Upgrading PSU help

[Zordana]

Hey guys, I'm about to upgrade my computer and am totally clueless when it comes to PSU's, up until now I've been purchasing pretty generic ones.

I was hoping you could give me some PSU suggestions that aren't too expensive for my soon to be new computer:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+, Dual Core Socket AM2
Gigabyte GA-M55SLI-S4 nForce4 SLI AM2
GeForce 7900 GT 256MB PCI-Express (planning to buy another later)
2 gig generic DDR2 ram
WD 80gig SATA (probably, not sure yet)
LG DVD-RW
CD Drive

The computer is mainly for gaming.
Also, this probably isnt the right place for this, but is the motherboard ive chosen ok?

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Irene.

 

[pengwin]

The motherboard you have is a good one. Gigabyte makes some pretty good boards and are priced nicely too.

If you plan on SLIing then make sure what ever PSU you choose is SLI certified. Of al the reviews i've read on PSU's between 500w and 600w Hiper seams to be the brand with the best overall reviews on Newegg. Not to mention they are modular. Thats just my oppinion though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817128002

Do your research. I would recomend a PSU over 500w. I went all over the place pricing and reading reviews of powersupplys. Newegg was an exalent resource.

yeah, i wouldnt recommend it. The Hiper PSU's are made to look good.

Anyways, i'd get this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104014

It'll run SLI. Also SLI certification is nothing but a sticker which add's 10 bucks to ur PSU. Dont buy PSU"s because they are certified.

 

[Zordana]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I stumbled across a review of PSU's for SLI on the extreme overclocking forums. They had a list of PSU's they recommended.
One was an Enermax, which I found here :
http://www.computeralliance.com.au/parts.aspx?qryPart=5221

I'm in australia so I'm having trouble finding a few of the brands they recommended, and the price difference is a little ouch-worthy. I figure I can probably go up to $140AUD ish though. Is the Enermax one ok?
I was also looking at the Antec TruePower 2 550W, but the one im looking at on ebay is actually 12mths old so im not sure if I should even go there.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[phreejak]

Here are several reviews of midrange and highend PSUs that will help you out. They are very informative about performance and stability

Midrange
http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/psus/index.x?pg=1

Highend
http://www.bytesizedreviews.com/?rev_id=302
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=574

 

[Zordana]

Thanks phreejack.

Im thinking I might grab a silverstone. Do you think the 560watt will be enough for when I have two graphics cards or should I fork out for the 600?

http://www.hboutlet.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=55_673&products_id=33467
http://www.hboutlet.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=55_673&products_id=27591

Edit: I just realised its 650watt, perhaps the extra $20 is worth it then...

Edit2: Well the store only had one of the graphics cards I wanted left so I placed the order and decided to go with the Silverstone 650watt I linked to above.
Hopefully I did good! :lol:

All I need to do now is find someone who sells the mainboard I want cheap and get a new case and I think im done Whew.

 

[phreejak]

quad 12v rails, healthy amps, Active PFC...what's not to like about it? I use a Silverstone PSU in my main computer and it has served me very well - extremely stable.

 

[Zordana]

quad 12v rails, healthy amps, Active PFC...what's not to like about it? I use a Silverstone PSU in my main computer and it has served me very well - extremely stable.

Woohoo!

Anything I should know about cases? I was just going to look for one with a couple of extra fans on it. Nothing fancy.

 

[phreejak]

Well, for me, the ultimate cooling solution as far as air circulation is concerned is when you can have fans drawing air INTO a case through the lower front and the side and EXPELLING air out the top and upper back. With that in mind, finding a case that meets most or all of those requirements or has the potential (through modding) is always ideal.

 

[Zordana]

Ok cool, thanks again for your help