begin to see increases in low-power fan RPM. 

14 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

Oh I see, yes that was something I was going to get around to eventually but never did. Is there something you could recommend for my build for say a budget of around hundred dollars? I'm not sure if that's a reasonable amount to budget for a CPU, so I will accept any recommendation I suppose.

You are probably looking at ~$200-ish for a quad core CPU upgrade (R3 1200/2200G or i3 8100 + B350/450/360 respectively + 8GB DDR4 RAM)

[sakamoto747]

6 minutes ago, awesomegamer919 said:

 

550w is fine, it's 650w where you begin to see increases in low-power fan RPM.

Wow, I had no idea!

 

7 minutes ago, awesomegamer919 said:

You are probably looking at ~$200-ish for a quad core CPU upgrade (R3 1200/2200G or i3 8100 + B350/450/360 respectively + 8GB DDR4 RAM)

I see, thanks for the model recommendations. I assume those are compatible with my motherboard? Sorry I have no idea.

Spoiler

I actually live in 'Merica so the prices are lower for me though.

 

[sakamoto747]

At this point I feel like I should mention that I'm considering these two

1) be quiet! Pure Power 10 CM 500W

2) BitFenix Whisper M 80 Plus Gold Full Modular 450W PSU

but I will keep this thread up for a bit while I consider things. Rushing into a purchase is what burned me on this EVGA BQ that I hate. I appreciate all the help.

[awesomegamer919]

11 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

I see, thanks for the model recommendations. I assume those are compatible with my motherboard? Sorry I have no idea.

  Reveal hidden contents

I actually live in 'Merica so the prices are lower for me though.

 

Nope. the CPUs are ~$80-90, boards are ~$50 and RAM is ~$50-60, modern CPUs will need a new Mobo and new RAM compared to your old setup...

[sakamoto747]

11 minutes ago, awesomegamer919 said:

Nope. the CPUs are ~$80-90, boards are ~$50 and RAM is ~$50-60, modern CPUs will need a new Mobo and new RAM compared to your old setup...

All good info, thank you.

 

Edit: also wow, I think prices have gone down since my last build. That's much cheaper than I expected!

Edited September 12, 2018 by sakamoto747
I thought of something else to say!

[STRMfrmXMN]

20 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

All good info, thank you.

 

Edit: also wow, I think prices have gone down since my last build. That's much cheaper than I expected!

In case nobody mentioned it and I missed it otherwise - you'll need a copy of Windows 10 too since all modern systems are forced to run Windows 10 unless you do some gentle caressing and friendly eyebrows at Windows 7 and 8.

[sakamoto747]

3 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

In case nobody mentioned it and I missed it otherwise - you'll need a copy of Windows 10 too since all modern systems are forced to run Windows 10 unless you do some gentle caressing and friendly eyebrows at Windows 7 and 8.

Ah, thanks for the heads up.

[sakamoto747]

I read a couple of reviews of the two power supplies I was considering.

X) be quiet! Pure Power 10 CM 500W

2) BitFenix Whisper M 80 Plus Gold Full Modular 450W PSU

I was leaning towards the be quiet but I read it has a temperature rating of 30celsius and my room can get around or possibly abovethat. So I think I will have to pass unfortunately.

(Am I allowed to link outside stuff?)

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2017/06/27/be_quiet_pure_power_10_600w_supply_review/9

 

Although, curiously this guy didn't mention any difficulty with temperature threshold or shutdowns so I'm a little confused.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=525

 

I'm still mulling over the Bitfenix WhisperM.
Does anyone else have any suggestions?

[LienusLateTips]

25 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

I read a couple of reviews of the two power supplies I was considering.

X) be quiet! Pure Power 10 CM 500W

2) BitFenix Whisper M 80 Plus Gold Full Modular 450W PSU

I was leaning towards the be quiet but I read it has a temperature rating of 30celsius and my room can get around or possibly abovethat. So I think I will have to pass unfortunately.

(Am I allowed to link outside stuff?)

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2017/06/27/be_quiet_pure_power_10_600w_supply_review/9

 

Although, curiously this guy didn't mention any difficulty with temperature threshold or shutdowns so I'm a little confused.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=525

 

I'm still mulling over the Bitfenix WhisperM.
Does anyone else have any suggestions?

It's 40C. I don't know where you got that info, I got it from the manufacturer's website.

 

I'd just get whatevers cheaper.

[sakamoto747]

14 minutes ago, LienusLateTips said:

It's 40C. I don't know where you got that info, I got it from the manufacturer's website.

 

I'd just get whatevers cheaper.

The first review site listed the temperature rating at that, at least the second guy chiming in there. Guess he got it wrong!

That should put the be quiet back in my consideration. Thank you.

[Stefan Payne]

1 hour ago, sakamoto747 said:

I read a couple of reviews of the two power supplies I was considering.

X) be quiet! Pure Power 10 CM 500W

2) BitFenix Whisper M 80 Plus Gold Full Modular 450W PSU

 

Between those two, the Whisper M. Although the be quiet is a bit quieter, the Whisper M is without a doubt the better unit.

Well, as long as you don't pair it with an MSI 1080ti....

 

Between the two there should be a gap of only 15€ and for that, I'd get the Bitfenix. The Pure Power only makes sense w/o CM.

[sakamoto747]

7 hours ago, Stefan Payne said:

Between those two, the Whisper M. Although the be quiet is a bit quieter, the Whisper M is without a doubt the better unit.

Well, as long as you don't pair it with an MSI 1080ti....

 

Between the two there should be a gap of only 15€ and for that, I'd get the Bitfenix. The Pure Power only makes sense w/o CM.

I was leaning towards this myself as it has a higher temperature threshold. The price is right for sure.

I've gotta say I very much appreciate your help in all this, you've been incredibly knowledge and kind.

 

Also what is CM? I tried googling it for myself but only got Cooler Master as a result.

[awesomegamer919]

49 minutes ago, sakamoto747 said:

I was leaning towards this myself as it has a higher temperature threshold. The price is right for sure.

I've gotta say I very much appreciate your help in all this, you've been incredibly knowledge and kind.

 

Also what is CM? I tried googling it for myself but only got Cooler Master as a result.

It stands for cable management, the Pure Power 10-CM is semi modular, the non-cm variant is non modular. 

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

14 hours ago, Stefan Payne said:

650W is garbage.

For that rig yeah but for Vega overclocking or X299

[Guest]

14 hours ago, owen_pi said:

My EVGA is a 600 Watt bronze(got it for like 40 bucks), you don't need any better then bronze unless you just... really want it? I doubt you will recover the cost of the gold/ platinum through less power bills any time soon.

That's a very generalized statement.  Not all Bronze units are good.  Not all Gold units are overpriced.  And you do realize that a more efficient PSU is going to generate less heat and therefore require less active cooling, right?  Because what's not converted from AC to DC is given up as heat.

[Stefan Payne]

4 hours ago, sakamoto747 said:

I was leaning towards this myself as it has a higher temperature threshold. The price is right for sure.

I've gotta say I very much appreciate your help in all this, you've been incredibly knowledge and kind.

 

Also what is CM? I tried googling it for myself but only got Cooler Master as a result.

a) the Temperature Threashold is not any thing I would be thinking about too much with buttom mounted PSU as they suck in cold air from the room

b) my Reason for that is the price difference, voltage regulation, topology.

c) Cable Managment, means that you have a connector for some cables with that you can remove the Cable 

 

3 hours ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

For that rig yeah but for Vega overclocking or X299

you don't have second CPU Connector in most 650W Cases.

For example be quiet Straight Power 11.

2nd CPU Cable comes with the 750W

 

And with some you don't even have the option of a second one.