electricity and psu

[geff_r]

I was wondering why the min psu requirements are now around
the 500 watt mark seeing as tft use less power the core 2 duo uses less power
it can't purely be the graphics cards can it?Am i missing something?
has anyone even tested a core 2 duo with say a 350 watt power supply
and 16x pci express?everything seems to be using less power yet the power supply requirements seem to be going up and up.I've done some calculations
and this means your average pci express card uses 200 watts of power?
edit monitor runs off it's own power doh ! but what about the cpu using less volts and power?

 

[geff_r]

Hmm well core 2 duo 1 hdd 1 dvd 1 sound card 1 graphics no usb 2 fans = 400 watts+ on most calculators.
we will soon find out as i intend running that on my enermax 35o watt soonish.
It must be that the core 2 duos need twice as much as say a barton and pci express need twice as much as agp then.

 

[geff_r]

Well to me if you want 6300 2 x sata a soundblaster 8800gts
1 x dvdrw 2 case fans 2 sticks of ddr2 6400 and i'd say that's about the average users pc you will not need much over a 400w power supply.
I guess buying a power supply is all about future proofing too in a way.
My 4 year old enermax 350 watt could probably run that setup just about.
I'd just like a much more accurate calculator no point shelling out for a high end psu if you're not going to even need one is my view.This is only because i am on a tight budget for my upgrade of course.So i think i'll get the corsair 520 watt.But i'd rather save £30 and get something which is just as ample for that setup though.
There are a lot of 400watt sli compliant power supplys is the confusing thing.
yes i did think that lower vcore meant less power consumption i learn again.