Which PSU?

[Aden]

Ok, I'm coming near to my system build and now need to decide which PSU.

I'll have the following components:
-Q6600/6700 or Q8200/8300 (undecided)
-Biostar TP45 HP Motherboard
-8gb Corsair XMS2 800mhz (4 x 2gb)
-4850 (perhaps late in 2009 another)
-Two Seagate Barracuda 500gb
-One DVD drive (til i go external)
-6 x 120mm fans and one 200mm.

That should be about it.. i think.

So I'm looking at PSU's between £50 - £65ish.. hopefully modular.
Not too sure on the wattage though (what shall one need?)

Heres whats on scan:
-NorthQ 650watt Black Magic (this is the one I'd like.. but is it reliable - ie. not going to ezcool me?)
-Be Quiet Dark Power 450watt (top of my list.. but don't think the wattage is enough.. but what do I know..)
-Coolermaster 520watt (coolermaster are a good brand.. but what about PSU's?)

Though if I didn't go modular:
(though this would make a mess of my case :S)
-500watt Silverstone (nice price, good brand, but when will it be in.. )
-Silverstone Strider 560watt (i've heard good things about these..)
-Enermax 525watt

Now before you give me any advice or shout because I havn't included corsair, its only due to the prices and my lack of knowledge on wattage needed.
A corsair 550watt (not modular) is £69 and if I want a 550watt modular version its going to cost £79, which is over budget. The question is, is it worth it.

Then theres the 450watt Corsair (non modular) at £51 or modular for £72.. is there enough wattage, is the extra cash for a 5 year warranty worth it.

Hoping for your opinions, perhaps you can make me an offer if you have an old PSU about.. and sorry for the lengthy post

[staffsMike]

With current prices what they are I don't blame you for leaving corsair out of the equation.

650W TX is overkill and non modular and 550W isn't seasonic so that rules it out for me and the 450W VX which I have is very nice but at that rating the dark power modular would be nice.

Non modular the 525W erermax is a great buy. What case is this going in?

Don't forget seasonic M12's and s12's though, both good power supplier on which a lot of the corsairs are based.

[Aden]

It'll be going into an Antec 900.

What amount of wattage would be enough then? Would 450watt suffice or will I need more?

I'm leaning towards Seasonic or the 450W Dark Power.

Either the 450W Darkpower, the 430W Seasonic M12 or the 500W Seasonic M12.

Personally I'll take the Be Quiet as its the brand i've looked at since starting my build, though I need to know that 450watt shall suffice.

Thanks for teh fast reply.

[staffsMike]

Yeah the dark power is a good bet.

450W is more than enough for the above system. Two HD4850's will still be fine but it might take the PSU out of its comfort zone and so the fan could spin up a bit. CustomPC rate it very highly for noise even then though.

[Aden]

Yeah the dark power is a good bet.

450W is more than enough for the above system. Two HD4850's will still be fine but it might take the PSU out of its comfort zone and so the fan could spin up a bit. CustomPC rate it very highly for noise even then though.

Ok, well as a CustomPC regular reader I'll have to go with that then
Will order it later this weekend but have to wait til just after the 3rd of Jan.. when scan get it in

Oh well.. good things come to those who wait

EDIT - Turns out Overclockers.co.uk have it for £57 inc Vat - thats cheaper than Scan! and they are in stock. So if overclockers postage isnt £10 then it works out cheaper than Scan overall!

Win, I can order and get it sharpish.

[DratUK]

The NorthQ 650 got a crappy review on JonnyGuru's website here based on that I wouldnt touch it with a barge pole
Cant find the UL number to see who makes the BeQuiet, but seems very well put together as shown here


If you wanted to play safe the Enermax 525 would get my vote here's why

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What about the 700W FSP which has been on Scan Today Only for under 30 quid several times??

[DratUK]

Theres a nice selection of PSU on Today only at Scan inc the Silverstone Strider 560 watt @ £45.00. None modular I know but a very solid PSU.

[mehmeh]

What about the 700W FSP which has been on Scan Today Only for under 30 quid several times??

I second that, seems a right bargain. Ordered one up myself yesterday.

[Aden]

Well, i didn't order last night.. I decided to hold out and look around. In the process i've found the 450Watt corsair on ebuyer for the same price as the BeQuiet 450W, both including postage.

So for me know, its get a cheaper PSU + Pay tonnes of postage (@ oC UK) or buy the most recommended brand for a bit more but free postage (@ ebuyer).

It then comes down to personal preference, and i'd much prefer a PSU worth more supplied with free postage than a PSU worth less and see the guys at oC uk laughing when i pay almost £10 for postage.

So am ordering the Corsair 450W HX yay!

[staffsMike]

Both are a rip off tbh.. at that price the 520w is probably the better bet. I thought the dark power was cheaper than that.

[Aden]

Both are a rip off tbh.. at that price the 520w is probably the better bet. I thought the dark power was cheaper than that.

Ok, thankfully I didn't order last night - so which PSU to order?

I've got an ebuyer basket with the Corsair for £67 ready to order & a scan basket with other stuff I'm ordering..

So which PSU under £65 from either ebuyer or scan.

Final decision time.. .

[staffsMike]

If thats the budget then the corsair or dark power are your best bet, but they are superbly expensive for what they are. It's a shame the Enermax Modu82+ 425W has dissapeared, that was £50 when I got it.

THe 525W at £73 makes more pretty good sense though for £6 more
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/525W-...uard-SafeGuard

[Aden]

Hmm. . .I'm still looking around a bit.. don't want to jump into spending EVEN more on something I'd planned between £50 - £60 and at the same time don't want to limit myself in the future..

Time to look through scan's powersupply lists again..

[staffsMike]

lol well if you can live without modular which shouldn't affect too much in the 900 tbh, then the 525W Proe82+ is what I would buy.

[Aden]

lol well if you can live without modular which shouldn't affect too much in the 900 tbh, then the 525W Proe82+ is what I would buy.

Maybe I've been making it too confusing all along.. i thought modular was needed in the 900.

Am ordering the Enermax Proe82+ unless someone objects between now and when i have made it.