Need Advice on a new PSU

[nightravenclaw42]

Hello, I'm new to this website and this side of computers, and just got my first rig earlier today. Well, (mostly due to my lapse in researching PSUs) I failed to notice that mine was garbage (it was from CyberPower). Well, after two hours of being plugged in, it's dead, the paperclip test confirmed it. I don't think it ruined any other components, but I'm not sure if it was the PSU itself or if it was damaged in transport, as there were a few scratches on the case.
Anyway, I'll be calling them tomorrow to see if there's anything that they can do, but I wanted to ask, what PSUs would you all recommend? I've seen mixed reviews on some Corsairs, and I have $115ish budget.
Also, my GPU is an AMD R9 280 3 gb. I'm not sure how much power the rest of my computer requires, so what watt PSU should I look for? The one that konked-out on me was an 800w, but it was CyberPower, which after reading through even their own forums (should've done it first) is being told to everyone as utter crap.

Thank you for the help. Will update with how talking to them goes as well.

 

[ttcboy]

Can you give us the full spec of ur pc and at the mean time, let us know whether u overclock or have intention to overclock in the future as well as whether u plan to SLI/Cross fire the cards as well.

 

[nightravenclaw42]

Yes, no problem. It's not overclocked and I don't plan on overclocking it at all or SLI/Crossfire, really. Here are the specs right from the order:


CAS: CYBERPOWERPC X-Saber w/ USB 3.0, Large Side Panel Window (Black with Red LED)
CASUPGRADE: 12in Meter Light - 8 speed
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
COOLANT: Standard Coolant
CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.50 GHz Eight-Core AM3+ CPU 6MB L2 Cache & Turbo Core Technology
CS_FAN: Default case fans
FA_HDD: None
FAN: Asetek 550LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler - Extreme Cooling Performance (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
FREEBIE_MB: GIGABYTE GC-WB867D-I 802.11AC Wi-Fi up to 867 Mbps + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo w/ Dual Antenna PCI-E Adapter
HDD: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive)
HDD2: None
MEMORY: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/2133MHz Dual Channel Memory (ADATA XPG V3)
MOTHERBOARD: * GIGABYTE 970A-DS3P AMD 970 ATX w/ Ultra Durable 4 Classic, On/Off Charge, GbLAN, 2 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 2 PCI
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 8.1 (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
POWERSUPPLY: 800 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
RAMDISK: None
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
TEMP: None
TVRC: None
USBFLASH: None
USBHD: None
USBX: None
VIDEO: AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Single Card)
WNC: None

 

[ttcboy]

The recommended wattage for your setup will be around 650W but to be safer, u can go up to 700W but don't go overboard coz oversizing PSU will make it un-efficient and draw more power on the lighter load situations.

Go for reputable brands like Seasonic, Corsair, XFX, Bequiet, etc.. and u should be fine.

On the side note, i suppose that ur rig is still under warranty and u should RMA it.

 

[nightravenclaw42]

Okay, I talked to their tech support and they told me that I could return just the PSU and they'd credit me back for it, though it may only be like $30, but every little bit helps. Also, I was looking at PSUs and came across the SeaSonic X750 750w. I've been reading good things about SeaSonic, the X series in particular, and it's only slightly above your recommended wattage, but I may upgrade my graphics card in the future also.

As for returning the entire rig, I really don't want to do that, as everything else seemed to work just fine with it before the PSU went out. Even if the PSU did damage that I'm not noticing, the rig would still be on warranty for a year.

 

[ttcboy]

One thing i noticed is that though your mobo can cross fire, i would not recommend because the 2nd PCI-E slot is only running at 4X speed and there is not enough bandwidth to get the full potential from the 2nd card.

It would be the best if u stick to the single card solution with this setup.

SeaSonic X750 is indeed a very good PSU if you dun mind to pay the price but if you want to save some money then SeaSonic X650 is good choice as well because if u buy the good PSU, u dun need to add in much of extra headroom.

 

[nightravenclaw42]

Okay, awesome. I will look into both. I'm guessing that they'll both fit a full tower setup? I haven't really seen many that won't. Plus, it's a bit more, but the little bit that I get back from the CP PSU should knock the price down some, as they're just going to credit my account.

Yeah I don't plan on setting up cross fire. If I get another card in a few years I'll probably just replace the current one.

Thank you for the help!

 

[ttcboy]

Okay, awesome. I will look into both. I'm guessing that they'll both fit a full tower setup? I haven't really seen many that won't. Plus, it's a bit more, but the little bit that I get back from the CP PSU should knock the price down some, as they're just going to credit my account.

Yeah I don't plan on setting up cross fire. If I get another card in a few years I'll probably just replace the current one.

Thank you for the help!

No worried. These PSU will fit into full or mid tower nicely without any issue. Have fun !!