Power Supply Advice

[Slipshot]

I am in the process of upgrading my system. To save on cost, I am looking towards reusing some of the older parts of my PC such as the Antec 650watt power supply and video card. That said, does the power supply that I own have enough power for the new system specs? If not, would you say going to a higher wattage like 800watts or 1,000watts be suffice?

Use of new system will be for gaming, multimedia and general user.

New system specs:
Asus P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 M/B
i7-860 Lynfield 2.8GHZ Quad Core Processor - LGA 1156
6GB (3 x 2GB) Corsair DDR3 1600 RAM
684MB EVGA Nvidia 8800GTS (will upgrade card in the future)
2 - 500GB SATA II Hard Drives
2 - SATA DVDRW burners

 

[deadlockedworld]

Yes. It will run that fine. A high quality 450w psu could run that system.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

A lot will depend on your video card upgrade.

The general rule of thumb is a high quality 500 to 550 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the +12 volt rail(s) can easily power a system with any single video card made. A high quality 700 to 750 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the +12 volt rail(s) can power a system with two video cards operating in dual mode. There are a few exceptions like the new ATI Radeon HD 5XXX series cards which use less power due to their energy efficiency.

A high quality 500 to 550 watt psu will have a +12 volt rail rated at 40 amps. A high quality 700 to 750 watt psu will have a +12 volt rail rated at 60 amps.

In addition the power supply should be at least 80+ Bronze certified for energy efficiency. There are some models available which have achieved 80+ Silver and 80+ Gold Certifications.

Before purchasing a new psu you will need to decide whether you will eventually have a pc with one or two video cards.

Corsair and Seasonic are two of the brands that have a reputation for high quality power supplies that consistently earn high marks in technical reviews. They are reliable, stable, and come with a 5 year warranty. Some of the newer models come with a 7 year warranty. Lately we've been seeing a few other brands offering some high quality units. One example would be the Antec Earthwatts series which is a major improvement over Antec’s older psu’s like the Basiq models.