How much PSU do I need?

[doko]

Hi, this is my first time building a computer and I'm not sure how much PSU I would need, heres the list of parts I'm considering.

Mother Board: ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570
Memory: G.Skill Ares F3-1600C10D-16GAO 16GB
Graphics: Asus Geforce GTX 560
Fan: Cooler master Hyper 212
Case: Cooler master HAF RC-912a
HDD: WD Green 1TB
Dvd: Samsung Dvdrw

Thats around $875 AUD

I have used some PSU calculators and read the one of the forums regarding PSU, and got results ranging from 580W to 600W.

I was looking at the Antec EarthWatts 650W Green but I am not sure if this is too little or too much. Some guidance will be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[Rugger]

The Antec Earthwatts 650W is more than sufficient for your planned build. A system with a single GTX560 requires a 450W PSU with two 75W 6-pin PCIe power connectors and 30A on the 12V rails.

Most 450W PSUs only have one 6-pin PCIe power connector so it would be asier to start looking at 500W PSUs. My signature has a recommended PSUs thread that is good as well as a PSU guide. The Antec Earthwatts 500W is sufficient for your build. If you have a website that we can take a look at and tell us your budget then we can make some recommendations.

 

[abekl]

HDD: WD Green 1TB

Don't use a green drive as your primary storage. Greens drives are slow, and are constantly spinning down to conserve energy. You'll be highly dissatisfied with the performance of the green drive. Buy a WD blue or black drive with at least a 32 MB cache.

 

[clutchc]

Your Antec choice is good. Room to spare. But as abekl stated, avoid the green drives for your boot drive... for the reason mentioned.

 

[doko]

Thanks for the quick replies guys! Um should I consider an SDD for my boot drive then? And get a WD blue/black drive as my secondary storage drive? Also Rugger you mentioned 500W is sufficient for my build but if I add a SDD to this build will it alter the needed PSU by much?

 

[clutchc]

A SSD is always nice to have, but not manditory.
A green drive should only be used for a storage drive you don't access often. Something to store pictures, movies, etc on.
If you decide on a SSD, use this tutorial to avoid pitfalls and mistakes when installing the O/S: http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

 

[doko]

Thanks clutchc for that link! Will assist me greatly for the set up of my computer. Also I altered my parts after considering the advice received.

Case: Coolermaster Haf RC 912A
Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme 4
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570
Memory: G Skill Ares 16Gb (8X2)
Graphics: Asus Geforce GTX 560
CPU heatsink: Coolermaster Hyper 212
SSD: Corsiar Force series 3 60GB
HDD: WD 3.5" Caviar Black 500GB
PSU: Antec Earth watts 650W Green

I chose the 650W one instead of the 500W so I wouldnt need to replace the PSU when I decide to upgrade! Thanks alot of the feedback guys

 

[clutchc]

A couple minor points; From my experience with WD Black drives, I find them much noisier than the Blue. Apparently others do as well from the posts I've read. Another thing is an idea you may want to consider using your SSD. I filled up my small 64GB SSD quickly and was considering a new larger one. But I decided to try Intel® Smart Response Technology, whereby the SSD is used a a huge cache for the HDD (boot drive). http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Intel-Smart-Response-Technology-Explained/1292

I can vouch for the fact that it works, and it works well. And it is totally invisible to the user. My main drive now seems as fast as my SSD did alone, except its size is huge compared to the SSD. And no juggling files between drives. Just something to consider.