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saswat23
saswat23 Original post #1
Feb 17, 2011 at 3:59 AM
I want a good PSU for my PC with the following config:
Intel i3-540
4gb RAM
500gb hdd
24x DVD RW
Dell IN2020M.
I will be adding a GPU later and so want a futureproof PSU so that i dont need change the PSU.
It should be 500w PSU and my budget is 2200.
I have chosen for FSP SAGA II 500w. Plz suggest any better models if available.
M
Feb 17, 2011 at 6:42 AM
FSP SAGA II 500 W @ 2k is the best option at your budget. Go for it.
mitraark
Feb 17, 2011 at 9:49 AM
Corsair CX400 , cost Rs 2300 + 4% for me.
funkysourav
Feb 17, 2011 at 10:04 AM
what GPU are you planning to add?
you have to select your PSU based on compatiblity with GPU
Jaskanwar Singh
Feb 17, 2011 at 12:10 PM
FSP Saga II 500W is great option. it can handle upto 6950 1GB with your system.
funkysourav
Feb 17, 2011 at 12:28 PM
FSP Saga II 500W is great option. it can handle upto 6950 1GB with your system.

NO it wont
even if it did
why would anyone trust a guzzler like 6950 in the hands of a 500w PSU
which we don't know if it can deliver its promised power?

FSP SAGA II 500w is good for a GPU which consumes less than 110w(HD5770,HD6850,GTS450etc)
no more

Radeon HD 6950 1GB Power and Thermals | bit-tech.net
if you see here
you can see 6950 1gb has even higher load power consumption than 6950 2gb
don't ask why
Jaskanwar Singh
Feb 17, 2011 at 12:47 PM
^^i fear saourav you should read the reviews. no offence. sammy changed my mind here.

actualy saga II 400w matches corsair cx400w.

its not that corsair psu are top of the hill. their quality isnt like before any more too.

saga II 500 will handle a 6950 easily.

in anandtech review 6950 consumes 360w with i7 920 at full load at crysis. now tell me what will the problem saga II 500w with his i3 have.?

he has enough wattage left for future upgrades and efficieny of fsp matches corsair.


if you want to know fsp is OEM of CM Silent PRO 850W AFAIK. it was Silent pro but not remember the model clearly.

so stop doubting FSP. :)

sourav dont just see the graph protudings. see the values written there too. 6950 1GB has idle power of 147w and load of 278w in the review you mentioned. aand load power of 6950 2GB is 306w. you were looking at idle one.

and their test setup was this -

Intel Core i7-965 processor (3.2GHz: 133MHz x 24)
Asus P6T V2 motherboard (Intel X58 Express with three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots)
3x 2GB Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 memory modules (operating in dual channel at DDR3 1,600MHz 9-9-9-24-1T)
Corsair X128 120GB SSD running v1 firmware
Corsair HX1000W PSU
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
Antec Twelve Hundred Chassis
6950 1GB


now tell what problem will saga II 500w have?
funkysourav
Feb 17, 2011 at 12:48 PM
okay please send the links to reviews of SagaII500w

if what you are saying is true, then i will happily eat my words :D
FSP is a reasonably new company and has not been extensively reviewed for its dependability unlike Corsair
so you can well understand my apprehension

Cheers :)
Jaskanwar Singh
Feb 17, 2011 at 1:01 PM
see the long sammy post. credits to him for changing my mind. :)

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/graphic-c...-hd5770-ddr5-1gb-gigabyte-mb.html#post1334485

see their system used here - AMD's Radeon HD 6970 & Radeon HD 6950: Paving The Future For AMD - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

and my bad it was 292 for 6950 and 340 for 6970. of even if you add more 50-60w for 6950 it saves 150w. good enough. we should add some 100-150w more as psu looses its ability to deliver rated power after sometime and to be tension free for future upgrades. moreover psu has max efficieny in general when we pull 40-60% load from it. thats why higher wattage is suggested.

actually corsair quality isnt the same as before also.

even in furmark here - *images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4061/34664.png

6950 320 and 6970 361w.
vickybat
vickybat #10
Feb 17, 2011 at 1:05 PM
Fsp saga II series is not comparable to corsair vx series imo. But they are good. I think its safe to use saga series upto a 6870. Not more than that. I can say the same for my vx 450 too. Seasonic is a better oem than Fsp and they rank higher. Thats why corsair psu's are so much valued. Their vx, hx and ax psu's are excellent. Fsp's everest and epsilon psu's are high end.

We need some more considerable answers here.

Yesterday sam showed me a link featuring dell xps 7100 running a 5870 with a delta 460 w smps. But using these psu, overclocking the cpu and gpu is not at all advised. Overclocking a gpu , results in furmark levels of power consumption. So that might be dangerous.

So if op plans to overclock , load's gonna increase and might be dangerous in the long run. Better safe to be sorry.

But i have seen a gtx 285 run on a coolermaster extreme power 600w for the past 2 years +. Cilus's roommate has this setup.
Jaskanwar Singh
Feb 17, 2011 at 1:18 PM
also see the 12v rail mainly.

saga II 400w manages 336amps at 12v happily. so safe for 6850.

yup vicky cilus told me about his room mate setup but if you please see the link of furmark i provided saga II 500w should have no problems with 6970 too. so till 6950 its good.

and why you say its not comparable with vx series. link to proove that.


think logically all of you. its our doubtfullness and too much faith on corsair that everything else is dicarded.

reviews speak the performance. i mentioned all possible links.

and any one has a saga II 500? i want to know the 12v amps,

fsp everst and espilon are top notch.

they have released aurum. gold rated. too see the reviews now. i plan to include everest and epsilon in guide in some setups. what say?
vickybat
vickybat #12
Feb 17, 2011 at 1:38 PM
^^ justify the price difference of a saga II 500 and a corsair vx 450 or vx 550 or seasonic s2II 520W. Why the prices are double than saga 2 500? Fsp is also a reputed brand and its everest, blue storm and epsilon psu's are priced higher. Why saga series is so much low priced?

Also consider the warranty. For corsairs , its 5 years. The hx and ax offers 7 years. This might be a difference maker and speaks quality a bit imo.

Corsair vx 450's have been tried and tested before of giving 570 watts at full load. Its an underrated psu. At 12v rail, it provides 33 amps of current. Fsp doesn't mention this.

But still vx is not recommended for 570 or 6970. Why?

opps i have got so many questions.

I have a feeling ther's much more to it than simple ratings.
Jaskanwar Singh
Feb 17, 2011 at 1:52 PM
^^see.
first of all because of more soild quality, higher efficiency even everest and epsilon 500 are at 4.2k. still to see reviews though.

and you have to agree most of the time half cost is brand name.

fsp has 3 years on saga II series. not at all bad. most of the time people change system after 3-4 years. and it might be higher on everest and epsilon.

shall i send a mail to smc asking warranty period on everest and epsilon? what say?

even if you look at the above links saga II 400 managed 489w~ at 110% load. higher than cx400w (480). although that much load isnt recommended. look at rated power and fsp delivers it. corsair too and others as seasonic etc too.

always best to keep 100w margin atleast from rated power.

and 570 isnt good for vx450w. 570 with i7 920 at furmark consumes around 440w~. so to be safe a 500w psu atleast. and remember those who go for 570 have budget for a higher psu. so a vx550 or everest and epsilon 500 will come in easily.

fsp mention the amps. i have it!! they have 17 amps each on two 12v rail. so around 28amps happily on saga II 400w.

i think i answered them.
Piyush
Piyush #14
Feb 17, 2011 at 9:12 PM
epsilon and everest both have 5 years of warranty
its 3+2 years
but dunno how it goes?
saswat23
saswat23 #15
Feb 17, 2011 at 10:13 PM
So, waht should i opt for. Should i go with FSP SAGA II 500w?? By the way even if i use a GPU, i will use a GPU that consumes less than 150w.
So, now can you suggest clearly.

Can you BBSR buddies here, say if it would be available here???
Piyush
Piyush #16
Feb 17, 2011 at 10:15 PM
get whichever is available
if both are available thaen my recommendation would be FSP saga 500W
coderunknown
Feb 18, 2011 at 3:05 AM
Corsair asks more money cause of their reputation & their warranty. also the build quality of Corsair is better (heavy) & have proper cable length along with shielded cables. these doesn't come cheap.

so while a FSP Saga II 400W should live for 5-6yrs if we pull 300-320W from it, it may burn up if we run a HD6950 on it constantly. just cause the 400W FSP unit can deliver over 450W doesn't mean we should use it for a highend card. i doubt if it got all the necessary PEG connectors.

why risk a 17-18k card on a 2k PSU? maximum recommended for the FSP 500W unit is HD6950. but if possible, a VX450W is highly recommended. as it keeps the PSU-GPU in balance.

@sourav, FSP isn't a new player. just that its PSU series were not available worldwide. its still mainly an OEM.
rockfella
rockfella #18
Feb 18, 2011 at 6:15 AM
Corsair VX550. Op Increase your budget to avoid future headaches.
saswat23
saswat23 #19
Feb 18, 2011 at 7:46 AM
But i will buy a GPU under Rs.5000 not any worth more. Then, Will 500w not be sufficient for any GPU under Rs.5000.
By the way whats the max power a GPU under Rs.5000 can draw??
Jaskanwar Singh
Feb 18, 2011 at 8:54 AM
ya sam, saga II 400 upto 6850 is fine. and those spending on 6950 have budget for a better psu also.

saswat go ahead with saga II 500w.
Cilus
Cilus #21
Feb 18, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Look, the difference among the Silver, old and bronze is little bit different, its not only about the amount of power they can deliver and the build quality or warranty they provide. It is mainly based on efficiency that how often they can deliver performance over their rated efficiency in different load conditions.

The Bronze series of PSUs can mainly provide efficiency over their rated efficiency only when system load is higher side. In idle or normal load conditions their efficiency is just the rated one or may be slightly lower.

in case of Gold or Silver PSUs, in load conditions they provide far better efficiency than their rated one...a 80+ can provide almost 92-96% efficiency in load time for Silver rated PSUs. But also in idle or minimal load conditions their efficiency is also higher than the rated one...like 86% for a 80% PSU, even in the idle conditions.
But in Load conditions almost all the good PSus provide better efficiency than their rated value.
For more information check the Toms Hardware PSU raound up sections. You will get a better idea.
Ishu Gupta
Feb 18, 2011 at 1:12 PM
PSUs are rated at (and are most efficient at) 50% load.
A Gold PSU (90%) can fall down to 80% or even lower efficiency at idle or full load.
Cilus
Cilus #24
Feb 18, 2011 at 1:38 PM
That's what make them Gold or silver....the amount of efficiency they can provide at idle conditions. A gold PSU can fall but in case of best of lot, they still provide dloghtly better efficiency that their rated value even at 50% load. There are some weird scenario also. For example Coller Master Silent Pro provide almost 87% efficiency at 50% load, 85.3% @ 20% load, but surprisingly only 85% @ 100% load.

*media.bestofmicro.com/J/H/162701/original/chart_coolermaster_silentpro500.png

Silverston SST-ST70F is another example of good efficiency in lower power consumption situation

*media.bestofmicro.com/J/P/162709/original/chart_silverstone_sst-st70f.png
saswat23
saswat23 #25
Feb 18, 2011 at 1:44 PM
My friend wants to buy a PSU for his PC. He wants atleast a 500w. He doesnt have a graphx crd now but will add a 9500gt or Radeon 4650 or 4670 later. He wants a PSU but under Rs.1200. He wants to get a Intex, Frontech, IBall or Zebronics 500w one. These are readily available here in BBSR around Rs. 800. Are these good PSUs. Should he go for these brands.
Ishu Gupta
Feb 18, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Bronze means 80-85%
Silver means 85-90%
Gold means 90-100%

The 80 Plus Gold standard requires 90% efficiency at 50% of rated load, and 87% efficiency at both 20% load and full rated load.

My friend wants to buy a PSU for his PC. He wants atleast a 500w. He doesnt have a graphx crd now but will add a 9500gt or Radeon 4650 or 4670 later. He wants a PSU but under Rs.1200. He wants to get a Intex, Frontech, IBall or Zebronics 500w one. These are readily available here in BBSR around Rs. 800. Are these good PSUs. Should he go for these brands.
No these brands are bad.
Go for FSP SagaII 500W for Rs 2000.

And don't buy any of those graphic cards.

EDIT: You are the OP. Read the thread.
skeletor
skeletor #27
Feb 18, 2011 at 2:18 PM
He wants to get a Intex, Frontech, IBall or Zebronics 500w one. These are readily available here in BBSR around Rs. 800. Are these good PSUs. Should he go for these brands.
Definitely no. He's actually risking the life of his machine if he goes for an El Cheapo PSU.
vickybat
vickybat #28
Feb 18, 2011 at 3:04 PM
Corsair ax 1200 is a fine example of gold rated psu. There is also a platinum rating and the ax 1200 just fell short of a platinum rating in the reviews i had read. The efficiency at load were above 95% of the rating consistently. Its a terrific psu and its oem is flextronics. Check its review HERE.


@ Saswat23


Order online. Don't buy intex, frontech or zebronics psu's from bbsr. Order online from kolkata. Check deltapage and techshop.in
Jaskanwar Singh
Feb 18, 2011 at 3:06 PM
ya carsair ax is just superb.
Cilus
Cilus #30
Feb 18, 2011 at 3:56 PM
i just received the wrong Motherboard from Bitfang.com
Informed them and they are working on it now.
Jaskanwar Singh
Feb 18, 2011 at 4:26 PM
Which one cilus? I am curious:-D
saswat23
saswat23 #32
Feb 18, 2011 at 4:28 PM
Then what PSU should i suggest my friend under Rs. 1200 for 9500gt.
vickybat
vickybat #34
Feb 18, 2011 at 4:38 PM
@ saswat23

fsp saga II 350 IS GOOD AT 1.5K. Try that. Its an overkill for 9500gt but will handle future upgrades.