I need a PSU and I'll get whichever brand you tell me to

Specs:
Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Socket 775 Motherboard
OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2x2048MB)
M501-1018 :: Sabrent SBT-RDIT Silicon Image Ultra ATA 100/133 IDE RAID PCI Controller Card (0.25 lbs)(So that I can use 3 IDE Hard drives I already own)
P56-9604 :: PNY GeForce 9600 GT Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, (2) Dual Link DVI, HDTV, VGA Support (1.3 lbs)
CP1-DUO-E7400 :: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Processor BX80571E7400 - 2.80GHz, 3MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Wolfdale-3M, Dual-Core, Retail, Socket 775 (0.4 lbs)

So I need a PSU that is scalable so that I can eventually have 2 video cards. And one that is a decent brand, Corsair, seasonic, etc...and also need at least 5 molex connectors all for under $100. I'd like modular, but not a neccessity. I ha ven't had much luck searching for bargains...

That red PC P&C 750W is only $80 after rebate at Microcenter, but I don't know how much they charge for shipping:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0264292

+1 for the 650TX and the 750TX they are great.

The Corsair is an excellent choice (Seasonic is also quite good). You should be happy with that PSU for some time to come - it is definitely a powerhouse with that monstrous 12V rail.

This new system is replacing my MSI K8N MOBO with an ATI 256k video card and 2 hard drives with a 400w Thermaltake PSU. My girlfriend kept tripping the circuit breaker with her hair dryer after repeated attempts to prevent the blackouts. So after 10 times or so, the PC wouldn't turn on again. Took it to a computer place and they said the PSU, MOBO and CPU were bad. She refuses to take responsibility claiming it must've been a bad PSU because someone at Tiger Direct told her that the PSU must've already been bad. Any ideas or theories? What's more likely? A 3 year old PC and a one year old MOBO went bad (I warrantied the MOBO about 1 1/2 years ago) or she blew it out by power surging the crap out of it with her hair dryer?

You, mate, have a power problem. Your GF has all the power, and you have all of the problem. I'm sure that you have more than one circuit, find a socket on another circuit and banish her, and her hairdryer, to that circuit. If that circuit is in another town, preferably another state, all the better...

As aevm said, "This is kind of weird, how much can that dryer possibly consume, thousands of watts???"

You should have a 20a circuit. If not more... (After 10 trips to the electric box, you should know better than I...) Most wet areas have a GFI circuit, and should not have any other sockets on that circuit. OK, let's assume that you are in an older building. No GFI. Still, one 20a circuit should provide ~2400 watts. I highly doubt that your PSU is drawing more than 9a at full load. More like 3 to 5a total. So that leaves 15a available for the offending hairdryer. That leaves 1800 watts for the hairdryer. Either you have a defective circuit breaker, or your GF has a defective dryer, or both.

Get a good UPS if your power is that flaky, and get your GF a new hairdryer. (One would have thought that after two or three trips to the electric box, you'd have figured this out all by yourself.) Refer back to my original post...

"You, mate, have a power problem. Your GF has all the power, and you have all of the problem. I'm sure that you have more than one circuit, find a socket on another circuit and banish her, and her hairdryer, to that circuit. If that circuit is in another town, preferably another state, all the better..."

If you did not turn off the PSU's switch, then yes... That would 'surge' the circuit. (I put 'surge' in semi quotes because the circuit would actually sag first, causing a brown-out, followed by an over-volt condition as the circuit stabilized. These swings would have been, ordinarily, in the time span of milliseconds, but could be prolonged by, say, the heater still on, the hair dryer still on, TV, etc.)

I have never heard of a UPS power strip. APC makes good units, as does Tripp-lite. I'd avoid Belkin.

Okay so one more question: Would that Corsair PSU I got and the APC backup be enough protection from my 'powerful' hair dryin' of a girlfriend?

She can now stay... But do get her a new hairdryer.