[kpc180]

Hey guys,

Everything was going so well on my first HTPC until I got to the part where I had to install the PSU. It's way too large and is taking over the whole case, and what's worse is it looks to be damaging my water cooling for the CPU.
Not only that but I was doing really well with cable management before I installed it which was a waste of time because my PSU comes with so many cords it's a terrible mess.

All the advertisements and reviews said the cooler master elite 130 could take any atx psu. Well the one I chose did not work for me at all!

Could any of you please recommend a $70 or less PSU that would fit my needs -

I want to be able to run XBMC and stream 1080, play emulators of all kinds, as well as one day play blu rays when I buy the odd.

I almost just left it all crammed in but decided I should consult with you guys who know better and get something that will work better.


Here's my build:
Case -Cooler Master Elite 130
CPU - I3 3225
Cooler Master Seidon 120M
SSD - Samsung 840
HDD - WD Green 3tb
Ram - Cosair 8 gb ddr3
PSU - Antec EarthWatts EA-380D Green 380 Watt 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply

I'd attach some photos but after hours of messing with this thing and finally giving up and looking for help my phone won't email me the pictures to use! But what's happening is the PSU is coming in so far that it is seriously bending my water cooler hoses at a dangerous angle.

Thanks guys!

[kpc180]

Here are some images:




In the second image you can see the strain on the water cooler cords.

[Dougie Fresh]

I always recommend these PSUs for mini-ITX cases that take a ATX PSU. They are SFX size but come with a ATX-to-SFX adapter plate. I have the 300W one in my server in a PC-Q08 case.

300W
http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Group-Certific...B004VF4R4U

400W
http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Certification-...B005CP07BA

450W
http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Certification-...B005CP07PQ

It doesn't look like you have a discrete GPU so the 300W would be plenty.

[ertman]

Dumb question... But could you rotate the Cooler block? Obvious problems would be cleaning and reapplying thermal paste, and whether it can be actually done.

Well the PSU does fit the case. Just issues with water cooling block and tubing.

[kpc180]

I always recommend these PSUs for mini-ITX cases that take a ATX PSU. They are SFX size but come with a ATX-to-SFX adapter plate. I have the 300W one in my server in a PC-Q08 case.

300W
http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Group-Certific...B004VF4R4U

400W
http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Certification-...B005CP07BA

450W
http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Certification-...B005CP07PQ

It doesn't look like you have a discrete GPU so the 300W would be plenty.

Dougie you are the man! But I do have a $30 gift card - should I just go ahead and get the Silverston modular one? I think I should for cable management.

http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-45...rstone+sfx

[Dougie Fresh]

I have no experience with Silverstone PSUs so I cannot say other than: it's your money so it's up to you. My first reaction is it's way overpriced just to get modular. You won't see any benefit from the Gold rating vs. Bronze since you're going to be running usually under the 20% of load rating. Modular would be nice though, for sure. This is definitely a personal preference kind of decision.

[furii]

i went with the st30sf in my most recent build: http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-Fa...rds=sf30st

half the price and the fan stays off until the psu reaches 55c i believe. not modular but i didn't have any problem hiding the cables in my sg05 case.

[kpc180]

Great thanks for the guys! Very useful info!