Should I go for the 620 or is 520 ok?

basso4735 · Jun 29, 2008

I'm building a new system with:
q6600
8800gt
2 80gb seagates

I havent decided on a Thermaltake Armor or Antec 900 for a case yet.

I plan on either buying the Corsair 520HX or the 620HX. My motherboard doesnt support sli, nor would I ever want to sli, so I was curious if the 520 would be good enough, or should I go for the 620. Money is an issue, so that's why I'm asking.

Giz · Jun 29, 2008

I cooked my 550w psu running the rig below in my sig. You could hear it sizzle! It was a cheap brand, so not surprising really.
Now i've got a Zalman 1000 watt psu. Probably overkill, yeh, but you never know what you'll need it for in the future. So i'd say go with a good named brand and buy the highest wattage you can afford. Sure, the lower watt one will probably do for browsing and media stuff, but if your a gamer like me, the 8800gt takes some power to keep it happy.

jaymz9350 · Jun 30, 2008

the 520 will be fine. I run it with an oc'd q6600 and 8800gt as well with 2 hdds. Never had even a hiccup from it. If you can afford it the 620 will probably be a better choice ( I kinda wish I would have gotten it) but the 520 will handle it without a problem.

tester3000 · Jun 30, 2008

Giz said:
buy the highest wattage you can afford.

I have to disagree. Put most of the money into the gfx card. The 520 Watt should be fine if you are not going to do SLi.

petteyg359 · Jun 30, 2008

Giz, note yours being a cheap brand

Corsair PSUs are made by Seasonic, and can easily stand up to a full load at their advertised power.

grumperfish · Jun 30, 2008

I would personally go with the 620 if the price difference isn't too much since it'll give you room for adding drives and other components later on. My system in sig only needs about 350W or so (need to check with a kill-a-watt and DMM before I hit up a 4870) leaving plenty to spare on the Silverstone unit, so while either of the Corsairs would be fine it wouldn't be a bad idea to go a bit overkill at least to avoid needing a bigger PSU in the future and to get better efficiency/less internal PSU heat in the meantime.

If the price difference is high enough to justify buying the 520 over the 620 then stick with it and you should be fine though.

To Giz: buying a super-high wattage unit can actually be counter-productive if you don't have a system to justify it with. With lower system load you'll usually see lower efficiency than with a lower-rated but high build-quality PSU. A decent Seasonic/Silverstone/PC&P/etc built unit can take a lot of components without a struggle without needing to be massive due to higher-quality heatsinks, wiring, and internal components. That said, I've also blown up* (note: set on fire) a cheap "500W" power supply before.

basso4735 · Jun 30, 2008

Well, to sort of meet in the middle, I think I'll get the corsair 550vx. Sound good?

petteyg359 · Jun 30, 2008

The HX series has a better 12V amperage than the VX series. I'd suggest you stick to the HX520.

basso4735 · Jun 30, 2008

The hx is 20 bucks more expensive though.

Anyone else have any more recommendations for a psu? I'm not set on those 2.

basically, I'm allowing my budget <$120 psu, because I'm sure that's do-able, so what is the best one going to be for my system.

I can get the 520hx for 94 bucks shipped too.

Giz · Jun 30, 2008

The main reason i went for a 1000w psu is i don't know what rig it will be powering in a year or so's time and i want it to last me. Also, cause it's overpowered, it's silent, not screaming away trying to get rid of heat. If you don't plan on buying a higher spec PSU each time you upgrade your rig, makes sense to get the highest one you can afford at the time.
The AMD site has a good PSU calculator that adds up your wattage needs for everything, including fans. It says i need a 750 watt minimum cause the Phenom and 8800gt cards sup the juice, especially when clocked.

Tester3000 says:

I have to disagree. Put most of the money into the gfx card.

He's already got his card.

petteyg359 says:

Giz, note yours being a cheap brand Corsair PSUs are made by Seasonic, and can easily stand up to a full load at their advertised power.

Yep, spot on. Mine was some obscure brand, Corsair should make good PSU's.

Basso, it's your cash at the end of the day. Read any reviews you can find on PSU's around 500/600 watt and see what rigs they were used in. I recomend using the free calculator though. Surprising how those watts all add up!

WonderingSoul · Jun 30, 2008

Please refer to this thread. You have somewhat the same inquiry as the OP.

To be short, I will recommend the OCZ EvoStream, again, Based off the 3Y build. The price on this unit right now is too good to pass up, if you can tolerate the sounds @ full load.

basso4735 · Jun 30, 2008

WonderingSoul said:
Please refer to this thread. You have somewhat the same inquiry as the OP.

To be short, I will recommend the OCZ EvoStream, again, Based off the 3Y build. The price on this unit right now is too good to pass up, if you can tolerate the sounds @ full load.

Great response, thanks! I think I might hop on that deal right now at newegg. I assume it's pretty good quality?

WonderingSoul · Jun 30, 2008

basso4735 said:
Great response, thanks! I think I might hop on that deal right now at newegg. I assume it's pretty good quality?

It is a 3Y server platform unit. Very strong reliable unit, somewhat mediocre efficiency though. Here is an excellent review of the 600W flavor of the EvoStream from the man himself, Jonny Guru.

basso4735 · Jun 30, 2008

He says that it's pretty loud, anyone have any personal experience with how loud it really is?

Ill probably decide on the Corsair 650TX, most seem to recommend it. I'm worried about how loud the ocz actually is.

WonderingSoul · Jun 30, 2008

basso4735 said:
He says that it's pretty loud, anyone have any personal experience with how loud it really is?

Ill probably decide on the Corsair 650TX, most seem to recommend it. I'm worried about how loud the ocz actually is.

At a full load I saw it rated at a 55dBa.

Wayward_Son · Jun 30, 2008

The 520HX is more than enough for the hardware you posted. The 620HX would be good if you added a few more drives and a second GPU in SLI, but the 520HX is plenty for what you're asking and a 1000w PSU is outrageous overkill.

Rich'[ard] · Jul 2, 2008

why not get the 620 as it's only a few dollars more than the 520. there's no disadvantages getting the 620 over the 520. advatnages you get are more headroom for future upgrades.

basso4735 · Jul 2, 2008

Rich'[ard] said:
why not get the 620 as it's only a few dollars more than the 520. there's no disadvantages getting the 620 over the 520. advatnages you get are more headroom for future upgrades.

It's 45 more dollars, which is a lot to people on a budget.

edit: found a pretty good deal on the 650tx so I ordered it.

Thanks for the help everyone.

SAnusha · Jul 2, 2008

go with the 620

Giz · Jul 2, 2008

basso4735

edit: found a pretty good deal on the 650tx so I ordered it.

Nice one.

Rich'[ard]

advantages you get are more headroom for future upgrades.

Rgr to that. I'm getting burned here for getting a 1000w!

I bet everyone started off here like me with a 300w or less, thinking a bigger one just wouldn't be needed later on. Then i got a 450w with a case i bought. That's still running in a spare pc. Then i upgraded from the 300 to a 550w thinking it would last me for a good few years. Wrong. i blew it up

So the thinking with the 1000w is it's a good make -Zalman, rated the quietest tested by various reviews (skip to the conclusion at the end..) - http://www.silentpcreview.com/article834-page5.html

and it's got masses of headroom for any upgrades i could possibly want in the future. Also the price difference between the 800/900/1000 isn't all that much. So, not wanting to replace the psu on every new build i do, this ones hopefully going to last me for at least the next 3 or 4 years.

Should I go for the 620 or is 520 ok?

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