Upgrade PSU choice

[nwbdan]

I'm thinking of upgrading my PSU from the current NOX Urano II 630W. Its is now the loudest thing in my case

My current system:
Phenom II 550BE --> overclocked to 3.6Ghz 1.45v @ 3 cores unlocked
Asus M4A785V-Evo
2x2Gb DDR3 RAM
1x 500Gb Samsung Spinpoint
1x 1 Tb Samsung Spinpoint
Arctic Cooling 7 Rev 2
1 Noiseblocker 120mm fan
1 Noiseblocker 140mm fan

I'm also planning on buying a new GFX card so the new PSU will have to handle a HD 5770 or possibly an older HD4870.
Also, I don't think I'll ever run Crossfire but if I ever bought another GFX it would be nice to be able to run them together with this PSU (not a must though).

Nexus PSUs are hard to come by where I live, so that a no-option.
I was looking into Corsair, namely the HX-520 and the VX-450.
Would either of these work? I believe the HX-520 is more than enough, but I'm not sure about the VX-450, though.
Also, I'd like it to be quiet, at least while not gaming. Reading SPCRs review on both of them, I understand that the HX-520 is quieter at higher loads, but would that matter while doing normal computer stuff (Internet, Music, writing documents)?

Cheers, nwbdan

[judge56988]

I think both those are old news now. I got a Seasonic S12 II Bronze M520 (See here) a couple of months ago and I'm very happy with it.
The VX 450 is certainly a lot louder than the S12; I know that from personal experience because I put one in the computer I built earlier in the year for my daughter.

[nwbdan]

Thanks for the reply, judge.
I hadn't looked into the Seasonic S12 II Bronze because it wasn't in SPCRs recommended PSUs. I read the review over at johnny guru and very much liked it. But even though it says you can get it for $70 at newegg, I can only get it for €120 where I live. That's still quite a bump from the €80 the HX-520 will set me back.

I do, however, appreciate the actual daily-life experience you reported with the Seasonic S12 being much quieter than the VX-520. I was wondering though if you might have any other ideas on quieter PSUs that I can get for a lower price?

Thank you,
nwbdan

[nwbdan]

I can get these PSUs for about as much as I can spend right now:
Enermax PRO82+ 425W CrossFire
[EPR425AWT]
€70.85
Seasonic S12II Bronze 430W
[S12II-430Bronze]
€71.00
Corsair VX-450W
[CMPSU-450VXEU]
€71.90
Corsair HX-450W Modular
[CMPSU-450HXEU]
€73.15
Corsair HX-520W Modular
[CMPSU-520HXEU]
€83.60

I'm not sure if the lower power PSU will be able to handle my current system while still being relatively future-proof (I plan to buy an HD5750 soon, and one day possibly crossfire it - but not in a couple of years) while still being as quiet as possible.

Alternatively I could switch the fan inside my current PSU. How easy and how safe is that? Whats the worst case scenario?

[judge56988]

You don't say what country you're in nwbdan - Euro zone evidently, but it sound's expensive! The Seasonic PSU I was talking about is available for the equivalent of 78 Euros in the UK at Scan.
The reason that it's not in the recommended list is probably because it's only been out for a few months and Mike C has not had a chance to review it yet.
The Corsair HX-520 was no doubt one of the quietest psu's back in it's day but it's been around for a few years now. The really quiet ones now seem to be high efficiency and consequently more expensive so I can't really make any other recommendations - perhaps someone else can. The same goes for swapping out the fan - I've never done it but there are plenty here who have and there is probably a guide somewhere if you can find it.

My personal feeling is that it's worth spending a bit extra on a decent psu because it should last a long time compared to most other components; often cpu's, motherboards etc are upgraded every couple of years.
I also think that buying a higher efficiency power supply would save you enough money on your electric bill over a 5 year period to recoup the extra cost. That's obviously not a help if you don't have the cash right now to buy it!