Running on Smartpower, when to upgrade

[ConstipatedVigilante]

I'm looking to upgrade to an 8800 GT/2950 Pro before Christmas, along with an Athlon X2 from my current 3700+. The problem is my 450W Smartpower 2.0 PSU. I've seen many reports of them dying on people, and I wouldn't like to have mine crap out and take components with it. So, the question is whether to jump on a new PSU now or wait until right before I upgrade. I'm eying the Earthwatts 430 and 500w models, but how much power do I really need? Here's a quick summary of what my rig will be after upgrades (assuming all goes to plan):

Athlon X2 3800+ or 4200+, probably overclocked
2GB DDR400 RAM
Asus A8N-E mobo
8800 GT or 2950 Pro
1x internal 200gb HDD, 1x external via USB
keyboard, mouse, joystick, MP3 player via USB
1x DVD burner
2 case fans

Thanks for any input.

 

[SparkyJJO]

If you can jump on the 500W Earthwatts for $50 from fry's (if they still have it) I'd do that. Otherwise, I'd look for a good deal on the Corsair VX450.

And if you do decide to ditch the smartpower, PM me... I might be interested in taking it off your hands (depending on what you want for it) to recap and use for a spare or for my brother's PC.

 

[Super Nade]

The SP is a ticking time bomb. Either recap it or get a better unit.

Here is one I completely tore up for a recap/review. It literally falls apart at the rated specs. A friend of mine did some ATE testing on it. The results are NOT pretty.

http://picasaweb.google.com/su...de/Sept13AntecTearDown

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Well, the PSU should be fine as long as I keep with my current setup, right? It's been going fine for almost 2 years now with frequent use and heavy load. I'm planning on replacing it as soon as I upgrade the GPU.

 

[Super Nade]

Sorta. Cool it well and you may pull a year or so (max) out of it. I'm sure it is already afflicted by the dreaded Fujjhuyu syndrome. 🙂