PC Peripherals PSU Buying help.

R

Rogues

Disciple
I am currently running an Q6600, 9800GT, 500GB HDD inside a CM 690 II with a Iball Sprinter 600W. I was using a Corsair 550VX which stopped working. I sent it to RMA from Orissa, and Corsair sent it back to Orissa. I ask a friend of mine to send it to me via courier but he decides to "borrow" it so he can test the advantages of using a good quality PSU. So right now I'm stuck with a Iball Sprinter 600W. I've been using it for 2 months and it's been alright but I feel that the electricity bill is slightly on the higher side. I'm getting 1500/- for a month without any AC or anything. My PC is on almost 18 hrs a day. Is that normal?

Anyways back on topic, I'm looking for a new power supply. I currently have these two shortlisted :
Longevity is a big factor in this purchase. I do not want to purchase a PSU again any time in the foreseeable future. Also I probably am never going to use SLI/Crossfire so 650W should be more than sufficient. I'm leaning towards the 650VX mostly due to the 7 year warranty and the modularity. But I notice that it uses ATX12V v2.2 whereas the Seasonic uses ATX12V v2.3. What kind of features and differences does it bring?

Currently I'm planning an upgrade to 6850/7850(depending on funds) and a 60-90GB SSD within the next couple of months.

What do you guys think?

Edit ::

Just came across this Seasonic 560W KM which is 80 plus GOLD.
 
Rogues said:
I am currently running an Q6600, 9800GT, 500GB HDD inside a CM 690 II with a Iball Sprinter 600W. I was using a Corsair 550VX which stopped working. I sent it to RMA from Orissa, and Corsair sent it back to Orissa. I ask a friend of mine to send it to me via courier but he decides to "borrow" it so he can test the advantages of using a good quality PSU. So right now I'm stuck with a Iball Sprinter 600W. I've been using it for 2 months and it's been alright but I feel that the electricity bill is slightly on the higher side. I'm getting 1500/- for a month without any AC or anything. My PC is on almost 18 hrs a day. Is that normal?

Anyways back on topic, I'm looking for a new power supply. I currently have these two shortlisted :
Longevity is a big factor in this purchase. I do not want to purchase a PSU again any time in the foreseeable future. Also I probably am never going to use SLI/Crossfire so 650W should be more than sufficient. I'm leaning towards the 650VX mostly due to the 7 year warranty and the modularity. But I notice that it uses ATX12V v2.2 whereas the Seasonic uses ATX12V v2.3. What kind of features and differences does it bring?

Currently I'm planning an upgrade to 6850/7850(depending on funds) and a 60-90GB SSD within the next couple of months.

Just came across this Seasonic 560W KM which is 80 plus GOLD.
Click to expand...

Well personally I would recommend the following SMPS's for your requirements --

Seasonic S12II 620W ~4800/- [non-modular]

Corsair TX V2 650W ~5600/- [non-modular]

Seasonic X560W ~6800/- [modular]

Cooler Master Silent Pro M600 ~6000/- [modular]

The Corsair HX 650W that you have mentioned is an EoL product, will be very hard to find a piece on the market. More importantly if you get a bad piece I do not know what it will be replaced with.

Your query regarding ATX v2.x.x standards can be answered by these articles, here and here.

Apart from that, try to upgrade to the HD 7850 over the HD 6850, as the latter is on its way out and has no more muscle to run current generation titles @full HD with high eye-candy.

Hope this helps, Cheers!!
 
My order of ranking for performance :-

1. Seasonic X-560 (Since you mention 650W requirements, there is an X-660 unit also - www.techenclave.com/topic/513273-seasonic-power-supplies-best-prices/ )

2. Corsair HX650

3. Coolermaster M600

4. Corsair TX650 V2

5. Seasonic S12II 620

S12 II may be VFM, but the platform was designed for midrange 400-500W power. 620W is the platform's limits, while the X series is just starting.

Corsair service is the best. Coolermaster next. Seasonic is unreliable.

Rogues said:
But I notice that it uses ATX12V v2.2 whereas the Seasonic uses ATX12V v2.3. What kind of features and differences does it bring?
Click to expand...

ATX guidelines are very lenient. High quality units already meet and surpass v2.3 requirements even if they are marked v2.2.

From Alpha's wiki link,

80% efficiency is "recommended" .. which all v2.2 units meet.

240VA limit per rail or multiple rail has been dropped .. all units have been using single rails internally and external multiple 12V rails usually do not have their overcurrent limiters set at 20A.

In short, nothing is missing.
 
Jarod said:
My order of ranking for performance :-

2. Corsair HX650

S12 II may be VFM, but the platform was designed for midrange 400-500W power. 620W is the platform's limits, while the X series is just starting.
Click to expand...

Jarod you do realize that the Corsair HX series SMPS were phased out in favour of the TX V2 and AX series SMPS, I have alread mentioned that getting this will be hard as is and more importantly if it fails the replacement will be most definitely from the newer stocks of TX V2 series SMPS. This as such puts the HX 650W SMPS out of the reckoning.

S12II series SMPS may be entry-level enthusiast products but they do have excellent reviews about their stellar performance, e.g.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=185 --> when this guy says the design is good, it is beyond good Sire.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Seasonic-S12II-Bronze-520-W-Power-Supply-Review/954 --> these chaps also follow the same load-testing principles as Johnny Guru's Oklahoma Wolf, so this is a reverification of the actual potential.

Hope this helps, Cheers!!
 
I've not seen official news on the HX series being phased out. Its still on the website's current products (the HX620 which was phased out is not there), still on newegg, etc. But it looks due for a refresh.

Anyway, the HX sits between the AX and TX. The AX could be a successor but definitely not the TX.

HX620 owners were given better HX650 units as warranty replacements. So there's a good chance he gets an AX650 as a replacement if the HX is discontinued.

I never said the S12II is a bad performer, and I agree with the reviews. Reviewers grade a PSU by taking into account its target segment.

You need to understand PSU segments. You cannot compare an S12II with the flagship X series. Thats like comparing a 458 with an F1 car. The 458 is excellent in its segment, but does that mean its a good idea for F1 racing?

At 650W you are crossing over into another segment. I was pointing out that he should choose the platform designed for that power segment.

PSU platforms are designed for a selected power band and are standard across the range with just differently rated components for their different power ratings.

The S12II platform is designed for 430 - 620W. At 620W you are at the platforms design limit.

The X-560 platform is designed for 560 - 850W. At 560 or 660W it is nowhere near the 850W limits.

Take the higher up X series 1050/1250. The 1250W only returns 80+ gold ratings while the 1050W manages 80+ platinum ratings. This is simply because the platform is being pushed to its design limits at 1250W.

So would you choose an S12II that is pushed to its limit or an X that is in its sweet spot?
 
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