How do i know which PSU to get?

[Bojangles37]

seriously. is there some procedure to figure out what kind of wattage i need or should i just go for a high one and expect it to be enough?

 

[voyagerfan99]

If your not power hungry, anything that is at least 500 watts should be good. If your running several hard drives and some high end video cards, then I'd go with at least a 950 watt PSU.

 

[Bojangles37]

nah... only 1 HD, 2 combo drives, and 1 ati hd 2600xt. i've picked out a rosewill 550watt because of price but the fact that they go up so much higher it's got me worried.

 

[Calibretto]

Here's a cool little calculator that can determine the wattage needed. Granted, it's only an estimate.

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

 

[Twist86]

Here's a cool little calculator that can determine the wattage needed. Granted, it's only an estimate.

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

Seriously a sweet site its one of my personal favorites for a "estimate"



I always go over what I need for future upgrades though.

I only needed a 500w with my X2 and 8800GT but got a nice 750w for a 5 bucks more....upgraded to my quad and soon a 4870 without needing to purchase a better psu ^-^

Current system needs roughly 510w based off the calculator...so had I bought the cheaper one I would have needed to spend 80 bucks more on a better PSU.

 

[dave_w]

Ceewi should still have his PSU guide up on a sticky. Flip around the brands, see which tend to get the thumbs-up, and then hit the PSU calculator to get an estimate. Round that up a little, accounting for things you think might be nice, then add a little more. Log onto Newegg, do a power search starting at your heavily-padded minimum and going up and including only those recommended brands. Then organize everything by price and see what you can get.

Then pick out something that you can afford that looks nice, and look at the picture of the spec sticker. If you see Chinese lettering, pick another.