If I'm building a new system what kind of PSU should I get? I have been warned against cheap units on the other hand I don't wan't to spend more money than needed. But I wan't quality. I intend to use several harddrives and two optical units and I wan't to PSU to suffice even for further upgraded like 9800 VGA cards and more powerful CPU. What is the minimum power or current limits I should accept? For a chassi I wan't qulity and sufficient space. I don't wan't paying for unneccesary items like LED fans and windowed panels.Any recommendation?

unspecific details gives you an unspecific recommendation:don't waste money on cheap PSU, get a good one, preferably 500W from what i see your getting a lot of stuff.And if it blows up well, what the heck get a real airplane...allen

Here are the specs on my newest system. Hope it's some help to you. Lian-Li PC60-B Case Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W Power Supply Gigabyte P35 DS3R Intel Core2Duo E6850 Arctic Cooling Freezer7 Pro Crucual Ballistix 2GB PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) EVGA 7950 GT OC 512 Mb Plextor PX-810SA/SW-BL 18X SATA DVD Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/sec Seagate Barracuda 7200.10250 GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/sec Craig

Hi jf,Give this a read through:"Eleven enthusiast power supplies compared"http://techreport.com/articles.x/13271Regards,

jfri, I'd personally look for one that's 80 Plus certified as it will give you good clean power and pay for itself in the long run. They have a 500watt over at the egg for around a 100 bucks.Regards, Kendall#1: E6750 2.66/Coolermaster HyperTX2 Gigabyte P35-DS3L 2GB Crucial Ballistix PC6400 Seagate 250GB 7200.10 SATA2 Gigabyte X800XT -Cat 6.12's CH Yoke/Pedals/Saitek Throttle Dual Monitor: Dell 2405/1905 #2: Dell 8400 3.2 H.T. 3GB PC4200 Diamond Xtreme/Logitech X-530's

If I was building the "ultimate" fs rig I would put a PC Power & Cooling power supply in it without question but that's just me.I have had good results with Seasonic too.BTW that is a pretty nice article wayupthere linked to.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

>"Eleven enthusiast power supplies compared">http://techreport.com/articles.x/13271>After reading this I find the Corsair PSU very interesting. They tested the 620W unit and there also exist a 520W version. I womder if the 520W would suffice?Also noted that for the now most powerdul video card they state that you need a 450W PSU. Does this mean that if you run two such card in SLI or cross fire you would need 900W?I wonder what the next generation 9800 card will require?

Here is a link to a Power Supply Calculator that gives you a rough idea of what you need. http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp Craig Lian-Li PC60-B Case Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W Power Supply Gigabyte P35 DS3R Intel Core2Duo E6850 Arctic Cooling Freezer7 Pro Crucual Ballistix 2GB PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) EVGA 7950 GT OC 512 Mb Plextor PX-810SA/SW-BL 18X SATA DVD Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/sec Seagate Barracuda 7200.10250 GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/sec