PSU recommendations?

I’ve been running an EVGA 550 W for the last four years, but over the past few months, things have started getting increasingly loud. I make sure to stay on top of maintenance and keep everything dusted, but it honestly feels like my power supply isn't performing quite like it used to.

Because of that, I’m looking to step up to something more robust. My current setup consists of an i5 processor, a GTX 660Ti, 8GB of RAM, and a 120GB SSD. I'm even considering upgrading to a GTX 970 soon, so I definitely need a more powerful unit to handle the load.

What would you all recommend?

Thanks!

How much are you actually willing to shell out for a power supply?

Is it just the fan being loud? I guess you could tear the PSU apart, clean everything out, and check the capacitors while it's open just to make sure nothing looks bulged. Maybe try some WD on the fan, though honestly, you're probably better off just replacing it. Which Corsair series are we talking about here?

The R9 280 is more of a sidegrade... since it's only marginally better than a GTX 660 Ti, so it feels like a waste of money. A real upgrade would be the R9 290.

If you absolutely have to, I guess an EVGA SuperNOVA 650 W would be your best bet.

My apologies, I actually meant the 290—that one runs about $150 more. But honestly, that’s just a side note. What I’m really focusing on is the power supply. I’ve got a budget of up to $150 for it, and I was thinking maybe I should go with a 750W unit instead.

Trust me, don't waste a single cent on that power supply—it's basically throwing money down the drain if you're planning to run three R9 290s in CrossFire. 😬 If you're really dead set on sticking to a 650W limit, just grab an EVGA Gold 650 W instead.

http://www.newegg.com/product_info.php?c...ducts_id=15923

So, you're saying I don't actually need anything higher than 650W? Right now, I mostly play Battlefield 4, and it runs perfectly on Ultra settings. But honestly, the way my power supply sounds is starting to get to me. I can't help but worry—what if it just suddenly gives up the ghost and fries everything? I went through this exact nightmare with my last PC, so now I'm just sitting here feeling paranoid every time I hear the PSU making a weird noise.

mellowsurfer59 said:My bad, I meant the 290—that one’s about $150 more. But honestly, that's secondary for me right now. I'm mostly focused on the PSU; I can drop up to $150 there, so I was thinking maybe grabbing a 750W unit.

Can you let me know exactly which i5 you're running? Also, what motherboard and cooler are we talking about here? And do you actually plan on overclocking if you've got a "K" series chip?

Basically, if you aren't planning on running CrossFire with two R9 290s down the road, this is more than enough:http://www.newegg.com/p/product-details/example-link-nesf-021.aspx But if you *do* decide to go full madness with dual R9 290s later, then grab this one if you really want to be prepared:$333 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/catalog/example-link-p1-850s-nlb9/

I’m away from my main rig at the moment, so I can't double-check the exact model for you. The PC is just under four years old, which means the processor isn't one of those top-of-the-line modern chips.

If you’re looking for an absolute beast of a power supply, you shouldn't look any further than http://www.newegg.com/p/details-example-link

though, honestly, you probably don't even need to spend that much

mellowsurfer59 said:My bad, I actually meant the 290—that one’s probably about $150 more. Honestly, though, that's just a side note. What I’m really focused on is the power supply. I’ve got maybe $150 set aside for it, and I was thinking about grabbing something around 750W.

A 750W unit is total overkill for a GPU running in single mode, and even the 290 doesn't really need that much juice.
Just grab one of those 80+ Gold rated units in the 600-650W range; that should be your limit.

I finally got my hands on a PC, so here are the specs I'm working with:

QuadCore Intel Core i5-3450, 3300 MHz
MSI B75A-G43 chipset
Motherboard Chipset: Intel Panther Point B75, Intel Ivy Bridge
GTX660TI Graphics Card
8GB RAM

I'm thinking about picking up a 750W power supply. Am I overdoing it? Honestly, I know I don't need this much juice for my current graphics card, but if I'm planning an upgrade anytime soon, wouldn't it be smarter to just get it out of the way now?

I guess that Seasonic Leadex 650W might actually be enough to handle two R9 290s.

Which 750W model are you looking at? If you’re hell-bent on overspecifying your power supply, you might as well go with the Seasonic Leadex 650W instead. At the end of the day, the PSU is the cream of the crop when it comes to component quality.

That Captain Jack Sparrow unit of yours is probably still under warranty. Honestly, whether you decide to grab a new PSU or not, I think it’d be a waste to pull that Captain Jack Sparrow out of the case just yet. Try to dig up the receipt and send it in for repair. They'll fix the fan, and then you can just sell it when you're done with it.