How important is PFC

[craigap]

How important is power factor correction and dual 12V rails in a PSU. I'm trying to put together a PC for the first time. I've read a bit on the dual rail thing, but I don't feel comfortable in determining whether or not I should include it with my planned system.

asus A8N-E
AMD 4000+ San Diego
eVGA 7800 GTX
2x1gb OCZ Ram
Seagate Baracuda 300GB SATA II(3 GB/s)
Plextor DVD/CD burner 716A/SW
2 ATI theater 550 pro TV Tuner cards
1 HDTV Tuner card
Wireless card
Silverstone LC17B case

On a side note the Silverstone LC17B has 4 optional fans. Where are those fans powered from. Would they be directly hooked to the power supply? How do I make sure the PSU I buy will have enough connections hook them up to?

Thanks.

[flanzig1]

Dual rail is pretty a must with the new CPUs and PCI-e video cards.
PFC can help if you live in an area with poor power or a place that has a lot of inductive loads(like elevator motors, factories,etc). I believe in Europe they are mandatory.
The fans should have splice connectors on then so you can daisy chain the connections.

[craigap]

I have a Monster Power "clean power v2.0" surge protecter/powerstrip that my PC will be plugged into. Would you guys say that this technology(which is supposed to eliminate spikes in the input voltage and frequency and output a steady voltage and frequency)would be a good substitute for PFC in my proposed system. If so, then I'll probably look for PSU's that don't have PFC and try to save some $$$$$.

[FLG]

I honestly dont think you will see a price difference because they have PFC. Most good quality PSU manufactures will have an active PFC (enermax, antec, enlight, thermaltake..ect) regardless of the price of the psu.