[LiveBrianD]

Yes, but keep in mind that the antec only has a 30A 12V rail. That's probably good enough, but the seasonic has a 40A one (btw apparently the only difference between the M12II and the S12II is that the M one is modular and the S is not).

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 03 February 2012 - 08:17 PM, said:

Yes, but keep in mind that the antec only has a 30A 12V rail. That's probably good enough, but the seasonic has a 40A one (btw apparently the only difference between the M12II and the S12II is that the M one is modular and the S is not).

Yes, there is a $20 difference, to go from power you don't need, to more power that you don't need. While the Antec is also amongst the single most stable PSU's available... The HCG's and HCPs have been testing extremely well in professional testing, beyond even what Seasonic is selling. Especially in the cheaper lines.

[LiveBrianD]

It never hurts to have a little headroom. Besides, run the PSU at a lower than max capacity, and it'll last longer. The Seasonic is still pretty dang stable. It's MUCH better than those cheap oem units, yet those still work decently for people running stuff at stock speeds, right?

Edit: I found a review of the HCG-520, and, according to techpowerup.com, "The OEM is Seasonic and the platform that HCG-520 uses is the Seasonic S12 II, which unfortunately is group regulated." I imagine the HCG-400 is pretty similar.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 03 February 2012 - 09:55 PM

[waldojim]

I wouldn't trust techpowerup to review a mouse.
http://www.hardwares...y-Review/1399/3

Quote

As we have mentioned in other articles and reviews, the first place we look when opening a power supply for a hint about its quality is its filtering stage. The recommended components for this stage are two ferrite coils, two ceramic capacitors (Y capacitors, usually blue), one metalized polyester capacitor (X capacitor), and one MOV (Metal-Oxide Varistor). Very low-end power supplies use fewer components, usually removing the MOV and the first coil.

In this stage, this power supply is flawless, with one X capacitor, four Y capacitors, and one ferrite coil more than the minimum required.

Quote

The output of the active PFC circuit is filtered by a Japanese capacitor, from Chemi-Con, labeled at 85º C.

Quote

The electrolytic capacitors that filter the outputs are also Japanese, from Chemi-Con.

Quote

The Antec High Current Gamer 520 W can really deliver its labeled wattage at high temperatures.

Efficiency was between 82.3% and 86.1%, which is terrific, as time after time we see 80 Plus Bronze power supplies that aren’t capable of reaching 82% efficiency at full load at high temperatures, which didn’t happen with the reviewed unit.

Voltages were closer to their nominal values (3% regulation) during all tests, which is great. The ATX12V specification states that positive voltages must be within 5% of their nominal values, and negative voltages must be within 10% of their nominal values.

Quote

The Antec High Current Gamer 520 W provided really low ripple and noise levels, as you can see in the table below.

Note: 24mv as the worst case scenario on the 12V rail. None of the others even hit 20mv. That power supply would also let them pull 633 watts @ 49C while still maintaining 80% efficiency.

Now, for S&G's, go check the review of the Seasonic. http://www.hardwares...ly-Review/954/4

You notice something? Like the fact they are identical, and yet the Antec is $20 cheaper? Yep, I did too. Right there are two power supplies being sold with the exact same parts, from beginning to end at very different prices. Now, why wouldn't you go with the cheaper power supply in this case?

Then Antec 400 will do the job just fine, and leave $20 that can be used elsewhere. Including a gallon of gas if needed.

[LiveBrianD]

The ripple is pretty much identical on the 12V line. Yes, you can draw a little bit more from the antec than the seasonic. Still, the main options here are a Antec HCG rated for 400W vs a seasonic s12ii rated for 520W. You get more power, and both are very stable units. It's not like we're talking about raidmax units here. At this point, small differences really don't make a difference. Also, apprantly the 620W seasonic and 520W seasonic cost the same amount (btw the 620W one is $60 with the promo code and has a 48A 12V rail, compared to the Antec which has a 30A one for the same price, though there is a $20 rebate on top of it). Ultimately, I guess it doesn't matter too much. However, it never hurts to have some upgrade room. And no, I'm not talking about overkill like coastie has.

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 04 February 2012 - 04:00 PM, said:

The ripple is pretty much identical on the 12V line. Yes, you can draw a little bit more from the antec than the seasonic. Still, the main options here are a Antec HCG rated for 400W vs a seasonic s12ii rated for 520W. You get more power, and both are very stable units. It's not like we're talking about raidmax units here. At this point, small differences really don't make a difference. Also, apprantly the 620W seasonic and 520W seasonic cost the same amount (btw the 620W one is $60 with the promo code and has a 48A 12V rail, compared to the Antec which has a 30A one for the same price, though there is a $20 rebate on top of it). Ultimately, I guess it doesn't matter too much. However, it never hurts to have some upgrade room. And no, I'm not talking about overkill like coastie has.

You missed the point. We are talking about PSUs from the same manufacturer. They are built identically, and carry the same quality components. The difference is $20 between a 400 watt, which is already more than necessary, or an even more unnecessary 520 watt PSU. The Antec 400 HCG has free shipping, and has a rebate dropping the price to $40. For $40, you are never going to find a better deal on a top shelf PSU.

[LiveBrianD]

It depends - how much will the GPU ever be upgraded? Sure, if we're only talking about a 550ti (and maybe 560ti) like card, that 400W antec is fine. If anything more than that, I would get a higher wattage unit just to be on the safe side (for instance, the outervision psu calc says you need 435W for a geforce 570, 100% TDP 2500K, a dvd drive, and a hard drive, though 400W will probably work anyway).

[waldojim]

And we go through this argument every freaking time it comes up.

OP: Again, it all depends on what you want. ANY of the power supplies you found will work, and work very well for a very long time. Purchase what you feel comfortable with, and your budget allows. In the end, that choice is no one but yours.

[Pilege21]

Ok. So I don't know much about PSU's lol. I don't know when it will be upgraded, if ever. I found this card http://www.newegg.co...82E16814121474. I'm guessing this will be ok with any of the PSU's? Would this also play Star Wars The Old Republic?

[LiveBrianD]

Dang... it says this item was deactivated. (that period at the end was messing up the link, stupid forum software, I assume you mean this: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814121474 ) Yes, a 6770 should run just fine any of those, even an Antec Earthwatts is plenty. I went to the outervision psu calc and put in a 2500K (100% TDP), ati 6770, 2 sticks of DDR3, a DVD drive, and a regular hard drive, and got a recommended wattage of 284W. I did some quick research and it sounds like that game will run reasonably well on a 5770.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 04 February 2012 - 10:39 PM

[Pilege21]

Ok. http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814121474 Here's the link again. I have it under my wishlist and when I click the link there it opens fine.

Where did you find this psu calculator? This way I can use it for future builds.

Thanks for the advice everyone! If I have any other questions I'll definitely contact you guys.

[waldojim]

Pilege21, on 04 February 2012 - 11:08 PM, said:

Ok. http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814121474 Here's the link again. I have it under my wishlist and when I click the link there it opens fine.

Where did you find this psu calculator? This way I can use it for future builds.

Thanks for the advice everyone! If I have any other questions I'll definitely contact you guys.

That card should work well for you. As to the psu calculator, just slap those two words into google. There are many out there.

[LiveBrianD]

http://extreme.outer...culatorlite.jsp is what I normally use.