600 PSU for my rig, or 700? and RTX 2070?

sirelaskyx

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Nov 14, 2018
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Very soon I am going to be upgrading my PC with the black Friday deals going on and I am getting an RTX 2070.

Current Specs:
GPU - EVGA GTX 970
CPU - Intel i7-6700 (3.40GHz)
RAM - 8GB DDR4
Mobo - MSi Z270 SLI
PSU - Corsair CX 600M

I'm getting some new RAM too (approx 24GB ddr4) along with the RTX 2070 and I was wondering if I would need a 700 PSU or if my current 600 would be okay? The 2070 is probably going to be a little OC'd already; MSi one's are clocked faster than stock.

And #2: Is there a suggested 2070? I saw some bad reviews for MSi's being faulty on arrival, and if I should try GIGABYTE's or get another EVGA card?
 
I would not use that CX600 with that graphics card. Not because it is only 600w, but because it is an older unit and was not very high quality to begin with. I'd highly recommend a 650w or higher model for the RTX 2070, especially if you plan to overclock it at all.

Click here for recommendations:

Let's start with the biggest misconception out there, which is that if a unit has high watts it will be ok or is good. No. Just, no.

There are plenty of 750-1000w units out there that I wouldn't trust to power a light bulb and might in fact be more dangerous due to their supposedly high capacity due to poor or non-existent protections inside the unit.

If the platform isn't good to begin with, how many watts or amps it says it can support is irrelevant.

Higher 80plus certification doesn't mean anything, UNLESS it's on an already known to be high quality PSU platform. For example, a Seasonic Prime platinum unit is going to be a better product than a Seasonic Prime Gold unit, because we already know the Prime platform is very good, and platinum efficiency along with it shows there are some improvements internally to account for the higher efficiency.

In a case like that, it might be worth it. It's likely the unit will create less heat, it will probably have better performance in regard to ripple, noise and voltage regulation. It might shave a few pennies, or dollars, off the electric bill over the course of a year.

Other than that, it is not going to perform any better than the same platform with Gold efficiency. On the other hand, just because a unit has Titanium 80plus ratings doesn't mean the unit is any good at all. For example, there are Raidmax units with Titanium efficiency and I wouldn't trust one of those to power a light bulb. There are a lot of units like this out there.

If the platform isn't good to begin with, whether or not it has an 80plus certification or not is irrelevant.

Whatever you do, don't EVER buy a power supply based on whether it has RGB or lighting, or looks like it might be a quality unit. Some of the biggest hunks of junk out there look just as good as a Seasonic Prime Ultra Titanium, but I assure you, they are not. So far as I've seen there are really no excellent units out there that have RGB built in. Maybe one or two models, but rest assured you'll be be paying for the lighting, not for the quality of the power supply.

I don't know what country you reside in, and I know that sometimes it's hard to come by good units in some regions, but when possible, when it comes time to get that PSU, I'd stick to the following if you can.

Seasonic. Just about anything made by Seasonic is good quality for the most part. There are really no bad Seasonic units and only a very few that are even somewhat mediocre. They do make a few less-good quality OEM style units, but mostly those are not going to be units you come across at most vendors, and they are still not bad. Also, the S12II and M12II 520 and 620w units are older, group regulated models. At one time they were among the best units you could buy. Now, they are outdated and not as good as almost any other Seasonic models. They are however still better than a LOT of newer designs by other manufacturers.

The Seasonic 520w and 620w S12II/M12II units CAN be used on newer Intel platforms, if you turn off C6/C7 in the bios, but I'd really recommend a newer platform whenever possible. Prices are usually pretty good on those though, so sometimes it's worth accepting the lack of DC-DC on the internal platform. Higher capacity versions of the High current gamer are not based on that platform, so they are fine. Those being the 750w and higher versions.

Corsair. The CX and CXm units are ok as a budget option, but I do not recommend pairing them with gaming cards. The newer 2017 models of CX and CXm are better than the older ones, but still not what we'd call terrific, so if it specifically says 2017 model, or it has a capacity other than an even 100, like 550w, 650w, 750w, etc., then it's likely at least better than those older ones. Aside from that, any of the TX, RMx, RMi, HX, HXi, AX or AXi units are good. Those are listed from best to worst, with the best being the AX and AXi units.

Antec. The True power classic units are made by Seasonic, and are very good, but are not modular. The High current gamer 520w and 620w, or any other PSU you see on the market that is 520w or 620w, are also made by Seasonic, based on the S12II and M12II platform for modern versions, and are pretty good units but again they are an older platform that is group regulated so if you go with a Haswell or newer Intel configuration you will want to avoid those because they do not support the C6/C7 Intel low power states.

The Antec High current gamer 750w and 850w units are very good and are not the older design, which came in 520w and 620w capacities and were good for back then but again, are an aging Seasonic platform that is not the best choice most of the time these days. Occasionally, these older units MIGHT be the best unit available and you could do worse than one of them, but a newer DC-DC platform is desirable when possible if it doesn't mean sacrificing quality elsewhere in the platform. There are however older and newer HCG models, so exact model number will likely be a factor if choosing one of these however both the older models and the newer models are good.

Antec Edge units are ok too, but reviews indicate that they have noisy fan profiles. I'd only choose this model if it is on sale or the aesthetics match up with your color scheme or design. Still a good power supply but maybe a little aggressive on the fan profile. This may have been cured on newer Edge models so reading professional tear down reviews is still the best idea.

BeQuiet. BeQuiet does have a few decent models, BUT, you must be VERY selective about which of their models you put your trust in. From model to model their are huge differences in both quality and performance, even with the same series. If you cannot find a review for a BeQuiet unit on HardOCP, JonnyGuru or Tom's hardware that SPECIFICALLY says it is a very good unit, and does not have any significant issues in the "cons" category, I would avoid it. In fact, I'd probably avoid it anyhow unless there is a very great sale on one that has good reviews, because their units are generally more expensive than MUCH better units from Antec, Seasonic, EVGA and Corsair.

Super Flower. They are like Seasonic and they make power supplies for a variety of other companies, like EVGA. Super Flower units are usually pretty good. I'd stick to the Leadex, Leadex II and Golden Green models.

EVGA. They have BOTH good and not very good models.

Not very good are the W1, N1, B1, B3, BR (All models except the 650w model) and G1 NEX models.

Good models are the B2, B3 650w, G2, G2L, G3, GQ, P2 and T2 models.

FSP. They used to be very mediocre, and are a PSU manufacturer like Seasonic and Super Flower, although not as well trusted based on historical performance. Currently the FSP Hydro G and Hydro X units are pretty good.

I would avoid Thermaltake and Cooler Master. They do have a few good units, but most of the models they sell are either poor or mediocre, and the ones they have that ARE good are usually way overpriced.

This is just ONE example of why I say that. Very new and modern CM unit. One of the worst scores ever seen on JG for a well known brand name product. Doesn't look to be much better than a Raidmax unit. Sad.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=563

And most of the models I have linked to the reviews of at the following link are at least good, with most of them being fantastic.


Certainly there ARE some good units out there that you won't see above among those I've listed, but they are few and far between, much as a hidden nugget of gold you find in a crevice among otherwise ordinary rocks and don't EVER assume a unit is good just because of the brand.

If you cannot find an IN DEPTH, REPUTABLE review on Tom's hardware, JonnyGuru, HardOCP, Hardware secrets (Old reviews by Gabe Torres), Kitguru (Only Aris reviews), TechPowerUP, SilentPC crew or a similar site that does much more than simply a review of the unboxing and basic tests that don't include reliable results for ripple, noise, voltage regulation and a complete teardown of the unit including identification of the internal platform, then the unit is a big fat question mark.

I recommend not trusting such units as companies generally always send out review samples of any unit they feel is going to get a good review, and don't send them out if they know they are going to get hammered by the reviewer. No review usually equals poor quality. Usually.

Other models that should never be trusted OR USED AT ALL, under any circumstances, include A-Top, Apevia, Apex (Supercase/Allied), Artic, Ace, Aerocool (There might be one model worth using, but I'd still avoid them.), Aspire (Turbocase), Atadc, Atrix, Broadway com corp, CIT, Coolmax, Deer, Diablotek, Dynapower, Dynex, Eagletech, Enlight, Evo labs, EZ cool, Foxconn, G7, HEC/Compucase Orion, HEDY, iBall, iStar computer co., Jeantec, JPac, Just PC, Linkworld electronics, Logisys, Macron, MSI, NmediaPC, Norwood Micro (CompUSA), Okia, Powercool, Powmax, Pulsepower, Q-tec, Raidmax, RaveRocketfish, SFC, Sharkoon, Shuttle, Skyhawk, Startech, Storm, Sumvision, Tesla, Trust, Ultra, Wintech, Winpower, Xilence (Until I see a reputable review of a model showing different), xTreme (Cyberpower), Youngbear and Zebronics.
 
It's a newer release from rosewill, I can't seem to find a good review of it. 80+ certification is only a surface indicator of quality, just because it's gold doesn't mean it's good. You don't need 700W, your entire system is only going to draw 250-300W max. You could get it, but I would personally pay the extra $20 for peace of mind and 7 years of warranty.
 
Those are likely Anyson built units

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15591

and are probably not very good either. Rosewill doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to quality units. Of all the Rosewill units ever sold, only the OLD Capstone models and some of the Quark series units were ever any good.

I would not buy that power supply.

This is the least expensive unit I'd recommend, loosely, for that build, and it incorporates a 20 dollar mail in rebate if I remember correctly so the initial investment will be a bit higher than this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $39.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-14 22:31 EST-0500


This would be a far better choice.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $59.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-14 22:32 EST-0500
 
Apr 19, 2018
52
0
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And #2: Is there a suggested 2070? I saw some bad reviews for MSi's being faulty on arrival, and if I should try GIGABYTE's or get another EVGA card?
[/quotemsg]

First, find out what 2070s are on sale
then, find reviews on the 2070s thats on sale to find out which ones will fitt your need the most.
 
Honestly, right now, with everything that is developing in regard to some serious problems with a lot of both FE AND aftermarket cards dying and in a rare case, even catching on fire, I'm not sure I'd buy a 2000 series card at all right now.

If you can find a 1070 ti, 1080 or 1080 ti for a good price, I think that's a lot safer bet. Even without early failure issues, there are a LOT of folks coming here with questions regarding why their 2000 series card performs worse than the 1000 series card they just replaced. I think a lot more will be developing in this topic in the days and weeks to come.
 
Worse than a beta test actually. Usually, bugs notwithstanding, beta tests of new product generally offer SOME kind of improvement over the previous product or technology. This time around, the overall picture seems to be that that is not the case and perhaps is worse even than we know at this point.

https://www.hardocp.com/news/2018/11/14/evga_2080_ti_xc_catches_fire_in_spectacular_fashion/


https://www.hardocp.com/news/2018/11/14/moment_your_rtx_2080_ti_fe_fails/


https://wccftech.com/geforce-rtx-2080tis-are-dying-and-there-are-different-rtx-2070-chips/


https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2018/10/17/nvidia-rtx-2070-reviews-reveal-a-serious-problem/#2b6d95aa761c