What power supply should I get?

leoweisman

Honorable
Feb 24, 2013
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10,680
Hi guys,

I've been doing some research over the last couple months about building a gaming PC, what parts to focus on and such, and I have most of my build already picked out. However, one thing I don't know a lot about is the power supply. I know the voltage is important, and I know the required voltage for my GPU, but I don't know if anything else factors into it, or if I should go above the recommended voltage for some reason. So basically, for my build (listed below), what power supply should I get? I have ideas of adding a second graphics card for SLI at a later date, but that wouldn't be for a while and I could probably upgrade the PSU then if needed. Thanks and feel free to comment on my build if you want.

i5 3570k Processor
ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 Motherboard
MSI GTX 670 Power Edition
8GB Corsair Vengeance RAM
Seagate Barracuda 1TB Hard Drive (Planning to add SSD later)
Corsair Carbide Series 200R/300R
 
Solution
For a system using a single GeForce GTX 670 graphics card NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 500 Watt or greater system power supply that has a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 30 Amps or greater and that has at least two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) rated at 45°C - 50°C ambient temperature, is the most important factor.

Overclocking of the CPU and/or GPU(s) will require an additional increase to the maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current ratings, recommended above, to meet the increase...
For a system using a single GeForce GTX 670 graphics card NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 500 Watt or greater system power supply that has a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 30 Amps or greater and that has at least two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

Total Power Supply Wattage is NOT the crucial factor in power supply selection!!! Total Combined Continuous Power/Current Available on the +12V Rail(s) rated at 45°C - 50°C ambient temperature, is the most important factor.

Overclocking of the CPU and/or GPU(s) will require an additional increase to the maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current ratings, recommended above, to meet the increase in power required for the overclock. The additional amount required will depend on the magnitude of the overclock being attempted.

The XFX 550W Core Edition Full Wired (Bronze) (P1-550S-XXB9), with its maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 44 Amps and with one 6-pin and one (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, is more than sufficient to power your system configuration with a single GeForce GTX 670 graphics card.

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-ATX-550-Power-Supply/dp/B004RJ8EKI

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=59615&vpn=P1550SXXB9&manufacture=XFX&promoid=1257

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013
 
Solution
Agreed. Any good 500W or better will work with the single and 700W or better for the double. Good brands are Antec, Corsair (skip the CX builder version), Enermax, PC Power and Cooling, Seasonic, Superflower, XFX to name a few.

You are going to spend $75-85 for a Gold 500W and $130-140 for a Gold 750W. If I were you I would rethink buying it later if you are SURE you are buying the second card.

Here is a Roosewill Capstone Gold 750W (made by Superflower) for $113 after shipping http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182073