Minimum Wattage PSU needed for budget box...

[SonnyDaze]

I'm trying to squeeze out a budget build and have got it down to an AMD rig with this:

X2 5600+ Brisbane 2.9ghz 65W
Foxconn A7GM-S AMD 780G
4GB (2x2GB) G.Skill DDR2 800
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB HDD
Samsung 22x DVD Burner SATA
Crap case from the junkyard

and I have a BFG 9600GT OC 512 PCIe that I will probably throw in there....

Question: What size PSU would I need to comfortably run this?

I have looked at the OCZ StealthXStream and the BFG LS series. Any thoughts??

Any help would be appreciated and thanks in advance!! :beer:

 

[theAnimal]

Antec Earthwatts 380 or 430.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

My current config:

Phenom 9850 @ 2.75 Ghz
Biostar TF 8200 mobo
4 GB (4x1GB) DDR2-800
2 HDD
2 DVDRW
Nvidia 8800GT OC'd by about 20%

Running on a 500w OCZ StealthXStream PSU.

My g/f's rig:

X2 4000+ @ 2.9 Ghz 65w
Biostar TF 770
4 GB (2x2GB) DDR2-800
3 HDD
DVDRW
Nvidia 7950GTO

Running on a 500w Antec Earthwatts PSU.

Both systems are reasonably quiet and perfectly stable.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: theAnimal
Antec Earthwatts 380 or 430.

Probably too low.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Running on a 500w OCZ StealthXStream PSU.

I can't find a damn PSU calculator online that makes sense!! One tells me 429W and another tells me 266W... I was looking at the OCZ 500W StealthXStream and the BFG 550 LS series. I could probably swing either one in the budget.

Obviously budget is the game here so I thought I might be able to save a few bucks if I could get by with a lower wattage PSU....though I would hate to see the rig go up in smoke if I budget too much.

Edit: After looking at the specs again for the BFG 9600GT it requires a 425W PSU with a 12V current rating of 28A or more. Of course that's for a system with a C2E x6800 cpu.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze

I can't find a damn PSU calculator online that makes sense!! One tells me 429W and another tells me 266W... I was looking at the OCZ 500W StealthXStream and the BFG 550 LS series. I could probably swing either one in the budget.

Obviously budget is the game here so I thought I might be able to save a few bucks if I could get by with a lower wattage PSU....though I would hate to see the rig go up in smoke if I budget too much.

Edit: After looking at the specs again for the BFG 9600GT it requires a 425W PSU with a 12V current rating of 28A or more. Of course that's for a system with a C2E x6800 cpu.

I never put much stock in those on-line wattage calculators.

Video card manufacturers who post "minimum PSU requirements" do so based on the assumption that many users will have a poorly made PSU. A high quality 300w PSU is going to be able to provide more stable current than an el-cheapo 425w unit.

My rig (see my 1st post) maxes out at ~ 330w at the outlet, including 20" LCD.

My g/f's rig (see my 1st post) maxes out at ~ 290w at the outlet, including her 22" LCD.

EDIT: Newegg has a Rosewill (their house brand) RP550 550W for $47 w/free shipping. I've used about a dozen Rosewill PSU's (including this one) over the last couple of years with zero problems.

Newegg also has the OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W Power Supply for $30 AR with free shipping.

 

[theAnimal]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: theAnimal
Antec Earthwatts 380 or 430.

Probably too low.

For a system that will have a hard time hitting 200W?

I would not recommend OCZ or Rosewill.

Other good choices would be Corsair VX450 or Seasonic S12 II 330/380/430.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: theAnimal

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: theAnimal
Antec Earthwatts 380 or 430.

Probably too low.

For a system that will have a hard time hitting 200W?

I would not recommend OCZ or Rosewill.

Other good choices would be Corsair VX450 or Seasonic S12 II 330/380/430.

His system will most likely top 200w under full load. Headroom to allow for future upgrades is always a good thing.

Yes, a good 300+ W PSU should be able to handle it, but how much of a $$ difference is there between that and a good 450 - 500w unit?

Brand is always up to the user. Antec EW 500w is weaker than my OCZ 500w.

Right now, my g/f's system - which is fairly similar to the OP's - is pulling 205w, not including the LCD.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

OCZ StealthXStream 600W

 

[magreen]

A decent quality 400W or 450W will be plenty of power for your system. You could go even smaller. If you see a good deal on the Antec EA430, grab it. The BFG LS series would be more than enough as well, with plenty of extra headroom. Your system is not going to pull much power.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze
I was looking at the OCZ 500W StealthXStream and the BFG 550 LS series.

The BFG is a good unit, and I'm not just saying that because I work for them.

Buy.com has it for $46.49 after $20 rebate with free shipping.

 

[OCNewbie]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze
I have looked at the OCZ StealthXStream and the BFG LS series. Any thoughts??

Nice review of the 550W LS series here - Link

They seemed to be fairly impressed.