What is the lowest wattage psu...

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
So, low end graphics card... how much overclocking if any?

Either way I think any good 300W would have more than enough capacity for such a rig, overclocked or not. I think this 300W Seasonic 80+Bronze unit for $40 would suffice. Below 300W I don't think there are any good quality PSUs until you hit 160W, and that might be cutting it close if you ever load up your CPU all the way.

Oh BTW if you want really fast drives for Windows 7, SSD is the way to go. If you still want the VelociRaptors, then go for the 450GB or 600GB because those use higher density platters and are thus faster than the 300GB versions.
 

frostedflakes

Diamond Member
Mar 1, 2005
7,925
1
81
Crossfire 5570? You'd really be better off just getting a single 5750 or 5770, then maybe a second for Crossfire sometime down the road.

Also, Velociraptors are kind of poor value IMO. A 600GB VR, for example, is $280. An 80GB Intel X25-M and 1TB 5400RPM HDD would cost about the same, the SSD would be far faster than a VR, and the 1TB drive would provide more storage space. Or for about $220-ish you can get an OCZ Vertex 60GB and 1TB HDD. Not quite as fast as the X25-M, but still pretty fast, would run circles around the VR. Only downside is space is a bit more limited with SSDs, you can fill up a 60GB or 80GB disk pretty fast if you have more than a couple large games loaded on it.
 

jaydee

Diamond Member
May 6, 2000
4,500
4
81
So, low end graphics card... how much overclocking if any?

Either way I think any good 300W would have more than enough capacity for such a rig, overclocked or not. I think this 300W Seasonic 80+Bronze unit for $40 would suffice. Below 300W I don't think there are any good quality PSUs until you hit 160W, and that might be cutting it close if you ever load up your CPU all the way.

Oh BTW if you want really fast drives for Windows 7, SSD is the way to go. If you still want the VelociRaptors, then go for the 450GB or 600GB because those use higher density platters and are thus faster than the 300GB versions.

Out of curiosity, what are the good quality psu's around 160W? External bricks, or traditional internal?
 

jaydee

Diamond Member
May 6, 2000
4,500
4
81
I think he is talking about the Pico-PSU

That's what I was afraid of... not a big fan of the external brick.

OP, that 500W is way more than enough. Stick that puppy in and don't worry about a thing.