Legit Reviews

What PSU wattage do I need for the system with

Intel E2140 or similar, overclocked, probably 3.2GHz
nVidia 9600GT, possibly overclocked
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320G, overclocked --- just joking
old ATA HDD
2G memory DDR2 800
LiteOn DVD combo

?

Watts don't matter if you're getting a cheap power supply. I say go with a good, high-quality brand such as Corsair, Enermax, etc.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph ... cid=PS.808 Something like the VX550 should be more than enough for your rig. The VX450 should be more than enough too, but the VX550 provides more headroom for future upgrades.

Corsair PSUs are pretty much the goto brand here on the forums because they are that damn good. There are quite a few other brands with decent PSUs (like PC Power and Thermaltake) but the Corsair pretty much has everything but the SUPER high end rigs wrapped up.

Also, you might want to grab a Corsair 520HX for the modular cabling, I think they are a couple bucks more but so worth it...

Seasonic is another great brand (They make most Corsair PSU's), but they are a bit more expensive

You guys seem to be going pretty high-end here, as important as a PSU may be I'm not going to buy a unit as expensive as a motherboard. I am looking for "decent/ok", not "very good".

I take umbrage with your statement regarding the statement "I am looking for "decent/ok", not "very good"." A solid power supply is the most important component in any system. You will do yourself a favor and follow the advice given here.

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-vx-450w ... 66485.html
Price After Rebate(s): $59.99
Shipping: FREE

I condone setscrew's umbrage of your statement...

All kidding aside, your PSU really is THE most important piece of equipment in your entire computer...why? if it goes out (as cheap PSUs are wont to do), there is a good chance that it'll take most of your components with it. Not a happy time. Spend the money and get the Corsair...it'll last you for quite a few computers to come.

Most systems don't really need more than a proper 300-400W PSU with the power distributed across the rails as the system needs. Most these days need most of the power to be available on the 12V rails. One thing to be sure is that you have the proper array of connectors. Some systems now need an 8-pin with 4 x 12V lines and others need one or two 6-pin with 3x12V lines to it as well as the 4-pin square with 2 x 12V lines to it for the mobo. I have some Antec EA-380 (380W) for sale in the For Sale/Trade section of the http://forums.anandtech.com (search on EA-380 or rocketfish and you'll find under the same nickname that I use here). I doubt you'd need more than the 430W version of the same. They are excellent PSUs also made for Antec by Seasonic. Only thing I'm not sure of is the video card, but fairly sure the 380 will cover it assuming the connector(s) it needs are present.

.bh.

I see big difference in price between PSUs with/without active PFC. Does it make sense to go for APFC, how is it superior over passive PFC?

Also, have you heard about these brands:

Chieftec
Fortron
I-BOX
ModeCom Feel

Active PFC can save you money in running costs:

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/348/11/

Dan

A commended powersupply from this list will do you well:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... ostcount=2

Dan

Yes, I've seen the list, from the brands I mentioned there's only Fortron so it's one of the top candidates being also not very expensive.

When is it ok to scrimp on the PSU?

NEVER!

I paid more for my PSU than I did for my motherboard. So what? I've seen underpowered, or cheap PSU's destroy complete systems when they go bad. They tend to be viscous and destroy your other parts when they fail.

If you want to find out how much it really costs to be cheap, then be my guest.

In the end, buying a good quality PSU is the best investment you can make. Enuf said!

I suspect I am biased because I've had a shabby PSU for quite a few years and "only" had problems with a fan in it, nothing of the more serious trouble you mention. Modern systems seem to be higher powered so maybe PSU becomes more important.

One thing that puzzles me is this: I have seen 3 power consumption tests for systems with GeForce 9600GT and the "busy" load was 200-240W. So why people tend to recommend at least 400W PSU for such systems? I understand that 400W may be a maximum power but still there's a lot in reserve between 240 and 400.

Also, you think Fortron GLN 400W would be ok for my box?

The reason being that the important thing that is in play is not the total wattage of the PSU, but the available amps on each rail (or to break it down, the wattage available per rail).

As the PC will take some of it's ~240W load from the 5v rail and the 3.3v rail, but mostly from the 12v rail. All of the watts from each rail are bunched together and its total rating is reported as that. Cheap PSU manufacturers will take advantage of this system, and have really high capacity 3.3v and 5v rails that will not be used (as most of the power draw is 12v on modern systems), so essentially cheat with the wattage ratings.

Going with a reccomended PSU manufacturer means that you can relax knowing that the PSU is deffinately capable of doing the job (of powering your system) properly.

The Fortron FSP400-60GLN should do you quite nicely.

Dan