Advice on PSU

kowloon

My PSU is dying and I'm looking for something to replace it.
My PC is on most of the day so I think a really efficient replacement would be worth the extra cash. I have a 1200W powering an i7 with a crossfire setup, an ssd and 3 regular drives.There's also a ton of extra bits plugged into it. I reckon the 1200w was overkill, but at the time it was only a few quid more expensive. I reckon 750W - 1000W would do it.
Modular and as quiet as possible.

Any ideas?

Serephucus

What exactly are you powering? Are we talking Crossfire 5850s or 6990s?

kowloon

Oops, forgot put that in! 5970, it's a single board but runs as a crossfire setup and takes two PCI-E plugs. I think it runs to somewhere in the region of 300W+. I plan to replace it sometime during the year as it's getting on a bit.

Serephucus

Well, after a quick Google, most sites give about 500W as the norm for a system under load with a 5970, with Anandtech citing a (whopping) 630W when overclocked. Taking into account PSU efficiency (85%), that gives us 425 and 535W respectively. I'd reckon a Platinum 5-550W unit should do you fine, seeing as they're around 94% efficient under load. They'll also be your quietest option too.

If you want completely silent however...

http://www.hardwareversand.de/500+-+600+Watts/72313/Seasonic+P-520FL%2C+520+Watt%2C+80PLUS+Platinum.article

(Bear in mind you'll need some case airflow for this)

kowloon

Damn, forgot about overclocking, the cpu is an i7 930 OC'd to 3.8 GHz, have a liquid cooler on the cpu. I assume that will up the requirement?
Would said PSU be able to take a 7970 or the likes later on? I've no idea how thirsty they are.

Serephucus

Probably a little, yeah. That said, modern cards and CPUs are ridiculously power efficient in comparison to the likes of the 930 and 5970. Could you run at stock clocks until an upgrade?

Your other option is a more powerful unit:

http://www.hardwareversand.de/700+-+800+Watts/57654/Enermax+Platimax+750W.article

This is the 750W version of what I use. I picked it because it's the quietest PSU I could find. The fan doesn't even turn on until around 50% load, and even then, it doesn't actually start getting anywhere near loud until around 90% load. That said, it's a lot to spend on a PSU.

Other points: How do you know your PSU is dying, and is it not under warranty?

kowloon

It's making that chirping dodgy capacitor noise. Company are going to take it back but it'll take over a month and I've been told I might get a refund rather than a replacement as the model is no longer manufactured.
If I do end up getting a replacement sent to me I'll sell it. I'd rather spend the cash then be over a month without a PC. I'm hoping to keep this thing running until the end of the year if possible. Most of it is still in warranty.

kowloon

Would this do the same job?
The Enermax one seems to be out of stock.

Serephucus

Yup, perfect. I'd personally go for the 660W model though. Even two Titans only pull around 600W under load. (If you didn't know, a GTX Titan is the most powerful GPU on the market at present).

kowloon

Can't really see myself shelling out for a single titan, let alone two.
Thanks for the advice.

Serephucus

No bother. If you're not looking for those sorts of upgrades, the 500/600W Platimax units might be an option. You'd have to back off the clocks on your current hardware, but it would mean better idle efficiency in the future (depends how much you care about ESB bills. :P)

joetoad

I'd get an 750-800 watt or so. Never know what upgrades you'll do down the line!

GS540

Corsair. thats all.

kowloon

GS540 wrote: »

Corsair. thats all.

Read in a review that Seasonic make some of the Corsair stuff. (maybe all?)
Either way, Corsair look to be rebranding outsourced manufacture.