300 watts, enough, right?

Well if you still can choose I would recommend a 350W to be sure you don't get power shortage. But in theory a 300W would do.

Be sure to get a decent branded powersupply.

My CPU runs so hot the arctic silver undergoes nuclear fusion   .

I guess therin lies my real question, can I use the one that comes with the case? Nowhere is a brand mentioned and I doubt it is a good one or else it would be.

The one with the case will do you perfectly fine. Usualy they are as good or better quality than these so called branded ones.
AREA_51

I disagree. I'd say it would depend on the case. If it's a cheap one, they may be using a cheap power supply that's rated to supply 300Watts on an individual output rail as opposed to a 300Watt aggregate rating (when all output rails are being used - like what happens in a computer). Read all about it in this interesting "little" article here:

<A HREF="http://www.dansdata.com/top420p4.htm" target="_new">http://www.dansdata.com/top420p4.htm&lt;/A>

Which case are you buying? Most times it will do.

My CPU runs so hot the arctic silver undergoes nuclear fusion   .

just some random POS at my local computer store, i want to build a computer for a friend and the main goal is to keep the bottom line as low as possible

Actually at the AMD website the XP processors power supply requirements are for a 300W minimum, thats why a lot of people run into trouble, and adding a TI-4200, extra cooling fans, highgrade CPU cooling, and things like 7200RPM hardrives need more power, than the minimum requirements, its a lot better to have more than not enough, shoot for the 400W range and you'll be fine.




Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.

You can give it a try... but there is a chance that you will get problems and end up buying a better PSU.

My CPU runs so hot the arctic silver undergoes nuclear fusion   .

??????
i'm sorry that's simply not true. a brand name power supply (antec, enermax, pc power and cooling) is a MUCH better idea than just any old thing. First of all check out the power supply review that THG did, and you'll see that all power supplies are not created equal. THEN think about the fact that if your power supply dies, it could create a surge and send entirely too much energy throughout your system and fry EVERYTHING (i've seen this in posts =(. So you don't want a crappy power supply. Plus a no name 300W power supply may not even provide 300W like it says it does (see THG review, again). Get a good power supply from the beginning and save yourself the worries!

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<A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/modules.php?name=Forums&..." target="_new">mubla otohp eht ni ecaf ruoy teg</A>

I agree. Some of PSU come with cheap case are very bad. My friend's AMD 1GHz duron cannot even boot with a 300 Watt PSU come with the $30 case.

Also agree with LtBlue14





Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.