Resolved power supply - Hec or OCZ?

well, im back and there is another option -
i negotiated with the company a bit and they are let me get a refund of the amount of money the original OCZ cost me (about 100$) and i can take anything that coasts less or add some money to buy something more expensive.

now i can only order from the PSUs that they have so no use of offering me PSU you might think are good cuz it's irrelevant if the company dont sell them.

since i dont want to add a lot of money here i am looking for PSUs that coast about 100$-120$. (the prices are set by the store. it doesnt matter what u may find on websites so dont even bother )

my options are:
Corsair VX550W Ultra Quiet Psu - at 125$
HEC Cougar650 650W RETAIL - at 110$
HEC WIN+ 700 700W RETAIL - at 110$
HEC Cougar700 700W RETAIL - at 125$

there are more options that are too expensive. please advice me from only the 4 options above.
which of these will be best for me?

my specs are
processor - Q6600
GPU - HD4870 512mb
2 gb ram

what do u think?
i could use an answer fast since im gonna tell them what im going with on sunday

thanks for the attention, everyone. u've been helpful (and still are)

 

Ditto! And yay! Options! I knew if you hung in you could get more!

Only thing, you do not list if you have onboard video or not. Given yr ram, edit: I am not sure and it matters. Can you tell us about yr video card?

You were asked bout yr specs for very good reasons!

U are gonna end up JUST FINE!!!!! Your system is finally going to have a DECENT PSU!!!!!

 

Take the money and run to either a Corsair or a Seasonic. They are the best of the best in the power supply field.

Note: The HEC is about as good as it's price, otherwise not worth too much. The OCZ is a decent power supply, but certainly not in the same class as a Corsair or Seasonic which are just outstanding. Also, A Thermaltake "Toughpower" model, or a Coolermaster "Real Power Pro" series are real strong contenders.

 

Way! Look who's here! Welcome!!!! (Smiling heart smilie.)

But M....are you sayin my Antec is chopped liver? Do not answer that. I am in luv with my PSU.

U should have depicted yourself as "Uberly Experienced. "

 

I want to answer that one about the Antec. Antec supplies were just junk for a very long time. In my shop, I threw more Antec supplies away than I care to note. One could RMA them (and Antec is not the easiest company to deal with IMHO, expecially if you didn't have that little receipt of the exact date you purchased it) and get one back that was no better than the one you would RMA.

One supply in a new Antec Sonata II case, I could not get to register more than +11.2 on the +12 rail. It would not even pull my customer's video card. I sent it for a RMA and got a new one back that would not register above +11.3 on the +12 rail, so I quit buying from them and will not purchase PSU's from them until they get their act together. I could not make money in my shop and guarantee the computers I sold with that kind of baloney going on.

Then, about three or so years ago, they changed suppliers and they were made by Seasonic so they were nothing short of outstanding. This was probably when you got your outstanding Antec Supply.

Then, they removed the Seasonic as their noted supplier and began to purchase cheap caps and other components again and used a worthless company to build their power supplies. We encounted the same problems in the shop as we had seen before they used Seasonic as a jobber.

Just recently, they have changed again and some of their new supplies are just excellent and their builder is quality again. Therefore, it is kind of a **** shoot to either get a very good or a very bad supply depending upon how long the retailer has had it in stock. Som e of their new models look very promising.

I am happy they have changed to a better supplier now and look forward to evaluating where they will go with this. However, I am still very hesitant to recommend them at the present time until they prove they intend to stay with a quality supplier and not keep switching to junk suppliers as they have during the past few years.

That is the way I call it and why I gave the opinion I did.

I also think that Antec makes excellent cases and their cooling fans are all I use with the tri-cool being my favorite. There, I answered it for you so you might have one of those excellent Seasonic (top-of-the-line) made Antec supplies.

 

WOWZA. I think I earned some kinda MA just reading the above!

First wanted to kill myself, but I think I got mine during the time you said Seasonic was onboard!

See this? LEARNING!!! Organic progression. Via the collective of individuals. How exciting is that? Way exciting!

But should I ever buy another PSU.....I will not again go Antec.

But mine really is FABULOUS. Forget the only one of its kind on earth! With its little stubs. But I NOW know...I just got lucky. THE CYBERGOD was sitting on my shoulder.

Also lucky to have you here!!!

I am so happy for our friend in Israel! Again, his computer will, for the first time in its life, have a decent PSU!!!!!!

And getting clear on having more more options no different from troubleshooting anything else.We gotta be open and think outside the box, pun intended yet again.

 

Afterthought offer, just in case anyone is interested:

I will be happy to send the pics of my not at all crazy, but unconventional which is what I am.... PSU surgery to anyone interested! Have them right in here! Including one of the severed parts! lol

Unit newly installed in box before this struck me to do, Unit pulled, still with its gazillion wires, unit in box after.etc.

AIR FLOW IS KEY. Heat is The Enemy.

 

The Corsair VX550 is an excellent choice. Have been running this model in my home build since April 2008 (see "My System" specs on left). System is rock solid, not one burp since built. PSU runs quiet, extra long cables and fully sleeved. I've built / building two more systems this winter (daughter's and WHS server) ... both running Corsairs. Their build quality and competitive pricing make them an excellent value.

I understand your situation does not allow Internet shopping. "The Tech Report" just completed a test between 4x PSU's in the 750W-850w size. ... Four killer PSUs go head to head. The "Editors Choice" was .... we'll take your best guess. It can be purchased at Newegg for $136 delivered after rebate ... good product for a fair price.

 

Just to give my 2 cents worth I have been using a HEC 300W since 2001 without any problems at all and I run 2 Opticals 1 Floppy and 3 hard drives on it without as much as a stitch of problems. And this computer gets used daily.
I don't know about now, but when I bought mine it was made in Germany.

 

thanks for all the help guys. it seems like u recommend the 550W corsair synonymously.

u sure the 550W corsair is better than the 650W HEC?
i DID say (in my previous post) that i have a HD4870 512mb GPU and a Q6600 processor.

is the 550W corsair enough for the HD4870? cuz i know it needs at least 600W....

sorry - i know diddly squat about PSUs.... Deleted by Moderator - inapproptiate comment.

 

cheers, buddy.

i tried to run my pc through that calculator but got errors entering the CPU so i couldn't.
i DID use this rough one:
http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
but im not sure what HDD and motherboard i should put
how can i tell a high end mobo from a regular? im a gamer but i dont run any servers or anything off my computer.
im using my rig for games and flash animation and photoshop, if that helps. these are the heaviest things i do with my rig and that's why i bought the components with a help of a friend.

what i do know i have is
1Xdvd drive
2XHDDs - one old and one rather new, sata HDD. the old is 80GB and the new is 350GB.
Q6600 @ 2.4GHZ but i used to OC it to about 2.8GHZ, give or take. it ran stable with no problems.
i dont have any additional fans.
GPU is the HD 4870 512mb
i got about 5 or 6 active USB ports. small things are connected to them - my wacom tablet, a webcam, and somtimes an additional cellphone or flashdisc.

when i tested the power i needed in website above (with high end mobo and the toughest HDDs and the hardware i know i have) i got 595W which is more than the 550W corsair. does that say anything?

 

You need to look carefully, because here in the USA, some times the Corsair and/or Seasonic (both, top of the line) supplies that are 650 watts are within a dollar or two from the 550 watt supplies. You might consider the difference before making a choice. Personally, I would not buy the HEC nor would I sell it to any of my customers, but you have to make that ultimate choice.

 

my friend who knows a lil bit about computer and hardware says the corsair will be enough.

i took a look at the website today and apparently i missed the fact they have a couple pf ANTEC PSUs as well. ( no seasonic though)

here is the antec PSUs -

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Retail
Antec TruePower New Modular 550 550W Retail

prices of both are almost identical at about 120$

comparing these to the "Corsair VX550W Ultra Quiet Psu" or the "HEC Cougar650 650W RETAIL" what do u think is best for my rig?
i know my HD4870 512mb is demanding. i dont want ***** ups but only these PSUs are my options. dont think i need anything more expansive.

im a bit comfusedd as some say that a corsair PSU is so much better than a HEC that i should go for that one, even if it's 550W, and some say that my GPU is demanding and that i should take a 650W PSU even if it's HEC....

now i dont know what to do

 

The Corsair would be my choice.