PSU Change... Opinions?

[AirbusGuy1207 1]

So, the only component left on my computer that can be upgraded is my PSU, which is a Dynex brand rated at 520W. What I run under this PSU is in my signature.

 

I have heard feedback from the community that Dynex is not something I should be using, so I am thinking of replacing my current PSU with maybe a CX750 or a TX650 from Corsair. Which would be better, and what performance gain/stability would be brought with a brand-name PSU with increased wattage?

 

Also, I have heard of a phenomenon called coil whine which happens on either the PSU or GPU. Would this upgrade cause my GPU to produce coil whine?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Bob Scott 7,715]

For starters, you reduce your chances of a PSU failure smoking your PC...I've seen motherboards and other components destroyed as collateral damage due to catastrophic PSU failures. Personally, I'm a believer in some overkill in the PSU department--I'd get the 750 if it were me to have a little more headroom.

 

A quality PSU is more likely to give you stable, properly-regulated current, which contributes to overall system stability. There is no performance gain to be had from a PSU upgrade.

 

It's impossible to predict under what circumstances any system might produce coil whine.

 

Cheers

[alhefner 28]

For starters, you reduce your chances of a PSU failure smoking your PC...I've seen motherboards and other components destroyed as collateral damage due to catastrophic PSU failures. Personally, I'm a believer in some overkill in the PSU department--I'd get the 750 if it were me to have a little more headroom.

Yep, current draw and how your power supply handles it means a lot. The more current that is drawn by your MB, graphics cards, fans, HDD, SSD, and DVD, the harder the power supply has to work. If your current 520 watt power supply is having to keep up with 500 watts of constant draw and having peaks at times where it has to supply more current, the possibility of it overheating and failing, with subsequent spiking of voltage to the rest of your system, is greatly increased.

 

With your current system and the possibility that you may want to add things later on, a 750 watt power supply is not really overkill.

[stans 702]

I, too, am a believer in reasonable overkill when it comes to the PSU.  Running a PSU at or near maximum rated output increases heat production, component failure, and reduces its lifespan. 

[Appliance 51]

Adding to the good advice tendered above,  I recommend you consider only those PSU's displaying "Gold" in their specs.  True, they cost a little more, however being more efficient will probably save you more that over time as well as providing more day-to-day stability.

 

Many brands out there.  Few manufacturers.  Suggest you do your research. 

[Dash8Q4 4]

Ive had corsair hx620 and ran solid for 4yrs. Its still going strong overseas ln a friends pc. Now ive had an ocz gold 850watt for over two yrs and ive had no problems ever. They say the town i live in has inconsistent power so it surges from time to time but ive seen no sign of rhis. Im running an overclocked 2500k, two ssds, four hdds, dvd rom, 6fans including cpu cooler, a gtx770, dedicated sound card. I recommend looking for a sale, a 750watt psu from legacy brand and gold or platinum rating ahould be plenty. What will you be runing off it?

[gonzas144 0]

PSU is the heart of the PC, a healthy and stable PSU will reduce chance of circuit degradation due to voltage oscillations (specially on the VGA).

 

I recommend you a 600w to 700 PSU, brand is important, more expensive doesn't mean better. My recommended brands are:

 

-Antec

-Seasonic

-XFX (XXX and all the new series, all made by Seasonic).

-Corsair

-Be Quiet

-CoolerMaster (Silent Pro Gold).

-Enermax

[Anderscn 0]

At least get a semimodular one. Makes cable management so much easier. And yes, get a 850 watt or higher, then you are prepared if one day P3D can use 2 GPU's

Anders

[Luke 782]

How many of you have actually measured how much power you are using? A 4770K and a GTX 760 won't pull more than 180W from the wall using FSX. Unless you're running SLI and two top end video cards, 550W will be plenty.

 

Cheers

 

Luke

[avistudent 47]

Seasonic is pretty good, I am using one.....and if you are running a SLI setup, you would need between 600w to 800w, depending on the cards.  Get the ones with 80 PLUS GOLD certification. 

[alhefner 28]

How many of you have actually measured how much power you are using? A 4770K and a GTX 760 won't pull more than 180W from the wall using FSX. Unless you're running SLI and two top end video cards, 550W will be plenty.

 

Cheers

 

Luke

 

Measuring wattage "from the wall" is not nearly the same as the wattage pulled from the power supply. From the wall, you are looking at 120VAC. From the power supply, you are looking at regulated DC voltages. Two very different critters in many respects.

Of course, a person could simply take the specs of the components in the system that the power supply will be feeding and add up the wattage to make a decisions on what to get...

[stans 702]

There are "wattage calculators" on the internet that can be used to sort out the PSU requirements for a computer system.

[Luke 782]

Measuring wattage "from the wall" is not nearly the same as the wattage pulled from the power supply. From the wall, you are looking at 120VAC. From the power supply, you are looking at regulated DC voltages. Two very different critters in many respects.

Of course, a person could simply take the specs of the components in the system that the power supply will be feeding and add up the wattage to make a decisions on what to get...

 

The rules of electricity and physics still apply. If you're pulling a set amount from the wall, once it goes through the power supply and is converted to DC, there's going to be some losses and wastage. It can only be in one direction - down!

 

If you can draw 200W from the wall but have 300W being drawn from the power supply, then you have a Nobel Prize in your future. Or a separate power cable to your power supply.

 

Adding up the specs isn't a bad idea - I did that with the TDP on my CPU and GPU and discovered that they didn't exceed 200W.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[ryanbatc 12,806]

How many of you have actually measured how much power you are using? A 4770K and a GTX 760 won't pull more than 180W from the wall using FSX. Unless you're running SLI and two top end video cards, 550W will be plenty.

 

Cheers

 

Luke

I have - kill a watt measured a mere 360w peak with my system, excluding led monitor , while testing CPU stress with GPU 3dmark

[gizmosellsbunnys 106]

Run 760gtx and 3570k off corsair cx600 been going two years no problems. With power efficiency improvements of 900 series could swap 760gtx to 970gtx without needing psu upgrade.