Help me decide - Antec Blue 650w vs Corsair HX620 vs Corsair VX550

[Gryph0n]

Hi,

I'll be getting myself a new rig this weekend. I have shortlisted 3 PSUs, listed below with approx pricing in my part of the world

Antec TruePrower Blue 650w (~US $169.83)
Corsair HX620 (~US $190.11)
Corsair VX550
I forgot to ask around for the price of the VX550, but I think it will be definitely cheaper than the 2 above.

Although Cooler Master PSUs are available for much cheaper prices here (~ US $96.32 - $114), I am pretty wary of getting PSUs from them after their products (eXtreme Power Duo 600W and Real Power Pro 650W) came up short in testing during reviews below. http://techreport.com/articles.x/13271/10
http://www.sysopt.com/features/cases...2024_3622766_5 (http://www.sysopt.com/features/cases/article.php/12024_3622766_5)

My PSU needs to power a plethora of drives
IDE : 1xSamsung 80GB HDD and 1xLiteOn 16 DVD Writer
SATA: 2xSeagate HDD (200 & 400) and 1xSamsung 20x DVD Writer

Over the lifetime of this machine, I anticipate to add 2 more SATA HDD, and a PCIe card requiring external power.

I'll be housing this in an Antec 900 cabinet. Since this cabinet has an open unfiltered front grille, noises from the PSUs would be louder than in other cabinets. Also the PSU is located at the bottom of the cabinet, so the 12v lines needs to be long enough to reach the Motherboard without issues.

For what its worth, my calculated PSU wattage is 462w (http://www.extreme.outervision.com)

Reviews/comments from existing owners of these PSUs is especially appreciated

[Oklahoma Wolf]

VX550 gets my vote - the other two are Seasonic based, but the HX620 is better built than the Antec is. Everything you mention could be run off the VX550 with zero issues.

[►G1ЯΛFFE◄™]

Is the HX-520 an option for you?

Are you fussed if you get a modular PSU or not?

[Gryph0n]

@G1ЯΛFFE
Well, all other factors remaining same, modular is preferable over non modular. But unfortunately it doesnt work out very well since the other factors (price & noise primarily) vary significantly

I did consider the HX520, but it comes a bit too close to my calculated PSU wattage (462W) for comfort.

550W and above is what I'm comfortable with.


@Oklahoma Wolf
I'd like to know if the 550W rating for the VX550 is the peak wattage it can supply, or is the continous wattage it can supply?

What about the noise profile? Is the noise of VX550 very significantly different from the other two?



For what its worth, I'll be using this with an Intel C2D 2.66Ghz, 2x1GB DDR2-800MHz RAM, and an nVidia 8800GT 512MB VGA Card.

[►G1ЯΛFFE◄™]

Regarding the extreme outer vision calculator, the 462W figure it gave you isn't the power your system will draw, its a recommendation for a certain wattage PSU that would run it comfortably.

Your system wouldn't draw more than 300W, and would run fine on a Corsair VX-450 if you wanted it to.

All the Corsair PSU's are rated at the continuous wattage they can provide 24/7 at 50 degrees.

The HX-520 and HX-620 are quieter than the VX-550, one of the only downsides of the VX-550 not being a Seasonic, although it is still a quiet PSU.

One of the HX models looks best for you, ultra quiet, and modular.

[mpilchfamily]

Seasonic or not the VX550 and the HX520 are pretty close in comparison on quality as well as all other factors. As far as i can tell the only major difference in the 2 is the HX is modular and the VX isn't. Either one is more then able to support the above mentioned system.

[Oklahoma Wolf]

I'd like to know if the 550W rating for the VX550 is the peak wattage it can supply, or is the continous wattage it can supply?
Continuous at 50 degrees. Can't comment on noise.

[Gryph0n]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I dont fancy SLI very much, and from the comments here, I gather that this should suffice my needs.

I went thru the HardOCP review of VX550 vs HX520, and they cannot find any signifcant differences. Since the VX550 is cheaper, it wins out for me.

I just wish the @#$% government import duties on these stuff were dropped down in my country.

[Spectre]

In performance metrics the VX550W had the slight edge over the HX520W but it was very small differences and either one is very very good.

[Silk_the_Absent1]

My VX550W is very quiet, so if it's noise you are worried about, you don't have to be.

-Adam

[danbfree]

I had almost the same exact choice to make for my system in an Antec 900. The Antec NEO650 Blue works great and no, the noise isn't noticable at all. I went with the Antec as I like the mild blue lighting in my 900 and hardware canucks review showed it was even MORE efficent than the Corsairs.