Quality sub-$100 PSU suggestions?

[chrisk]

Hey;
Looking to help my nephew upgrade his rig, and he will need a new PSU for any graphics upgrade (he may end up with my GTX 470 at some point, on an i5 or AM3 setup, specific specs not determined yet...).

I have gotten lazy in recent years as I just tend to go with a Corsair unit for these types of builds. Figured I would check with the PSU guru's here first.

Requirements:
- sub $100
- run one GTX 470
- AM3 or i5
- 1 or two HDDs, 1-2 optical
- mild OC
- HAF 932 case (so I guess the cable lengths should be considered)
- don't care of modular or not
- bought at Canada Computers (here is a link to the PSU section: Power Supplies, Gaming PSUs, High Performance | Canada Computers)

Thanks!

[LarkStarr]

corsair's builder series? I have the 600W running a C2D & 260, and it's silent as .. well.. something that's silent. it was $70 iirc.

[_dangtx_]

antec 650 watter. or even an earthwatts 500

[chrisk]

Originally Posted by _dangtx_

antec 650 watter. or even an earthwatts 500

Which 650W in particular? True power?

[ilya]

He probably means the Earthwatts 650.

Looking through CC's selection, I must say your options suck. About 3 decent choices, Seasonic, Antec, and Enermax's. Other good units (especially the Corsair ones) come in well above your budget. Not to mention one of them is a 500W PSU, enough for a 470, but you won't have much OC headroom without overloading the unit. Your best bet would probably be Dangtx's suggestion.

Is that store your only possible option?

If you can order at NCIX the Seasonic X-560 has a $20 MIR and can be PMed to ~$120. It'll run the 470 just fine, but it might still be slightly out of the budget range.

They also have the X-750 with a $30MIR, which can be PMed to ~$150, so $120 after MIR for a top end unit that will let him SLI the 470 in the future. But that's probably stretching the budget too much for bells and whistles he doesn't need. BTW the MIR centre for Seasonic is in Ontario, so I got mine really fast, it was in USD though. Only thing I don't like about them is their tech support tends to be fairly lackluster compared to companies like Corsair and Gigabyte.

[geokilla]

I'll probably get flamed or at least hated for this. OCZ StealthXStream 2 Ultra-Quiet 600W Power Supply (OCZ600SXS2) | Canada Computers

From personal experience, I own both a OCZ StealthXStream 500W and OCZ GameXStream 600W. Bother are powering my AMD Phenom II rigs very well. They're very good for the price.

[Stock]

I've used the Corsair 750W and XFX 650W (Modular). They were both sub $100 at the time of purchase due to sales, and to this day (1-2 years later) they still operate quietly.

[_dangtx_]

truth be told, the ocz sxs II is actually pretty decent. long term though, not sure.

[3.0charlie]

Antec TP-550 Truepower New 550W Continuous Power Supply | Canada Computers

Used it many times, very reliable.

[JD]

If you can push it to $110:
Corsair Gaming Series CMPSU-700G 700W Power Supply | Canada Computers (56A, single rail)
Antec HCG-620 High Current Gamer 620W Continuous Power Supply | Canada Computers (48A single rail, 80+ Bronze)
Corsair TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan | Canada Computers (60A, single rail)

Otherwise:
Corsair Gaming Series CMPSU-600G 600W Power Supply | Canada Computers (48A, single rail, possibly same as Antec HCG?)
Antec EA-650 EarthWatts 650W Continuous Power Supply | Canada Computers (triple-rail, ugly)
Corsair CMPSU-600CX 600W Power Supply | Canada Computers (40A, single rail, not 80+ certified)

I'd stick to Corsair for long cables though. They seem to offer the longest. The "Gamer Series" advertises it as a feature actually.