Noob PSU question.

[muckle]

I'm pretty sure that it's not the case, but if a PSU is more powerful than one's requirements - are you wasting money? a good PSU only uses as much power as it needs right? I'm well aware 850w is overkill for SLI 460s, but i'm thinking about future requirements. The xfx 850 black edition is highly rated and is in a ram combo i'm eyeballing

 

[Tamz_msc]

If you get a good PSU that can run all the components that you're intending to throw at it, then you're not wasting money.

 

[obsidian86]

Your pc will only draw what it needs from a psu if all your components require 300 watts a psu will provide 300 watts regardless if your psu is rated for 400 watts or 4000 watts

 

[Emperus]

A 2-way SLI config with GTX 460 video cards will draw a max of 300W.. Add another 200W for an overclocked CPU and other peripherals and your system won't be drawing more than 550W.. So getting any PSU (but ofcourse from a good brand) with a wattage rating in excess of that is safe and a good buy.. Although, there is this term called overkill.. The setup as mentioned will be pretty competent for few years of gaming surely.. Also, the future generation video cards might turn out to provide more performance with lesser power requirements at the similar price levels.. Thus, although its safe to buy any wattage PSU till you can afford, it might be more wise to get something which is adequate for the current setup with a decent amount of headroom for adding other components.. As such, the XFX 750W Black Edition is highly recommended.. You can do a decent saving on the price front and invest it to get a better CPU and/or more (or better) RAM.. May be even a SSD..

 

[4745454b]

While I agree with Emperus's numbers, you need to add a bit more so that the PSU isn't running at 100% while your gaming. Not only would it be running very inefficiently, but you'll be causing it to work harder then it should. Getting what you need + 20% or so is fine. 550W *1.2 = 660W, so perhaps a nice 700W? 750W if you want to OC the GTX460s.

 

[Emperus]

While I agree with Emperus's numbers, you need to add a bit more so that the PSU isn't running at 100% while your gaming. Not only would it be running very inefficiently, but you'll be causing it to work harder then it should. Getting what you need + 20% or so is fine. 550W *1.2 = 660W, so perhaps a nice 700W? 750W if you want to OC the GTX460s.

i agree.. And that's the reason i suggested a 750W PSU.. My point was to keep the overkill to as minimum as possible..

 

[muckle]

Best answer selected by muckle.