Reddit reviews Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i3, i5, i7 and platforms - TX650

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Compatible-platforms/dp/B004LB5AZY#featureBulletsAndDetailBullets_secondary_view_div_1421437112995

> Universal AC input from 90~264V. No more hassle of flipping that tiny red switch to select the voltage input!

Yes.

Well, the Graphics card is actually underpowered, and the rest of your components (Hard Drive, CPU, RAM) cannot get enough power with only 200w left (at minimum, the card can use up more power too).

You pretty much just need to upgrade to a 500w+ power supply, like this one, or this one, or this one, or any other power supply that is rated more than 500w.

This PSU is much higher build quality, I'd consider it if I were you.

For a graphics card in that price range I'd look at this one

That comes very close to a GTX 560 Ti in performance while still saving you some money.

Build complete!

I ultimately decided to buy the ASUS board and replace the CPU cooler while I was at it. A few caveats about the Sabertooth X58:

1. If you want the X58, consider a case with USB 2.0 ports on the front panel. The Cooler Master HAF 922 only has USB 3.0 ports, which are meant to connect to the motherboard with a 20-pin connector. The X58 lacks a port for this type of connector, so I will have to install something like this Anker Uspeed card if I want to use the front USB ports.
   
   
2. The first two SATA ports on the board are 6 Gb/s, but they are on a separate Marvell controller, which by all accounts is absolute garbage. I am using the 3 Gb/s ports, which are on an Intel controller, and those seem fast enough for me. I disabled the Marvell in the BIOS.
   
   
3. Make sure to switch your storage mode to AHCI if you want to get the most out of your SATA drives. The BIOS defaults to IDE mode. (And the ASUS manual is mostly useless because it doesn't tell you anything you can't already infer from the names of the BIOS settings.)
   
   
4. You need to manually configure the boot order of your hard disks, otherwise it will try the wrong disk and fail to find your OS. I had a moment of panic because I forgot that my boot partition is not on my SSD but rather on the original HDD that came with my Dell.
   
   Personally, I think these are minor issues as long as you're aware of them. And now that I've told you, you are :)
   
   The 5800 series does not require Dell-specific drivers. In fact, Windows 7 detected and installed drivers for pretty much all my hardware on boot. It took a couple reboots to get everything installed.
   
   Final tally:
   
   

• Cooler Master HAF 922 case - 79.99 USD
  
• Corsair TX650 power supply - 89.99 USD
  
• ASUS Sabertooth X58 motherboard - 119.99 USD
  
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler w/fan - 33.01 USD
  
  
  TOTAL COST: 322.98 USD + tax
  
  Not bad to get a few more years of life out of the components. And this case and PSU combo should be a solid platform for future upgrades.
  
  I wish you luck with your own build. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

If you can make a recommendation for a power supply, I'm planning on dual monitors and graphics cards.

Looking at one of these Corsair modular 750 or 850w. I don't know what the bronze ratings and all that mean.

You would definitely need to get a better PSU if yours is 500w, I would recommend a quality brand 650w PSU, like the Corsair TX650 (If you order from there make sure it's the enthusiast option). A good, brand name PSU will last a long time and will keep your components safer from power surges and fluctuation.

As for your CPU, you can still get around a .2 bump in Ghz with the stock cooler. If you want a good air cooler for cheap then the Hyper 212 can get you to around 4 -- 4.2 Ghz easily. There are bigger and better air coolers and all-in-one water coolers that can take you to 4.5 Ghz for around $80.


What games and resolutions do you plan on using the 770 for? It may be a bit of an overkill for your situation, unless your 550 Ti is really struggling with your monitor resolutions.

The reason the prices seem so high on Google Shopping is that you've got an older model. It's been replaced by the TX650 v.2, which is significantly cheaper than the prices you've found.

$75 w/free shipping on Amazon.

Not sure if you need peripherals or not, so that will be a huge factor influencing overall price. Assuming you will reuse your current keyboard, mouse, and monitor, here is a setup for your price range.

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ($55)

PSU: Corsair 650TX V2 ($85)

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK ($148)

CPU: Intel i5-3570K ($230)

RAM: 8GB GSkill DDR3 12800 ($53)

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB ($103)

GPU: EVGA GTX 560 ($192)

DVD: ASUS 24x SATA DVD-RW ($22)

Total = $888

You can look to upgrade your Motherboard, CPU, or Graphics Card as your budget allows. You can also look to pick up a solid state HDD, which is faster but with less space, to store your operating system and favorite game.

I just used this sandisk SSD in a build and like it so far, 10$ cheaper than the one in your build here

You might also look at this Corsair power supply it is still 650 watts but not modular but only 92$ on amazon right now here

Hello, goodbye~ needs a new psu old one crapped out right after warranty expired and the back up doesn't have enough ass to run my 470gtx.

I am thinking of getting this PSU for my PC. However, there is also a modular version, the V2 for $10 more.

I am completely new to building PCs and this is the last component I still haven't bought. Are modular PSUs beginner friendly? Do they include all the cables I'd need (compared to the normal version)? I hope this post doesn't get buried. :x

Thanks!

Unless you want to keep headroom for future additions like a second card, go for 650W on the PSU. Something like this gives you $60's worth of leeway towards something else.
I'd also go for a slightly cheaper case like the antec 300, and go for a 560 or even a 560 Ti as graphics card.
Edit : I don't know $ prices, but I'm not sure the OS is OEM. If it's not, get it OEM, it's cheaper with no real drawback to it.

why 560 Ti is better than 550 Ti ? ,550 Ti is 2048 MB
i am going 2 use the pc for video editing and gaming that why i need i7
i found this psu is it good http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Compatible-platforms/dp/B004LB5AZY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1318953128&sr=1-1

>A new PSU costs $100?

No man, a Corsair TX650 can be had for $60 on sale. I've put one in my computer, my brother's, and a friend's I built. It's a rock-solid PSU and will handle anything but Crossfire/SLI.

1. When building home computers, I've never had problems with Corsair power supplies. They are rock solid. I'd rather buy a 600W Corsair power supply than a 850W Thermaltake. You also don't need an 850W power supply unless you're running a three-card SLI/Crossfire setup or something similar. Go with a ~600W Corsair power supply, trust me on this one. Here's a good one for only $87 USD.
   
   
2. In terms of motherboards, I absolutely always buy ASUS. Yes, they are more expensive in comparison with other boards that have similar features. But the ASUS BIOS is extremely easy to navigate, there is a full description provided for every setting, and they overclock very well and remain stable. I bought an MSI motherboard for my 2500K build and have regretted that decision for ages. They released a BIOS to provide Ivy Bridge compatibility alongside other features, and upon upgrading to it (since it came with a mouse-navigatable menu), the board become completely unstable with my Sandy Bridge 2500K. I had to underclock it to 2.5 GHz to even boot Windows, and it was impossible to flash the BIOS back to the previous version. I waited two months looking for some way to revert--with their tech support being absolutely useless and requesting I pay ~$30 to ship it out, have them "repair" it and then have it shipped back a few weeks later--until some guy on the MSI forums uploaded a tool to downgrade. I went with an ASUS for my next build and the quality difference was more than enough to justify the $30 added cost over an MSI/ASRock/etc. board with similar features.
   
   
3. In terms of cases, I cannot recommend the Corsair 400R enough. Everything pops in/out easily, thumbscrews, rubber holes on the motherboard tray that let you route cables out of the way, and it comes with three quiet preinstalled fans. There's also room for an H100 radiator on top or on the side, there's space for five 120mm fan mounts in addition to the 3 fans already included, the build quality is top-notch, and it's a very silent and sturdy case. The case also has a hole at the bottom that lets you mount the power supply at the bottom of the case and upside down (so the power supply intakes cool air from below the case, rather than warmer air from within the case). Oh, and it also comes fully equipped with dust screens for the bottom-mounted power supply fan, bottom case fan, and front case fans. The dust screen on the bottom literally slides out of the back of the case along a pair of rails much like the lint pickup screen in a clothes dryer, allowing easy cleaning every once in a while. Here's a video from Corsair showing an employee put a system together in a 400R.

The diference between the AMD FX-8350 and the i5 is quite small so you shouldn't worry too much about it. In my opinion the FX-8350 is a better investment, as it has much more raw power. The problem is games don't use multiple cores too well leaving lots of wasted potential; however, this doesn't mean that performance decreases it is just that with that much power it should be higher. In regard to the power supply my friend bought this corsair one:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Builder-Series-Bronze-Certified/dp/B008RJZQSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370323024&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+700+watt+modular.
The problem with this power supply is it isn't modular so it will take more space. From what I see a good choice could be this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Compatible-platforms/dp/B004LB5AZY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1370323141&sr=8-2&keywords=650+watt+modular+power+supply.
Just take into account that power supplies are not something I know much about so maybe you could do more investigation.

No offence to any one in this thread but please STOP giving advice that is totally ridiculous. "You need to spend at least $$$$$" Are you serious?

The amount of money does not dictate the performance you will get out of the system.

If your budget is really $250, here's this ($99 before rebate AM3+ MB and Athlon II X3 CPU): http://slickdeals.net/f/5067108-BIOSTAR-A880GZ-AM3-AMD-880G-HDMI-SATA-6Gb-s-Micro-ATX-AMD-Motherboard-AMD-Athlon-II-X3-450-Rana-3-2GHz-Socket-AM3-95W-Triple-Core-Desktop-Processor-ADX450WFGMBOX-90

There is a very good chance you can unlock the 4th core and get atleast a 500Mhz OC, Then use the other $150 to get a Radeon HD6870 or 560ti.

How am I so certain of what I am saying? Well because I have an Athlon II X3 440 (very similar to this) unlocked to a Phenom II X4 3.36GHz and a radeon HD6870 with all settings maxed, Usually get 60+ fps in town, never dipped below 40 in WvW.

Now the CPU, MB and GFX suggestions is already taking up your $250, if you have no other desktop to reuse others parts from, you will need to get a PSU that can power the grafics card, not to mention a case, RAM and HDDs.

Here's the exact same ram I have ($49), life time warranty, been running like a champ since summer 2010 in my current PC:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211457

This leaves you with an HDD and PSU to to go.

Corsair TX650 ($89): http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Compatible-platforms/dp/B004LB5AZY/ref=dp_ob_title_ce/188-5336974-4069124

That's up to a total of $389, this is assuming you bought a $150 dollar card, you can get away with using an older gen, or lower tier card for significantly less (Radeon 5750, 5770, 4850, 5850) and picking up an HDD with the remainder