Advice on PSU/Chassis for a New Build

[ataraxicdave]

Hello,

I've been using tomshardware for reference in my builds for a while but i'm upgrading and have received some conflicting info.

I currently have a Phenom II 955 paired with a Sapphire Radeon 6570 HD on an old case with a Jawan 600W PSU. Yes, I Know.

Well, i am short on cash and live in Colombia, so newegg is out of the question, and have about 300 USD to invest. I planned to buy a thermaltake v4 with a 500 W thermaltake PSU, with a Sapphire Radeon 6870 HD, and keep the same mobo and processor. That't hits my limit just right.

However, the vendor told me that I must use a 600W or 650W PSU (Though sapphire says that only 500W are needed). I will just believe the manufacturer for this one.

On the other hand he told me he doesn't think the case will be enough, something about 6870's not fitting or overheating or running way too hot in a thermaltake v4.

Approximate Purchase Date: two weeks from now

Budget Range: 300 USD

System Usage from Most to Least Important:gaming/entertainment

Location: Medellin Colombia

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe/No

Your Monitor Resolution:1400*900


So here's the question: Will the 6870 run hot in a v4? is the airflow and headspace sufficient? Should i spend the extra buck and get something like this:

Azza Vulcan
http://www.amazon.com/Linkworld-LC3191-04-Silver-VULCAN-Chassis/dp/B008LA7JP0

Azza Spartan
http://www.amazon.com/Azza-Tower-Computer-Spartan-102E/dp/B004NSULRC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1343254254&sr=1-1&keywords=azza+spartan

If i do, however, i have to buy them with the included 600w PSU brand "omega" which i have never used.

Any piece of advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jerreddredd]

just adding a front 120mm fan on the thermaltake v4 should be enough to keep the temps down.

the Thermaltake v4 500w comes with a really weak PSU (12v rails are 15A and 14A.)
http://www.pcdi.com.au/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=295

955 CPU 125W lots more if OC'd (mostly 12v rail)
6870 GPU 151W pulling a max load (12v rail)
-----
276W 24A @12v is 348 79% load max with out OCing.

its a weak PSU, but as long as you are not OC'ing the CPU you should be ok.

The Thermaltake PSU is not what i would consider a fair PSU as it has a higher than normal fail rate, but it is a better than "OMEGA"- these are junk. (unless the vendor will absolutely replace faulty ones on the spot, i wouldn't get one)


if you have no other PSU options, I think you will be ok with the ThermalTake bundle. you need as molex to PCIe 6pin adapter (should come with the GPU) as the thermaltake psu only has a single 6pin PCIe connector and the 6870 requires 2.

 

[ataraxicdave]

Thanks very much jerreddredd for your insight. My main problem is avaliability. Around here a 70 bucks cooler master or Rosewill PSU can cost over 150 USD. I have decided to use a 600w, but sadly thermaltake for now is all i can afford.

I realize just now that the lever on the cpu cooler has been damaged and i'm fairly sure if i remove the cooler it will be impossible to put on again. SO i need also an affordable replacement, hopefully a better one than the default one.

 

[ataraxicdave]

Best answer selected by Ataraxicdave.