enough power?

[Bradan]

hi im lookin to start my first build soon after i get the money together. just wondering how much power i need for a rig along these lines

i was thinkin a mushkin 550w with dual 20a rails, is that enough?

e6400 @ 3ghz +
my 7000b or a 9500
ocz ddr2 800 5-5-5-12
gigabyte ds3 mobo
1900xt
barracuda 250g
single cd/dvd burner


thermaltake tsunami case

 

[chuckn0rris]

? is that a good build?

 

[ceewi1]

hi im lookin to start my first build soon after i get the money together. just wondering how much power i need for a rig along these lines

i was thinkin a mushkin 550w with dual 20a rails, is that enough?

e6400 @ 3ghz +
my 7000b or a 9500
ocz ddr2 800 5-5-5-12
gigabyte ds3 mobo
1900xt
barracuda 250g
single cd/dvd burner


thermaltake tsunami case

Personally, I wouldn't touch that mushkin. Low efficiency, very high ripple and poor performance under crossloading. Indeed, with only a total of 28A available on the +12V, you can get better PSUs at a significantly lower price. In fact, it doesn't even meet the ATI recommendation of +12V@30A for a single X1900.

Your ~$90 would be better spent on an OCZ GameXStream 600W, Antec NeoHE500 or Silverstone ST50EF-Plus.

 

[Bradan]

umm but theres 2 rails? but i definitely want modular, i only have 1 hd and 1 cd/dvd

 

[Bobo]

Spend an extra $10 and get the Hiper R-series 580W modular.

 

[Bradan]

the hiper has two 12v rails @ 20a and 18a the mushkin has 20a and 20a

I want the psu to look descent, have modular cabling, and be able to suppourt my system oc'd at 3ghz +
with a 1900xt and a dx10 card after, leaving sum headroom, what is my best bet

 

[Bobo]

The Hiper is definitely better. Amperage is not everything, the Mushkin has relatively bad efficiency ratings. Also, the Hiper looks waaaay better than the Mushkin, if you are concerned about that. And it has a peak load of 630W, not 580W. Plus, the cables are very high quality, and use a special connection so that they don't come off, and are gold-plated, unlike that crappy plastic stuff that the Mushkin uses.

 

[ceewi1]

the Mushkin has relatively bad efficiency ratings.

The Hiper is actually worse in that regard.

And it has a peak load of 630W, not 580W

But still only +12V@30A, not enough for a $100 PSU in my mind.

Plus, the cables are very high quality, and use a special connection so that they don't come off

Although I don't particularly fancy their decision to combine several wires into the one pin, nor the adaptors you need to use for SATA, etc...

It looks great, but it wouldn't be on the top of my recommendations list either.

umm but theres 2 rails?

The individual rails themselves aren't important, the total +12V amperage is. If you take a look at the label on that mushkin (via the newegg pic), you'll see that it only allows for a total loading of +12V@28A over both rails.

I want the psu to look descent, have modular cabling, and be able to suppourt my system oc'd at 3ghz +
with a 1900xt and a dx10 card after, leaving sum headroom, what is my best bet

Corsair HX520W (if it's within budget).