Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

What PSU for my new system? (or: how big should it be?)

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • What PSU for my new system? (or: how big should it be?)

    Hi,

    i had really fun in the last week with planing to buy a new computer. All components are choosen and i'm happy with all of them. The only thing that is missing is a PSU because i really have no idea of how much power all of the components need.

    Here are the bits for the new computer:

    Mainboard: Asus P6T
    CPU: Intel i7 920
    VGA: two ATI Radeon HD4770 (maybe in Crossfire mode -- but mostly for four monitors)
    HDD: a OCZ Vertex SSD (maybe a second in RAID 0) and two to three 1TB HDDs
    RAM: 3x 2GB DDR3 RAM


    So what do you think? How much power do i need? Which brands are known for good PSUs? At least i think there are no Linux compatibility issues ;-)

    Thanks so far. I would really appreciate your thoughts about this.

    Gregor

  • #2
    There are some simple online calculators, like this one.

    basically, loop up the maximum power consumption of your CPU and GPUs (they're usually in the specs), add ~6W per hard disk/optical drive, 10-20W for mainboard, fans and some USB devices and then buy the next higher thing.

    Make sure your PSU supports the required ATX standard (see motherboard specs) and has enough power on the +12 rails for CPU+both GPUs+a little extra.

    Comment


    • #3
      speaking from personal experience, I have been using the same thermaltake PSU for about 4 years. She's still sitting pretty. Before that i had an antec which lasted about 4 days.

      Now someone told me a while back that higher rated power supplies will last longer then comparable PSU's from the same company rated lower. I dont know if this is fact or fiction. If this is true then you have to compare your power usage (inefficiency from higher rating) vs PSU cost.

      I think any crossfire/sli gpu will have enough power to get the job done. I haven't seen very many under 600.

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi, thanks for your quick replies and for the link to the calculator.
        It says that i need about 370 W. This seems a bit to less for me.

        Don't know but as L33F3R said: i never saw a PSU in a test setup of all those computer magazines below 700 W.

        Comment


        • #5
          Because PSU companies like to boast with "thousand gajillion Watts". It's always surprising to see that barely anyone needs that kind of power.
          Well, except some crazy gamers using "highend" GPUs that draw ~300W a piece.

          It's not difficult to create a good computer below 200W though. Some Notebooks draw less than 50W, netbooks around ~20W IIRC - including the monitor.

          The 4770 draws 80W max, which is good for a strong GPU. Even two of them are way below the consumption of a GTX 295. The i7 220 draws 130W, more than I'd accept, but not way off the charts either. So 290W for CPU+GPU, and those are the most power hungry components.

          Trust me, if it says 370W, a 400W supply will do. Make sure it supports >300W on the +12 rail though.

          Comment


          • #6
            Ok, thank you so much for the detailed information. I think i will buy the "Corsair HX520W" PSU which got a good rating (including to be very quiet) on a german hardware site.

            Thanks again.
            *solved*

            Comment


            • #7
              I've noticed the PC P&C 510W units are like $80 now. This, IMO, is unbeatable.

              I paid $370 for one in 2006, it's both relieving and frustrating to see them drop in price like that.

              Comment

              Working...
              X