Spec me a PSU

Darryl_1983 · 8 Dec 2008 at 11:25

At the minute i'm running a cheap 500w PSU that came with me cheap tower. Brought a cheap combo because it was my first build and didn't want to spend a lot..... Now looking for a quality PSU that's as silent as possible, but also not going to hold me back on future upgrades/builds. Basically want something that will last me a good few years.

I'm currently running a E2200 @ 3Ghz, 4x1GB Ram (standard speed @ C4), 8800GT, 2x500GB HDD, 1xDVD/RW drive, Card reader, 3x120mm case fans, P35 board. Think thats it for know.

I'm looking to order a 1TB drive to go with the 2x500GB drives, as i use my pc as a media pc as well as a gaming pc. Will probably upgrade the processor some time next year too, maybe a new graphics card as well.

Obviously i want something thats going to be reliable, but don't want to be paying a premium for it.

OpenToSuggestions · 8 Dec 2008 at 11:29

I have rig (see sig) which includes a few big fans and 5 hard drives, all running on a good brand 450w.

I would just get a new psu 500-550w (so it is sufficient for your next rig). The wattage isn't anywhere near as important as you would think. A cheap psu has the potential if (well more when) it dies to kill your entire system.

Paul2506 · 8 Dec 2008 at 11:32

Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK)

or

Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 SLi Compliant PSU

EvilOne · 8 Dec 2008 at 11:41

Are you going to be upgrade graphics any time soon? Only power hungry GPU's need over 500W needed, unless you plan to have 3-4 optical drives and 8+ hard drives or something silly like that

.

Darryl_1983 · 8 Dec 2008 at 12:02

The Corsair's look pretty good, although on the expensive side. The 650W being on sale this week. Like the idea of the modular one though.

whats peoples options on the Gigabyte ODIN GT 550W ATX2.2 Dual-SLi Compliant Modular PSU (GE-S550A-D1) @ £57

Slightly cheaper than the corsair @ over £70. just looking to save a few quid.

Paul2506 · 8 Dec 2008 at 12:03

EvilOne said:
Are you going to be upgrade graphics any time soon? Only power hungry GPU's need over 500W needed, unless you plan to have 3-4 optical drives and 8+ hard drives or something silly like that .

lol

Darryl_1983 said:
I'm looking to order a 1TB drive to go with the 2x500GB drives, as i use my pc as a media pc as well as a gaming pc. Will probably upgrade the processor some time next year too, maybe a new graphics card as well.

Luxor · 8 Dec 2008 at 12:06

+1 on the Corsair HX520. A great PSU, modular, shouldn't take anything with it if it does go kaboom, but like anything in your box it potentially could go wrong. It sounds as though it should run everything you want. If in doubt though, there are more powerful models.

You get a 5 year warranty which sold it to me.

There are some good quality PSU's out there though so shop around.

Darryl_1983 · 8 Dec 2008 at 12:20

I'd only go down the single gfx card route i reckon, multiple gfx cards are just too expensive, plus i'm only using a 26" 720 HDTV at the minute. Also looking to upgrade that to a 1080 in the new year as i've now got 2 dead pixels that are really annoying. Hence may need to upgrade GFX card to handle the bigger resolution.