Power Unit upgrade

I'm upgrading my power unit this Friday when I head to Fry's Electronics and am looking for recommendations as to what I should look for. I already know I'm looking for 80+ certification so I won't have to worry about under-wattage killing my current one since it doesn't have under-wattage protection. I'm mostly looking at wattage and amperage (especially amperage), I also plan on upgrading to a 6-Core 1100T processor in the future and want the power unit ready to withstand that when it comes. I used the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator (eXtreme Power Supply Calculator) and it said 360W would do the trick so I'm thinking a 500W-600W PSU would do just fine, but I'd like the opinions of people with more experience.

Comp Cmndo said:

There is no such thing as "under-wattage protection". Maybe you mean undervoltage/overvoltage protection? If your current PSU is functioning properly, there is no benefit in replacing it. You only need to replace it when future upgrades require it. For now, save your money, your future plans might change.

From what happened, I would believe my current unit to be unreliable since last time a circuit breaker tripped on my house the power unit died with it, I'm running in a replacement of the same model and I would believe it to die if another outage is to occur. Also I don't think it would provide adequate amperage for a Phenom II x6 to run at it's full potential.

bassfisher6522 said:

Depending on what other future upgrades ie...gpu, cpu and so on, the wattage size can be as little as 500 watts or upwards to and past the 1200 watt range. That being said, and what size/type case you have I would suggest a modular PSU of a reputable brand.

My case is a Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid-Tower case. And I was thinking of a modular unit as well, freeing up space and having no unused cables laying around the interior of the case. And reputable brands such as Cooler Master, SeaSonic, and Corsair, Antec are also what I will look for, but mostly the 80+ Certification.
As for future upgrades, no significant ones, I'm just looking to upgrade my CPU to the 6-core to remove the bottleneck on my games caused by my dual-core, I know my GPU is not the best but it is a great card.

On my new system I went with SeaSonic X650. It is last years model and they have the new series out. SeaSonic makes their own PSU and also makes them for other people like Corsair.

Welcome to Seasonic USA

These are fully modular and 80 PLUS Gold but are not cheap but are probably the top PSU design.

Jim

SeaSonic USA is a great company and I hear they are just about the best maker of power units on the market, but the 80+ Gold are a bit pricey, so I think I'll stick with 80+ Bronze since those fit more snug into my price range.

I was lucky and got mine on sale for $100. They do make the M12II Models that are 80 PLUS Bronze for under $100.

Jim

I now will be looking for SeaSonic USA units at Fry's Electronics when I head out there Friday, If I don't find one I'll get the ones I'm seeing here online.
I currently like this one: Newegg.com - SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

That SeaSonic looks great and should handle the power needs for years, keep in mind that PSU's lose a percentage of there capacity as they age so over purchasing only allows for more upgrades and time to pass before failure.