Question Help with PSU selection and I can get away with a 18 year old PSU in a AM5 (or AM4) build.

gazza1988

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May 31, 2017
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Hello, firstly I thought I'd mention I'm in the UK.

I am building this Link to my build (the parts are arriving tomorrow) and I'm giving my son my current PC for his birthday Link to son's build. The PSU on the list isn't necessarily what PSU is going in that particular PC. Right now i am using the setup for my son's build with the EVGA PSU.

I have an Enermax EGX850EWL 850w (from 2007!!!) and a EVGA 750 GQ (tier C - on the cultist tier list).

I've ran out of budget due to an unforseen expense. I have had to postpone storage (my build has a 2gb SSD and I will have to use a 250gb NvME Gen3x4 drive from a laptop as boot drive and then clone it to a gen4 or 5 drive later on janky but necessary for now). I was getting a new cooler, a thermalright Frozen Prism for me and let my son keep the Corsair but I'm going to have to give him the stock cooler from the 2600x and I'll have to take the Corsair. The 7600x doesn't come with a cooler and I doubt the free one with the 2600x would suffice. Finally had to postpone the PSU.

Here's the thing. moving power supplies after a build will be as pain in the rear end. That Enermax is nearly 18 years old! In the UK it can legally drive a car and by the end of the year legally buy alcohol!

Due to the aforementioned expense (a washing machine, gotta be able to wash the kids clothes) I have 3 options:

1. Leave the EVGA in my current system (that is going to be my son's) and put the Enermax PSU in the AM5 build - Only suggesting because the Enermax has the connectors I need. Board power (obviously), 2x PCIE for the graphics card adaptor I got with the 4070 Super, and 2x CPU Power. It has to last at the very latest until the end of January. Here's a review I found if someone wants to have a look https://www.pcstats.com/articles/2189/index.html

2. Match the latest PSU with the latest system. Take the EVGA out my current system and put it in the AM5 one. Install the Enermax into the old build. Then in 4 weeks or so I have to mess around again taking 2 PSU's out of PCs to then install replacements. Whilst this would be irritating if I have to do this then I have to do it.

3. I have a max budget of £72.86 possibly stretch to £79.92. Are there any good PSU's at this pricepoint? My plan was the get a Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750w but being £109 at Scan I can't afford it until the end of the month.

A note on grandpa Enermax. I have tested it with Corsair's PSU tester. I have tested it using my multimeter and to my surprise the voltages are pretty much bang on what they should be. the 5v pins were 4.99v to 5.06v. 12v was 12.08v, 3.3v was 3.32v. I acquired it 2nd hand around 10 years ago. I built and bought the EVGA PSU 2600x build in 2019 (the whole thing was new parts). it has barely been used since. It was in a system running a AMD fx-6300 which tested to see if it still worked the other day and it works!

Finally, for my AM5 system should I stick with 750w/850w or should I just get a 750w or just look at 850w? Some places I've read have suggested 750w is more than enough. Nvidia say 650w recommended, Others 850w.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.
 
Happy New Year!

The PSU's considered to be the heart of a system, you shouldn't skimp out on a quality unit unless you're looking forward to building a new system from the ground up.

In the UK it can legally drive a car and by the end of the year legally buy alcohol!
The Enermax unit belong on a shelf for posterity's sake or in a dumpster, it's out of the question.

How old is the EVGA unit and what did it power throughout it's tenure? I would leave the EVGA unit intact in the hand me down PC to your son.

You could look into either of these;
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product...lly-modular-atx-power-supply-mag-a750gl-pcie5
I'd get the 850W unit so you can hold onto the unit for longer, allows your system to have headroom. If you're able to be hold off the parts purchases, you should invest in a much higher quality unit and call it day instead of dealing with multiple expenses and multiple (spare)parts.
 
Happy New Year!

The PSU's considered to be the heart of a system, you shouldn't skimp out on a quality unit unless you're looking forward to building a new system from the ground up.

In the UK it can legally drive a car and by the end of the year legally buy alcohol!
The Enermax unit belong on a shelf for posterity's sake or in a dumpster, it's out of the question.

How old is the EVGA unit and what did it power throughout it's tenure? I would leave the EVGA unit intact in the hand me down PC to your son.

You could look into either of these;
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product...lly-modular-atx-power-supply-mag-a750gl-pcie5
I'd get the 850W unit so you can hold onto the unit for longer, allows your system to have headroom. If you're able to be hold off the parts purchases, you should invest in a much higher quality unit and call it day instead of dealing with multiple expenses and multiple (spare)parts.
The EVGA unit is 5-6 years old. It was bought new and has powered the hand me down PC, which was also new.

I will have to find other ways to raise funds. Thanks for the input, greatly appreciated.
 
Well I've had a development.

That antique PSU. I managed to sell it for £30 to someone who was building an "XP or win7 gaming machine" and looked for a PSU from that era. Well mine fit the bill and he tested it himself and said the voltages were more in range than his corsair he just bought.

Got £30 for it so now can go up to £109. Would you suggest I just go for the 850 or is there a better card at me new price point? We get money tomorrow but that's usually for food shopping so whilst I could maybe go for an extra £10 I'd have to do some sweet talking.