Need help picking a PSU
Need help picking a PSU
Edit: thanks all for your input, I've taken all the input and tried to find a better proces 850W PSU, but given the current discount on the 1000W be quiet! there is just nothing else beating that deal, so I've gone with that.
My current setup is an i5-12400F + RTX 3060 Ti, 2x8GB 2666 MHz, 2x 2TB 3,5" HDD, 1x 1TB NVMe, 3 case fans, 1 air cooler, 0 RGB.
All PSU calculators tell me 650W is just enough and 750W is a comfortable headroom.
Right now I have an aging Seasonic S12 II 620W PSU that causes no issues as far as powering the system goes, I've had absolutely no problems with it whatsoever in the 5 years I've had it (started on an older, much less power hungry configuration). Except one thing. I'm pushing it close to its limits and the fan is going, it's LOUD. I can't stand hearing it over the gameplay.
So I've decided to upgrade and get something that will be suitable for my inevitable cpu+gpu upgrade a few years down the road.
My choices come down to two PSUs:
- be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 1000W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0
- Corsair RM850x 850W 80 Plus Gold
There's a sale right now and they are priced almost the same at around 135€. The sale does not apply to an 850W variant of the Pure Power 12 M, making it and the 1000W the same price at this moment.
At first glance it looks like I should go for the 1000W be quiet, more headroom for the same price, but idk, Corsair might be more.. reliable? Both have 10 year warranties. Both are overpowered for what my components require, and that's exactly the point. I want this shit to be silent even if I'm pushing it.
Is there a better choice I should consider? Also, if the price on sale isn't as attractive as you'd expect, we get crap deals all around in my country so that's that.
be quiet! is an excellent brand. You can't go wrong with either choice, but I'd take the extra wattage.
Tests for this model are pretty much all praising it for its quality, and user reviews are excellent as well. Only complaint about the be quiet! seems to be about very stiff 24-pin cable, but that won't be an issue in my case anyway, I can route it without tight bends. Looks like that's gonna be what I get :) Thanks!
I personally have the exact model and everything works perfectly, the safe wattage margin is bound to come useful in the future to power these GPU monsters and the modular detachable cables are super useful for cable management. I suggest you first connect the cables and then put the PSU into the case, contrary to what my friend suggested, it will save you a lot of trouble. Good luck!
The 1000W one based solely on it being ATX3.0 which is much better if you plan to stick with it.
I'm using a 650W PSU from be quiet (the straight power series) and I'm using more power consuming compoments than you are (R7 3800X + 3070) and I don't hear my PSU. I know you said you want to overspec but honestly save yourself the money, get a good be quiet one and that's it
If you're underusing your PSU, that's also not good since its efficiency will be worse. But if that's no concern for you then feel free to go for the overspec
Thanks for pointing out underusing the PSU. I actually went ahead and checked clearesult's test report, and assuming I'd be pulling 200W most of the time (pulling this out of my ass), efficiency for that load is 91.05%. Pulling 500W in a long, demanding gaming session with this PSU means efficiency of 91.2%, a negligible difference.
A 650W variant costs 111€. 750W is 125€. 850W is 135€, the same as 1000W with current discount.
I'd be happy to go for a cheaper 850W PSU, but this is kinda the best deal right now for me.
To be clear. I'm not hell-bent on that 1000W PSU. I'm happy with a different option, but price to wattage ratio leans me to that choice.
If they are the same price you'd be insane not to go for the be quiet! one! ATX 3.0 and 1000W will set you up for a long time.
850W is absolutely enough for anything you throw at it (even a 4090), but the Corsair one doesn't have a 16 pin GPU cable.
Go with be quiet!, it's an awesome brand :)
I have a hard time believing that the PSU fan is the one you hear the most when pushing the system. They usually have pretty big fans in them so they can move a lot of air without crazy high RPM, similar to case fans. But your CPU and GPU on the other hand... usually smaller fans which means a lot more RPM to get the CFM needed to cool. Especially if you are using an Intel stock cooler... Stock CPU coolers SUCK.
That said, to answer your PSU question... You generally want to live around or under 80% of the rating of the PSU, as it is most efficient. Which typically is easy to do: based on quick calculations and making generous assumptions for your system, the PSU you have is likely enough (estimated true power draw of all your components mentioned is around 500w, likely just under. And that is assuming you are pegging every single component all at once, which is unlikely to happen through normal use. 500 / 0.8 = 625 or 620*0.8=496W).
My advice is filter down to brands you trust, and then look at modular units, and then buy the most wattage with a good 80+ rating that you can afford within the budget of the system you are trying to build.
It truly is the fan in the PSU. I may not be pulling all 500W at once, but that fan is struggling. I swapped my fans to sub-30 db fans thinking that was the culprit. It's not. It's not the HDD either. I literally took the side panel off and stuck my ear near every potential noise source. Believe me, it's the PSU.
It's a low end model, it's old, it could simply be a dying bearing. Whatever the case may be, it's dying, and I'm not about to disassemble a PSU to swap a fan and kill myself in the process lmao.
Oh, trust me, you don't know how loud some psu fans are. I replaced my perfectly good deepcool something something 650W because the fan sounded like an angle grinder (and also because it was whiny and non-modular but still)...
Gigabyte may have some on sale.
In my opinion, get the Corsair.
That PC will pull about 300W at full load, maybe 500W if you take transients into account so both those PSUs are valid options in terms of power, in terms of quality they're both good, so unless you can get a very good deal on the be quiet, the Corsair is probably the best choice.
As pointed out, thanks to a sale at a given retailer, they're both almost exactly the same price right now. 132€ for Corsair, 135€ for be quiet!
So price to wattage, be quiet! just makes more sense even if I'm not going to use all the potential. I'm aiming to run it at a smaller load for better acoustics.
On top of that, I'm trying to account for beefier components in the future, avoiding having to buy a new PSU yet again.
If you can afford it, Dark Power 13 1000W, oterwise the Pure Power 12 1000W as a second choice.
Dark Power is unfortunately way out of my budget. Pure Power will have to suffice :)