Question How much Power do I really need?

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Nov 17, 2021
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So I want to get a new psu, since my old one was always constantly turning off for no real reason. I don't really want to spend too much on a power supply, however, so I need some tips. Say if there is enough connectors for everything I need, does that mean it is enough power? If not, here are my specs:
MB: hp elitedesk 800g1 sff
PSU: Undetermined
Cpu: Xeon e3 1220 V3
Cooler: Stock
RAM: 8gb ddr3
gtx 770 2gb gddr5
2tb 7.2k rpm HDD
256gb (I think) PM851 samsung SSD
5 ~1200 rpm fans
I was thinking if a 550w psu would be enough.
Thanks!
 
550w would work as long as it is a strong quality unit. But I would recommend 600w or so.

Aresgame should be completely avoided.

The BR700 and CX650 would handle it fine.

The CX650 seems to perform worse than the lower wattage CX grey label units, but It's far from the truth that a CX650 is only suitable for systems with an igpu. Both the great wall and CWT units perform roughly the same, so I don't see why that's an issue. It would only be a problem if one was significantly different in performance from the other.

I would go with the TX650M or GX650 if you can stretch to it. https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-focus-650-gold-ssr-650fm-650w/p/N82E16817151202

As far as MTBF, ignore that. It really is meaningless as it's often wildly inaccurate as the longevity of the PSU is effected by so many factors.
 
Nov 17, 2021
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It's a mediocre PSU and only good for office builds without dedicated GPU. That's what's wrong with it.
And that's not all. CX650 is made by CWT and Great Wall and when you buy one, there's no telling which of the two you'll be getting.


Older models of Corsair CX and CXm series (with green labels) were so bad units that they ended up as low quality units (on-par with current Corsair VS series). Corsair has since improved their CX and CXm line (with gray labels) and now, they are better but not enough to be considered as good quality PSU. Bulk of Seasonic units are either good quality or great quality (depending on the series).

While CX series are cheap, you won't get solid build quality and all Japanese caps as you can get with many Seasonic units. Here's one in-depth review of CX650, the Great Wall version,
link: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-cx650-power-supply-review

Corsair CX650 does provide some good results but it also provides some bad results. Like hold-up time that is way lower than the ATX standard specifies it to be. CX650 has hold-up time of 8.30 milliseconds while the ATX standard for hold up time is a minimum of 17 milliseconds. For comparison, Seasonic PRIME 650 80+ Titanium (one of the best 650W PSU money can buy) has hold-up time of 30 milliseconds.

And it's just not the hold-up time, there are other, more apparent things that doesn't make it good quality unit. One of them is transient response at +12V and +3.3V. With load changes, PSU is struggling to keep the voltage stable and within ATX standard specs, while at +3.3V rail, it fails to keep voltage within ATX standard. And off-spec voltages mean damage to other components, either frying them on the spot or gradually damaging and shortening components lifespan.

It being fully-wired doesn't help either, since with that, you will have leftover cables that you have to somehow place somewhere. With semi- or fully-modular cables, you only use what you need.

Since CX650 has nice list of good things and also bad things, it's a mediocre quality unit. If there were more bad than good (including price) it would be a bad unit and vice-versa.


I, personally, wouldn't use it. While it can be used just fine for an office PC that never sees any high loads. But for home use in a gaming PC, where PC components longevity is important factor, i'd use and also suggest using better quality PSU.

Different persons have different standards (some have higher standards while others have lower standards) and it's up to every person to decide how good of a build quality components are safe to use in their PC. But keep in mind that PSU is the most important component inside the PC since it powers everything.

Since i care a lot about all my PCs, i won't put a mediocre quality unit into my PC that fails to meet ATX PSU standards set in place for all OEMs to follow, so that the PSUs are safe to use and doesn't damage other components. In fact, i've gone above and beyond regarding PSUs in my PCs.
Some may call me nuts that i payed €206.80 for a PSU that sits in my Skylake build (Seasonic SSR-650TD) and my latest PSU purchase for Haswell build costed €205.50 (Seasonic SSR-650TR), while i would've been safe with a PSU that costs €80.50 (Seasonic GX-550). While that can be true and i could've saved a lot of money, i feel safe and comfortable that my two main PCs are powered by the best offered by Seasonic.

I won't suggest expensive PSUs in builds when the budget is way restricted. But i still suggest getting a PSU that at least meets all the ATX PSU standards, like Seasonic Focus GM-650 linked above.
Focus GM-650 review: https://www.thefpsreview.com/2021/05/04/seasonic-focus-gm-650-650w-power-supply-review/

Btw, Seasonic Focus GM-650 comes with 7 years of warranty, 2 years more than Corsair CX650.
so I bought the psu, but it does not solve the problem. Actually, now my PC instantly shuts off the moment I turn it on. Any solutions by any chance?
 

iTRiP

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Feb 4, 2019
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brand new evga 700br
I think it could be the adapter I need for my psu to my MB, do you think that could be the issue?

Anything could be an issue with an new part for a pc, not until you thoroughly tested it and you get stable performance.

Just because it was recommended, doesn't mean you cant run into issues.

Test thoroughly and return if you have inconsistent power delivery.
 

Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador
brand new evga 700br

Just because PSU is brand new, doesn't mean it's good. EVGA BR series PSUs are low quality units and you having issues with it, isn't no surprise.

And there you have it. If you cheap out on PSU, which you did, despite loads of people telling you to buy good quality PSU, you now have the very same issue, if not even worse. And all that for what? So that you can save 10 bucks? Buying yet another PSU will cost you more in total, than it would've costed you if you would've gone with good quality PSU off the bat.

If you want good and cheap PSU, you have to buy two PSUs; the good one and the cheap one. You already bought the cheap one. Is the next PSU good one or cheap one?

Btw, if you don't believe me that EVGA BR series is poor, then take a look at LTT PSU Tier list (which some people take as holy truth), it is in the Tier C, at the "low priority section",
link: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/

Seasonic Focus GM, which was suggested by me and others, is in Tier A, "single rail" section.
 
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Btw, if you don't believe me that EVGA BR series is poor, then take a look at LTT PSU Tier list (which some people take as holy truth), it is in the Tier C, at the "low priority section",
link: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/
Fair warning, I wouldn't judge the PSU off of that. If you look at the spreadsheet there are no reviews cited for the placement.

The citation goes to a broken link to the jonnyguru forum with my very basic teardown of a BR500, which the wayback machine has not archived. Here is a summary.

On paper the unit is comparable to a CV650. Hec built. Double forward with DC-DC. Sleeve bearing fan. That one had an elite 85c primary cap, but due to shortages EVGA has switched to CapXon for BR models. 105c Teapo capacitors for secondary. It has all protections listed. Do not know the performance of the unit as there are no reviews to he had that I see.

I've had disagreements with the writers if the list as I feel photos of a units guts should not being used alone tier units. You need a full review to test for performance, protections, safety even. A review definitely should be cited especially when people use the tier list as buying advice, like in this case. but I digress...

Overall I wouldn't call the BR series low quality. They are not high end, but they are decent budget units, assuming the BR700 is like the BR500. I've owned several and never had any issues at all.

Although, I agree the BR700 was not a good choice in this case given that much better units were barely any more money.

This issue could be that the PSU is faulty, but it could also be the adapter.

I would honestly swap the motherboard since you already have an ATX case. It would enable you to not use an adapter as well.
 
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Nov 17, 2021
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Just because PSU is brand new, doesn't mean it's good. EVGA BR series PSUs are low quality units and you having issues with it, isn't no surprise.

And there you have it. If you cheap out on PSU, which you did, despite loads of people telling you to buy good quality PSU, you now have the very same issue, if not even worse. And all that for what? So that you can save 10 bucks? Buying yet another PSU will cost you more in total, than it would've costed you if you would've gone with good quality PSU off the bat.

If you want good and cheap PSU, you have to buy two PSUs; the good one and the cheap one. You already bought the cheap one. Is the next PSU good one or cheap one?

Btw, if you don't believe me that EVGA BR series is poor, then take a look at LTT PSU Tier list (which some people take as holy truth), it is in the Tier C, at the "low priority section",
link: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1116640-psu-tier-list/

Seasonic Focus GM, which was suggested by me and others, is in Tier A, "single rail" section.
Nvm, turns out I accidentally pulled a wire out of my adapter, and after plugging it back in, PC is good.
 

Juular

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Mar 14, 2020
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If you look at the spreadsheet there are no reviews cited for the placement.

Which is exactly because it ended up in such low position. But it may be moved even lower in the next revision along with the rest of the units there are barely any info about because people keep treating low priority subtier units equal to regular priority ones ...