I've got a pretty old system but about 5 hdds, so the energy use adds up.
I used the extreme system power calculator and it says that I need at least 415W. Thats with a brand new psu. With about 4 yrs (40% capacitor aging), I need 550W. And if I overclock my Q9550, I'll need 600W.

I used the capacitor aging function since my current OCZ 600W has slowly been dying and is currently completely dead(wont even start using the paper-clip method).

I'm looking to spend less than $100 but be future proof if I upgrade to a core i7 in the future.

I would like it be quiet, silent is not required.
Modular would be great but I can work with the extra wires

I found some PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W for $90. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=GCeX-vlvEeGF-Lb8dtOeEw0_ktJA3_0_0_0&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16817703028

I haven't found a review on in concerning quietness yet.

Enermax usually make quiet PSU's and SPCR have many reviews of those. Nexus has the 430W and the NX5000, both of which are barely audible, even in the anechoic chamber. Then there's the Cooler Master Silent Pro M500W (or M600W or M700W) which is audible but very quiet. It has a 5 year warranty and it's modular. All the mentioned models have been reviewed by SPCR.

Seasonic X, and KingWin makes premium products, but they cost a bit more (about 130 USD, though I don't know the current price where you live)

Can we see the full spec list of your system? Also, PSU calculators are usually very biased so that they recommend a much higher wattage than needed. Ask any member of the SPCR forum!

If this function was right, we would all be buying 2000W PSU, because we plan on using them longer than 3 years. Imho this "function" is completly rubbish and serves only to make the buyer get a 1000w PSU for the companies profit.

Single GPU system normally won't exceed 250to300W, depending on the GPU chosen.

Asus P5B Deluxe/Wifi
Intel Q9550 currently stock. Will OC once i get a new psu 95 W
Dominator 4gb
Nvidia 260 stock 182 W
Seagate 200gb 7200.10
Hitachi 120 gb
WD 6400AAKS 7W
WD 1001FALS 8W
WD 2TB Green 14W
Sandisk 120gb SSD Extreme
3 fans 120mm

I'd go for 400-500 W, though I'm not quite sure what impact the OC'ed CPU has on the power consumption. You should also have in mind that quality impacts the longevity of a PSU a lot. I'd rather go with a 400W Seasonic than a 600W noname PSU.

400W will be plenty.

I'd aim a little higher just so the PSU fan profile doesn't kick in to high rpm mode when gaming. Yeah, if you OC and run prime95 and furmark at the same time, while writing to all of the drives, you might see 400W DC. While gaming - closer to 300W or less.

CPU TDP's are decreasing over time. 77W is the new 95W. Your GTX 260 (180W) could be replaced by an HD 7750 (55W). You could merge data from those ancient, low capacity, slow, and power hungry HDDs into one multi-TB HDD and save another 20W+. All in all, I doubt any future system would use more power than your current one - unless you go SLI.

So, keeping the current system components, take a look at the Seasonic 80+ Gold PSUs. The new G Series is out and the 550W is going for $106. It has an always on fan, but is pretty darn quiet at low loads. Or, get one of the X series and the fan will be only come on during gaming level loads.

For $2 more you can get the 400W fanless.

I got a Antec HCG 620 cuz my J&R had it. Idle is around 130W and i tried stressing it using Prime and Furmark and got 330W.

I think that a 500 min is around where i want to be so it'll last me at least 5-6 years. Thanks for all the advice, ill look into the models presented so far.

So that's 330W AC and looking at the efficiency curve of it this equates to around 290W DC. It is the DC amount which PSUs are rated on so this puts you at less than 50% of rated output even when using synthetic benchmarks. A 400W PSU would have been more than enough. The new 360W Seasonic G-series would have been ideal.


What is it that you intend to do within 5-6 years? A broad question I know. I'm always intrigued by the perceived need to have something over the top. In reality it hardly ever works out as being needed. Do you know that PSU standards will even remain compatible for 5-6 years? No. It could be that changes on the ATX power standard makes existing power supplies in some way redundant down the line, this has happened before several times. Doubling the power rating will never do anything to fix this and is just giving in to the marketing men.

I should have been clearer, i got the 620W temporarily until i order what I want.



I just don't want my psu no not be able to handle my system once the capacitors and other parts start aging. I might move to i7 or whatever intel creates in the next few years and just generally want to be able to theoretically add parts if i need/want to, without considering if i have enough power. A little bit more $ for some unnecessary (for now) power is ok in my mind.

As far as i can see, every generation Intel threw at us since the last 4 used lower power. If you're really that afraid of capacitator aging you shouldn't aim for 5-6 years, instead just swap your PSU every 24 months.... that leaves at least some PSU company happy.

And in addition: There's no "future-proof"-thing when buying any pc hardware. If you insist on buying to big to have some "reserve" in case "if i should do this..." - that's up to you. In my experience people won't upgrade... they just buy a new system. But it's your money in the end.

I really don't see any mileage in the capacitor aging argument. While there may be some change in power consumption of components over time, it's nothing to worry about. If it was, you'd find many, many systems and home appliances for that matter too which would grind to a halt over time because of capacitor aging putting other components out of spec. That doesn't happen. Capacitor aging just isn't a big factor.

It also assumes constant operation. Few home systems do anything like 100% uptime. If you had servers that over a year increased their power consumption by 20% because of capacitor againg then that would be big news, it would still equal perhaps an equivalent of 10 years for a home system. So clearly capacitor aging is not a big deal. It's just another way to market bigger and bigger power supplies.

If money is not an issue (it doesn't seem to be for anyone who 'needs' a 1kW PSU) then just buy the best quality 400W PSU. If money is an issue then buy something like the Seasonic G series instead.

After some consideration, i've decided to stay in a range above what i need. I can get the
Seasonic x650 gold for $100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088&nm_mc=EMC-EXPRESS092212&cm_mmc=EMC-EXPRESS092212-_-EMC-092212-Index-_-PowerSupplies-_-17151088-L08C

S12II 520 Bronze or S12II 620 Bronze or M12II 520 Bronze Modular or M12II 620 Bronze Modular
The prices range from 70 to 90 on newegg.

Or the new G550?

Any last minute tip on which i should get. The sale on the X650 ends in 1 hr on Newegg.
I assume they are all great and reliable, what about noise on the S12II series

go the x650, thats a pretty good price for a nice psu

ahh crap sorry dude, im a bit late :C

The S12II is now an old model and as it's efficiency is much lower, it's cooling requirements are much higher so it is not anything like as quiet.

Again, you don't need such high power levels, the G450 would be sufficient even if you want to leave some headroom.

Thanks a lot all. I ordered the x650.
I saw that the new G360 is louder 30dba vs 14 in the 300W area, which I assume will be my max real Watts.