PSU advice for a mini ITX Asus-H87I-Plus + i5 4590T + 2 HD

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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jv_guano
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PSU advice for a mini ITX Asus-H87I-Plus + i5 4590T + 2 HD

Post by jv_guano » Tue Jun 17, 2014 1:54 pm

Hi all,

I am pretty much out of the inside of the latest news about pc rigs.

I am assembling a mini ITX system, which will be my main PC (to use for internet, some data handling, HD video playback, photoshop and lightroom) and most of all, will be on 24/7 as NAS.

Motherboard, thinking about the Asus-H87I-Plus, CPU a i5 4590T, then 2 WD Red HD of 2TB each, some 8gb ram, maybe an SSD.
my biggest doubt is now, which PSU shall I couple to this?

I am looking for something which is quiet of course, efficient, compact. and I think it is not worth to spend 100 euro to have a marginal increase in quietness and efficiency over a 50 euro PSU.

My eyes landed on the Be cool! PSU, but the most compact I can find is 300W, which is maybe overkill for my configuration?
therefore if you have advices for me, it would be very much appreciates, as the PSU (together with maybe the RAM) is the only thing holding me back from my purchase!

thanks!

quest_for_silence
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Re: PSU advice for a mini ITX Asus-H87I-Plus + i5 4590T + 2

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Jun 17, 2014 2:19 pm

jv_guano wrote:my biggest doubt is now, which PSU shall I couple to this?

A PicoPSU: with an 80-90W unit you can have efficiency, quietness and a relatively small cost: give a look to that option onto LogicSupply or similar resellers.

jv_guano
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Re: PSU advice for a mini ITX Asus-H87I-Plus + i5 4590T + 2

Post by jv_guano » Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:09 am

thanks for the input.
I should have mentioned tho that I am looking for a "typical" PSU.

I had 2 Picos in the past, one running on a 24/7, lo-energy machine. not a trouble.
The other Pico was feeding my desktop (micro ATX, 1 HD +SSD, no external GPU) and it was definitely unstable.
When I swtiched to a "normal" PSU, those problems disappeared.

So I would like to avoid a Pico for a machine which will be stressed out at times.

quest_for_silence
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Re: PSU advice for a mini ITX Asus-H87I-Plus + i5 4590T + 2

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Jun 18, 2014 12:51 am

jv_guano wrote:So I would like to avoid a Pico for a machine which will be stressed out at times.

Well, I don't think all the Pico-esque PSUs are created equal, however, it's your call.

Nowadays among ATX PSUs there isn't about anything under 300W, and probably the quietest 300W available for your expected power draw should be the Silverstone SST-ST30SF. It's a 80Bronze unit, SFX, so it comes in handy whith the smaller (SFF) enclosures (with an ATX plate adapter, in case of a traditional chassis), semi-fanless up to 55°C: check cable lenght compatibility with the case of choice. The second-best option (noise-wise) may be the Seasonic G-360, a standard (140mm) ATX PSU, quiet up to more than your expected power draw, very good electrical performances, and a couple of point more efficient than the Silverstone (for what it worths).

Whether you're going for an ATX-style case, the 4590T doesn't seem a mandatory pick, a standard 4590/4690 could be better suited, performance-wise, about as efficient and with about no issues cooling-wise.

fractal
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Re: PSU advice for a mini ITX Asus-H87I-Plus + i5 4590T + 2

Post by fractal » Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:17 pm

It is hard to find anything 80+ rated lower than 300 watts. pico's are good if you can find a good brick to feed them.

I picked up a Seasonic SS-300TGW last time I needed a power supply for a low power system. 80+ gold rated not that the extra efficiency of gold over bronze will matter much on a 60 watt system. It has a fan that doesn't spin until needed. Xbit labs claims it turns on at 150 watts.

My only complaint about it is that it does not have a power switch. It is a good unit if your idle loads are 50 watts or more and is quiet up to about 150 watts.

pan3
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Re: PSU advice for a mini ITX Asus-H87I-Plus + i5 4590T + 2

Post by pan3 » Fri Jul 11, 2014 5:19 am

I have a very similar configuration, and I asked the same question here:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=67653

Hope you could find some hints there.

bye!

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