Question about power supply: 850w or higher?

[mjevans]

I am in the process of buying the parts for a new system build-my first. I'll be using the Core i7 920, 6GB RAM (Dominators) (cpu and RAM already purchased), the GeForce 295 video card, the MSI Eclipse motherboard, a Velociraptor, a WD 1TB drive, CD/DVD drive, and various fans, all going into an Antec 1200 case (although I haven't made the final case decision yet--I keep going back and forth between the Antec or the Cooler Master HAF). All of this hooked to a 24-inch monitor (already purchased).

My question is about the power supply. Eventually, perhaps sooner rather then later, I want to add water cooling to the mb/cpu and the video card. Everything I read suggests that an 850w power supply will be sufficient, but I have a feeling that 1000w would be better. My problem is that I can't get a good sense of which brand or company would be the best, or at least very good, for this system which I intend to use as a core for future incremental upgrades and system expansions as the technology changes.

I live in a small town in Idaho without any local stores or suppliers, so all of this is being purchased via the Web. Correspondingly, there is no one here with experience I can ask.

Any recommendations?

 

[battlemarz]

As far as PSU brands go stick with: PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, Seasonic, and anything but the low end Antecs.

I would think a Corsair 850tx would be able to push a 295 and water cooling, but if you have any thoughts of adding another 295 down the road you will want to look at 1000+.

 

[fullmetall]

Whats the budget on the psu, for a high wattage your looking for a good $180+

 

[battlemarz]

As a side note. If you are going to do water cooling, the HAF doesn't really make much sense. HAF = High Air Flow. Find a good case designed to fit water cooling if that is the route you wish to take.

 

[mjevans]

Thank you for the quick responses. The budget is not much of an issue for the power supply; choosing a good one is more important then saving a few bucks. I'll see what I can learn regarding the PC Power and Corsair power supplys. The water cooling will be added soon after I get everything here and running, but only after I learn more about which wc components to buy. Adding a second 295 is not really necessary for the use the system is intended for (games, stats analysis, market trading), and a second 295 would have to be wc as well and therefore fit in the case, but I'm a heavy Eve-Online player and you never know what those Icelanders are going to do in the future.

And your advice on the case is correct. I've simply read so many positive statements about CoolerMaster cases (the Stacker(?) being another option). But I've got the Antec 1200 sitting in the "basket," waiting for me to press the "complete order" button.

 

[WR2]

A case with decent water cooling options: COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper
LegitReviews CM Storm Sniper

 

[mjevans]

There are lots of good cases, and the Cooler Master Storm Sniper has some good points. My needs (both current and future) require the space that can be found in a full-tower, hence my leaning toward the Antec 1200.

 

[WR2]

I know the CM Storm Sniper is a "mid-atx" case but check the actual size compared to the Antec 1200.
Antec 1200 22.9" x 8.4" x 20.2"
CM Sniper 22" x 10" x 21.7"

Take a good look at the CM COSMOS S RC-1100 24.7" x 10.5" x 23.5" (D x W x H)
Antec 1200 CM Sniper CM Cosmos