500w psu enough for this comp?

[krudus]

Ive been trying out different psu calculators, and there are drastic differences between the results on different sites.

CPU: core i5 3570k
GPU: Radeon 7950 http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1157&pid=1442&psn=&lid=1&leg=0#
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H or asrock z77 extreme4 (cost the same where i live)
after that its just 2x4gb ram, asus xonar dg sound card, a simple 7200 rpm hardrive and a cd/dvd/bdvd reader.

i will perhaps overclock the cpu, but only by a very small amount if i ever do it at all. This rig is mostly for gaming. would a 500w psu be good enough for this? some calculators give me around 380w, other over 500w.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Welcome Krudus , a 500w should be fine, though what PSU are you considering? It does make a difference, have a look in the PSU section at the recommended ones.

 

[Bobnova]

7950 TDP is 200w, 3570k TDP is 77w.
The other stuff might use 100w on a really, really bad day (more likely 30-50w at most).

A good 500w unit is plenty.
Anything on this list is good: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589708
What's your budget?

 

[krudus]

Thanks for the welcome, and for the answers! For the psu, id like to stay below 120 $. For example the Dark power pro one over here in sweden is around 180 dollars, same with the seasonic x560. Before i was looking at ocz, but some people recommended me XFX or a up and comer swedish brand called fractal design.

 

[Bobnova]

If you find a specific PSU you're interested in, post the brand/model/wattage and we'll see if we can chase down reviews. Is there a website along the lines of newegg for your chunk of the world?

 

[krudus]

If you find a specific PSU you're interested in, post the brand/model/wattage and we'll see if we can chase down reviews. Is there a website along the lines of newegg for your chunk of the world?

Thanks for the help. Yeah, its a great site but its obviously in swedish. Ranks products by interest, reviews, which place has the lowest price etc. Great site overall. Im gonna check out those psus recommended in that stickied thread! One of them will probably suit my needs.

 

[S_I_N]

hiya and welcome. Yeah a 500watter should be fine but I'm of the school of buy bigger for upgrades that may come along later lol like maybe xfiring the gpu.

 

[krudus]

Looked into that super flower Psu that everybody is praising. They exist in sweden, but not many stores hold them. The only equivalent i could find was the 550P14HES 550w version. Im not sure if its the same as the Golden king one though.

 

[Bobnova]

It looks like an older platform. The only data I can find is the 80+ testing report, which gave it a basic 80+ badge. That's a decent start.
Can you link they site? I don't know any swedish, but I'm familiar with tech sites and muddling through things in other languages

 

[krudus]

Alright http://www.prisjakt.nu/kategori.php?k=436
That is the psu category. if you scroll down a little youll get to the ranking. Categorized first by brand, second by popularity.

 

[Bobnova]

I think my top pick for that price range and wattage would be the Antec Earthwatts Platinum: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=1136049
I've looked into the 650w flavor and found it to be good overall: http://www.overclockers.com/antec-earthwatts-platinum-650w
(I've actually seen the guts of two, the fan lead issue mentioned in the review was not present in the second.)

The other high efficiency contenders are these two FSP Gold units:
http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=813816
http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=813817
They're solid units too.

On the cheaper (but not lower quality (possibly higher quality), just lower efficiency) end of the scale, there are two Seasonic M12II platform units. The only meaningful difference is the color and modular cable setup:
http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=1043439
http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=564105

A bit more expensive, on a different platform, but fully modular:
http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=1019202
The higher wattage models sometimes have issues with the fan control bits getting stuck at full fan speed. OCZ will RMA units for that issue.


As a sidenote, that site is fantastic. Far better than anything I've run into here in the US, that's for sure.

 

[krudus]

Thanks a lot for the help bobnova, ill take a look at them and let you know when i decide Yeah that site is great, there are a few with that structure around, but prisjakt is the biggest one. Links both to user review and "pro reviews" Though they could be a bit more thorough with finding pro reviews. Hard to complain though, cause they cover everything from traveling to clothes and electronics.

That site is basically what has driven several electronic chains into filing for bankrupcy. The swedish electronics market is in a constant price war, with only 2-3 major players remainig, the rest are internet based companies exclusively. Since sweden is the nr 1 internet using country in the world, and everybody has a smart phone and the prisjakt app, nobody can get away with high prices anywhere. That site is the center of the storm.

 

[Bobnova]

lol, best buy wouldn't last a week there then

 

[krudus]

Im wondering, if you have time to respond, which of the ones you recommended are the most quiet? The CPU fan and GPU fans are usually louder anyway so the point is moot more often than not, but just to know, if i decide that i want to replace the stock fans.

 

[Bobnova]

I reviewed the 600w version of the PC Power and Cooling unit here:
http://www.funkykit.com/component/c...power-a-cooling-silencer-mk-iii-600w-psu.html

I found it to be very quiet at low load levels.

 

[krudus]

I reviewed the 600w version of the PC Power and Cooling unit here:
http://www.funkykit.com/component/c...power-a-cooling-silencer-mk-iii-600w-psu.html

I found it to be very quiet at low load levels.

Ok, anything just above my price range that would be much better in this regard, or do you have to cough up significantly more money for a noticable difference, not just at low loads?

 

[Bobnova]

Not that I remember thinking about when I was going through the list, no.