PSU Calculator. What you need

[Greco101]

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

Sticky?

[a.Bird]

I sencond a sticky. The caculator seems to account for enough of what the average computer enthusiast would be concerned with. I'm all for contributing to our economy but I think it's important to clear up the misconception that dropping a couple hundred bucks for a 1000w psu is necessarily justifiable. Shoot for solid amperage and 50w margin and you should be golden.

[Luke122]

Lol.. according to that, I need 576w. Good thing I went for the 1010w huh?

[Raz1r]

It could use some improvements, like more fan sizes but I'd say it's pretty cool.

I use 236W evidently, kind of weird though, my PSU seems to be having trouble supplying the juice.

I think I'll pick up a 400W PSU, that'll make up for the 8600GT I plan on getting. Any recommendations guys?

[Spawn-Inc]

and that should allow a oc on the video card as well, i'm sure my card takes up more juice then it says.

[blueonblack]

I think I'll pick up a 400W PSU, that'll make up for the 8600GT I plan on getting. Any recommendations guys?


Yeah, this looks like a good deal:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2240443&CatId=106
________
Bmw S1000Rr (http://www.bmw-tech.org/wiki/BMW_S1000RR)

[a.Bird]

Yeah, this looks like a good deal:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2240443&CatId=106

Really low amperage on that PSU though. It looks like the reliability and longevity of the unit is sacrificed for flashy looks and modular connections. Don't get me wrong, it looks cool but I would shoot towards something more reliable. The Antec EA380 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371005) is a great deal at $34.99 with 380W, 34A total on +12V rails, and %80 energy efficiency. If that's not enough power, I would double your money and go for a PSU around 500W. The Antec EA500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007) also looks really solid.

My calculator results were interesting (hypothetical system)...
High end - desktop
Allendale E4400
4 sticks DDR2
nVidia 8600GT
3 SATA HDD
2 DVD-RW
2 PCI cards
8 USB Devices
3 120mm fans/ 1 80mm fan
100% System Load
------------------------
380W

edit: The EA380 I linked to is back to $59.99

[blueonblack]

Really low amperage on that PSU though. It looks like the reliability and longevity of the unit is sacrificed for flashy looks and modular connections.

After having some more research I have to admit you are right. (Yes, this is my first build with a non-stock PSU.) It DOES look cool though. :D My current build will not be very power-hungry, and I will have two of these in it, so I think I will be fine, but should I build a more agressive system I will pay much closer attention to the amperage ratings, thanks to you.
________
VAPIR NO2 VAPORIZER (http://vaporizer.org/)

[Vertigo]

That's actually pretty interesting, I was wondering about something like this. Nice find. Gave it a look for the system I'm building currently and here's what I got.

System Type: Single Processor
Motherboard: High End - Desktop
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 B3 2400 MHz Kentsfield
CPU Utilization (TDP): 85% TDP
RAM: 2 Sticks DDR2 SDRAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
Video Type: SLI
IDE HDD 7200 rpm: 2 HDDs
SCSI HDD 10,000 rpm: 1 HDD
DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive: 1 Drive
Sound Blaster - All Models: Yes
Front Bay LCD Display: Yes
Fans
LED: 2 Fans 80mm; 2 Fans 120mm;
Keyboard and mouse: Yes
System Load: 90 %
Recommended Wattage: 390 Watts