HX650 or AX650 -- which is better for this setup?

[Atham]

Hello there,

my friend wants a new PSU for his system. His specs are the same as mine (we both had the same PC built), but his system has a 9800GT 512MB. He will be considering to buy a GTX 560 Ti in the near future.

Which PSU will be better for this setup? Is the AX 650 worth the extra cash?

Thanks in advance

 

[dmill89]

The HX series is built by Channel Well which I am not a big fan of. Channel Well built the infamous Antec Smart Power 2.0 series a few years ago, the failure rate was so high that Antec subsequently stopped using Channel Well as an OEM, although Channel Well has improved in quality and they no longer use highly failure prone caps they are still not on my list of preferred OEMs. The AX series is built by Seasonic which is one of the best OEMs of power supplies making it the better of the two. If you don't need the gold efficiency rating of the AX want a cheaper unit I would go with the Seasonic built Corsair TX series, The Delta Built Antec EA-750, High Current Gamer/ High Current Pro series (HCP-750 is gold certified and cheaper than the AX650), or the Seasonic X-series. Seasonic and Delta are among the best OEMs of power supplies around so any unit built by either one is a good bet.

 

[Ritwik7]

@dmill89 - Absolutely agree. However, the HX Series has proved extremely reliable over the past few years.

@Atham - If a modular PSU is not a necessity I would advise that you pick the TX 650 as pointed out by dmill89.

 

[Atham]

A modular PSU is required, as my case is small,and not cable management "friendly." The AX650 costs about 18 EUR more than the hx650. Which Seasonic would you recommend? The Seasonic X 660?

 

[dmill89]

The Seasonic I was referring to was the X650 (SS-650KM). These cost about as much as the Corsair AX series MSRP but I've seen them on sale for much less. Again unless you need gold efficiency the Corsair TX series which is built by Seasonic is much cheaper and very good quality. I'm not sure what the prices in Europe are like but the TX650 is currently selling for $85 USD and the TX650M (the modular version) is going for $110 USD verses $160 USD for the AX650 and $120 USD for the HX 650. I would expect the difference in prices in Europe to be similar although the actual prices will of course be different.

 

[Atham]

Which is better? The X650 (SS-650KM) or the X-660?

 

[dmill89]

I imagine they are probably about the same I have not seen the X-660 in the US so it may be a Europe only model or possibly just less common in the US. The extra 10 watts won't make much of a difference so if both are available I would go with whichever is cheaper.

 

[Atham]

The X-660 is cheaper and is 80 Gold PLUS.

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

A modular PSU is required, as my case is small,and not cable management "friendly." The AX650 costs about 18 EUR more than the hx650. Which Seasonic would you recommend? The Seasonic X 660?

AX are modular - I have AX750.

 

[Atham]

I know about AXs being modular. If there are better alternatives (if cheaper) then I would buy those.

 

[Atham]

Will the X-660 be an overkill for the system:

CPU: AMD Athlon II x2 240 2.8GHz will OC to 3.3GHz
Motherboard: MSI 785GM - E51
GPU: nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB (future update to GTX 560 Ti or hd 6950 flashed to a 6970)
RAM: 2 x 2 GB Dual Channel of DDR3 Memory at 1066MHz
HDD: WDC 1TB
DVD: An IDE DVD burner
Card reader: Apacer ER151
Case: Eurocase MiddleTower 5425 (no case fans) - upgrading to a HAF 922 or 932.

 

[dmill89]

The maximum draw of that system with the new video card would be around 500w. Given that it is usually good to have at least 20% overhead a 660w PSU is definitely not overkill. Personally I wouldn't get anything less than a 600w for that system. Honestly with the exception of purchase price and physical size there is no real overkill for PSUs since the system will only the amount of power needed regardless of how much it is capable of producing. When I build a new system for myself I usually calculate the power draw if I fill every slot and bay with the most power hungry component possible and buy a PSU based on that calculation, that way I never have to replace the power supply over the life of the system. I have also found it is far more cost effective to buy a PSU that will support any future upgrades upfront rather than buying 2 or 3 PSUs over the life of a system as components are upgraded.

 

[Atham]

I might only use one GPU, due to my mother board. Maximally I might get the next gen of GPUs (the HD 8000 series or nVidia's equal.)