Amount of power needed

[Underclock]

Hello,

I would like to know the power supply output i must have for my upcoming configuration.

E8400
HD3870
2x2GB DDR2
2 HDD (1 SATA, 1 ATA)
3 Disk Drives (CD/DVD-ROM)
1 FDD


I have chosen supposedly less consuming components (45nm for cpu and 55nm for gpu), so i thought one Corsair 450VX would be enough.

However, should i want to Crossfire or overclock in the future, what is my margin? Preferably, it would be enough both for this and the next config i make.

Do i need more or, because in the future components will need less power, 450 is enough for now and coming years.

Thanks in advance

 

[dagger]

450 should be enough, but margins are low. You should get 550 or higher.

 

[chookman]

The 450 Corsair will be enough... if you are overclocking i would go something a little bigger.

 

[Underclock]

550VX it is, then

any other brand you recommend that outputs 550 around the same price and is equally reliable and silent?

 

[doomsdaydave11]

Take a look at jonnyguru.com. There's lots of stuff on there about power supplies. Especially with that e8400, I doubt your system will use more then ~325 under full load. If you are using all three of your CD/DVD drives at once, then it probably will be a little bit more. I think people overestimate how much power they really need.

Actually future components do not consume less power, they are actually more efficient (generally) meaning that if you are planning for future graphics cards especially, you will need more power.

I second that 550VX, you should be good to go for a long while with that. Buy.com always has a good deal on that particular unit. Check it out. PC Power and Cooling has good units aswell, so if you can find one of theirs for cheaper, go ahead.

 

[Andrius]

Corsair PSUs are a sweetspot of value/quality. Everything else just sort of blurs away in comparisson. Nothing that cheap is better AFAIK.

 

[Underclock]

thanks, everyone, i'm getting the 550VX!