Ok, I have a Amd Black edition duo core 2 Ghz 120 gb Hd 2 gigs of ddr2 ram 1 cd/dvd burner a few cold cathodes and 4 fans (2 120 and 2 80) I currently have a HD3650 (Yuck) and Im about to upgrade to a HD4830... would a thermaltake 430watt PSU be able to power all of that or should I get a 500watt psu or more? If so what are some good ones? coolermasters, OCZ, Corsair, thermaltake... thanks
This one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004 It is overkill, but it is cheaper than the 450 watt version since it is free shipping.
You don't need either Corsair VX to run that system. These two will do the job perfectly: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371005 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008
So a 380w can power all that!? one more question, how can you tell if you overpowering something? is there a program that tells you how much power your computer is drawing from the psu. Like for example 56% Idle and 75% Under Load.. thanks
No, but you can measure the AC input of the system using a Kill-A-Watt or similar. Remember to factor in efficiency losses, the amount of power the PC uses is about 80% of what is being pulled from the mains.
Because of the price, I do not like the Antec right now. It was on sale for $20 a few weeks ago and now it is $60 + shipping. The 400 watt Corsair is a fine choice. 400 watts for $50 with free shipping. If it were me, I would get the 550 watt one. To me $10 more is no big deal for an upgrade on the PSU. For power output, a PSU will output as much power as the PC asks for (unless it is a cheap PSU). So, a 1000 watt PSU operating at 200 watts will still output 200 watts. The only factor would be efficiency, or how much power it will draw in order to output the 200 watts. An 85% PSU will draw 236 watts. A 75% PSU will draw 267 watts. So a more efficient PSU will save money in the long run. 31 watts is .00434 cents savings per hour of use.
So in short... A good quality 380W PSU can power everything I listed incliding the 4830? If so Ill still get atleast a 430W-500W PSU just to be safe...
Nevermind.... the Corsair you recommended http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 was only 47$ including shipping with the promo code... Great buy.. Thanks Oh and it can power the 4830 right?
GREAT! the explanation for the 4830 said I needed atleast 450Watt but reading the comments under the corsair 400watt, some people actually have 4850s and 9800gt, both of which are said to require over 400watts... i guess theres alot more to power supplies than watts huh? oh well Ill learn all that next year in college XD.. Thanks again sammorris, you've helped me coutless times from blowing up my house from a lack of computer know-how.... lol
A LOT. Corsairs are no ordinary PSUs. A Corsair 520W can handle a system a lot of 700s would fail at - on top of that, I had an 850W PSU that couldn't handle my current system (and not a cheap one either) - having swapped it for another brand, also 850W, it now seems to run fine (so far!). (BeQuiet DarkPowerPro replaced with a Zalman ZM850-HP)
Wow, good to know corsair is that good a brand. so a 400watt corsair could be as good as some 500+watt power supplies? if so, great.
