Antec Earthwatts: Should I go 500 watt or 650 watt? - Overclock.net

gamer11200 · 03-10-09

I have done a fair amount of research on power supplies and found many arguments about single and multi rail power supplies.

I currently have the Thermaltake TR2 430 watt power supply. It has a minimum 65% efficiency rating. So far it has been powering my rig PC without issue (I run Folding@Home on GPU and BOINC on CPU). Since I will be transferring the TR2 over to the P4 rig, I will be in need of a new one for this rig.

I have decided that $100 will be the max price before tax. I have it nailed it down to 2 antec PSUs:

Antec Earthwatts 500 watt - http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NjU=
Antec Earthwatts 650 watt - http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NjY=

Both are very good, very efficient power supplies and both fall within my budget. I have no issue buying the 650, but I'm wondering if that would be overkill. Here's what I might upgrade to in the future:
Core i7 processor
DDR3 ram
Possibly dual high end cards like a 4850 or something along that line

Bellatrix · 03-10-09

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006 - 20$ over but it's worth it.

Bellatrix · 03-10-09

Was 179.99, it's a steal

hawaiian_geek · 03-10-09

Get a Corsair power supply.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139001

gamer11200 · 03-10-09

The only Corsair that Canada Computer has that I can afford is the 550 watt. Still, is it better than 650 watt Antec? http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...941&cid=PS.808

hawaiian_geek · 03-10-09

newegg in canada has a corsair 650 for $119.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817139005

I'd take the Corsair over the Antec. Antec's quality control the last few years have gone downhill. A few years ago I had a 650 Antec short out and it was brand spanking new. So I try to steer away from Antec if at all possible. I just used the Corsair 550 watt in a build I did last month for a cousin. Only thing is it's not modular.

gamer11200 · 03-10-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawaiian_geek

newegg in canada has a corsair 650 for $119.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817139005

I'd take the Corsair over the Antec. Antec's quality control the last few years have gone downhill. A few years ago I had a 650 Antec short out and it was brand spanking new. So I try to steer away from Antec if at all possible. I just used the Corsair 550 watt in a build I did last month for a cousin. Only thing is it's not modular.

but would 550 Watt be enough for an i7 with 6GB DDR3 and dual 4850s?

hawaiian_geek · 03-10-09

then get the Corsair 650 that I posted from Newegg in Canada.

corky dorkelson · 03-10-09

Wow, everybody is in a Corsair feeding frenzy....

I own both, and they are BOTH good. Buy within your means, and only what you need it for. The earthwatts 500 can be found for $50-60 if you look around or are patient, and it will power your rig just fine. If you ever upgrade your GPU, it will handle well into the HD4870 range. If you ever decide to use it as a dedicated folding rig, it will run a nice amount of GPUs.

So set yourself a budget, and get the best you can in that range. Corsair is a great company, but it is by no means the only choice you have. Good luck.

gamer11200 · 03-10-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by corky dorkelson

Wow, everybody is in a Corsair feeding frenzy....

I own both, and they are BOTH good. Buy within your means, and only what you need it for. The earthwatts 500 can be found for $50-60 if you look around or are patient, and it will power your rig just fine. If you ever upgrade your GPU, it will handle well into the HD4870 range. If you ever decide to use it as a dedicated folding rig, it will run a nice amount of GPUs.

So set yourself a budget, and get the best you can in that range. Corsair is a great company, but it is by no means the only choice you have. Good luck.

I noticed that. I am considering corsair heavily though, as hawaiian_geek was kind enough to post a link to one, but for the price, I'm getting less wattage. I understand that the corsair one comes with more amps on the +12v, but I'm not going to be getting the hardcore power eaters (when I said 4850, i meant by in the future, something like 4850 performance, but lower power requirement, like a "Green edition" you can say.)
Great to get some actual confirmation on the power supplies that I posted though. Most likely will still buy Antec EA-650 but if Corsair drops to a real good price, I might buy em

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Antec Earthwatts: Should I go 500 watt or 650 watt?

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