# Help a Noob choose a PSU



## jdhansen63 (Nov 1, 2011)

I've been colecting components for my first HTPC build for several months now. The only item I have left to buy is the PSU. I've used a couple online PSU calculators and have gotten recommendations from 250-350w. Any recomemdations for wattage and the PSU itself woud be appreciated.

I've been looking at SeaSonic SSR-360GP. It gets great reviews from most, however it appears these have an issue with failing within the first week. Any other brands/models I should look at?

Here is my parts build:
- Fractal Design Node 605 Case (comes with 2 120mm case fans may install a 3rd)
- i5-4570S
- ASUS GRYPHON Z87
- SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SSD
- 1 x Seagate Barracuda STBD3000100 3TB 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
- 1 x WD Green WD30EZRX 3TB 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
- 2 x 8GB CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
- Panasonic Slim Internal Blu-ray Burner SATA (Slot Load) Drive PAN-UJ-265
- either Noctua NH-U9B or NH-L12 CPU Cooler
- Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card 
- PCI WiFi/Bluetooth card

- Future upgrades:
3rd HDD, video card, ram

I'm looking for a PSU that's quiet, cool running, and reliable.

Thanks!


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

I have been building computers for years. I would highly recommend a fully modular designed PSU so that you only use the connections you need. If it were me I would probably purchase this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139052


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

The Corsair PSU linked above is a very good unit and would be more than enough to power your system as long as you weren't looking to get a fairly high end videocard in the future (>$300).

If you want to save a few bucks this PC Power and Cooling PSU is %15 off plus a rebate and will also be sufficient for your needs.

Nice build by the way!


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

Yes +1 on the CORSAIR brand


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## jdhansen63 (Nov 1, 2011)

Thanks for the recomendations. I like what I've read about the Corsair with it's 0-rmp fan setting. Some of the PSU's state that thye are "4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready". The Corsair however does not. What does it mean to be Haswell Certified/Ready and is it a requirement of a Haswell system?


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

"certified Haswell ready" fluff and pixie dust. shouldn't matter


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

jdhansen63 said:


> What does it mean to be Haswell Certified/Ready and is it a requirement of a Haswell system?


I believe it has something to do with the new sleep mode that Haswell supports. It is a "deeper" sleep than earlier processors and takes less power, _some_ PSU's that don't support it may have issues going to sleep (causing the system to freeze or restart).

I wouldn't worry about it unless you plan to frequently use the sleep function. I mainly linked to that PCP&C PSU above because it was about 1/2 the price.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Andre said:


> I have been building computers for years. I would highly recommend a fully modular designed PSU so that you only use the connections you need. If it were me I would probably purchase this one
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139052


Looks like I found the person to help me build mine! :bigsmile:

Subscribed - I look forward to watching the build.


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## fusseli (May 1, 2007)

The only things I would recommend is a name brand PSU and buy the correct wattage. Getting too big of a PSU is nothing but wasted $$ for wattage you'll likely never utilize. If you value having a quiet computer (HTPC?) I would also strongly recommend at least a 90+ silver or gold PSU. That really makes a difference in how cool and quiet the PSU runs.

Brands that I have used and like:
#1 fave: Seasonic
PC Power & Cooling
OCZ
Corsair

If you search the net you can find a PSU calculator. I have verified the popular one with a wall jack energy meter with good agreement. Another guideline would be to pay attention to the minimum rating given by your motherboard and/or CPU.


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