I need a decent PSU to run this system as I think my coolermaster may be struggling, I say this cause I am getting intermittent BSOD which I am trying to resolve at the moment but I feel I should be safe rather than sorry. I not sure at this time if its drivers (I am a bit lazy here) or if its memory, psu or mainboard. I have had some of the BSOD before I changed the GPU and I have uncovered and resolved some driver issues. Current Build; Windows 8.1 64bit Samsung evo 840 250gb SSD Seagate 2tb 7200rpm Coolermaster 650w Gigabyte z77-dsh Intel i5 3750k (Stock speed) Corsair 2x4gb Vengence 1600mhz Sapphire r9 290 vapour-x oc (300watts 2x8pin) Phantom 410 case running 2 front fans, two top fans, one side fan and one rear fan all 120mm I also want to know if a water cooler is worth the money, I was considering a refurb like the one below; http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=HS-028-CS Any thoughts on what my priorities should be, do you think I should improve elsewhere or am I on the right tracks? What PSU should I get?
Did you state your cpu? I think it is largely irrelevant as all the 1155 socket cpus are really efficient, I think 650W should be plenty to run your system, even overclocked. My main rig runs on a 650W power supply and I reckon is similar to yours, it is rock solid however it runs Windows 7. I have had issues with Windows 8 on my MITX build but I was an early adaptor and those cleared up, however I have also reinstalled that operating system a few times. You might consider checking tyou are on the latest mobo firmware, preparing the latest video card driver then doing a fresh install of the OS before splashing out on a new power supply. Bit Tech did a roundup of 1200W recently which they confirmed are really only useful for multi-graphics card setups but they linked to their 500W - 650W article too if you find you actually need a new supply: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/psus/2014/06/20/550w-650w-psu-roundup/1 This power supply calculator may be useful but I think you are firmly in 650W territory.
At the moment I am still investigating the BSOD's I am getting, I can go for weeks without getting one then may get 3 in as many days. So they might not be related to the hardware at all. They all vary from ntfs file system, system service exception, memory management, driver violation ect. Some I haven't seen for a while or are rare, some are frequent. I have sorted a common LAN BSOD that comes with gigabyte MB, system has been stable for a few days only happening at the moment if I force it. I am running a i5 3570k, I do not intend to overclock I just want as efficient a system as I can get, cant deny there's a bit of a gypsy about me as I also like the bling(eyecandy) factor that goes with it.
I've just today received my sexy new hx850i corsair digital psu. I'm not massively knowledgeable in PSU's so went with a safe bet (Corsair), and while they're usually the pricey option I bought this from Ocuk in the weekly deals which is still on until tomorrow for all HXi series, at £120 for digital 80+ platinum fully modular PSU that can handle 2 x 290's with ease, it seemed an easy choice, worth looking at asap as offer ends today and I'll go up £15, or possibly higher as I have a feeling the £135 standard ATM is an introductory offer. EDIT: If you only intend 1x 290, the hx750i would save you a bit and is also in the weekly deal though not as large a saving.
