Question about PSU's

Sep 30, 2018
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I currently have a computer running a gtx 1050 to and am thinking of upgrading to a 1080 due to new graphic card prices. I have a 550w PSU at the moment, and was wondering if I would need to upgrade.

My Specs:
i7 2600 ( not k)
16 GB ddr3 1333mhz
Gtx 1050ti
1tb HDD

If I do need to upgrade PSU's, is it worth spending the extra money on a higher tier PSU, or just stick with bronze certification. I realise this is a lot of questions, but I'm pretty new to this, thanks a lot
 
Solution
I think the 550 B3 would work okay with a GTX 1080; but it's been reviewed and is lower quality than expected. The 450W B3 failed the Over Power Protection in Tom's review of it, and the 550W B3 is based on the same design. The 650W B3 is supposed to be better quality than the 450 and 550. But if you were to upgrade it, I'd go for something even better like a G2 or G3 or SeaSonic FOCUS.
Higher 80plus certification doesn't mean anything, UNLESS it's on an already known to be high quality PSU platform. For example, a Seasonic Prime platinum unit is going to be a better product than a Seasonic Prime Gold unit, because we already know the Prime platform is very good, and platinum efficiency along with it shows there are some improvements internally to account for the higher efficiency.

In a case like that, it might be worth it. It's likely the unit will create less heat, it will probably have better performance in regard to ripple, noise and voltage regulation. It might shave a few pennies, or dollars, off the electric bill over the course of a year.

Other than that, it is not going to perform any better than the same platform with Gold efficiency. On the other hand, just because a unit has Titanium 80plus ratings doesn't mean the unit is any good at all. For example, there are Raidmax units with Titanium efficiency and I wouldn't trust one of those to power a light bulb. There are a lot of units like this out there.

80plus only has relevance if the platform is already known to be a good one.

Honestly, these days there is little reason to go with a Bronze unit unless you absolutely have to pinch the budget. Gold units are pretty much the standard for most worthwhile platforms these days. Modular or not modular is up to you.

550w is enough, although I'd prefer to see more like 650w at least, if no overclocking of the CPU or graphics card will be done. If it will, then I'd like to see a 650-750w unit.

I don't know what country you reside in, and I know that sometimes it's hard to come by good units in some regions, but when possible, when it comes time to get that PSU, I'd stick to the following if you can.

Seasonic. Just about anything made by Seasonic is good quality for the most part. There are really no bad Seasonic units and only a very few that are even somewhat mediocre. They do make a few less-good quality OEM style units, but mostly those are not going to be units you come across at most vendors, and they are still not bad. Also, the S12II and M12II 520 and 620w units are older, group regulated models. At one time they were among the best units you could buy. Now, they are outdated and not as good as almost any other Seasonic models. They are however still better than a LOT of newer designs by other manufacturers.

The Seasonic 520w and 620w S12II/M12II units CAN be used on newer Intel platforms, if you turn off C6/C7 in the bios, but I'd really recommend a newer platform whenever possible. Prices are usually pretty good on those though, so sometimes it's worth accepting the lack of DC-DC on the internal platform. Higher capacity versions of the High current gamer are not based on that platform, so they are fine. Those being the 750w and higher versions. Antec Edge units are ok too, but reviews indicate that they have noisy fan profiles.

Corsair. The CX and CXm units are ok as a budget option, but I do not recommend pairing them with gaming cards. The newer 2017 models of CX and CXm are better than the older ones, so if it specifically says 2017 model, or it has a capacity other than an even 100, like 550w, 650w, 750w, etc., then it's likely at least better than those older ones. Aside from that, any of the TX, RMx, RMi, HX, HXi, AX or AXi units are good. Those are listed from best to worst, with the best being the AX and AXi units.

Antec. The True power classic units are made by Seasonic, and are very good, but are not modular. The High current gamer 520w and 620w, or any other PSU you see on the market that is 520w or 620w, are also made by Seasonic, based on the S12II and M12II platform for modern versions, and are pretty good units but again they are an older platform that is group regulated so if you go with a Haswell or newer Intel configuration you will want to avoid those because they do not support the C6/C7 Intel low power states.

The Antec High current gamer units that are not 520w or 620w, the 750w and 850w models, are very good and are not the older design. There are however older and newer HCG models, so exact model number will likely be a factor if choosing one of these however both the older models and the newer models are good.

Super Flower. They are like Seasonic and they make power supplies for a variety of other companies, like EVGA. Super Flower units are usually pretty good. I'd stick to the Leadex, Leadex II and Golden Green models.

EVGA. They have good and bad. Bad are the W1, N1, B1, B3 (All models except the 650w model) and G1 NEX models. Good models are the B2, B3 650w, G2, G2L, G3, GQ, P2 and T2 models.

FSP. They used to be very mediocre, and are a PSU manufacturer like Seasonic and Super Flower, although not as well trusted based on historical performance. Currently the FSP Hydro G and Hydro X units are pretty good.

I would avoid Thermaltake and Cooler Master. They do have a few good units, but most of the models they sell are either poor or mediocre, and the ones they have that ARE good are usually way overpriced.

And most of the models I have linked to the reviews of at the following link are at least good, with most of them being fantastic.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3612443/power-supply-discussion-thread.html
 
I think the 550 B3 would work okay with a GTX 1080; but it's been reviewed and is lower quality than expected. The 450W B3 failed the Over Power Protection in Tom's review of it, and the 550W B3 is based on the same design. The 650W B3 is supposed to be better quality than the 450 and 550. But if you were to upgrade it, I'd go for something even better like a G2 or G3 or SeaSonic FOCUS.
 
Solution
Sep 30, 2018
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Thanks for the quick reply, I saw a 650 GQ on Amazon, and was wondering about their quality? Thanks for fast replys
 
Sep 30, 2018
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It's 60 GBP on Amazon, so I might take it, also asking as a first timer, how difficult is it to install a new psu and do I need to take any special precautions before I do so?
 
It can be easy and it can be difficult. Depends on how much room is inside your case to get your hands in there. Always make sure you don't have static electricity on you before you touch your components. Anti-static gloves are sold on Amazon as well as anti-static wrist straps and work mats. Or you can simply touch the metal case before touching the components inside to discharge any static to the grounded case.
 
I've never once used an anti-static strap or gloves, and have NEVER, EVER, had an issue. So long as you ground yourself by touching the case after walking to or from the assembly, before handling parts, you'll be fine. Honestly, I know some people swear up one side and down the other about this, and it's irrefutable that static electricity CAN create micro-shocks that can damage very sensitive components, but I've never once in 35 years of building systems seen any component be damaged by it.

Taking the precaution to ground yourself by discharging any static electricity, touching the case, touching a lamp frame, whatever, is really all you need to do. Usually, I don't even bother with that so long as I'm not walking on static prone carpet in my socks. If you are doing that, while building, you deserve to zap something. LOL.

I'll tell you right now, if you have any plans to custom sleeve your PSU cables or buy pre-sleeved cables, don't go with any of the EVGA units or any of the Seasonic Focus models. Go with something much higher end like the Seasonic Prime ultra units so you don't run into issues with in line capacitors. If not, then those are good power supplies.