PSU Requirements for building a PC?

[Lippy]

Hey, I was planning on building a new gaming rig and was wondering If my current 420W Thermaltake PSU can handle these stuff:

AMD Phenon II X4 965 Black Edition CPU
GTX 460 GPU
8GB DDR3 Dual Channel RAM
500GB 7200RPM HDD
Cooler Master Hyper 101A CPU Cooling Fan
Gigabyte GA-870A-USB3 Motherboard

Here's a link to the PSU

Amazon.com: Thermaltake PurePower W0062RU TR2 420-Watt Power Supply: Electronics

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[deepskyblue]

For this one-- no. Your system would be underpowered. I'm getting 523w minimum using the power supply calculator I mentioned in my reply to your other thread: Newegg.com - Recommended Power Supply Calculator.

 

[Lippy]

I've tried using some PSU calculators and they give different results so I'm not sure which one is correct. The Antec PSU calculator gives a different value then the newegg one.

 

[deepskyblue]

The modeling they use isn't perfect. They'd have to have you put down the exact model of every component, including fans, in your system to get really accurate. How much difference are they showing?

I use newegg one as a reference point, but I get at least 100 more watts than what it says.

 

[Indigo]

Newegg's is overblown and useless from a technical standpoint. The most tried and true one I've found is this one:

eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

You'll get vastly different results from this one vs the Newegg one, which sadly, is geared more toward their vendors than helping you pick a cost effective and efficient power supply.

100 watts more than what Newegg states is overkill, especially since their estimator already over-estimates. For most users and most systems, it isn't necessary. If you're "buying ahead" for gamers and system tweakers, then absolutely.

In this case, the 420 watt would be fine. I have a system very close to what you're using at home (sans the GPU) and my wattage needs are filled fine by a "mere" 420 watt power supply as well. The "more is better" mentality isn't always the case for power supplies. The one you've linked, Lippy, should be fine.

 

[Lippy]

Thanks for the reply.