First off, i'm sorry for not posting in the introduction area of the forum first. I've done about a weeks and like to tie up loose ends w/ some experts. Second off, I love the button "Ask the community" rather than New Thread/Create Thread. I'll definitely be staying on this forum for a while, if that's ok with you all 
Ok.... here goes:
Looking for capability and stability on my FIRST BUILD!! ^_^ - Strictly for GAMING, PHOTOSHOP, VIDEO EDITING/RENDERING and all the normal stuff.
****SPECS****
MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD motherboard (4 x PCI Expressx16)
Phenom™II 955 Quad Core @ 3.2Ghz
MSI N460GTX Hawk 1GB
Cosair 4 x2GB DDR3 1333 10666(may just use 2 x2GB as I hear 8GB is a hassle)
SeaSonic 650W ATX12V PSU Gold Certified Active PFC (other choice listed below)
640GB 7200rpm SATA 6Gb / 64mb Cache
My main concern is running the build w/ a capable/stable PSU.
GFX and Required Connections
The first thing i'm unsure of is the voltage/amps that my PSU will have to provide for my graphics card (see above) to run properly. The first "SOURCE" hyper link below shows a thread from this forum where a member states the amp is 24. MSI's website doesn't even show this. How can I be sure my PSU will provide the correct specifications?
I believe this card requires a 24pin power connector and 2 x 6PEG connectors. What i'm unsure of is any type of performance / stability differences between the 20+4pin and the 6+2pin connectors vs the one piece 24 and 6 connectors.
SOURCE - from TOMSHARDWARE
SOURCE 2 - from TOMSHARDWARE
SOURCE 3 - from TOMSHARDWARE
I've concluded that the graphics card, at load, pulls about 300+ Watts. Sources include google searches: "N460GTX Hawk Power Draw" w/ sites listing multiple models of graphic cards and their watts at different levels of use. I've read the following - Quote: "For cards drawing under 200w I suggest a 600w PSU, and for cards using over 200w to invest in a 750W+ PSU". So i'm going w/ a 750-850W to be safe, is this reasonable? or am I going too high here... ?
SOURCE - from TOMSHARDWARE
What are my options?
Preferences on brands? I hear Antec, Cosair and Seasonic are good names. Should I limit myself to the Bronze, Silver, Platinum and Gold Certified units, or is there something more important I should be looking for? I'm comfortable investing 100$-200$ on the PSU.
Thank you ahead of time for all your time and effort in reading/answering my questions. i'm really just trying my best to do this right, the first time!
Thanks again!
Kenny
Ok.... here goes:
Looking for capability and stability on my FIRST BUILD!! ^_^ - Strictly for GAMING, PHOTOSHOP, VIDEO EDITING/RENDERING and all the normal stuff.
****SPECS****
MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD motherboard (4 x PCI Expressx16)
Phenom™II 955 Quad Core @ 3.2Ghz
MSI N460GTX Hawk 1GB
Cosair 4 x2GB DDR3 1333 10666(may just use 2 x2GB as I hear 8GB is a hassle)
SeaSonic 650W ATX12V PSU Gold Certified Active PFC (other choice listed below)
640GB 7200rpm SATA 6Gb / 64mb Cache
My main concern is running the build w/ a capable/stable PSU.
GFX and Required Connections
The first thing i'm unsure of is the voltage/amps that my PSU will have to provide for my graphics card (see above) to run properly. The first "SOURCE" hyper link below shows a thread from this forum where a member states the amp is 24. MSI's website doesn't even show this. How can I be sure my PSU will provide the correct specifications?
I believe this card requires a 24pin power connector and 2 x 6PEG connectors. What i'm unsure of is any type of performance / stability differences between the 20+4pin and the 6+2pin connectors vs the one piece 24 and 6 connectors.
SOURCE - from TOMSHARDWARE
SOURCE 2 - from TOMSHARDWARE
SOURCE 3 - from TOMSHARDWARE
I've concluded that the graphics card, at load, pulls about 300+ Watts. Sources include google searches: "N460GTX Hawk Power Draw" w/ sites listing multiple models of graphic cards and their watts at different levels of use. I've read the following - Quote: "For cards drawing under 200w I suggest a 600w PSU, and for cards using over 200w to invest in a 750W+ PSU". So i'm going w/ a 750-850W to be safe, is this reasonable? or am I going too high here... ?
SOURCE - from TOMSHARDWARE
What are my options?
Preferences on brands? I hear Antec, Cosair and Seasonic are good names. Should I limit myself to the Bronze, Silver, Platinum and Gold Certified units, or is there something more important I should be looking for? I'm comfortable investing 100$-200$ on the PSU.
Thank you ahead of time for all your time and effort in reading/answering my questions. i'm really just trying my best to do this right, the first time!
Thanks again!
Kenny
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