BleepingComputer.com: Building a new system for the first time.

I am building my first computer system. I have gathered a newegg wishlist of parts that I plan to purchase over time as I get the money. I have a few questions.

First here is the list:http://www.codetunnel.com/content/HardwareList.pdf

1. I have a 480w power supply. Will this be enough for this setup or do I need the power supply I added to the list?
2. Is all of this going to be compatible?
3. Any areas you think I could save money without losing too much performance?

Good list IMO chief. If you have the extra money consider grabbing a solid state drive, even a 60GB boot drive with windows and a few applications does wonders.

1 - Depends on the power supply itself. If you're not overclocking a good 480w unit would be fine for that system. Could you let us know the exact make and model of your power supply please?
2 - Yep
3 - If you're just gaming I'd grab a 2500K - not worth the extra for a 2600K in most circumstances.

This post has been edited by philo-sofa: 16 November 2011 - 12:44 AM

Looks fine to me, as mentioned by philo-sofa about the SSD, a 120GB is generally a perfect size.

This post has been edited by killerx525: 16 November 2011 - 03:34 AM

I agree with Philo, a 2600K usually isn't worth the markup over a 2500K. I also suggest the GIGABYTE GV-R695UD-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB as it has the same performance at a slightly lower price. I would also get the Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED-Backlight instead of the one you chose as it is an LED backlit monitor. Unless you decide to use multiple GPU's, I would get a lower wattage PSU, but not as low as 480W, a 500W or 550W would do well. The ENERMAX NAXN 82+ ENP550AWT B 550W is a good choice, or, if you want a modular unit, the CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX550M 550W. There isn't that much difference in price between a 650W and a 550W, so if you believe you might be upgrading in the future, go ahead and spend the money on a higher end unit.

DJBPace07, on 16 November 2011 - 12:48 PM, said:

Some great suggestions in there, I do disagree on the PSU issue. At peak theoretic gaming load that system will be using under 320w, or perhaps 370 overclocked (sub 80% load). Normal max gaming load will be sub 300w (60% load) - so a good 480w unit would therefore be plenty; we enthusiasts do tend to misoverestimate our PSU requirements.

This post has been edited by philo-sofa: 16 November 2011 - 05:10 PM

On this page at HIS it says...

Power Supply Requirement 500 Watt or greater power

It is usually best to follow the manufacturer's guidelines besides, in terms of pricing, there isn't much difference between a 500W, 550W, and even 600W power supply. Of course that depends on manufacturer. True there are indeed metrics which show that stressing a system 100% is a very rare event, going by what is written on the box is often best advice, especially while making recommendations to others.

^^ With respect, I believe you're incorrect in some of what you say. Maximum power draw for CPUs, GPUs and other components can be readily calculated, and verified online. If you know a power supply is of a reasonable quality, checking the 12v rail and overall PSU capacity so that say, peak load is not much more than 75% and full load is under 60% will yield a long, stable life for the PSU and the components it conencts to. I'd agree to an extent that some (extra) spare capacity in new builds can be good for future growth, but when someone's asking 'can I keep this or do I need to spend more' it's kind of different. In addition, a PSU with too high a wattage rating for a given system will be less efficient.

As such, honestly, I understand conservatism with components, but taking the manufacturer's box suggestion when there are much finer metrics out there that can give a definitive and equally conservative (but more accurate) answer seems sub-optimal. In this specific case, do you think 20w (4%) is too much of a difference for the OP to keep the PSU if it's of a good quality? It's not exactly like he's using a 990X for a CPU....

At this point of time, we do not even know what the model of the 480W psu have yet.

True, however that's why I qualified with 'if the PSU is of good quality'. I'm not suggesting if it's a "Chung-Wa Electronics Corporation Over 9000 Series '480w'" that it'll be a good bet. Rather I'm reasoning that if it is a good 480w PSU, it should be more than sufficient for the system the OP is building.

p.s. all your world cups are belong to us Australia xD

What i do know that there is some really top quality low wattage power supply like the Enermax Naxn 350W.

Me no follow or like world cup or soccer

This post has been edited by killerx525: 17 November 2011 - 12:26 AM

Damn... you're better than us pretty much every other way conceivable lol ;)

philo-sofa, on 17 November 2011 - 01:58 AM, said:

Meh, doesn't bother me, i like AFL