[smerk]

Hey im not really too sure what kind of a PSU i will need for this system, what voltage etc i will need. I chose a 430W one, but im not sure if thats enough.
Here is the setup:

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6 M/b - AMD 790FX, DDR2 1066, 4 x PCI Express x16, SATAII RAID, USB2.0, 8-Ch, Crossfire, ATX

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 AM2 x2 6000+

Memory:
2G Kit-1066 (2x1G) PQA

Hard Drive:
W.D SATA 400G

Graphics Card:
TWO x Gigabyte 512mb 8600GT PCI-E

CD/DVD Drive:
Pioneer DVD-+RW

Case:
Thermaltake Soprano Case with Window & 430W PSU Black

Operating System:
64-bit MS Windows Vista Home Premium 1-Pack OEM DVD Operating System

Thanks for your help!
-Smerk

[link590o]

there are a bunch of top notch ones. if you want to power a sli system like that, even though this might be slight overkill, go for the Enermax Liberty 620 watt psu. that thing is amazingly powerful. about 115 US dollars.

[smerk]

I think i get the gist of the type of PSU i need, do you have any suggestions for one a little cheaper? Money is a bit of a problem, or would cheaping out on the power supply bring the entire system down?

[Cew27]

for psu's you get what you pay for, a more expensive well known brand psu will last longer than a cheapo one

[smerk]

I see, and would a 620W supply be the lowest i would want to get?

[link590o]

sorry for the delayed response. the last few days have been hectic and exciting for me since i finally got a brand new PC.

the 620 watt isn't the lowest. as i said, it may even be slightly overkill. but i think it's the safest because anything with a lower wattage might not offer enough power. a SLI system requires a LOT of power. cards tend to be very very hungry in terms of electricity. while it may not be cheap, it's a sure bet that it will run the system and won't give you any problems.

if you want to get a better idea of what you need i would suggest looking at a wattage calculator. just google for one, and one of the first few links should be the typical calculator we use around these sites.

just input all your info, and it will tell you the wattage you need. from there you just need to make sure the PSU you get offers that, plus about 50-100% more to be on the safe side for if you add more power hungry things later, and make sure it's quality. make sure that if you're getting 500 watts for 60 dollars that you don't buy it. around 80 or 90 for 500 watts is a sure bet that it's good, and above that, the price should rise accordingly. also look for main brands like corsair, antec, thermaltake, enermax, and other ones.

it's good to do a little bit of research and shopping around. but for my rig, i simply ended up buying a power supply that i knew offered tons of power and wouldn't fail on me if i added something. and i made sure it was a main brand name and of a high enough price that i wouldn't get screwed.

i went with an Antec Earthwatts 500 watt power supply. it offers about 29 amps of power on the 12v rails, which is pretty decent. i'm 90% sure it won't power a sli system. but i wasn't planning on going sli, nor do i have two pci-e 16x slots in the first place so it's not like it would've mattered. and i paid about 90 dollars for it.

see if you can google for an unofficial list of power supplies that orders a bunch of top notch supplies from best to worst as well. see if any specific psu you pick is on the list or of a similar brand name/type just to make sure that what you're getting is quality.

as i said, it is never a good idea to skimp on the psu. but if you want to go lower, and feel safe doing it, then by all means. feel free. i'm a bit paranoid about power problems, so i would go with the overkill just to have peace of mind.