Build a movie-computer with a 250w or 300w PSU?

Depending on the age and how heavily used the PSU is (and the quality of the unit), you could do this. It would be very close, and you'd only be able to put in one HDD, one DVD drive and a couple of fans. Of course, you'd also not have a GPU.

I would recommend finding a good PSU wattage calculator and checking out the i3-530 and H55 chipset.

What if I didnt even need a DVD drive? Or does that not use any power when its not on?

(I have dvd player on TV this would be for playing from HDD only)

According to eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

With that CPU, 1 WD Green HDD, no graphics card, 1 2gb stick of RAM, DVD ROM drive and 1 120mm fan I only need 126W?

So I'm good?

You should be. Again, assuming the PSU isn't old and/or hasn't been used much.

So here's the parts I figure:


Intel Core i3 530 Dual Core Processor Clarkdale LGA1156 2.93GHZ $147.33
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48959&vpn=BX...

Gigabyte H55M-S2H mATX LGA1156 H55 DDR3 $99.01
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48766&vpn=GA...

Kingston HyperX 2GB PC3-11000 2GB DDR3 CL7 $59.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=41272&vpn=KH...

Western Digital WD5000AADS Caviar Green 500GB SATA 32M $71.33
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=46454&vpn=WD...

LG 16X DVD-ROM Optical Drive SATA $19.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=45429&vpn=DH...

Diablotek DA Series 320w mATX Power Supply $29.99
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...

Total Price $425.64


Good system?

ok a 250 w psu is not enough... you could spend 20-50 bucks at newegg and get a 400+ psu that would give you something to work with you cant put enough hardware in that system to expect decent playback . Or decent resolution on any movie!

I think 2GB should be plenty for that type of machine.

It is a mATX case and normal sized PSU's will not fit. AFAIK mATX PSU's max out at 300w, which I have found online and may upgrade to a 300w just to be safe.

So the system must work with a 300w PSU

TigerDirect has a 320W PSU

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item...