Appropriate PSU for new rig?

HaGa11aZ

HaGa11aZ

New Member
What should be the recommended PSU watts for my new rig:

ECS KN1 Lite s939 mobo (no SLI; one 16x PCI-E)
Athlon 64 3400+ Venice 2.2GHz
XFX GeForce 7900GT
2 gigs of DDR 400 RAM
POSSIBLY a Raptor, but for now, a 120 GB SATA 150 Barracuda
M-Audio Audiophile 192 (for my digital audio workstation)
Case w/ three 120mm and one 80mm fans

I will be overclocking as well.

I also need to find a PSU that has extra fan power connectors on it, since my mobo doesn't have enough.

O, btw, I believe i'm running a 330W Enermax at the moment w/ my current system :D
 
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An Antec True Power II 480w supply would drop right in there and handle the work load. I can later add the TP II 550w when a SATA array is added to the current build with two 250gb ide hard drives. When going to use a dual railed supply the extra third power plug for drives can serve to power an extra 120mm fan.

The board here has an auxillery 12v molex socket on the board itself used for the fourth fan which is also a 120mm sized fan used with another on the side cover.
 
k, so i just found out the system requirements of the GPU that i wanna get says, "A minimum 400W system power supply (with 12V current rating of 26A)"

well the fact that i'll get at least a 400W is a no-brainer, but i'm having a little trouble nailing down the "12V current rating of 26A" part. 12V seems pretty universally standardized among all the PSU on newegg, but what is this 26A? (does that mean 26 amps?) And do they mean current rating by input or output?

Will either of these PSUs be sufficient for 26A?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159040
 
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Could we narrow this down to some sort of budget?

The Enermax is OK, but +12V@32A isn't great for a $100+ PSU.

i'm having a little trouble nailing down the "12V current rating of 26A" part. 12V seems pretty universally standardized among all the PSU on newegg, but what is this 26A? (does that mean 26 amps?) And do they mean current rating by input or output?
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This referrs to the maximum output current of the +12V rail. 26A does indeed mean 26 amps. For Dual Rail PSUs, this is slightly more difficult to calculate. Summing the output of the two +12V rails is often used as a rough guide, but is rarely accurate. To get a valid measurement, take a look at the label on the PSU (e.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...AX+CP-500T+EPS12V+500W+Power+Supply+-+Retail). Notice that 18A is written under +12V1 and +12V2. Below that is written 420W, which is the total power output on the +12V rails. To figure out the total output current, just divide that by 12. The Coolmax mentioned, for example, has a total of +12V@(420/12=35A).
 
Actually the only accurate means of measuring output gets a little involved by measuing current levels when you have a load placed on the supply itself. That gets into more theory there rather then comparing brands. I would say going from $55 to $110 gives some idea of a budget there i think? :confused: :P
 
Sounds like a job for the Hiper Type-R 580W Modular or any Seasonic ;) The Hiper is pretty silent (I use one) and has great performance, but Seasonic is right up there as they make astonishingly powerful and quite supplies.
 
yes, $110, maybe $120 for a PSU is definately the very TOPS i will go. I was a bit grunted in finding out that i had to replace my current PSU for a new one just to power the GPU im getting....

I was very very tempted to just throw one of these into my cart:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148027

...but i held back :D

I figure that this new PSU should last at least one extra upgrade when i finally go for the DirectX 10 cards and go multi-core, etc.

My biggest concern is that the mobo in my shopping cart does not have enough fan plugs to power three 120mm and one 80mm fans on a case i'm looking at. In that case, I will need the PSU with the most adapters for potential fans.
 
HaGa11aZ said:
I was very very tempted to just throw one of these into my cart:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817148027

...but i held back :D
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Good thing you did - The Thermaltake in particular is junk :). The OCZ GameXStream is a superb unit that can be found for under $100 after MIR, if you look around. The Corsair HX-520W is another great choice, that would also fit into budget (both units priced quite high at newegg).
 
Archangel said:
Buhuu... i really envy you americans... the 600W one is 130 euro's here, and the 700W one is 170 euro's :(
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Thanks a lot! I'm far from the one that sets the world economy. :P I only mentioned the Antec TP II 550w that's all. I'm still running the TP II 480w at the moment.
 
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