PC hardware: Reccomendation on how big of a power supply ill need?

by corezapr - 7/16/06 6:50 PM

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Reccomendation on how big of a power supply ill need?

by corezapr - 7/16/06 6:50 PM

I'm building a new computer and was wondering how big of a power supply I'd need. Below are some of the components

AMD X2 4400
ATI X1900XT PCI Express 512mb
Hauppauge 500 Dual TV tuner
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
2 400 gb sata harddrives
2 DVD Drives (1 DVD Burner, 1 DVDROM)

Any reccomendation? Would 500Watts be ok? Or should I go a bit higher? I don't want to cause problems, but also don't want to have a really noisy machine.

Thanks, I appreciate all that have helped with my questions on this forum for building my new comp.

~J

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Post 2 of 8

Try this

by mrjzn - 7/16/06 7:47 PM In reply to: Reccomendation on how big of a power supply ill need? by corezapr

Good afternoon,

I have an AMD Athlon 3500+ with 2 GB of ram (4 3200 crucial DDR pieces, not super fast RAM), 4 hard drives adding up to 1.3 TB an ATI All IN Wonder AIW x300 video card, built in audio, I forget the motherboard, a crummy ECS something or other. Got the cpu and MB deal at Fry's electronics a while back. 1 dvdrw drive - NEC. I run a 550 watt power supply unit with dual fans, i think it is the Antec TruePower 2.0 550W. I have had it running almost 24-7 for about 10 months. Works well. I would play it safe if you are going to increase the number of hard drives later. I increased mine and probably will again. Plus, you have a power sucker video card with a tv tuner card and the audio card. Get the Enermax 660 watt model EPS12V 660W. A bit pricy but with the machine you have, it's worth it. I have that one on my other machine, it's awesome. Super cool, air never flows warm out of that thing, even when I used to live in Riverside, CA (pretty warm/hot place). Best of luck. Let us know how it goes.

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Post 3 of 8

how about this one

by corezapr - 7/16/06 8:19 PM In reply to: Try this by mrjzn

I saw really good reviews on this one at NewEgg

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931

Any thoughts for my configuration?

~J

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Post 4 of 8

Here's some info from ATI .....(PS...see the new AMD $$s ?

by VAPCMD - 7/17/06 7:04 PM In reply to: how about this one by corezapr

Radeon® X1900 GT - Product Specifications

System Requirements

* PCI Express® based PC is required with one x16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
* Connection to the system power supply is required
* 400-Watt power supply or greater, 25 Amps, 12 volt rail recommended (assumes fully loaded system)
* For CrossFire™: 550 watt power supply or greater, 38 Amps, 12 volt rail
* 512MB of system memory
* Installation software requires CD-ROM drive
* DVD playback requires DVD drive and decoder software (not included)

By all get a good PS with some room to spare....500W would be good plus some room to grow. Just don't get a cheapo...brand name only. Do some reading as suggested plus prioduct reviews at NE.

VAPCMD

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Post 5 of 8

Sart with the first link ..valuable reading

by VAPCMD - 7/16/06 8:43 PM In reply to: Reccomendation on how big of a power supply ill need? by corezapr

http://www.motherboards.org/articles/guides/1487_1.html

http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/selector/

http://journeysystems.com/power_supply_calculator.php

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

Then before you make your final decision, read the buyer comments over at Newegg.com

VAPCMD

PS...For the difference in cost....might as well buy two DVD burners (vice 1 burner and 1 ROM).

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Post 6 of 8

400W?

by Willy - 7/17/06 1:58 AM In reply to: Reccomendation on how big of a power supply ill need? by corezapr

Having a high wattage unit installed won't hurt your system. The system will take what it needs on demand. The bigger the wattage the better the wattage cushion as system needs grow. Yeah, it's big enough BUT it must be a namebrand psu. That way, you'll get the true stable output any system will need. Heck, they're 600W+ psu out there now. Consider, whatever the final calculations are for your needs then add 25% to it for a good indication of a good fit.

tada -----Willy