Which PSU should I buy?

I'll grab something like this 😁

Ugh, I just went with installments so it ended up being $100 more expensive 😢
They'll probably put it together for free there, right? haha

As for the OS... can I just throw Windows XP on it or am I stuck hunting down Windows 7?? haha
It's not like I'm some genius or anything, but I seem to remember XP doesn't support more than 3.25GB of RAM.—or does it say 3.25GB but actually uses all 8GB? I don't even know anymore. Total newbie here, haha

Paul Garcia42 said:I'll probably grab something like that 😁

Man, if I end up putting this on a payment plan, it’s gonna turn out to be $100 way more expensive 😢
. Do you think they'll put it together for free over there? haha

As for the OS... can I just stick with Windows XP, or am I really forced to jump to Windows 7?? haha
It's not like I'm an expert or anything, but I seem to remember that XP doesn't support more than 3.25GB of RAM—or does it show 3.25GB but actually uses all 8GB? I honestly can't remember. Total newbie here, haha

64-bit supports more than 4GB, while 32-bit tops out at about 3.5GB. And if you're really set on XP, there is a 64-bit version available.

Paul Garcia42 said:Seems like a better way to go. If I'm not mistaken, I can just swap in a beefier power supply and a better GPU later on if some demanding Need for Speed title actually comes out. 😁

Exactly. If you find yourself wanting more gaming power later on, just swap out the GPU and call it a day. This power supply should handle whatever else you decide to throw in there.

Paul Garcia42 said:Regarding the OS... can I just stick with Windows XP, or am I seriously forced to move up to Windows 7?? haha
I don't know if I'm remembering this right, but I think Windows XP can't really handle more than 3.25GB of RAM. Or maybe it shows 3.25GB but actually uses all 8GB... I honestly have no idea how that works. Total newbie here, haha.

I’d probably just go with Windows 7. I mean, I’m not even sure if drivers for Windows XP even exist anymore... plus, Windows 7 64-bit actually supports 8GB of RAM.

Larry Ortiz5 said:If you're really dead set on using Windows XP, I guess there's a 64-bit version out there somewhere.

That’s probably not the best choice, honestly. If I recall correctly, it only really had issues with 64-bit Windows XP.

Paul Garcia42 said:I'm gonna grab something like that. 😁

Man, the only thing is I'm buying it on a payment plan, so it ends up being $100 pricier 😢 than just paying upfront.
I assume they'll put it together for free over there? lol

As for the OS... can I just run XP or am I forced to go with Windows 7?? haha
It's not like I'm an expert, but I recall XP doesn't support more than 3.25GB of RAM—or maybe it shows 3.25GB but actually uses all 8GB... I don't know anymore. Total newbie here. hh

How much bigger is the monthly payment if you take $17 for 6 months versus doing it for a year? $8.25 What's the difference? You won't even feel it.

I actually didn't know that... Oh well, I guess they should just go ahead and install Windows 7..

I'm wondering if an EVGA 600 W power supply can actually handle this build—and honestly, are these units even worth buying in the first place?

Graphics card: GeForce GTS 450 1GB (I'm pretty sure it's the DDR3 version).

RAM: 512 MB

CPU: Intel Dual Core 2.93 GHz

I’m not super familiar with that specific power supply—I haven't personally put it through its paces—but if you're absolutely stuck with it, don't sweat it too much. Since your build doesn't pull a massive amount of power, you shouldn't run into any major issues even without having the full 600W at your disposal. By the way, what's the exact model you're looking at?
EDIT: Actually, looking closer, I think that thing is total junk. I just saw it's rated for 600W $50, and honestly, you can tell immediately what kind of quality we're dealing with here 😁.

The box for this power supply just says "EVGA 600 W" and nothing else.

Here’s the specs:

I swear, I actually paid money for this$73 and I was already thinking it might be total junk.

Brenda Chavez5 said:The box for my power supply just says "power supply EVGA 600 W" and nothing else.

Here’s what they're running:

To be honest, I paid $73 for it thinking it might just be some cheap junk.

Man, honestly—you would have been better off putting in a little more $67 and grabbing a high-end unit from XFX instead. 🙂 What you bought is pretty much bottom-of-the-barrel stuff... it's a shame, really. If you had started a thread here on the forum first, someone probably would've warned you against it. It definitely isn't pushing 600W—it's likely closer to 250-300W at most. But hey, if it's working for now, it's fine, since your GPU only pulls about 100W under full load. Just make sure you swap that PSU out if you ever decide to upgrade to a beefier graphics card.🙂

For what it's worth, the most reliable brands are usually XFX, Corsair, OCZ, Cooler Master, Antec, or Thermaltake. I might have missed a few, but generally speaking, if you stick to those names, you won't have to worry too much.🙂

Man, I’m running into this annoying issue where my PC just gives up the ghost the second I try to launch a game—Windows crashes immediately. I actually took it to a repair shop, and they told me the graphics card is fried, but honestly? I’ve got a gut feeling it isn't the GPU.

Brenda Chavez5 said:That's actually my main issue—whenever I try to launch a game, Windows just crashes immediately. I took it to a repair shop and they told me the graphics card is fried, but honestly, I have my doubts about that being the culprit.

So, does the PC run perfectly fine when you aren't gaming? If it does, then there's a decent chance the power supply is the real issue here. When you start running something demanding, the GPU pulls a lot more juice, and if the PSU can't keep up with those wattage demands, things go south fast. Of course, it could still be the card itself—the best move would be to borrow a spare GPU from a friend just to test it out. If the crashing continues even with a different card, then you know for sure it's the power supply. I'd like to think the guys at the repair shop aren't just feeding you nonsense, but hey, you never really know with those places, right? 🙂 Give that a shot and see what happens..

Robert Rodriguez2 said:How much bigger is your monthly payment really gonna be if you take $17 over six months versus spreading it out over a year with $8.25? I mean, seriously, what does it matter? You won't even feel the difference.

Man, that was sarcasm... who actually gives a damn about an extra few bucks, huh? hehe.
I’m honestly pretty happy with this setup when I remember how overpriced everything used to be. Like, five years ago when I built my first rig, for this kind of money I was lucky to get an AMD 3200 2.0, 512MB of DDR RAM, and a Radeon 9550... plus I'd still have enough left to throw Windows 7 on there. We're living in a whole new era, man.😁

I honestly don't get what people are doing with those Intel Core i7 processors and those insane graphics cards 😁 paired with 1000W power supplies... that's like, what, 1.5 horsepower? haha...
Thanks again, guys!!

Paul Garcia42 said:I was being sarcastic... nobody actually cares about those few bucks, haha.
Honestly, I'm pretty happy with the current prices when I think back to how expensive things used to be. Five years ago, when I bought my rig, that same amount of money got me an AMD 3200 2.0, 512MB of DDR RAM, and a Radeon 9550... plus I could even throw Windows 7 on there. We really are living in a new era.😁

I honestly don't get what people are doing with these Intel Core i7 processors and these beastly graphics cards😁 paired with 1000W power supplies... that's like 1.5 horsepower, haha!
Thanks again, guys!!

Most people grab an i7 for heavy-duty professional work, or they just buy it because they have extra cash to burn.

No sane person needs 1000W; buying one of those is the textbook definition of overkill.

600-700W is plenty for anyone—unless you're doing something absolutely insane, like running two or three high-end graphics cards in Crossfire or some other ridiculous setup. Even then, they might not even need that much. It's strictly for the extreme outliers.

You’d probably need at least 1kW if you're running a combo of 3x NVIDIA GTX 580 or an HD 7970 on an Intel Sandy Bridge-E platform... but for most high-end builds, an XFX 450W/550W or something similar should be plenty enough.

crimsonstag84 said:You'd only really need 1kW if you were running a combo like 3x NVIDIA GTX 580 or an HD 7970 on a Sandy Bridge-E platform... for heavy builds, a 450W or 550W XFX unit is plenty.

People were needing 1kW even back during the NVIDIA GTX 400 Series era, which actually pulled more power than the 5XX series did. Even the 2XX cards weren't exactly efficient either. I'm pretty sure the first generation of Sandy Bridge processors drew way more juice than the third gen does now. Those Intel Core i7 900 Series chips were absolute power hogs if I recall correctly. Nowadays, we don't need nearly as much raw wattage because manufacturers are focusing more on efficiency rather than just cranking up pure GPU performance. The NVIDIA GTX 480 is still a beast of a card, but nobody in their right mind would buy one today—it draws insane amounts of power and runs incredibly hot. 😉

Hey everyone, I'm curious about what people think of Thermaltake power supplies. I'm looking at picking up one of those 530W TT Smart units for my current setup, which looks like this:

4GB DDR3 RAM
1TB WD Hard Disk
AMD Radeon HD 7750 1GB DDR5
AMD A8 5500 Quad-core APU
ASRock FM2A75 PRO4

Will this PSU cut it, or should I just grab something beefier from a different brand? Thanks for the help...

northernbison64 said:Hey everyone, I was wondering about Thermaltake power supplies—specifically, how reliable are they? I'm thinking about picking up one of those 530W Smart models for my current setup, which looks like this:

4GB DDR3 RAM
1TB WD Hard Disk
AMD Radeon HD 7750 1GB GDDR5
AMD A8 5500 Quad-core APU
ASRock FM2A75 PRO4

Do you think that PSU will be enough, or should I look into getting something more powerful from a different brand? Thanks in advance for the help!

Thermaltake makes solid power supplies. It'll handle your configuration without breaking a sweat—you'll actually have plenty of headroom left over...

northernbison64 said:Hey everyone, I'm wondering about the reliability of Thermaltake power supplies. I'm thinking about picking up one of those 530W TT Smart models for my current build, which looks like this:

4GB DDR3 RAM
1TB Western Digital Hard Disk
AMD Radeon HD 7750 1GB GDDR5
AMD A8 5500 Quad-core APU
ASRock FM2A75 PRO4

That PSU is way too expensive—honestly, it's total overkill for what you're running. Also, I guess I have to ask: why use an APU with integrated graphics when you already have a dedicated card? 😬 You probably would've been better off going with an AMD Athlon x4 750k paired with an HD 7850 😉 instead.



It’s much more cost-effective, and you'll still have plenty of room to upgrade later since your setup barely pulls ~200W at peak load... if it even hits that.

crimsonstag84 said:That PSU is way too expensive—total overkill for your setup... btw, why are you running an APU with a dedicated GPU? 😬 You could have just gone with an AMD Athlon x4 750k + HD 7850 😉

http://futura-it.com/product/Seasonic-ST50F-ES230

It’s much more cost-effective, and you'll be able to upgrade easily since your current rig barely pulls ~200W at peak load, if even that...

My old lady originally got this PC, but she had to swap it for a laptop because of work.
Right now, there's some MS Platinum power supply inside that I've had bad luck with, so I'm looking for a new one just to be safe and to make sure I have headroom for future upgrades.😁

crimsonstag84 said:That power supply is way too expensive—total overkill for your setup. By the way, why are you running an APU (with integrated graphics) alongside a dedicated GPU? 😬 You really could have just gone with an AMD Athlon x4 750k + HD 7850 combo 😉 instead.



It’s much more cost-effective, and you'll still have plenty of room to upgrade later since your current build barely pulls ~200W at peak load, if that...

What’s actually the difference between that ST50F-230 and the ST50F-ES besides the color? 😬

this one