PC Peripherals Efficient PSU suggestions

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axis.meister

axis.meister

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Hello All,

PC Configuration:

AMD A10-5800K @stock (no overclocking intended in future also)
Asrock FM2A85X Extreme6 Motherboard
8GB G.Skill 1600MHZ Kit (2 x 4GB)
2 x HDDs (1Blue + 1 Green)
3 x CM Silent Fans+ 1 x NZXT Cabinet Fan
DVD-RW

Future additions:
Fixed:
SSD 128/180GB
CPU Cooler

Probable but not certain:
Discrete GPU ~ Radeon 7850 based or similar
BD-RW

Usage Scenario:
Typically 4-8 hours a day
light-medium gaming+Movies+Internet

Am planning to set up my Asus-N13U router for downloading so this machine would not be used as a download rig.

I want to have an efficient PSU that can power this setup. PSUs considered are

Seasonic S12-II 520W for 80+ Bronze rating
Seasonic X series 660 Gold for 80+ Gold rating

The prices of components has visibly gone up, but I am getting the S12-II for around 3.7K(Flipkart has it at 4.58K), the X-Series will be more than double that(8.5K @ FK :wideyed:) . I wouldn't mind the extra initial cost if the power saved makes up for the initial investment.

Any suggestions for alternatives to the S12 and the X-660 with similar/better efficiency and lower cost would be highly appreciated.
 
axis.meister said:
Hello All,
Seasonic S12-II 520W for 80+ Bronze rating
Seasonic X series 660 Gold for 80+ Gold rating

The prices of components has visibly gone up, but I am getting the S12-II for around 3.7K(Flipkart has it at 4.58K), the X-Series will be more than double that(8.5K @ FK :wideyed:) . I wouldn't mind the extra initial cost if the power saved makes up for the initial investment.

Any suggestions for alternatives to the S12 and the X-660 with similar/better efficiency and lower cost would be highly appreciated.
Click to expand...

For Seasonic the difference between the above two models is just that the X series is fully modular; gold and has the best "efficiency" of all psu's compared. The voltage efficiency across all rails are superbly consistent. I do not think it would translate to any major gains in "power-saved" which would ultimately result in recovery of your investment. Rather - the extreme stability; reliability and efficiency of the X-Series results in better protection & longevity of all your other components on your system. I am using the X760 since Sept 2012 & no issues with it.

I think the 520W just might bottleneck your system (considering future peripheral upgrades - 7850 or adittional HDD's). The 620W is a minimum that you should consider (I may be wrong here).

Alternatives - the Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 is also an excellent buy at 6k.

Cheers
Terry
 
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Thanks @terence_fdes

I will upgrade to 7850 only if I find the i-GPU insufficient for gaming. And right now, that is a big "if"; I haven't done much gaming recently, and right now this i-GPU is doing well with anything I throw at it (Black Ops, GTA IV).

I am confused by your statement about bottlenecking, I had assumed(calculated based on assumptions) that the top load my system would be around 250-300W ie., close to 60% of the PSU's load rating and hence close to its top efficiency. And max 400 with the 7850

Modularity is a luxury I can do without.
 
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Like i said, I may be wrong in assuming the maximum wattage requirements.

So you can go ahead and take your pick (the s12-II price is really the best that you are getting).
 
Any other suggestions or alternatives for better effeciency/cost balance ?

@Crazy_Eddy what do you think? Would the 520W PSU bottleneck on my config? I had assumed it to be around the 50-60% mark of the load rating but I think you would be a better judge of that.
 
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Yeah I don't see your rig exceeding 400W with the 7850 either - 150W for CPU+Mobo, 150W for 7850, 100W for RAM + HDDs/ODD/SSD + Fans. The 520W should be enough. Its about 77% of the rated load but efficiency is generally good upto 80%.

To address your first question, even with a full load of 400W (500W at mains) 8 hours a day, the 7% efficiency difference will save you only 500 bucks a year. You would spend 8 years recovering the price difference. The actual average load would be half this or a saving of 250 bucks a year.
 
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Would the 520W PSu be justified without the HD7850? Currently I dont have the HD7850 so my load consumption would be 250-275W and a safe estimation of the average load would be 60% of full load(or lower?) = 150W(~30% of 520W). That would again fall on the lower side of the efficiency curve, which would typically be very bad at low loads.

Also is the Seasonic S12-II 520W a good deal @3.7K
 
As per the tests on Jonnyguru, the efficiency is actually the highest at ~111W. The 80 plus ratings are supposed to hold for as low as 20% load, so should be fine.

Yeah 3.7k is quite good. Where are you getting it from? I think the lowest I saw it for was about 3.9k on theitdepot.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
As per the tests on Jonnyguru, the efficiency is actually the highest at ~111W. The 80 plus ratings are supposed to hold for as low as 20% load, so should be fine.

Yeah 3.7k is quite good. Where are you getting it from? I think the lowest I saw it for was about 3.9k on theitdepot.
Click to expand...

Infibeam.
It is listed at Rs. 4284, applying amexonline coupon(15% off max 500) it comes to Rs. 3784. Not quite 3.7K but it is inclusive of shipping, theitdepot has it at 3.9K but with shipping. For a PSU that weighs about 1kg shipping to mumbai from chennai would make that deal not so lucrative.

I haven't ordered it yet, cos I am a bit hesitant about Infibeam. Firstly, the listing on Infibeam does not list the warranty; secondly, I have only bought books from infibeam, not so sure of the shipping of something this heavy.

@terence_fdes The listing doesn't say new or refurbished, doesn't even list the warranty; but I would assume a site like Infibeam would not ship refurbished stuff without listing it as such (I hope :confused:). I wish this was flipkart, I wouldn't have worried so much before ordering.
 
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I have bought many books from infibeam, and only had one bad experience where they shipped a book very late. But that also got resolved after a few emails and I found them quite responsive on emails. But they take their own sweet time in shipping, just this tuesday I decided to make a test purchase and ordered a 32GB Sandisk Cruzer(needed one for my router, so went ahead and bought it). Just got an email saying it has been shipped today, and it is still at their Delhi facility as per the tracking info.
 
Same here shopped for books only from Infibeam. Otherwise I have done 99% of all my hardware shopping online from the following sites only - theitwares; primeabgb; hardwire.in; theitdepot; mdrelectronics; snapdeal (2TB Seagate external drive); flipkart (the last is only for pendrives)

Pendrives etc are now common items everywhere.

If you are from Mumbai - check out theitwares (speak to Rahul) - they are official distributors for Seasonic.
 
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thanks @terence_fdes how is hardware.in? Never shopped there before, but they have FSP Aurum 500W @4.5K, and the 80+ gold rating has me very interested.

I am from Navi Mumbai, and already checked theitwares.com they have the S12-II 520W listed at 4.4K surprising price o_O if they are actually the official distributors
 
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axis.meister said:
thanks @terence_fdes how is hardware.in? Never shopped there before, but they have FSP Aurum 500W @4.5K, and the 80+ gold rating has me very interested.

I am from Navi Mumbai, and already checked theitwares.com they have the S12-II 520W listed at 4.4K surprising price o_O if they are actually the official distributors
Click to expand...

hardwire.in is run and managed by a linus geek Rajeev & a hard-core gamer at one time (cool guy). I picked up my Seasonic X750 from him (at that time, sept 2012.... the lowest price was listed..... although he realised later that the price was wrong, he did not back out -I had already made the payment online. It took about 5 days for delivery (he delivered it personally as I live close by to his place - I live at Andheri-East, he's at Goregaon-West), I offerred to pay him the difference amount (as compared to the street-price that day), but he refused to take it. Except from some common items - I do not think he has ready stocks of many things (especially premium/expensive & not very common items). So you have to have patience, when dealing with hardwire.in. I appreciate his entrepreneurial risks, honesty and down-to-earth nature .... His venture is struggle against the like's of the giants in mumbai - prime & theitwares. Profit-margins are extremely low. So once you are interested in any product from them - call them & check actual availability & proceed thereafter.

Prices of all these things keep fluctuating on a daily basis (based on availability & stocks). I ordered my entire RIG online - from 5-6 different places (including theitdepot-chennai) & I spent quite a BOMB on my RIG. I was hell-bent, nay "adamant" on getting for myself ONLY the specific brand/model that I had zeroed in on (after doing loads of R&D) lol..... and too lazy to go to lammy, multiple trips etc (where they can drive you nuts). Online buying was so peaceful.

Not familiar with FPS Aurum

Cheers
terry
 
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axis.meister said:
but they have FSP Aurum 500W @4.5K, and the 80+ gold rating has me very interested.
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Nice price for an 80+ gold certified PSU. There's a review of the 700W model on HW secrets : http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/FSP-Aurum-Gold-700-Power-Supply-Review/1228/ . Looks decent overall and should be fine if efficiency is your priority. But two minor concerns - the ripple voltage doesn't look as good as the Seasonic S12II : FSP Aurum vs Seasonic S12II, and they've skipped the surge protection MOV.
 
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Crazy_Eddy said:
Nice price for an 80+ gold certified PSU. There's a review of the 700W model on HW secrets : http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/FSP-Aurum-Gold-700-Power-Supply-Review/1228/ . Looks decent overall and should be fine if efficiency is your priority. But two minor concerns - the ripple voltage doesn't look as good as the Seasonic S12II : FSP Aurum vs Seasonic S12II, and they've skipped the surge protection MOV.
Click to expand...
Yup, did the required googling on FSP Aurum 500W and found a few more reviews on it, all good. As for the ripple, it is still well within limits; we use industrial rated power supplies that have 60mVpp ripple ratings @24V so 70mVpp @12V on load for a commercial power supply is quite acceptable I would guess. As for the surge protection MOV, I dont know how important that is, since you already have surge protection at the UPS and surge protector.

The price looks too good(to be true almost), paying just about 800 bucks more for a 80+ gold rated PSU as compared to a bronze rated one is really good. Will call up hardware.in on Monday to check availability and confirm price.
 
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axis.meister said:
The price looks too good(to be true almost), paying just about 800 bucks more for a 80+ gold rated PSU as compared to a bronze rated one is really good. Will call up hardware.in on Monday to check availability and confirm price.
Click to expand...

This is friggin awesome stuff (Gold) at that price - FSP 500
Honestly, I never knew this was available in India& is this too the same FSP Aurum Xilenser 500 as compared to this (fsp aurum website)

Say a hi to Rajeev (from Terry/Terence)
 
terence_fdes said:
This is friggin awesome stuff (Gold) at that price - FSP 500
Honestly, I never knew this was available in India& is this too the same FSP Aurum Xilenser 500 as compared to this (fsp aurum website)

Say a hi to Rajeev (from Terry/Terence)
Click to expand...
No, Xilenser is the fanless version. I remember seeing it listed on prime, but it is not listed there anymore.

I ordered the FSP Aurum 500W from hardware.in and got a mail this evening that it is shipped, so far so good.
 
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