Best PSU under 40$

[Nemanja Djordjic]

Which one is better, I am looking for a GPU and I found a MSI Armor GTX 1060 3GB. (And yes 3gb is more than enough for me) But it requires 8pin connector and a good quality PSU while my PSU is crap.
Are there 40$ PSU with 8pin connector? Can you recommend me some?

My build:
i5 3470 (stock)
Stock cooler for i5 3470
MSI ARMOR GTX 1060 3GB
8gb 1333mhz
120gb kingston SSD
2 HDD (2Tb of storage in total)
3 external case fans

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

It is okay. Better than the S12ii but I’d still take one of my mentioned PSUs over it.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Cougar/GX-S550/13.html

Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X

That isn’t advised at all. Not just because the S12ii has poor electrical performance, or that it’s missing several protections, even Seasonic recommends against that PSU.
Seasonic recommends two seperate cables for GPUs that require two connections and draw over 225w. The S12ii 520 has 1 PCIe cable.

Please disregard the naysayers here.

TBH, that’s rude. People put in the effort to find factual evidence, and you advise to simply ignore it? That’s not doing anyone any good.

What would you recommend then?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X 3G D5 Specifications Page

Power Consumption <300W

System Requirement 500 Watt Power Supply (Suggestion)

You would have been fine with the Seasonic M12II 520 Bronze. Of course, the price has changed since my last post. Now the S12II 620 is available.

-Wolf sends

 

[COLGeek]

It is okay. Better than the S12ii but I’d still take one of my mentioned PSUs over it.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Cougar/GX-S550/13.html

Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X

That isn’t advised at all. Not just because the S12ii has poor electrical performance, or that it’s missing several protections, even Seasonic recommends against that PSU.
Seasonic recommends two seperate cables for GPUs that require two connections and draw over 225w. The S12ii 520 has 1 PCIe cable.

Please disregard the naysayers here.

TBH, that’s rude. People put in the effort to find factual evidence, and you advise to simply ignore it? That’s not doing anyone any good.

A bias against acceptable products and facts are two different things altogether. The previous statement was not directed at any individual.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X 3G D5 Specifications Page

Power Consumption <300W

System Requirement 500 Watt Power Supply (Suggestion)

You would have been fine with the Seasonic M12II 520 Bronze. Of course, the price has changed since my last post. Now the S12II 620 is available.

-Wolf sends

So, should I go with 620W S12?

 

[Rexper]

If you can find one of the PSUs I listed for the same price, go with one of those. They are much better.
Or even the Cougar GX-s is better.

A Corsair CX / CXM / Vengeance, Cooler Master MasterWatt 450 / 550, Be Quiet Pure Power 10 400w+ would be much better options.
If those still exceed your budget then the Cooler Master GM or be Quiet System Power 9 are also decent

.

 

[COLGeek]

Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X 3G D5 Specifications Page

Power Consumption <300W

System Requirement 500 Watt Power Supply (Suggestion)

You would have been fine with the Seasonic M12II 520 Bronze. Of course, the price has changed since my last post. Now the S12II 620 is available.

-Wolf sends

So, should I go with 620W S12?

That is a perfectly acceptable PSU for your needs.

 

[bignastyid]

It is okay. Better than the S12ii but I’d still take one of my mentioned PSUs over it.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Cougar/GX-S550/13.html

Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X

That isn’t advised at all. Not just because the S12ii has poor electrical performance, or that it’s missing several protections, even Seasonic recommends against that PSU.
Seasonic recommends two seperate cables for GPUs that require two connections and draw over 225w. The S12ii 520 has 1 PCIe cable.

Please disregard the naysayers here.

TBH, that’s rude. People put in the effort to find factual evidence, and you advise to simply ignore it? That’s not doing anyone any good.

It's electrical performance is within spec in all but 1 extreme stress test that is far outside of a real world load. It's older but has proven to be a reliable unit since it's release, but I'm guessing you lack much real world experience and just use a flawed understanding of things you have read.

Also that 225w recommendation does not cover all Seasonic units just some that used 18 gauge wire. The S12II is not affected by this issue.

 

[Darkbreeze]

And what about Cougar GX-S 550W, it is tier 3 while S12 is tier 4.
Is GX-S 550W good, it is cheaper so that is why I am asking.

Not sure what tier list this is referring to, but clearly it's miles off base and universally more faulty than the one we used to have here.

I ran that exact graphics card, which is actually still what is in my machine right now as I haven't had an opportunity yet to upgrade after selling my 290x, and I ran that card off one of my S12II 620w units for four years before I bought my EVGA G2 750. It's still running perfectly in an overclocked FX-8350 machine right now and has been for three years since I bought the G2 unit. That's 7 years in an overclocked machine with a mid tiered card that was run fairly hard, and still going strong. Never. a, single, issue.


Also, lumping the S12II and M12II units in with the EVGA W1 and B1 series units, is just ludicrous. And you know who you are.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

And what about Cougar GX-S 550W, it is tier 3 while S12 is tier 4.
Is GX-S 550W good, it is cheaper so that is why I am asking.

Not sure what tier list this is referring to, but clearly it's miles off base and universally more faulty than the one we used to have here.

I ran that exact graphics card, which is actually still what is in my machine right now as I haven't had an opportunity yet to upgrade after selling my 290x, and I ran that card off one of my S12II 620w units for four years before I bought my EVGA G2 750. It's still running perfectly in an overclocked FX-8350 machine right now and has been for three years since I bought the G2 unit. That's 7 years in an overclocked machine with a mid tiered card that was run fairly hard, and still going strong. Never. a, single, issue.


Also, lumping the S12II and M12II units in with the EVGA W1 and B1 series units, is just ludicrous. And you know who you are.

They are in Tier 4 due to "Dated design"
It is PSU Tier list from Linus Tech Tips forum.

 

[Darkbreeze]

It is PSU Tier list from Linus Tech Tips forum.

(Spits drink all over his monitor)

Well, that explains it. Monkeys randomly choosing units by drawing lots or rolling dice could probably accidentally come up with a more accurate tier list than the one on LTT. If you were wise, you'd forget you ever saw that list. The one we had here wasn't kept up to date anymore, and wasn't 100% accurate in regard to unit position, but it was about 3500% more realistic than what that LTT list shows.

It just goes to show that you can put practically anything up on that site and nobody really knows or cares enough to complain like they do in places where reputation is at least moderately important.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

It is PSU Tier list from Linus Tech Tips forum.

(Spits drink all over his monitor)

Well, that explains it. Monkeys randomly choosing units by drawing lots or rolling dice could probably accidentally come up with a more accurate tier list than the one on LTT. If you were wise, you'd forget you ever saw that list. The one we had here wasn't kept up to date anymore, and wasn't 100% accurate in regard to unit position, but it was about 3500% more realistic than what that LTT list shows.

It just goes to show that you can put practically anything up on that site and nobody really knows or cares enough to complain like they do in places where reputation is at least moderately important.

Yeah I was shocked as well when I saw such a good PSU so low on tier list.

 

[logainofhades]

The Seasonic 620w is still a solid unit, if a bit dated. I would spend a bit more and get the modular Evo version. Easier cable management, and better case airflow as a result of fewer cables.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

The Seasonic 620w is still a solid unit, if a bit dated. I would spend a bit more and get the modular Evo version. Easier cable management, and better case airflow as a result of fewer cables.

Gonna check it out.

 

[jankerson]

The Seasonic 620w is still a solid unit, if a bit dated. I would spend a bit more and get the modular Evo version. Easier cable management, and better case airflow as a result of fewer cables.

The M12II EVO 620w is a good PSU defiantly.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from Nemanja Djordjic : "R9 290 on s12 520w"

Is this possible? This psu will come tomorrow so I just want to ask, and is r9 290 comparable to 1060 3gb?

I know this psu is great quality people don't call seasonic safesonic for no reason

My pc specs:

i5 3470
8gb 1333mhz
r9 290

 

[Rexper]

If you “knew” the PSU is great quality you wouldn’t be asking that question.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

If you “knew” the PSU is great quality you wouldn’t be asking that question.

The fact that R9 290 is drawing 300w even tho it is great, it has 520W so that is why I am asking.

 

[Rexper]

Well the community gets pissed when I discourage Seasonic PSUs, so I’ll just give you Seasonic’s recommendation:
Installation remark for high power consumption graphics cards

High power graphics cards (above 225 Watts) are usually outfitted with two (or three) PCIe slots. For performance and safety reasons, Sea Sonic highly recommends the use of two (or three) separate PCIe cables to connect such cards to the power supply.

Seasonic doesn’t recommend the combination.

 

[bignastyid]

Stick with the 1060. It is a little faster than a stock 290 and uses alot less power and produces less heat.

The GPUs power consumption depends on the model and if it's been factory overclocked(can majorly increase power usage) , plus the stock r9 290s kinda sucked as they ran very hot and were known to have thermal throttling issues, this heat issue also tends to lower lifespan.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

Stick with the 1060. It is a little faster than a stock 290 and uses alot less power and produces less heat.

The GPUs power consumption depends on the model and if it's been factory overclocked(can majorly increase power usage) , plus the stock r9 290s kinda sucked as they ran very hot and were known to have thermal throttling issues, this heat issue also tends to lower lifespan.

I found couple of deals for GTX 780, 130$ while 1060 3gb (used as well) is around 200$

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yeah, but that 1060 probably has a heck of a lot more life left in it, AND it likely kicks the crap out of that 780 as well as offering support for some features that might not be supported on the older series.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

Yeah, but that 1060 probably has a heck of a lot more life left in it, AND it likely kicks the crap out of that 780 as well as offering support for some features that might not be supported on the older series.

gonna go for 1060 3gb, or find used 970.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you are going with a used unit, I'd REALLY try to find something from the current series. After the drop off from the mining craze there are a lot of them on the market, although, perhaps not in your region but the fact remains that in all truth, since there is no way of knowing whether or not a card was used for 24/7 mining, which can be hard on the hardware, or overclocked to a stupid degree by somebody who just didn't care, used cards CAN be a particularly bad gamble right now.

If you purchase a used card, try to do your homework and verify as much as possible that the seller is at least reasonably trustworthy. Honestly, I wouldn't buy a used card right now with the way the prices on new 1000 series cards have dropped even below MSRP.

 

[Nemanja Djordjic]

If you are going with a used unit, I'd REALLY try to find something from the current series. After the drop off from the mining craze there are a lot of them on the market, although, perhaps not in your region but the fact remains that in all truth, since there is no way of knowing whether or not a card was used for 24/7 mining, which can be hard on the hardware, or overclocked to a stupid degree by somebody who just didn't care, used cards CAN be a particularly bad gamble right now.

If you purchase a used card, try to do your homework and verify as much as possible that the seller is at least reasonably trustworthy. Honestly, I wouldn't buy a used card right now with the way the prices on new 1000 series cards have dropped even below MSRP.

Prices are still really high in my country, I had around 220 eur budget (new 1060 3gb), but now dropped to 160 eur, so I am looking for an alternative. I wanted to get a R9 290/X but they just get way too hot and they consume a lot of energy.
Probably gonna get a R9 280X or HD 7970 as they are pretty good even today. And of course I will be buying from a trustworthy seller. I might as well look at RX 570.

 

[bignastyid]

The RX 570 would be a better alternative. Some 280Xs and 7970s can use alot of power and gets around the same performance as a GTX 1050ti. You can likely find a new GTX 1050ti within your budget.