XFX core 550W or Thermaltake 630W hybrid PSU?

[peppington]

Any recommendations between XFX Core System Builder 550 Watt PSU or Thermaltake 630W Hybrid Modular Power Supply?

Was advised to go for the XFX however the Thermaltake one comes into a deal?

Is the second one a good PSU to have?

[jag272]

Are you referring to this XFX 550w? Scan actually name it the pro but it is infact the core edition, I know as the core doesn't support Haswell C6/C7 (easy to disable)
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...mm-fan-atx-psu
If so I have it, it has way more cables than I expected but it's great. It's also rated very highly on the PSU list, being Seasonic built. The list I'm referring to is here:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...tier-list.html

I can't find the specific thermaltake one you're looking at on the list, but the Thermaltakes seem to be not so good, only the very big Thermaltakes make it into the same tier as the XFX 550w supposedly. So I'd say take the XFX.

That said, I'm actually considering replacing my XFX currently with a 750w EVGA Supernova G2 just because I want a little more headroom and because I'd like to go modular (this thing seriously has a lot of cables). 550w is entirely sufficient for most GPU really, I'm just looking at potentially getting a high end AMD card as I want to upgrade from my 760 without paying out 970/980 price.

One thing to consider too, a high quality PSU with lower wattage will probably put out more power than a lower quality PSU with higher wattage, so again I would take the XFX.

Edit: It seems Scan also have the haswell compatible 550W now, see here:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...-1x-135mm-fan-

[MrNeil]

Is the Termaltake a Berlin 630W ?
If so then is good in my book ! Using it in my youngest boy's setup with a FX6300 and a PowerColor AMD Radeon R9 270 .
You dont even hear it spinning ! Yes it is working http://www.scan.co.uk/products/630w-...mm-fan-atx-psu
I have this Evga 750 B2 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-...e-power-supply Most expensive PSU i bought !

[peppington]

Are you referring to this XFX 550w? Scan actually name it the pro but it is infact the core edition, I know as the core doesn't support Haswell C6/C7 (easy to disable)
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...mm-fan-atx-psu
If so I have it, it has way more cables than I expected but it's great. It's also rated very highly on the PSU list, being Seasonic built. The list I'm referring to is here:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...tier-list.html

I can't find the specific thermaltake one you're looking at on the list, but the Thermaltakes seem to be not so good, only the very big Thermaltakes make it into the same tier as the XFX 550w supposedly. So I'd say take the XFX.

That said, I'm actually considering replacing my XFX currently with a 750w EVGA Supernova G2 just because I want a little more headroom and because I'd like to go modular (this thing seriously has a lot of cables). 550w is entirely sufficient for most GPU really, I'm just looking at potentially getting a high end AMD card as I want to upgrade from my 760 without paying out 970/980 price.

One thing to consider too, a high quality PSU with lower wattage will probably put out more power than a lower quality PSU with higher wattage, so again I would take the XFX.

Edit: It seems Scan also have the haswell compatible 550W now, see here:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...-1x-135mm-fan-

So the Xfx PSU I was talking about was the bottom link:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-...-1x-135mm-fan-

and the Themaltake 630 was this one:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/630w-...x140mm-atx-psu


They are both similar in price but the thermaltake one is in one of the weekend deals with the Corsair 200R case.

[peppington]

Is the Termaltake a Berlin 630W ?
If so then is good in my book ! Using it in my youngest boy's setup with a FX6300 and a PowerColor AMD Radeon R9 270 .
You dont even hear it spinning ! Yes it is working http://www.scan.co.uk/products/630w-...mm-fan-atx-psu
I have this Evga 750 B2 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-...e-power-supply Most expensive PSU i bought !

So the thermaltake one was this:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/630w-...x140mm-atx-psu

The graphics card I think I will be using is the MSI Radeon R7 370 2GB

[jag272]

Ye I managed to find the link to the Thermaltake one. I can't find reviews for this specific one, the Smart SE, but both the Smart and Smart M series are rated pretty low on the PSU list.

The Thermaltake Berlin is indeed good, I was recommended that if I could find one when I was doing my build a few months ago, but they seem to be very hard to come by.

I can't find any reviews for that Smart SE, but based on the Smart, Smart M and general Thermaltake ratings on that list, I would treat the Berlin as the exception to the rule and get the Seasonic built XFX which has a very strong reputation.

Also keep in mind the XFX 550w is, internally, a +30w Seasonic S12II which also has strong reviews, but if you want to buy direct from Seasonic, it's the same price on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seasonic-S12.../dp/B00390P1NO

Edit: Scratch that, checked on Scan and realised the S12II is apparently end of life, you could buy from amazon marketplace sellers if you like but I always look for a good retailer. XFX gets my vote then.

I would also check with Scan that the XFX you're looking at gets the warranty. The product page says it does, but the product name "System Builder" suggests to me it wouldn't, and I'm fairly positive I've seen Scan duplicate similar pages and then update the info for similar products in the past. Therefore they might have forgotten to remove warranty, unlikely, but I would check first.

[peppington]

Ye I managed to find the link to the Thermaltake one. I can't find reviews for this specific one, the Smart SE, but both the Smart and Smart M series are rated pretty low on the PSU list.

The Thermaltake Berlin is indeed good, I was recommended that if I could find one when I was doing my build a few months ago, but they seem to be very hard to come by.

I can't find any reviews for that Smart SE, but based on the Smart, Smart M and general Thermaltake ratings on that list, I would treat the Berlin as the exception to the rule and get the Seasonic built XFX which has a very strong reputation.

Also keep in mind the XFX 550w is, internally, a +30w Seasonic S12II which also has strong reviews, but if you want to buy direct from Seasonic, it's the same price on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seasonic-S12.../dp/B00390P1NO

Edit: Scratch that, checked on Scan and realised the S12II is apparently end of life, you could buy from amazon marketplace sellers if you like but I always look for a good retailer. XFX gets my vote then.

I would also check with Scan that the XFX you're looking at gets the warranty. The product page says it does, but the product name "System Builder" suggests to me it wouldn't, and I'm fairly positive I've seen Scan duplicate similar pages and then update the info for similar products in the past. Therefore they might have forgotten to remove warranty, unlikely, but I would check first.

Ok that's interesting to know! The case + PSU wasn't really saving me that much so I think I will go for XFX and hope it does get the warranty!

[jag272]

Ok that's interesting to know! The case + PSU wasn't really saving me that much so I think I will go for XFX and hope it does get the warranty!

No problem. Just for reference, though that scan listing says in the header that it is the haswell compatible version, all you have to do if it isn't is open your BIOS and disabled C6 and C7 states, these were in the overclocking section of my MSI motherboard. Otherwise the haswell deep sleep mode will trigger the PSU's safety mechanism and make it requires a hard reset. That's assuming you're even using haswell ofcourse, but hopefully that is indeed the haswell compatible version.

[peppington]

Ahh ok, thanks! What is haswell?Might be a stupid question but its been a long week..

[jag272]

Haswell is a series of intel CPUs, most recent bar Broadwell which is based upon Haswell. Whether that applies to you depends on what CPU you're using, just thought I'd throw it in as reference.

[peppington]

Haswell is a series of intel CPUs, most recent bar Broadwell which is based upon Haswell. Whether that applies to you depends on what CPU you're using, just thought I'd throw it in as reference.

Oh Well I was going for the AMD Fx-6300 but it's hard to resist the i5 4690k + MSI Z97 Gaming Motherboard deal..

[jag272]

If you do go for it, 4690k is indeed a Haswell based CPU. As I said before, even if that PSU isn't the Haswell compatible version it will still work. Just disable C6 and C7 in the BIOS before letting the PC sleep, all there is to it. Generally Scan's product pages are correct though so you're probably fine regardless.

I'm running a 4670k on a Z87 board (Was about £40 cheaper when I did my build and I was on the very tip of my budget) and it's easily handling any game I throw at it so far, encodes in Handbrake brilliantly too. If you have the spare funds then go for it, you won't regret it. Though I'm now having to look at upgrading my GPU as recent games like GTA V are pushing my 760 to it's limits.

Personally I would say your Mobo and CPU should take the highest of priority, alongside a solid PSU of course. They're the least hotswappable parts. GPU you don't want to cheap out on too much, but is easily replaceable down the line, same with RAM.