Hi everyone My 7 year old Tagan TG480-U01 has just exploded, so I need a new PSU! My spec is as follows: - Q6600 G0 @ 3GHz - Asus P5QL-E - 2x2GB of DDR2-800 @2.1V - 3x 7200rpm SATA drives - ATI HD4850 512MB at stock speeds - DVD writer The PSU calculator says 380W should be fine. I'm therefore considering the Corsair 430CX recommended in this month's hardware guide. Does that sound OK? Or if not, is there something better I should get? All that matters to me is that it's quiet. I would quite like something that's 80Plus though, which this doesn't seem to be. Would the OCZ Modstream 500W be a better bet? The other complication is that I have an Antec P180 case, so the ATX12V connector on the motherboard is a long way from the PSU at the bottom of the case. I'm happy to buy an extender though. Also, I intend to replace the motherboard/RAM/CPU with something Sandy Bridge based in the next six months or so. I don't think I'll need a power-hungry GPU though, as I've pretty much stopped gaming these days. Thanks for any help! ch424
Well I am sure that PSU is adequate. I would go for a higher wattage myself just so I won't have to upgrade in the future if needs be. If you're looking at the OCZ PSU I recommend This PSU as it's only a little more expensive and has done very well in reviews.
CX430 is not 80Plus only because of USA (they didn't get 80+ at 110V, but they were ok at 230V afaik). Plus if you can wait a little, then you can get CX430 V2, which has tha 80Plus Bronze stamp on it http://www.corsair.com/builder-series-cx430-v2-80plus-certified-power-supply.html @gilljoy: XFX doesn't make PSU, their OEM does (Seasonic). Nor OCZ (FSP) or Corsair (Seasonic, CWT, Flextronics), and even Antec has some lines based on Seasonic design (Truepower New).
That's great advice on the 80Plus stuff, thanks faugusztin! I'll see how quickly I can get the V2 revision. Thanks for the tip ronaldo, but I'd rather go for the £35 Corsair than spending £57 on something more powerful - not sure I can justify it! Thanks again ch424
Even the original unit was very close to 80Plus certification, so if you don't care about 2-3% up or down in efficiency, then you can get the current version as well. Corsair CX series is CWT design, Corsair AX is Seasonic design except the 1200W model, which is Flextronics design.
I think Seasonic X series are the best at the moment. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4217/seasonic-xseries-560w
