How do you know what power supply you need

[doakZ]

Hello, i need to know what power supply i need my pc isn't finished yet but ill tell you what i have so far.

Intel core i5 processor i5-2400 LGA1155

RADEON HD 4870

and my motherboard is

GIGABYTE
h67a-ud3h-b3

also could you please tell me what case, ram and also hard drive i should get.

 

[chousreaper]

what you plan on using this for?

 

[beenthere]

It's very easy to get an accurate PSU size requirement by using the PSU calculator at the link below. Just input your current or planned PC configuration and it will tell you what is required.

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[lilotimz]

It's fairly easy actually if you think about it.

Since your CPU cannot be OC'd, by itself, it will consume something like 95w under the worst case scenario. The HD 4870 will likely take around 160w-170w under full load while hard drive, dvd drive, case fans etc will prolly add around 50watts.

So you can easily run this entire system off a Antec EA 380D under full load with no problem at all.

Most of us would recommend units between 500-600watts from companies such as Seasonic, XFX, Antec, and Corsair (along with select others units) because these are quality units of quality build that can do its rated wattage.

Not to mention, it's not about the wattage, its all about the amount of power that a PSU can put to the 12v rails. Not enough power = unstable PC = generic PSU's that put their max power on the label and not the continuous power such as more high quality psu's.