picking a power source

Hey y'all! Suggestions for a power supply:

AMD Athlon X2 3800+ Manchester 2.0GHz 2X512KB
ASUS A8N5X Socket 939 Nvidia nForce4 ATX AMD MoBo
A CD reader from an E-Machine
A DVD R/W from an e-machine
Nvidia Nforce4 graphics card

 

Power consumption relies heavily on the graphics card, especially in the higher end cards for gaming (and dual cards). If you are an average user, anything at or above 400w should suffice. If you are a power user, look for 450+w depending on what video card you plan to use.

as far as brand names, I stick with PC Power & Cooling, OCZ, Corsair, Antec, Thermaltake, FSP Group (Fortron Source), some Enermax, just to name a few. I suggest finding one within your bueget and looking on google for a review comparing it to others in the same category.

 

Thanks! I will be using an nvidia goeforce go 7400, so I will be going for a 500W PS to have room to grow.

Another question: could I use the hard-drive from my defunct E-machine (mobo gave out) as the main hard-drive for my system? it is a Western digital WD800 (7200, SATA). Or should I suck it up and buy a new one?

If you can't tell, I am very green and this is my first atttempt at building a unit.

I am not worthy...

 

Using that HDD shouldn't be a problem. Just format and install Windows.

 

how exactly do u plan on using a laptop video card in a desktop...? the 7400 (and all "geforce go" cards) is a notebook card. there is the 7300 and 7600 on either side if thats what u were goin for?

and dont worry, we were all "noobs" at one time or another

 

Also note that there is more than just looking at the wattage of a PSU. Remember, the 12V rails amperage and how many 12V rails the PSU has are also very important factors as well. You can tell by paying attention to the specs of the PSU. For what I see you have there, you don't need anything too fancy, but more certainly doesn't hurt and like you say, you would like the extra headroom for when you decide to upgrade.

Most SLI ready PSU's have multiple 12V rails, but not all. The 12V rating for a single rail PSU that is high-end will be >30. In multiple rail PSU's they tend to be more distributed along the rails (ex. 12V 2 rails @19A each). It is not very confusing even though I have probably made it so. What I am saying is you can get a piece of junk PSU that is 500W or 600W because it may be terrible insufficient on the 12V rails. Just be mindful of that. Maybe set a minimum of 22A or so for a single rail PSU and you should be fine for most setups. Just know that in higher-end systems and where you may have an SLI setup, you will need something high-end, and hence, high 12V rail ratings.

Hope this helps?

 

Thanks, all!

Ooops, I did make a mistake on the video card. I have a friend with a NIB Nvidia (7600 I think).

As to the rail thing, I think you are saying the the specs for a PSU will read "so many amps per rail" and that I should look for 22 amps or higher for the 12v rail or no matter the total watts the unit may not perform well. Right?

 

Yeah...I mean 22 is a subjective number. If the PSU has a single 12V rail, my opinion is that 22ish amps is decent. What you must be wary of is getting maybe a PSU that has really good wattage, but is junk (and I mean stuff you really don't want in your rig), i.e. really low 12V rail Amps. That signifies junk because more often than not, the Amps on a 12V rail are low due to using inferior parts. I know this may seem complicated, but it is not. You will get a good feel of what I mean if you look at specs at newegg.com and also take a look at what reviewers say. You will kind of see how this is discussed and how it may be relevant to the item/system.

You do get the idea, though, I was just trying to be a little more clear. The kicker is, there is a positive relationship between 12V rail Amps and price (not necessarily wattage alone). It is no coincidence. It takes quality parts to get that and it will be able to push a more powerful system. With that said, there is no need for overkill, but the higher the better (wattage and 12V A). For most systems 450W and 22A 12V is more than sufficient.