PSU help, need educated opinion on what to buy...

Hi

You can run your rig through this calculator to check the wattage:
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

I wouldn't entirely trust the Power Supply Calculator GPU Wattage (it appears to list the average of the peak 2D and 3D power requirements). Refering to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_200_Series
You can see the 260 GT has maximum 3D power requirement of 136 watts. It requires 2x 6-pin PCIe power connectors.

So it needs a PSU with 12V rails which supply at least 136/12=11 A.

At the budget end that would mean a Corsair 550VX or Corsair 520HX (for modular) for example. Ideally you operate a PSU at around 50% of its rated capacity. This is typically were they are the most efficient. At idle efficiency usually drops to ~80% (or less for a crap PSU) and the same at full load. That PSU will also handle a Q6600 overclock.

Here's a review of the 550VX:
http://www.jonnyguru.com//modules. [...] ry&reid=62

The full list of tiered power supplies is on this thread:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088
this is based on build quality/component quality following a disassembly of a single unit.

If you are thinking of setting up SLI in the future (why else would you endure a Nvidia chipset ) then you will need to future proof yourself. You need a PSU with 4x PCIe 6-pin connectors and >750 Watts peak (ensures your PSU is around 50% loaded). Lots of good stuff in this market (Ultra X3 series, Corsair 1000HX, PC Power & Cooling range). Just make sure your case can fit the PSU!! (Ultra X3 and Corsair aren't very long so are a good choice.)

Bob

Thanks guys, i was also looking at the ODIN 550w powersupply and it seems to be pretty good but i just need a second opinion. Any thoughts about it?

IT does look like a great PSU, high chance of getting it now thanks mate, but i have quite a few peripherals that need power, will i be able to get like a hub for the PSU so i can connect them all to that corsair 620HX?

This will get you in the right wattage range.
http://www.extreme.outervision.com [...] orlite.jsp
This will get you the right PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] rder=PRICE

e8400 oc more but i still prefer quad because it can oc just as well but not as much but 2 extra core is better. which psu did u decide on?

no the e8400 oc would be "slightly" better for gaming but newer games coming out soon will slowly start to support multi cores thats when quad will take over. e8400 can oc to 4.0ghz while the quads usually can hit 3.6ghz not much difference in gaming maybe 1-3fps difference. i see u have 4gig to tell u the the truth in my opinion to get better performance instead of buying such a expensive psu i would get a cheaper one and get more ram, even tho 4gig is plenty getting more ram would help a little more. (just my opinion)

yes the e8400 destroys the quad at stock speeds. 3.0ghz vs 2.4ghz to much difference. ya u need a decent psu look at my rig in the sig area im running my whole system off a 500w. ur sys would need a good 450w and for sli a good psu around 550w+ would be enough.

In my earler post I was merely pointing out the Corsair 620 HX was much cheaper than the Gigabyte PSU you were suggesting.

Like I said before you could easily get away with a Corsair 550 VX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139004
Very HQ and a steal at 78.00 USD after rebate.

IT IS THE QUALITY OF THE POWER SUPPLY THAT MATTERS NOT THE WATTAGE!!

Bob

nice, gosh all the psu's you guys are suggesting sound very appetising, more my build and wallet! lol. with the quad, even when its not oc does it perform well in games, eg crysis very high?

nice, thats two 260's right? btw when you say 2.8 due you mean just overclock the q6600 to 2.8 or get the higher with the clock standard of 2.8?

lol being aussie our cash is all different colours lol. but yeah its good to oc to save some dough. you would have to keep both pretty cool to overclock, are you using fans or liquid? whats your cooling system is like?

here is the case i have.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811146025
i have 3 120mm fans. one in the front one on the side panel and one at the end of the case. ill admit my system isnt cooled to well. i have 2 weak fans and 1 strong fan that takes all the hot air out on the side panel where the graphic cards r so it works.

Nice case, yeah i have 4 120mm fans plus a 200mm one. should be cool enough for it all, i just dont want to burn my hardware out by oc's. Vankat btw when you say 600w is that just to ensure i have enough brunt?

thats plenty to keep it cool. i agree with rtfm do get a good quality psu. i had a cheap raidmax and it died after a month. =[
Here r some good brands( Antec, Thermaltake, pc power & cooling, corsair)
my psu had 2 pcie and 2 gtx260 sli requires 4pcie but u can use 2x4pin molex adapter to 6pin pcie. they usually come with the card.

hell no they dont use that much power there thermal envelope is around 170w i believe. if it needed 500-600w the card would of melted.
simply put 1 gtx260 ( and with ur setup) good quality 450w.
2 gtx260 in sli good quality 550w+

lol okey dokey. sounds good. ill try to get a good one. btw 64-bit would be the best way to go vista?

nice thanks invisik, been a great bloke. Thanks. Thanks to everyone else that has helped, its much appreciated. If i have anymore queries i know who to contact. Thanks all catch yas later ...