New PSU, How many Watts should I get?
 

Hi Everyone,

I havent taken EE classes in over 20 years so I need some of you power guru's to lend me a hand.

I will be building a computer here in the next few months (summertime) and I am looking at PSU's.

How many watts should I be looking for with some of these specs for the system?

-2 or 3 HDD's prob 7200rpm or so
-graphics card (ATI/Nvidia...not sure which but I MAY try putting more than one in way down the line)
-2 optical drives (CD and DVD)
-multicard reader
-soundcard
-usb hub?
-some lighting effects, cold cathode or LED
-misc fans mx of 6
-fan controller
-may attempt liquid cooling
-will DEFINITELY be OVERCLOCKING!!!!

Thanks for the help everyone!!!!

Regards,

:)

Add it all into this and see what you come up with http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

then we can help you choose a capable psu if you give us a budget.

WOW.... I never realized that I would need soooo much power according to this calculator! It is showing me I need over 1100 watts.....hmmmmm.....

look at my system specs, thats all run on a 400watt psu (listed) let me find my psu post and add it back to my siggy

Watts are worthless when considering a PSU, be a lot more careful about the amperage of the 12 Volt rail (aim for no less than 30, with a system like that go for dual 20 amp rails).

I have done the reading back and forth, up down, left right....and it has just confused the hell out of me....LOL....

For the system I quoted above....thoughts on a PSU???
Budget for PSU under 200 bucks....of course the cheaper the better....LOL!

If you are shooting for a newer build with the Next new genneration graphics cards then I would reccomend a PSU with between 600 and 800 watts. However be sure to ckeck the detailed specs for the 12v rail amperage rating- it needs to be over 22 amps per rail (duel rails for sli/crossfire) with a max draw of around 40-45 amps. If your thinking about using the 'big boys' from nvidiea(8800 series) or the new not yet released ATI R600 series then plan on needing 24-30 amp 12v rails with a max of around 60-75 amps.

An Enermax Galaxy is a top tier PSU that shoud support your needs; as long as you get one above 600 watts. Don't forget to check the detailed spec sheet for the 12v rail amps.

Thanks Namslas90.....why the name...kinda unique!

I was thinking about PCPOWER & Cooling the 610 silencer...but still in the infancy of research for this rig I will build summer/fall.....still in my data gathering stage....

I used to live in Rancho Cordova when I was stationed at Mather AFB outside of Sacramento.

If you want me to tell u what to buy i need something from u.

Download this - http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

And reply with the report.

Wait a couple more months and see what AMD/ATI has new to offer. It may just change your whole set-up. At the least it will drop the prices of the C2D's and you may decide an entirely different route.

Google Namslas - "It's a family name", and there are lots of us, so I took 90 because nobody was there yet.

Track...thanks for the help, however I am building one from scratch and Everest (which I have) will not be of much help in this situation.

Ashen and Zeh....I have been boning up on this and do realize that the amp's are a big necessity.....

Ashen...nice rig...and NICE OC! What supplemental cooling are you using on the CPU? So far I have my 3000+ up to a nice 15% oc without supp cooling on the chip itself (just stock cooling)...and I finally figured out my multiplier (it is called cpu freq in the bios...not clock multiplier and it makes me do the math...LOL)...so this weekend is trying to push it more!

Cool Namslas! Yeah I am waiting to see what comes down the pipe.....just researching now and learning as I havent built a rig in a LONG time