questions about the power supply for new build

[cheese321]

I've been hearing that people should at least get a 450w power supply for gaming. Do I have to get that or can I just settle for like a 380w or 430w power supply? I am a moderate gamer.

This is my upcoming build:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66 ghz
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB HD
LiteOn 18x DVD RW
ASUS P5B motherboard that supports 1333mhz fsb
Evga or MSI 256MB 7600GS or GT- not sure yet if price goes down more, then maybe
Coolermaster Centurion Case
Corsair XMS DDR2 2 X 1GB 675mhz
Floppy Drive
Windows Vista 64bit Home Premium

With all these what power supply is adequately enough? Am I still forced to get a 450w power supply or can it be less and if yes, by how much?
Also, if I'm able to get a smaller power supply, should I get it and then when the directx 10 cards get a lot cheaper, then I get a higher power supply? thanks

[minsonngo]

Get at least a 450 watt PSU to give you some head room for future upgrades. Make sure it is a QUALITY power supply. Seasonic, Antec, FSP, Enermax, Sparkle, OCZ, and Corsair are some good brands to look for.

Here is a good one that is not too pricey: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954



As for the processor you picked... you can actually save some cash by going with the Core 2 Duo E6600 instead. The difference in real life performance between it and the one you picked out is really not noticable.

[boondokk]

Min is def. right about the 6600. You won't notice a difference really.

And as a note, you NEVER want to cheap out on your PSU. What's feeding all those expensive and valuable components? Exactly. Grainy and innefficient PSUs can be bad for your gear and hold your system back.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104034


EDIT: I wouldn't get anything below the 8k series from Nvidia as well. Your videocard should be one of the more expensive things in ur system. I learned that mistake by cheaping out on my videocard last build. upgraded to a 8800gts and my FPS went through the roof and the build is not that powerful CPU wise. Build for the future!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by cheese321 I've been hearing that people should at least get a 450w power supply for gaming. Do I have to get that or can I just settle for like a 380w or 430w power supply? I am a moderate gamer. This is my upcoming build: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66 ghz Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB HD LiteOn 18x DVD RW ASUS P5B motherboard that supports 1333mhz fsb Evga or MSI 256MB 7600GS or GT- not sure yet if price goes down more, then maybe Coolermaster Centurion Case Corsair XMS DDR2 2 X 1GB 675mhz Floppy Drive Windows Vista 64bit Home Premium With all these what power supply is adequately enough? Am I still forced to get a 450w power supply or can it be less and if yes, by how much? Also, if I'm able to get a smaller power supply, should I get it and then when the directx 10 cards get a lot cheaper, then I get a higher power supply? thanks

For those parts I wouldn't use anything less than a good quality 400 watt PSU...but when asked to build a gaming rig I tend to go with 550 watts minimum unless the video card requires a more powerful PSU. In your case I'd just get a 450 watt PSU right from the start...it's cheaper in the long run than buying two power supplies.

Cricket

[madtownidiot]

Go with a bigger power supply. I use a thermaltake toughpower 1200w PSU on my system just because a PSU that doesn't have to work as hard is going to run cooler than one that's always running at or near max output most of the time. I would recommend going with at least a 600w PSU, which will give you a little room for expansion if you want to add a better video card or sound card sometime down the road

[minsonngo]

Originally Posted by madtownidiot Go with a bigger power supply. I use a thermaltake toughpower 1200w PSU on my system just because a PSU that doesn't have to work as hard is going to run cooler than one that's always running at or near max output most of the time. I would recommend going with at least a 600w PSU, which will give you a little room for expansion if you want to add a better video card or sound card sometime down the road

600 watts is overkill for a normal system with a SINGLE video card and less than four drives.

[Mr.Ferrari]

450w max.

Minsonngo put up a good link. Some other good ones are the AMS Mercury 460w and the Xclio Stablepower 460w.

[Staren]

I'd go with a 450w - 550w quality power supply for that system. The ones minsonngo and Mr.Ferrari mentioned would be good choices. I'd say madtownidiots suggestions while usable, are overkill for your system. A 550 watt unit might seem like too much as well, but that's reasonable to last through a few video card upgrades and some extra hard drives.

[cheese321]

thanks for the responses. I kinda figured that I had no other choice but to get at least 450w power supply. What do you guys think of this power supply?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171018

or this apevia power supply.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148027

[minsonngo]

Cooler Master PSUs are okay. Avoid Apevia PSUs.

This is the PSU I would recommend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104954

[Staren]

Our PSU refrence thread: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

Apevia is the new name for Aspire power supplies, avoid.

[cheese321]

ok, thanks, will consider

[freakitchen]

To find out out exactly how rubbish Apevia power supplies are, take a look at this:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=181499