What should my psu's wattage and etc be?

[ryancxg]

My Specs:
Intel core 2 quad cpu q8200 @2.33GHz
6.00GB of RAM

actually not sure about any other specific things
- i have 1 cd drive, thats it
-integrated graphics

I plan on switching to a 9500gt, what wattage should the psu i buy be?

im on a 300w psu right now.

ps. if you can name a better graphics card and power supply for less than a 130$ total, that'd be cool. I can actually go up to 170$ but i would rather not.

 

[jimiznhb]

Get a ANTEC, Corsair, OCZ 450 to 550 Watt PSU, If you want to go up to $130 then you can go 750 Watt but that is probably overkill.

 

[jsc]

If all you are doing is switching to something like a 9500GT or 9600, a Corsair 400CX (30 amp 12 volt rail)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008
is all you need.

In fact, look here:
Best graphics cards for the money:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-geforce-gtx-480,2598.html

You should be able to do better than a 9500GT.

 

[ksampanna]

My Specs:
Intel core 2 quad cpu q8200 @2.33GHz
6.00GB of RAM

actually not sure about any other specific things
- i have 1 cd drive, thats it
-integrated graphics

I plan on switching to a 9500gt, what wattage should the psu i buy be?

im on a 300w psu right now.

ps. if you can name a better graphics card and power supply for less than a 130$ total, that'd be cool. I can actually go up to 170$ but i would rather not.

Graphics - MSI R5670-PMD1G Radeon HD 5670 $108.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127477

PSU - COOLER MASTER RS-400-PSAR-J3 400W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171042

 

[shovenose]

no that cooler ,master is JUNK

 

[shovenose]

corsair 400cx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

radeon 5670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103073

 

[ksampanna]

corsair 400cx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

radeon 5670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103073

[1] Your link for the radeon card is actually of the 4670, not 5670.
[2] I know the cooler master is junk, but he wanted the combo to be within the $130-140 range, & that seems to be the best deal; unless he plans on getting the 5450 (which is a shitty gaming card) & a good psu.

 

[RetiredChief]

Concur with shovenose on PSU - Excellent choice

Correct shovelnose GPU link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161319

Total cost approx 56 + 95 - $10 rebate. = $141

 

[shovenose]

thank you, retiredchief. yeah that exactly what i was looking at,
and then i moved on down the list, and i must have chosen the wrong one when i went back up to find the 5670..

shovelnose? who the heck is that?
heres a shovelnose shark: (it was the the first result in google images)

 

[ryancxg]

how much amps per 12v would be considered good?

 

[ryancxg]

i probably would buy my parts from frys and i saw this, http://www.frys.com/product/5366448?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

but i cant tell if its good.

 

[RetiredChief]

You can lead a horse to water, but getting hime to drink is another question.

Do a google search on quallity PSUs

You will find Raidmax about 3 feet below negative 1.

I also prefer Buying at a "Real" store. Have shoped at fry's, also like microcenter - BUT if newegg, zipzoomfly, or tigerdirect has a better price for what I want (Not what they are tring to unload) I buy on line.

 

[logan the huge]

Antec Earthwatts EA 380D
$30+tax
http://www.frys.com/product/6139349?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Sapphire Radeon HD4850 512MB
$90 shipped w/ promo code
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-485HDM5&title=Sapphire-Radeon-HD4850-512MB-DDR3-VGA-DVI-HDMI-PCI-Express-Video-Card-Retail


Edit: I should ask: what specific model is your current 300w PSU? If it's decent, you could probably just get the 5670 (or maybe even a 4770, which is faster but uses a bit more juice) mentioned above and skip buying a new PSU all together.

 

[ryancxg]

12V/19A

made by liteon

 

[logan the huge]

Liteon makes decent OEM power supplies but 19A is pretty marginal (I was hoping for 22-24A). A 5670 would probably still work as long as you're not overclocking anything and you only have 1-2 HDs and 1-3 fans. The 4850 is quite a bit more powerful so it may be worth spending the extra $30 on the new PSU anyway. What games do you want to play and what's the resolution of your monitor?

 

[ryancxg]

I would like to play left 4 dead 2, bad company 2, etc. i dont mind if its not high quality or anything. just decent. I would hope to be able to play future games with decent graphics, though im not sure if anything more graphics demanding will come out anytime soon, aside from crysis, which i dont really wanna play.

and im not sure about resolution, but its i think 21 or 23 inches? it has a cord to plug into an outlet for power, if that makes a difference.

 

[ryancxg]

If i were to just buy a graphics card or something, would it be likely for my psu to blow my whole motherboard or anything like that? curious lol.

 

[ksampanna]

I would like to play left 4 dead 2, bad company 2, etc. i dont mind if its not high quality or anything. just decent. I would hope to be able to play future games with decent graphics, though im not sure if anything more graphics demanding will come out anytime soon, aside from crysis, which i dont really wanna play.

and im not sure about resolution, but its i think 21 or 23 inches? it has a cord to plug into an outlet for power, if that makes a difference.

You mean the screem size is 21-23 ", & if that's the case, then the resolution is definitely more than 1400 X 800. Then the 5670 won't be able to give you good frame rates at max settings in most of the games.

If i were to just buy a graphics card or something, would it be likely for my psu to blow my whole motherboard or anything like that? curious lol.

It won't blow your motherboard, but you will get artifacts on screen (small dots dancing around) when playing games due to the gpu not getting enough juice from the psu.

how much amps per +12v would be considered good?

It's subjective, but here's a rough estimate for a decent psu:

300-400 W : 30-35 A
400-500 W : 35-40 A
500-600 W : 40-45 A
You get the drift

 

[logan the huge]

You mean the screem size is 21-23 ", & if that's the case, then the resolution is definitely more than 1400 X 800. Then the 5670 won't be able to give you good frame rates at max settings in most of the games.

Agreed, that monitor is probably 1440x900/1600x900/1680x1050 and a 5670 is going to have a hard time playing modern games at that resolution. You should go with my original suggestion of the Earthwatts 380D+4850 or you don't mind waiting for a rebate, you could get the Corsair 400CX which is $50-$10 MIR at Amazon instead of the Earthwatts.

It's subjective, but here's a rough estimate for a decent psu:

300-400 W : 30-35 A
400-500 W : 35-40 A
500-600 W : 40-45 A
You get the drift

How can 12v power exceed the total?

 

[ksampanna]

How can 12v power exceed the total? [/quotemsg]

I did not list +12v power, I listed +12v currents in amperes.
For eg: Take the Corsair 400CX. Its total power is 400W & it has a single +12v rail which can provide 30 Amperes of current.

300-400 W : 30-35 A
400-500 W : 35-40 A
500-600 W : 40-45 A

This means that for a good 300-400 W psu, the current on the +12v rail should be around 30-35 Amperes.

 

[ryancxg]

would a 9600 gt or gso be good? my friend told me i should get a 9800gt but thats around 100$, so im not so sure if i want it.

 

[ryancxg]

id prefer under 80$ probably maybe 90.

 

[ryancxg]

I dont need max settings in games, just decent settings.

sorry for being so picky.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

The Corsair CX400 mentioned by jsc would be an appropriate choice providing you don't get carried away with a video card upgrade.

Corsair and Seasonic are two brands that have a reputation for high quality power supplies that consistently earn high marks in technical reviews. They are reliable, stable, and come with a 5 year warranty.

Lately we've been seeing a few other brands offering some high quality units. One example would be the Antec Earthwatts and the Antec TruePower New series which are major improvements over Antec’s older psu’s like the Basiq models.

 

[ryancxg]

You mean the screem size is 21-23 ", & if that's the case, then the resolution is definitely more than 1400 X 800. Then the 5670 won't be able to give you good frame rates at max settings in most of the games.

If i were to just buy a graphics card or something, would it be likely for my psu to blow my whole motherboard or anything like that? curious lol.

It won't blow your motherboard, but you will get artifacts on screen (small dots dancing around) when playing games due to the gpu not getting enough juice from the psu.

how much amps per +12v would be considered good?

It's subjective, but here's a rough estimate for a decent psu:

300-400 W : 30-35 A
400-500 W : 35-40 A
500-600 W : 40-45 A
You get the drift

when i play one of my games, team fortress 2, i play on 1152 x 864, which is fine. just saying.
idk if that helps or means anything, but yeah.