New System build. test .Advice on power supply

[november7286]

I realize that this question is quite redundant. Ive built a few systems and never really questioned the amount of power i got. But after reading a couple of articles on the actual needs of systems, I was quite surprised to find that most systems have an overabundance of wattage. In building this new system I want to get what i actually need, not just guess at it. I But my question would be, what would be the approximate power need of this system? Im not really looking to overclock, but maybe I would sometime in the future, but it wouldnt be much. I was originally looking at something close to 1kw, but I know realize that it is way overkill. I would like a little extra room for growth, such as maybe sli down the road, or a more powerful card. And maybe another hd, when the time comes. I was thinking maybe 650w or so. I know there are other specs I have to look at such at amps and voltage. But I dont really understand what Im looking at but just comparing numbers. The following are the tenative(pretty much final) list of my parts for my build save for the mobo. Thanks in advance for any help, it is much appreciated.

ASUS M4A79 Deluxe ATX AMD Motherboard---This is one that im looking at...not final though. Any other suggestions for my motherboard are welcome.

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)

XFX GX260NADBF GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W

Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM with 32MB
I also have a 500gb 7200rpm w/32mb of cache.

2 optical drives....dvd r/rw

Plus a printer

[John]

First Welcome to OCW.

We have talked about this, If you run a 650W psu and your system requires 650W your psu will not work as well as running a 1000W. A psu running at 100% of capacity is not as good as a psu running at 65% of capacity. At 65% of capacity you get cleaner power and you are not stressing the psu to it limits.

Ok guys..correct if you think different about this subject

[november7286]

The 650 was a completely random number i just threw out. I did look at the specs for the gfx card and it recommended at least a 680w for sli...not counting the other parts. And the process says it needs 125w..So should i really be shooting for that 1kw range or something lower?
So my guess is that i would need something closer to 850w? I coming from the standpoint of this article http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-radeon-power,2122.html, which is very similar to the sticky about power supplies here in the forums. The only issue is i dont really understand how to go about figuring the actual power specs for what im getting.

[John]

Someone here knows of a power calculator. I think that is what you want. Someone will post what they know soon, hang in

[november7286]

I will. Ive tried a few power calculators, they tell me somewhere around 700-750 or so. But that cant be right. and one told me 400....:S

[Patriot]

lol looking at components I would say it will pull about 300w (meaning you want a 520w minimum to be clear on rail amperage)... would grab a 650 or 750 corsair... have room to add a second card latter.

[privatesnuffy]

First off, don't believe the hype of most power supply calculators. Your setup will run perfectly with a 650w psu, granted it is a quality one.

I guarentee that system probably uses around 350 w at absolute 100% load on everything.

Corsair makes the tx750, which i bought and is one of the best psu's for the money.

Basically look for a well made, name brand psu from 650-750w. 1000w psu in your case would be absolute overkill

Few Brand recommendations:
Antec
Corsair
Thermaltake Toughpower
Seasonic
Silverstone

when it comes to psu's, spend the extra to get a quality unit, after all it powers everything in your pc.

[november7286]

So even though the gfx card recommends at least 680w and my processor is 125w, a 750 should work? Those two added up make about 800. If this is the case, whats the purpose of the processor wattage? But going off John's advice, if i got say a 850, that would support my current system build plus room for expansion, such as sli'ing cards together? Ive read somewhere also that if you have too many watts left over, you would be losing effeciancy. I think I said that right.

Thanks @ Privatesnuffy thats the kind of info I was looking for. And thanks for the names of power supplies listed. I knew a few out there already, but that list expands mine for me to look at more options.

Whats a general amperage and voltage should i be looking for in the specs?

[privatesnuffy]

So even though the gfx card recommends at least 680w and my processor is 125w, a 750 should work? Those two added up make about 800. If this is the case, whats the purpose of the processor wattage? But going off John's advice, if i got say a 850, that would support my current system build plus room for expansion, such as sli'ing cards together? Ive read somewhere also that if you have too many watts left over, you would be losing effeciancy. I think I said that right.

Thanks @ Privatesnuffy thats the kind of info I was looking for. And thanks for the names of power supplies listed. I knew a few out there already, but that list expands mine for me to look at more options.

Whats a general amperage and voltage should i be looking for in the specs?

The ratings they give from graphics cards usually are total system power. They also are the most power consuming parts (intel extreme cpus w/4 hdds and cd rom). its also not the minimum, just recommended.

There isn't a video card to my knowledge that uses +600w, that would be insane

[Patriot]

So even though the gfx card recommends at least 680w and my processor is 125w, a 750 should work? Those two added up make about 800. If this is the case, whats the purpose of the processor wattage? But going off John's advice, if i got say a 850, that would support my current system build plus room for expansion, such as sli'ing cards together? Ive read somewhere also that if you have too many watts left over, you would be losing effeciancy. I think I said that right.

Thanks @ Privatesnuffy thats the kind of info I was looking for. And thanks for the names of power supplies listed. I knew a few out there already, but that list expands mine for me to look at more options.

Whats a general amperage and voltage should i be looking for in the specs?

lolol no it does not add up to 800....

that is recommended psu for a system with that gfx card in it... now they have to take into account for the worst psu's with the worst rails (have to get a super high wattage to get good enough amps to run it)

so carve 200+ watts off cruddy psu recommended to get to high quality psu wattage 600w... that will have more than enough watts to run that gfx card in the high end system its expected to go in.

extreme psu calc is giving a recomended psu wattage of 360w....thats not how much it needs but the recommended... if your not going to ever do two gfx cards 750 is overkill... letalone higher.

my recommend list.... (personally have corsair 650 tx someone else here said the 750tx... I have a 500w from OCZ.. they own pc power and cooling... have worked with two PC power and cooling 610w silencer... all gread psu's... and all will power your rig fine)


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e=1314%3A14179