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geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 10:37:15

Title: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 10:37:15
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%2050001669&IsNodeId=1&name=XFX&nm_mc=EMC-GD032513&cm_mmc=EMC-GD032513-_-index-_-MECH-_-XFX-EB1
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 10:47:41
Those are mighty pricey. Nice find though:)
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 15:27:34
Quote from: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 10:47:41
Those are mighty pricey. Nice find though:)

Um... mighty pricey? Maybe the higher wattage ones are kind of expensive, but most of these are really good prices on Seasonic OEM PSUs...
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: pexon on Mon, 25 March 2013, 15:37:15
Quote from: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 10:47:41
Those are mighty pricey. Nice find though:)

A PSU is something you DO NOT scrimp on. I've sleeved a few Seasonic OEM PSUs and they are top quality. I still prefer Silverstone for my PSU needs though.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: tp4tissue on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:18:52
anything over $50 is pretty reliable.. $100...mmm..... yea, if it's not much out of the way..

Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: dorkvader on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:19:02
Yeah, that 850W one for $100 &$15 MiR is looking really good.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Leslieann on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:35:45
Quote from: pexon on Mon, 25 March 2013, 15:37:15
A PSU is something you DO NOT scrimp on.
I could not agree more. They are an investment and cheap PSU's are ticking time bombs.
While they are an easy place to skimp, it's one of the worst places to do so.

Not only will a good one last and provide better stability, it will also sacrifice itself to save your system in the event of a problem. My current (750 watt PCP&C) is (I think) almost 8 years old and powering one of the latest overclocked Intel processors. Very few components in any of my PC's have lasted even half as long. So while I paid a bit extra for it, I more than got my moneys worth by not having to replace it every time I rebuilt my system (every two years). If you value your system and/or data, do not skimp on the psu.


Years ago I had a cheap PSU go bad and it was sending 12volt spikes though the 5 volt wires. When all was said and done, it destroyed 3 large drives, 3 burners, 4 sticks of high capacity memory, on top of the high end board and video card. In fact the only part in the system that remained undamaged was the processor (I'm not sure how) and the case. Luckily I had connections in the industry and most of what I couldn't warranty, I managed to get replaced for free. I still lost a lot of data and money though.

The last cheap PSU I used was used as a temp in a file server. It ended up destroying two 32GB thumbsticks, a 16gb thumbstick and a 2TB drive (with A LOT of data) before it was found. At the time, the drive alone was worth nearly $200 and the sticks were worth nearly half that, which is way more than a quality low power psu would have cost. While I haven't checked all of it, I'm sure the whole thing is toast, I already know the memory is bad. Luckily, I had a spare and just replaced the entire thing.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Leslieann on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:46:43
Quote from: tp4tissue on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:18:52
anything over $50 is pretty reliable.. $100...mmm..... yea, if it's not much out of the way..
Depends on your power needs.

If a 500 watt psu will handle your system, $50 is probably enough, but there are some junk power supplies up in the $100 range and due to how psu's are rated, some systems really need more power.

My old P4 could (and did) eat 550 watt psu's for lunch and that was before I added a second video card.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:49:30
I agree that you shouldn't skimp on a PSU, but the $60-$80 range is where I like to sit, and the biggest wattage they have for that price range is 650 watts, which is a bit under what I like to sit on. (Though it'd likely run my rig just fine)
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:54:49
Quote from: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:49:30
I agree that you shouldn't skimp on a PSU, but the $60-$80 range is where I like to sit, and the biggest wattage they have for that price range is 650 watts, which is a bit under what I like to sit on. (Though it'd likely run my rig just fine)

What kind of set up do you have (CPU/GPU)? Almost no single card setup requires that kind of power and MOAR WATTS does not equal better. I don't even know what you have, but I bet you pull no more than 450-500 watts from the wall. Having "overhead" doesn't do anything for you, in fact it creates less efficiency. The only exception to this would be if you were planning to go Xfire/SLI and wanted overhead for that.

PS - I wish more people knew about Jonnyguru

Edit - Also, the 750w & 850w flavors are $81 after rebate, so $1 over your budget  :p

Edit2 - SmallFry, please go find me a better priced PSU that isn't overrated in watts and has been tested in a hotbox via Jonnyguru, [H]ardOCP, etc.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:57:18
Quote from: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:49:30
I agree that you shouldn't skimp on a PSU, but the $60-$80 range is where I like to sit, and the biggest wattage they have for that price range is 650 watts, which is a bit under what I like to sit on. (Though it'd likely run my rig just fine)

That might be where you like to sit, but you shouldn't misleadingly make a blanket statement like that, that they're "mighty pricey" just because its not in your price range. Seasonic OEM PSUs are not generally that cheap and for good reason, because they're pretty much the best in quality and reliability. This sale is actually pretty decent/good considering.

And 650W is good enough for most systems with a single GPU. I run my system on a 650W Seasonic rebranded PSU and haven't ever had any issues.

My specs:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
CPU: Intel Core i5 – 2500k @ 4.4ghz
Mobo: ASUS P8P67
GPU: MSI GTX 670 PE OC Edition
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series 650TX 650W
Ram: 16GB Corsair XMS DDR3 1600
Solid State Drive: Kingston 96GB SATA II
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 RPM

Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:06:07
A solid 650w would be more than enough for even two 680s. I run my 680 with a 450w and I can't pull more than 350w from the wall.
Not referring you (missalaire) or anyone else in particular, but I wish I knew why people thought you need so many extra watts.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:06:21
Fair enough ladies, I learned that MOAR WATTS isn't always better like I thought it was. Whoops, and thanks:)
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:08:58
Quote from: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:06:07
A solid 650w would be more than enough for even two 680s. I run my 680 a 450w and it I can't pull more than 350w from the wall.
Not referring you (missalaire) or anyone else in particular, but I wish I knew why people thought you need so many extra watts.

Eh, I don't know if I would trust even a solid 650W with SLI 680s. I'd probably want at least 750W just in case.

Quote from: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:06:21
Fair enough ladies, I learned that MOAR WATTS isn't always better like I thought it was. Whoops, and thanks:)

Yep. It's good to have a little headroom just in case, it's pretty easy to calculate about how much wattage you need based on what parts you have, but if you have too much extra then it's just wasting power and electricity.
Title: Re: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:10:46
Quote from: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:08:58

Eh, I don't know if I would trust even a solid 650W with SLI 680s. I'd probably want at least 750W just in case.

That's fine, but it's impossible to pull 650w from the wall with two 680s and an overclocked SB/IB i7. Even if you could, no one is running P95 + MSI Afterburner 24/7
Video cards have become way too efficient to need all that power and they're only going to become more efficient as time continues.

(http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1332910830lxuqiwXcM0_8_1.gif)

(http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1338150115z4GZVmU4eI_9_1.gif)
Title: Re: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Leslieann on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:44:38
Quote from: SmallFry on Mon, 25 March 2013, 16:49:30
I agree that you shouldn't skimp on a PSU, but the $60-$80 range is where I like to sit, and the biggest wattage they have for that price range is 650 watts, which is a bit under what I like to sit on. (Though it'd likely run my rig just fine)
You are looking at this wrong.
Name a single part other than keyboard that you won't replace in 3-5 years.

How many PSU's have you bought and how much have spent on them over the last few upgrades?  You can spend $60-$80 and keep replacing it every upgrade cycle, or you can spend a bit more ($100-$120) and not replace it for 10 years. I went through a PSU every year before I bought this one, it's paid for itself many times over. Easily the best (possibly only!) long term computer investment I ever made.




Quote from: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:10:46
Quote from: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:08:58
Eh, I don't know if I would trust even a solid 650W with SLI 680s. I'd probably want at least 750W just in case.
That's fine, but it's impossible to pull 650w from the wall with two 680s and an overclocked SB/IB I7.

It's not impossible at all really.
Power supplies are broken up by voltage, exceed any of them and you surpass a PSU's capability (650 watts doesn't mean 650 watts any way you want it). The CPU and video cards, while the highest draws, aren't the only components in a system. Add enough extras and you can certainly exceed what a 650 watt psu is capable of doing over long periods and stable.

Will a common desktop exceed what a 650 watt can handle? No, however, you already destroyed that concept of a common desktop when you went with dual 680's. If you can afford dual 680's, not only are you likely not the type to remain content for long or have a very basic system, but you also certainly have the money to do it right and put a more capable power supply.

And what will your system be next time you rebuild it? You went overkill on everything, spending big bucks on video cards and a system and then hamstringing your next upgrade to save $20 on the one part that actually ties it all together and has the potential to destroy it all if it fails. It's like building a skyscraper but skimping on the foundation because no one sees it.


Second, the lower you stress a PSU, the more efficient and cooler it operates. This saves you on your electric bill and makes the psu last longer. It's also more stable, which means your components last longer and you can overclock higher.

Another thing to remember is that power supplies lose capability as time goes on. Cheap ones can lose 20% their first year and 10% the next. Better ones are obviously better, but they still lose some. Can you afford a 10% loss over 3 years? Especially as hard drives wear and consume more power?


The only good reason to go with the bare minimum is if don't plan on keeping it or you like trouble.
A lot of small problems I had went away when I stopped skimping on PSU's.
Title: Re: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:47:50
Quote from: Leslieann on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:44:38
The only good reason to go with the bare minimum is if don't plan on keeping it or you like trouble.
A lot of small problems I had went away when I stopped skimping on PSU's.

I agree with most of what you said, sans some of the efficiency stuff and I'm not saying to go with the bare minimum, but rather that 100w over system max is fine assuming it's not some piece of **** overrated PSU.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:55:49
Well, I think those are some GREAT prices.

And I think scrimping on your PSU is penny wise, but pound foolish.

As the chart above ^ shows, you almost always need more watts than you'd think. 

And those XFX PSU's are mighty nice, but this is the one I want to buy:

The SeaSonic 520 Watt fanless, SILENT, Power Supply.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151122

My only concerns are:  (1) 520 Watts is a little low; and (2) I wonder if it can really stay cool with no fan at all.   But regardless of my trepidations, I'm pretty sure this is going to be my next PSU, for my next build, when Haswell comes out in June.  *crosses fingers, and holds breath.  Or else I'm going to get a low power Ivy Bridge, like the Xeon E3 1230 V2, which uses only 69 watts.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117286
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:58:13
Quote from: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:55:49
Well, I think those are some GREAT prices.

And I think scrimping on your PSU is penny wise, but pound foolish.

As the chart above ^ shows, you almost always need more watts than you'd think. 

And those XFX PSU's are mighty nice, but this is the one I want to buy:

The SeaSonic 520 Watt fanless, SILENT, Power Supply.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151122

My only concerns are:  (1) 520 Watts is a little low; and (2) I wonder if it can really stay cool with no fan at all.   But regardless of my trepidations, I'm pretty sure this is going to be my next PSU, for my next build, when Haswell comes out in June.  *crosses fingers, and holds breath.  Or else I'm going to get a low power Ivy Bridge, like the Xeon E3 1230 V2, which uses only 69 watts.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117286

That's REALLY expensive for only a 520W PSU... even though its a Seasonic and Platinum. There was a Seasonic 850W Gold fully modular PSU earlier this month for only $110... http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=41015.0. You should wait for a good deal on one of the higher wattage ones, they happen every so often.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:58:47
Quote from: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:55:49
The SeaSonic 520 Watt fanless, SILENT, Power Supply.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151122

My only concerns are:  (1) 520 Watts is a little low; and (2) I wonder if it can really stay cool with no fan at all.   But regardless of my trepidations, I'm pretty sure this is going to be my next PSU, for my next build, when Haswell comes out in June.  *crosses fingers, and holds breath.  Or else I'm going to get a low power Ivy Bridge, like the Xeon E3 1230 V2, which uses only 69 watts.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117286

Which case and what will the rest of your system look like?

Quote from: missalaire on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:58:13
That's REALLY expensive for only a 520W PSU... even though its a Seasonic and Platinum. There was a Seasonic 850W Gold fully modular PSU earlier this month for only $110... http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=41015.0. You should wait for a good deal on one of the higher wattage ones, they happen every so often.

Agreed, but some people, including myself, prefer sonically invisible PCs. FWIW, most of Seasonic's gold/plat power supplies have fans that only spin up above 30-35C, making the one you pointed out a steal.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:04:43
Yeah, I realize it's expensive, but you're paying extra for the fanless model.

As for what it's going to look like, well, sexy of course.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:07:13
Quote from: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:04:43
Yeah, I realize it's expensive, but you're paying extra for the fanless model.

As for what it's going to look like, well, sexy of course.

lol I meant GPU, because 520W will probably be plenty.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:11:26
Oh, well I'm going for low power, low heat, and low noise.

Here's what I got now:

(http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o580/eth0sz/MyComputer.jpg)

This beast sucks power, creates tons of heat, and makes too much noise.

My next build is going to be smaller and quieter, that is my goal.

As for my next GPU, I was thinking nVidia GTX 670, as the best compromise between heat and performance.

Wait, are you saying small and quiet can't be sexy?
Title: Re: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Leslieann on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:12:52
Quote from: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:47:50
Quote from: Leslieann on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:44:38
The only good reason to go with the bare minimum is if don't plan on keeping it or you like trouble.
A lot of small problems I had went away when I stopped skimping on PSU's.

I agree with most of what you said, sans some of the efficiency stuff and I'm not saying to go with the bare minimum, but rather that 100w over system max is fine assuming it's not some piece of **** overrated PSU.
And I would agree with 100 watts overhead, except that components aren't all alike and psu companies are notorious for exaggerating their power.

Unless you use the exact same parts, yours may not be as efficient. How about a sound card? Water pump? Extra drives? More ram? That system was probably the bare minimum with two sticks of ram, and a single drive. If the company over rated that psu even the slightest, 100 watts isn't leaving much room.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:16:05
Check out the eXtreme Power calculator, it's not exact, but it gives you an accurate "guesstimation" of how many watts you need from your PSU:  http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

The calculator takes into account all the accoutrements:  sound card, extra hard drives, water pumps, etc.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:18:31
Quote from: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:11:26
Wait, are you saying small and quiet can't be sexy?

No I'm saying small and quiet is sexy :)
Just leave out the mechanical hard drives imo...

(http://imageshack.us/a/img36/8845/20120426172132.jpg)

Quote from: Leslieann on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:12:52
Quote from: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:47:50
Quote from: Leslieann on Mon, 25 March 2013, 17:44:38
The only good reason to go with the bare minimum is if don't plan on keeping it or you like trouble.
A lot of small problems I had went away when I stopped skimping on PSU's.

I agree with most of what you said, sans some of the efficiency stuff and I'm not saying to go with the bare minimum, but rather that 100w over system max is fine assuming it's not some piece of **** overrated PSU.
And I would agree with 100 watts overhead, except that components aren't all alike and psu companies are notorious for exaggerating their power.

Unless you use the exact same parts, yours may not be as efficient. How about a sound card? Water pump? Extra drives? More ram? That system was probably the bare minimum with two sticks of ram, and a single drive. If the company over rated that psu even the slightest, 100 watts isn't leaving much room.

I already stated that what I mentioned does not include ***** overrated power supplies with ***** caps that won't survive in a hotbox, so that goes without saying.

That system was actually the following and you're right.
(http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1338150115z4GZVmU4eI_2_1.gif)

Quote from: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:16:05
Check out the eXtreme Power calculator, it's not exact, but it gives you an accurate "guesstimation" of how many watts you need from your PSU:  http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

The calculator takes into account all the accoutrements:  sound card, extra hard drives, water pumps, etc.

That calculator is BS lol (Recommends 800W PSU for stock i7 and two 680s). It's for people who buy ***** overrated power supplies.

Use this - http://psucalc.net/
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:26:11
Quote from: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:18:31

No I'm saying small and quiet is sexy :)
Just leave out the mechanical hard drives imo...

Show Image
(http://imageshack.us/a/img36/8845/20120426172132.jpg)


That calculator is BS lol. It's for people who buy ***** overrated power supplies.

Heh.  Well I agree on the small and quiet part.  And I left HDD's behind two years ago.  But I don't think the eXtreme calculator is so bad.  It does tend to tell you to buy a 1,000 Watt PSU, but on the other hand, if you're spending $400 on a keyboard, is a 1,000 watt PSU really such a hardship?

And I have a GTX 680 now, but I was hoping to get near the same performance with less heat and less power consumption, which is the reason for downgrading to the GTX 670.

(http://media.bestofmicro.com/R/R/337959/original/D03%20Power%20Gaming%20Average.png)
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:29:16
Quote from: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:26:11
Heh.  Well I agree on the small and quiet part.  And I left HDD's behind two years ago.  But I don't think the eXtreme calculator is so bad.  It does tend to tell you to buy a 1,000 Watt PSU, but on the other hand, if you're spending $400 on a keyboard, is a 1,000 watt PSU really such a hardship?

And I have a GTX 680 now, but I was hoping to get near the same performance with less heat and less power consumption, which is the reason for downgrading to the GTX 670.

Show Image
(http://media.bestofmicro.com/R/R/337959/original/D03%20Power%20Gaming%20Average.png)


Because running a 500W system on a 1000W PSU is much less efficient than running it on a 600W one, assuming they're both all star power supplies.
And nobody reads toms anymore, they don't even do hotbox testing like Jonnyguru, HardOCP, and others do and hmmmm you'd downgrade to save 23W while gaming?

Edit - I take that back. Downgrading to a 670 would be wise. I disagree with toms (lol) chart and think you'd save a little bit more based on other comparisons I've seen. They probably use a kill-a-watt to measure from the wall or something lol.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: eth0s on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:55:24
LOL, "nobody reads Tom's anymore".  That may be true, I dunno, but it doesn't invalidate the data.

Also that graph that I posted was just meant to be an illustration of what I'm trying to accomplish, and not a definitive pronouncement on the watts used by each GFX card.

On the other hand, you raise a difficult question, when you ask is it worth it to save 23 watts on average gaming performance, by downgrading to the 670?  This is a tough question.  And one that I have been considering for a while now.  The question really is how much performance are you willing to lose, in order to save some energy.

Here is what you lose in performance going from one GTX 680 to one GTX 670 gfx card.

(http://media.bestofmicro.com/U/K/336764/original/skyrim%201920.png)

So I'd save 23 watts on average gaming, which is 13.69% less energy used, but I'd lose only 3.48 FPS on Skyrim with ultra settings, which is a 3.88% decrease.

So is it worth it to lose 3.88% in performance, to gain 13.69% more energy?  I dunno actually.  The dollar cost of the extra energy is negligible, so it's hard to quantify.  But one thing that is making me like the 670 better is that I can maybe move down to that SeaSonic fanless 520 Watt PSU.  Right now I have a SilverStone "silent" 1250 Watt PSU with a 140mm fan, and this PSU is one of the quietest PSU's avaiable, but it's still too loud for me, and it's one of the noisiest components in my rig.   So eliminating the PSU fan altogether, would really cut down on the noise in my upcoming, planned cool and quiet (and sexy) rig.  I was planning to water-cool it with some 500 rpm "silent" fans on the radiators, and a PWM controlled Laing DDC 3.25 pump.  And then that silent PSU will really play it's part.
Title: Re: All XFX PSU's 20% off (Seasonic OEM) @ Newegg, many have MIR's [Ends 3/26]
Post by: Jocelyn on Mon, 25 March 2013, 18:58:22
Yeah I don't like Toms, but there's really no point in arguing over that. Overall the 670 is a better value than the 680.

Here's a good performance per watt chart (imo) with different aspect ratios - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_670_FTW_Signature_2/28.html