are non modular PSUs bad?

[joshua modiyil]

I want to buy a new PSU but im confused between seasonic s12-ii 520 and antec vp650pm. Which one should i buy. I will be using sapphire nitro+ rx 480 8gb and i5 7500/R5 1500x.

 

[Justiceinacan]

Non modular just means that all the cables come directly from the PSU. This is cheaper, but there's a mess of unused cables often left over.

I consider seasonic infinitely more reputable than antec. I'd take the S12II, great budget unit.

 

[Darthutos]

they are not bad per se but most modern ones are modular. There are some concerns

1. they are a nightmare with cable management.
2. they tend to be older models so they are old. PSU's deteriote, so old is bad.
3. they are probably not 80+ gold rated or better.

 

[rhysiam]

I want to buy a new PSU but im confused between seasonic s12-ii 520 and antec vp650pm. Which one should i buy. I will be using sapphire nitro+ rx 480 8gb and i5 7500/R5 1500x.

They're not bad, the only difference is that modular or semi-modular PSUs give the flexibility to only connect the cables you need. It's very usual to need all the cables. Most PSUs, for example, include legacy "molex" connectors which are rarely needed with modern components. So (semi-)modular PSUs can help you have a neater/cleaner build, which is important to some people, and can extremely helpful if you're trying to work in an ultra compact case where you have no room to tuck excess cables. People argue that it also improves airflow, but the issues with this are pretty overstated unless you're working in a tiny case.

For your build the Corsair CX450M for $50 would actually be a good match: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/FQ648d/corsair-power-supply-cp9020101na
Those older PSUs you've listed would work, but some (definitely the Seasonic, not sure about the Antec) don't support the ultra low-power sleep states used by the i5-7500. That's not really a big problem, you'd just want to disable C6/7 sleep states in the BIOS. Still, if you can get the Corsair it'll do a solid job for anything but the most power hungry of GPUs, and is Haswell complaint (supports those sleep states), and is semi modular to boot.

 

[Justiceinacan]

1) Seasonic S12II isn't haswell ready. The sleep state is disabled by default, I hear. So that shouldn't be a big issue.
2) Modularity doesn't have any affect on efficiency.

 

[Darthutos]

justiceinacan: 2) Not by itself, but more reputable company like seasonic and evga do not have non modular psu above 80+ gold. That fact right there tells something, doesn't it?

 

[Justiceinacan]

That someone sinking $70+ into a power supply wants a cleanly cable managed computer.

 

[Darthutos]

yes. It's all about cable management with modular psu.

 

[joshua modiyil]

How about this psu :https://www.theitdepot.com/details-Corsair+CX+Series+CX650M+-+650+Watt+80+PLUS+Bronze+Certified+Modular+ATX+PSU+(CP-9020103-UK)_C14P27863.html

 

[Darthutos]

the link doesn't work but if that's the corsair CX 750M, jonnyguru gives it 7.1 score, which isn't too hot.
Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[g-unit1111]

Non modular just means that all the cables come directly from the PSU. This is cheaper, but there's a mess of unused cables often left over.

I consider seasonic infinitely more reputable than antec. I'd take the S12II, great budget unit.

Actually, a lot of Antec PSUs are rebranded Seasonic PSUs. Many PSU manufacturers and resellers have lots of different lines and models of PSUs, and some can be Seasonic PSUs and some can be lesser tier manufacturers like HEC. I don't know much about that particular model but a quick Google search should be able to verify that.

 

[Justiceinacan]

Profile pic checks in

 

[g-unit1111]

It looks like that particular model is made by Delta Electronics. Which isn't terrible but definitely not a tier 1 vendor. If you want a good one the VP650p is the same unit as the Seasonic M12II 650W.

 

[joshua modiyil]

I have decided to buy the Corsair CX650M as its cheaper in my country. I have one more question, will this psu get damaged if it is connected to a 240 mains which is common in India? Is there a 240 to 115v adapter which i can use?

 

[Darthutos]

modern psus should automatically switch between 110 to 220 volts. unless CX650M is a piece of outdated junk you should be fine.

 

[rhysiam]

I have decided to buy the Corsair CX650M as its cheaper in my country. I have one more question, will this psu get damaged if it is connected to a 240 mains which is common in India? Is there a 240 to 115v adapter which i can use?

650W is total overkill. A 450W is enough and 550W plenty. If you're worried and want a bit of extra headroom, at least see if you can get the 550W unit to save yourself some money.

RE input voltages, don't worry. Almost all modern PSUs including the entire Corsair CXM series work with input voltages anywhere from 100 to 240V. They automatically detect the input voltage and adjust themselves accordingly. Most laptop bricks and smartphone USB chargers all do the same thing. It means they can be used on mains power anywhere in the world and avoids the need for multiple models/iterations based on regions which is a huge pain for companies to manage.

 

[Darthutos]

as soon as someone upgrade a gpu or add a few fans/hdds he would need more wattage on his psu.
or do you want everyone to buy a new psu he/she buy a new gpu or gpu in sli mode?

 

[rhysiam]

as soon as someone upgrade a gpu or add a few fans/hdds he would need more wattage on his psu.
or do you want everyone to buy a new psu he/she buy a new gpu or gpu in sli mode?

Fans... seriously? They draw like 0.5A max (usually when they're spinning up... less once running. Unless you're putting together a HTPC with like an 80W power brick or something fans can just be bundled into the "extra stuff" column where you add your headroom.
And HDDs... even a power hungry drive like the WD Black rarely pulls an Amp.

I never advise anyone to get a cheap PSU, but people go completely overboard with wattage. Let's do the maths...
65W Locked CPU,
Even if, somehow, the Mobo, fans and HDD managed to draw 100W (which they won't by the way, they're unlikely to draw more than 50 under full load), that still leaves over 270W for the GPU before you're hitting the rated continuous wattage on the 12V rail for that CX450M PSU... and that's with all the other components drawing their max loads. That's a stupid amount for an RX 480.
A 450W PSU is safe and plenty for that build, and likely fine for future mid-range GPU upgrades, which tend to sit in the 120-200W range.
By all means grab a 550W if it helps you sleep better at night, no problems. But 650W really is overkill.

One of the experienced PSU experts here on the forums run folding at home (or some other GPU intensive workload, I can't remember) 24/7 powering 2 GTX 970s on a 520W Seasonic PSU. Now that's cutting it finer than I would advise, personally, but he measured the power load at the wall and it was well within spec for the PSU (maybe around 70-80% load), all works fine and has for a long time.

Another anecdote for you: an engineer told me a story once about a regional airport in Australia which has one of the thickest and strongest runways in the world. The plans had to go through something like 15 layers of bureaucracy, and no one was entirely sure just how thick a runway should be, so each person added 20% or so to the design, just to be safe. The end result, which was actually built, was so absurdly thick that this guy believed you could theoretically nose dive a massive aircraft into the runway without compromising its structural integrity... it was meant for light aircraft and small, regional passenger planes.

The same thing seems to happen when choosing a PSU. Of course let's advise good quality PSUs with some headroom, but let's not go overboard please!

 

[Darthutos]

your theory is correct but I don't want my psu to be running 90 percent of its rated wattage. Maybe 75 tops.
The problem is I want platinum rated psus that are only available in the 700 wattage plus. all the junk with 80 plus bronze I just can't take.

 

[rhysiam]

your theory is correct but I don't want my psu to be running 90 percent of its rated wattage. Maybe 75 tops.
The problem is I want platinum rated psus that are only available in the 700 wattage plus. all the junk with 80 plus bronze I just can't take.

But that's just the point I'm making, for a start it's probably not even possible to draw more than 400W (~90%) with that build. AND, even if some edge case actually does that, any vaguely "normal" PSU load like a heavy gaming session will be sitting probably between 220 and 270W... right in the efficiency sweet spot for a 450W PSU. While a PSU has to be capable of keeping everything stable while you run Furmark, Intel Burn Test and a low level error scan on all your disks simultaneously... that's not the normal workload. Anandtech managed 301W at the wall while gaming in their 480X review (and a paltry 230W under Furmark), and that's on a much more power hungry overclocked HEDT CPU.

You could go and spend a fortune on a 750W Platinum unit that could well be LESS efficient because, despite it's higher overall efficiency, is running at lower loads.

Also, "junk" 80 Plus Bronze? Seriously? 80 Plus is about efficiency and says nothing about power quality. There are plenty of affordable Bronze units out there which provide extremely stable, high quality power with excellent safety features. A CX450M would do the job for $50. A 750W Platinum unit is $130. That's the difference between a 7500 and 7600K on a Z board. Or more than half the gap between an 8GB RX 480 and the GTX 1070. Spending that much on a PSU would be a terrible way to spend a limited budget for a mid-range gaming build.

If you like to buy overspecced and overpriced PSUs for your rigs... that's fine. And if OP was putting together a $3000 no-expense-spared rig I'd be right with you. But this is a midrange gaming build. Money matters. Let OP spend it where it counts.

 

[Justiceinacan]

Yeah, 80+ Bronze isn't crap. It just means it needs to draw a few percent more watts of power from the wall to output it's full capacity than a gold.

 

[g-unit1111]

Also, "junk" 80 Plus Bronze? Seriously? 80 Plus is about efficiency and says nothing about power quality. There are plenty of affordable Bronze units out there which provide extremely stable, high quality power with excellent safety features. A CX450M would do the job for $50. A 750W Platinum unit is $130. That's the difference between a 7500 and 7600K on a Z board. Or more than half the gap between an 8GB RX 480 and the GTX 1070. Spending that much on a PSU would be a terrible way to spend a limited budget for a mid-range gaming build.

Yes this is correct - power supply efficiency rating does not guarantee that it's going to be a quality unit. I've seen some total junkers rated at 80+ Gold or 80+ Platinum. Coolmax makes a Platinum rated PSU. Does that mean that it's something you want powering your PC? Absolutely not.