I am looking for a replacement SFX/SFX-L PSU for my current (SG13) rig and potential future ITX builds. I was running a Silverstone 450W SFX non modular PSU, which went pop and fried my beloved Maximus VII Impact board. I don't want to trust the Silverstone again, just in case it has a fault (the off load output voltages checked out OK on my multimeter). I'm currently considering the Corsair SF450, SF600 and Silverstone 500W SFX-L units, with a preference to the smaller SFX units at the moment Ironically, it looks like my original choice, the SF450 is out of stock in the UK for the moment, with the other 2 available generally. Is there a downside to using the more expensive and potentially over specified SF600 unit? I'll be running an ITX (poss mATX) single GPU gaming rig with an i5K, 2 drives and a GTX 970.
If the power draw is too far down the power curve it will have reduced effiency. Otherwise it should run cool and quiet.
Exactly, the case will be small and I would like it to run cool and efficiently. I tried 2 power supply calculators and my Z97 ITX / i5 K / GTX 970 setup was shown to need 350-410W. Maybe a 600W unit would give more headroom if I choose an AMD GPU next time...?
Ive been running the SF600 for about a year now with a 400ishWatt system it seems to be in the efficiently sweet spot, normal day to day the fan doesn't spin up, an even when it does its not hitting full tilt, that's on an FM2 socket with an RX480. All depends what GPU you intend to go with in future.
That “reduced efficiency” is a common misconception. In reality, it’s more or less bogus. I ran a 600w unit and 1200w unit with 100w idle load, and the 1200w unit drew between 1 and 5 Watts more. Woo! It doesn’t matter. I would go with a 600w unit to be safe, Tre. It will also allow for future expansion.
Basically it's between the Corsair SF600 and the BeQuiet SFX-L offering... For that case i'd probably got for the cosair, partly as iirc there is a short cable kit available for it [granted from what i remember it's not cheap].
Ok, Corsair SF600 it is then! It's in stock in a number of places and there are short cables available that are more amenable than the purportedly stiff ones included as standard.
All sorted, SF600 back in stock at Amazon, part paid with vouchers, and arriving this week. Thanks for the advice, I have now got a great PSU with some headroom for future expansion
