How big of a power supply do I need?

Question

I am upgrading to new parts - ok mostly all new parts and keeping my case because I like it (the case does have LED lights if you take that into consideration as well) and I am wondering how large of a power supply the experts would recommend based on what I am putting in.

The Details:

Motherboard is a Socket 939

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 4000+ / 1MB Cache / 2000MHz FSB / Socket 939 / San Diego Core

Video Card: EVGA GeForce 7300 GT / 512MB GDDR2 / SLI / PCI Express

1GB of memory to start out but will gradually add up to 4

Thanks for all the answers. And to reply to a comment I found funny - "why are you going with socket 939? it's being phased out be AMD and a core 2 duo would give you better performance and might even be cheaper"
The reason I am going with 939 is precisely what you said - because they are phasing it out - it is MUCH cheaper and still builds a great machine. dual core is DEFINITELY not cheaper! I don't know where you got that idea.

And to whoever else asked yes I already have a dvd rom - I wasn't including the parts I already own. My vid card does require a minimum of 350 according to the description. But since my case has lights and whatnot I thought maybe I should go for more.

Answer 1

Its not so much as how much you need as it is how much will you need in the future! I dont put anything less than a 500 watt supply in any of my home PCs and recommend anyone who I build a system for that they go at least 500 watts.

To Timothy: you dont know what you are talking about! The wattage rating of a power supply designates how much power it can output! Not what it will! Stick to tellin people how to make sandwiches!

Answer 2

why are you going with socket 939? it's being phased out be AMD and a core 2 duo would give you better performance and might even be cheaper. if your set with this set up i would say 500W to be safe and you would have some overclocking headroom but seriously think about the core 2 duos. and make sure you get a name brand PSU not one of the crap $15 ones go for a company like antec or thermaltake.

Answer 3

600 Watts to make sure SLI has enough power. Socket 775 uses less voltage than the 939 does, also.

Answer 4

Besides the proper amount of watts, I think more importantly you need to consider brand. A good PSU will take care of you. The good brands will deliver the watts they promise and are pure quality.

Like most other people do, dont cheap out on a PSU. You wouldnt want a low end PSU to possibly blow out your expensive parts would you?

Answer 5

i would reccomend the ocz 700 watt power supply , from www.newegg.com for about $350 thats what i'm using for my system which i custom built, for about $5000 with the top of the line components , including a hardrive cooler, fan controller ,3 exaust fans one intake fan , one 5in bay fan all maximum air flow ,and cold cathode sound activated lighting plus numerous hardrives all over 300gb ,

Answer 6

Even though your equipment may only need 375 watts total, it's best to use one that's even larger, so as not to work it too hard which will wear it out faster. I use a 525 watt and it has no trouble handling my equipment. Larry @ RadioShack

Answer 7

I am guessing you are going to put in cd-rom, DVD right? I would recommend 600w so as not to let it get to hot. Get a good one to. Brand names usually are better and remember a higher weight PSU with same watt rating is a better quality.(means more coils.. usually)

Answer 8

Well for a low end video card like that 300W will probably due, but if you wanna leave yourself room for expansion you might go higher. Here is a good site for calculating power supply needs:http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

Answer 9

Get as big as you can afford,I think 500 Watts will do but if you go to their web sites you can find out how much things consume.

Answer 10

You can't over power! Get 300 to 350.