400W 80Plus Bronze PSU : 35$

[CougTek]

I saw this while browsing Newegg : Xigmatek NRP-PC402.

It's 35$ plus 2$ for the shipping. I have bought some of their 600W model from the same serie and they are solid power supplies. The noise level is very reasonable and the efficiency at that price point is impressive. I trust Xigmatek's power supplies just as much as Antec's, Cooler Master's or Enermax's. That 400W unit is quite a bargain.

 

[sdbardwick]

JonnyGuru has a review of the 500W version; "mediocre" sums it up.

Edit: Corsair CX430 (CX is low-end series) is about $40 shipped, and $20 after rebate (via one of those $#%^ing cards). Probably the best $20 PSU available.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm always on the lookout for a solid $25 PSU. I've never been able to consistently purchase one brand or model at that price point. It seems to really be a crapshoot. I usually do wind up buying $35 spares (Antec Basiqs are also good when I find them that cheap), but I always grumble a little when I'm installing a more expensive PSU in some crappy vomit box.

 

[Mercutio]

Newegg has the very nice Antec NSK 4482B with a nice Antec 380W PSU for $65 +$3 shipping with coupon code EMCZYZX86 right now.

Great case, good styling, solid if not fantastic PSU.

 

[Handruin]

Newegg has the very nice Antec NSK 4482B with a nice Antec 380W PSU for $65 +$3 shipping with coupon code EMCZYZX86 right now.

Great case, good styling, solid if not fantastic PSU.

Merc, I've been looking for a good case/PSU combo and was curious, do you think that combo for the Antec case and PSU is as good as say buying the Antec Three Hundred case with a SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W PSU?

Antec Three Hundred with Seasonic 520W Bronze Cert:
$60 + free S/H (I can actually get this at microcenter locally for $49.99 + tax)
$60 + $9.65 S/G
$129.65


Antec NSK 4482B with Antec 380W PSU
$95 + $10 S/H
$105

 

[Mercutio]

It would depend on the end user who gets that system. For myself I'd buy the 300 + Seasonic for sure.

The 300 is put on sale pretty regularly. I've gotten them as cheap as $35 or so.

I've found that Amazon and Provantage are both good places to look for Antec cases. Amazon is best of all for me because of Amazon Prime, but it's not uncommon to find a $15 or $20 price savings from Provantage vs. Newegg, too, especially on the more expensive cases.

 

[Handruin]

It would depend on the end user who gets that system. For myself I'd buy the 300 + Seasonic for sure.

The 300 is put on sale pretty regularly. I've gotten them as cheap as $35 or so.

I've found that Amazon and Provantage are both good places to look for Antec cases. Amazon is best of all for me because of Amazon Prime, but it's not uncommon to find a $15 or $20 price savings from Provantage vs. Newegg, too, especially on the more expensive cases.

The end user in my case would be for my parents. I'm looking to build two new desktops for each of them. I'm going a little higher-end with an i3-540 for my mom's (using the integrated graphics) and as a surprise/fun I wanted to do an i7-870 for my dad's (with that AMD 5450 I mentioned in the other graphics thread). Both would use the Antec Three Hundred + Seasonic combo I mentioned and I'd pick up the cases locally, so it would be about $120 for each system (case + PSU). Microcenter has the Intel i series for a bunch cheaper than newegg. They also have the 500GB Samsung drive for $39...

I'll have to keep an eye on Amazon and Provantage. I looked at both and they didn't have a deal on this case. As of right now Microcenter is the cheapest even when paying tax.

 

[CougTek]

Even your planned dad's system won't need more than 150W during load. Since power supplies are at their best at 50% of their maximum rating, I suggest you look for a 300-350W power supply. If you can get an Enermax Pro82+ 385W, it is both efficient and silent. The Antec EarthWatt Green 380W inside the NSK3480 and NSK4482 isn't that silent. Not noisy either, but there are better units for the same price.

Also, replace the retail fan of the i7 870. The one provided by Intel isn't enough (or barely). For a 95W processor like the i7 870, it isn't silent.Any cheap tower heatsink would do, especially if you pair it with a 1000rpm Scythe or Nexus fan. Cooler Master, Thermaltake and Xigmatek, to name a few, make good and affordable tower heatsinks.

Regarding the graphic card, watch for the Radeon HD 4850. The 512MB model is currently available for as low as 80$. There's also the 512MB model of the GeForce 240GT that is a good bargain.

Why give a more powerful system to your father? Does he need PokerStar, Zuma and The Weather Eye to run faster than your mom's computer? Will he remember more the news on The Boston Herald's web site if they appear 0.00375 seconds faster on his screen? Just Curious.

 

[Mercutio]

Harsh, Coug.

 

[CougTek]

I wasn't trying to be. I'm genuinely curious to know why pop needs more computer than mom. From what I see in my customer base, both sex usually become quite basic regarding computer tasks past a certain age. An age Doug's parent have certainly passed.

 

[Handruin]

Even your planned dad's system won't need more than 150W during load. Since power supplies are at their best at 50% of their maximum rating, I suggest you look for a 300-350W power supply. If you can get an Enermax Pro82+ 385W, it is both efficient and silent. The Antec EarthWatt Green 380W inside the NSK3480 and NSK4482 isn't that silent. Not noisy either, but there are better units for the same price.

With the Seasonic I bought, the PSU is at 85% efficient when under 50% load vs 82% efficient at a 20% load. It's not a big difference. I'm just not as knowledgeable in the lower wattage arena for PSU's so i spent a few dollars more hoping for something more reliable.

Also, replace the retail fan of the i7 870. The one provided by Intel isn't enough (or barely). For a 95W processor like the i7 870, it isn't silent.Any cheap tower heatsink would do, especially if you pair it with a 1000rpm Scythe or Nexus fan. Cooler Master, Thermaltake and Xigmatek, to name a few, make good and affordable tower heatsinks.

I'm well aware the stock HSF isn't good on the i7. I already bought a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus for $28. This seemed to have decent performance and reviews for the price and it fits almost any type of CPU. It has a 600-2000RPM fan PWM...if it sucks, I'll return it. I have an 800 RPM Synthe 120mm fan I'll try with it to see how effective it is.

Regarding the graphic card, watch for the Radeon HD 4850. The 512MB model is currently available for as low as 80$. There's also the 512MB model of the GeForce 240GT that is a good bargain.

I already bought the Radeon 5450 512MB to give that a try. It'll be $25 out the door and is fan-less. Again, if it's horrible, I'll check into something else like the 4850 you recommended.

Why give a more powerful system to your father? Does he need PokerStar, Zuma and The Weather Eye to run faster than your mom's computer? Will he remember more the news on The Boston Herald's web site if they appear 0.00375 seconds faster on his screen? Just Curious.

He will appreciate it more. He doesn't run either of the tools/software you mentioned and the passive-aggressive remark isn't really needed. He doesn't need anything. I could go on to elaborate about faster video encoding, but it really doesn't matter why I chose to justify it for him when he has no idea he's even getting a new PC in the first place. This will be a gift from me to him to give him something to enjoy for several years to come. Both systems are gifts to my parents. My parents have done some really nice things for me lately (and all my life), so I'm doing something (albeit small) for them. It'll give us time to spend together as we build the system together as we use to do 15-18 years ago when i first entered this hobby/interest. I have no idea if there is even a softer side of you that could appreciate it or admit to the value of spending time with a family member you love. Regardless if you were or were not trying to be harsh, asking questions in that style is undoubtedly passive aggressive and can be taken the wrong way. That's just how you are.

 

[paugie]

The shops here don't carry Seasonic for some reason.
I googled the S12II 520 watts and found a Vietnamese shop among the entries. Since the eldest daughter now works in Vietnam (in the city formerly called Saigon) I asked her to price it out for me.
Now I have an X2-450 on a Gigabyte board with on-board video, 2x2Gb Geil Value RAM and a DVD Writer, 1x120Gb Seagate PATA drive, a Hitachi 500Gb SATA, a 160Gb Samsung SATA and every now and then plug in a 160Gb 2.5" drive in a USB enclosure.
What kind of power draw does that system make?

 

[ddrueding]

I would guess that at full bore that system will draw about 320W, with an idle draw of about 200W. But that is just a guess, I haven't used AMD systems in quite some time.

 

[Stereodude]

I would guess that at full bore that system will draw about 320W, with an idle draw of about 200W. But that is just a guess, I haven't used AMD systems in quite some time.

That seems highly unlikely.

My Athlon II X2-260 (3.2gHz Regor) on a MSI board w/ 4GB of DDR3-1333 (2x2GB), onboard video (4250), SATA DVD burner, 8 5400RPM SATA HDs, 2 7200RPM SATA HDs, & a Dell PERC 6i RAID idles along in Windows XP x64 at 128-130W power draw (from the wall) with the onboard gigabit NIC active and a keyboard and mouse connected.

 

[ddrueding]

I haven't used AMD systems in quite some time.

My Athlon II X2-260...

I'll certainly defer to your experience

 

[Bozo]

The Antec Power Supply calculator does a decent job of finding the right size power supply.

 

[paugie]

Whoa, SD! That is a surprisingly low power draw for 10 hard disk drives.
I will check that Antec calculator.

 

[BingBangBop]

The Antec Power Supply calculator does a decent job of finding the right size power supply.

I like and use Extreme Power supply calculator

 

[sdbardwick]

I like and use Extreme Power supply calculator

Free version is same as Antec's (note URL for Antec link).

 

[LunarMist]

Whoa, SD! That is a surprisingly low power draw for 10 hard disk drives.
I will check that Antec calculator.

It's pretty typical. The modern 5400 RPM drives are quite efficient at idle.

 

[LunarMist]

My base results are 470W. Of course it doesn't use nearly that much, even during the CPU burn test.

 

[Handruin]

I had three computers running off my UPS, two of them were at 100% CPU for F@H and the third is my 8-drive NAS (9 with the boot drive). It was pulling 540W for all three. There were 13 drives spinning total.

 

[paugie]

The calculator said, I needed a 290W PSU.
I think it over calculated.

 

[Bozo]

The calculator said, I needed a 290W PSU.
I think it over calculated.

I believe the calculator assumes 90% load. You can change it to reflect your usage.

 

[onme12]

Seasonic systems are also far efficient than Jonny Guru and the Xigmatek NRP-PC402. The Seasonic system I am using is also a 400W system. I bought two of these pieces for $40 and of course the shipping was free as part of some promotion. I would like to get two of these again at the same price.

 

[paugie]

I finally sourced a Seasonic Bronze80 S12II380W PSU for Pesos 2,300, that's about $52. I'm happy with it. Solid, quiet and cool working.

 

[CougTek]

Seasonic systems are also far efficient than Jonny Guru and the Xigmatek NRP-PC402.

Far more efficient? According to both 80PLUS.org and the reviews I read, their efficiency is comparable. The Seasonic S12 has a better voltage regulation than the Xigmatek, but it isn't much more efficient (both vary between 82% and 85% efficiency). I agree that for the same amount of money, I would get the Seasonic, but if you take efficiency only, they are pretty much equal.

Something isn't necessarily better on every point just because you bought it.

 

[LunarMist]

Yeah, and the small differences in efficiency don't mean much.

 

[paugie]

two (2) units for $40?
I'm glad I'm not in the States, or else all I'd be doing is buying up all these bargains.
Uh... what am I saying? Is this another symptom?

 

[LunarMist]

Those prices are not indicative of the norm.

 

[ddrueding]

The Antec Power Supply calculator does a decent job of finding the right size power supply.

According to Antec, my revised home computer requires an 806W power supply. According to my Kill-a-Watt, it is drawing 550W at full load. That isn't bad.