I've decided - more or less on a system and just ordered the case, but I'm in need of some help with a PSU as im getting fairly stuck - in terms of what size I need? Any help would be much appreciated again, excuse my noob-ness. So I've chosen: Intel i7 930 Processor Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Motherboard 6Gb (3x2Gb) Corsair Dominator, DDR3 PC3-12800 RAM 1TB Samsung HDD DVDRW ATI 5850 1Gb Grapics Card But like I said I've got no idea what PSU to go for, I've trwaled through hours of reading on bit-tech.net forums but am still unsure... I've also used of the configurator websites which have said 700/800W do you think this is right? Thanks in advance!
I think a good 650W PSU will work okay with that. A similar system but with a Core i5 proc and with 4GB of Corsair XMS3 RAM will work fine on a quality 550W PSU, so I guess that 650W should be fine for the system you quoted. I'm not sure of what PSU is best at 650W, however CPC recommend the Antec TruePower New TP-650 (£80) which looks a pretty great PSU and should handle your system fine, IMO.
I think a Corsair 750HX would be a good choice for your system which is a 750W PSU and Modular. Link to it at scan: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/750W...ATX-EPS12V-Modular-UK-Version-7-Year-Warranty
Most sites already use i7-based, often overclocked, test beds for their GPU-reviews and system wattages, so what you see there is pretty much what you should expect. Roughly it's 150 W for the card, 100-150 W for the CPU and on top of that some 50-100 W for the rest of the system. Anything above 400 W would be adequate, but just to be safe and to hit the sweet spot of PSU-prices, something in the 500-700 W region is what you want. Personal faves are Corsair's TX and HX-series. £93 would buy you a lovely HX650.
I'll second the Antec truepower 650w. You could get away with less - as others have pointed out - but 650w will give you room to move to crossfire etc. later. The Antec is efficient, modular, and relatively cheap.
I'd go for a Corsair HX650W. The amount of cables you get with the TX is just mental, and you can't remove any of them, the HX is modular so this can easily be remedied. Corsairs are also pretty much the most reliable PSUs you can get and they run nice and cool and quiet.
Hey Just something to think of. I have noticed that people are reporting a whining noise with certain power supplies and this MB. I have got a Hiper 880w which seems to be fine but i would do a search on the web before you decide which one to go for.
