bcsteeve

October 8th, 2013. That's the last time I replied to this thread... and I've never gotten a notification of a reply until now? At this point I have no idea what this thread/forum/website even is. Lol... unsubscribing. Did you guys clear out some cache or something? Wow.

They're mainly made because we have tiered rates. So it goes up to something like 10c if they use over (some amount I could never get close to). Poor them lol

would you believe that people here complain about how expensive our electricity is? ALL the time, there are letters in the paper about how we're getting "ripped off" by our electric utility. Sigh.

The vast majority of our generation is exported to the US already. Advantage of having GOBS of mountains and runoff. All of it is "clean" too (we only have hydro powered)... no coal, no gas, etc. Of course there's a dark side nobody likes to talk about (damming = flooding = a LOT of natural habitat getting displaced), but hey.... its cheap!

Oh, and I'm in BC (Canada)... right now we're at 6.9c/kWh

Thanks for helping me on the math Gary. I'll get that 360 and stop fretting about it. Bonus: its Haswell certified, affording it a little bit extra "future proofing" (if that even exists). That plus it being Gold plus it actually being able to fit in my case plus it getting your nod of approval (and that does mean something to me, thanks)... well worth the $26 extra. Done and done.

Sure, but its still a positive thing. I mean... a less efficient lower-power system is still going to be a net gain over a more efficient higher-power system unless you're right on the cusp (ie. there will be some overlap). Anyway, I have to work with what there is available to me. I've narrowed down to these PSUs: SeaSonic SS-300TFX Bronze 300W due mostly to its glowing review at Hardware Secrets (HS). its problem is form factor. It won't "fit" in my case... although I suppose I can just make it fit. I love the price, at $40 inc shipping. SeaSonic SS-300ES Bronze 300W has no review at HS but can I assume it has similar performance? Its the right size/shape for the case. Cost is $6 more due to shipping but that's no big deal. SeaSonic SS-300ET Bronze 300W is same as above but with a larger fan. $61 including shipping.... which is a rather large premium for a larger fan SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W is the one I'd jump on other than the extra 60W I don't need or want. Again it gets a fantastic review at HS. Right form factor. Gold certified. $66 shipped. I think I'm leaning toward the first one. Not sure if I should get a new case... or just make it fit in the one I have. By "make it fit"... I mean, realize that this system is going in a basement utility room so I can pretty much just lay it on the bottom of the case on some foam (for vibration) and not even screw it into anything.

I researched CPUs for days... between price, power and availability I had to, unfortunately, rule out all the 35W options. The CPU I'm getting has a TPD of 55W or 57W. OK, worst case scenario then... say I get that 360W PSU and Ford's right and my system is only utilizing 30/80/130W. Then that means I'm at 8.3/22/36% utilization? I guess I get that is "too low" (especially at idle), but what does that really mean? @ 20% its 87% efficient, so does that mean at 80W draw, the PSU is pulling 92W from the wall? Let's pretend @ 8.3% its only 70% efficient... that would mean 30W idle pulls 43W from the wall, thereby "wasting" 13W (am I right so far?). 13W * 8760 (hours in a year) means max wasted is 114kWh... or about $8 a year where I am. If that "math" is at all reasonable for a worst case... then I'm OK with that. But if it doesn't tell the whole story, or its worse than I'm supposing.... I do get now that I'm better off with a lower W PSU. Availability is an issue is all.

Wow, OK... that flies in face of some other advice I got on a different forum (they said I needed 750W "at least"). What you say makes sense though. I'm kind of an idiot when it comes to power calcs... but I don't think its just me, its the lack of real info. CPU, for example, they only give you a hypothetical TDP. OK, so you think a 300W is what I should be aiming for then? Single rail... I mean, there's this one for only 13 bucks! But I think even hamsters cost more than $13, so I don't want to trust that I don't think. I don't see any (at newegg... of course I can expand my shopping horizons I guess) that fit the bill and are a brand I think anyone could trust. Seasonic has this 360W... where's that put me? Or... is the "single rail" doctrine all that important with a low-power system like mine? Is it more important to get lower wattage? Help edit: After I typed this, I saw your post about the 300ES... I was just looking at its datasheet while typing, and saw that its multi-rail, which led me to my above question.

I admit I'm a little sketchy when it comes to figuring out the PSU. I understand that I need enough power for spin up and other high demand times, but at the same time I want to hit that 50% sweet spot during the majority of operation, right? Where I falter is figuring out the math. Could someone well versed in PSU selection have a once-over on my build and comment specifically on the PSU? I'd appreciate it. I'm not married to the PSU I've "selected"... but it seems to fit the bill and the price is good right now. There's a Seasonic available for 300W at the same price, but its a funny form factor so I don't really know how it will work with my case (I believe its meant for 1U servers but its listed on newegg under desktop)