hey guys, I am looking to buy a new desktop system, and will probably get a pre configured one to save on price, but I need a beefy power supply. If I buy a system, and a separate power supply, is it just a matter of taking the old one out and plugging a new one in? Or are there compatibility issues such as when installing pci-e cards vs pci cards? I will probably buy an average HP with a bunch of RAM, and then add my own nvidia geforce 9600 GT to run two 30 inch monitors (hence the big power supply). Although this is a high end gaming card, I don't play games, so I figure an average cpu should be fine. This is going to replace an old 4 monitor array system, and a very old PC. Thanks for any suggestions. Jay
Yes, you just plug it in. A quiet one is a good idea. I recently bought an Antec 650W Blue (not the std 650, the blue one) and it has an excellent set of modular plugs for different boards and interfaces you might want.
yeah, you should be fine. Just make sure that the wattage is equal or better to the pre-configured one. If you are going to change your video driver, double check that the new supply has lines capable of driving your nvidia. Sometimes this is an issue. It's been a while, but I had to connect two power plugs of a certain amperage/wattage to my nvidia as I recall.
Hi guys, I was wondering: if you build a pc from scratch, how do you figure out the watt's necessary when choosing a power supply for your pc? Or is it simply a matter of buying on the safe side, like 650W? The same thing I am struggling with is when you buy a UPS: how to calculate the minimum VA? Any help appreciated.
You can actually add the wattages for the cards etc together then add a 10% safety margin. My pc is using under 200w normally, perhaps 350 under maximum load but the chosen 650w quiet power supply runs without the fan under normal load which is why I went to 650.
So if I add the wattages of all components in the PC as indicated by the manufacturers, and add a safety margin, I should be fine? I suppose it's the same for the UPS then: add the wattage of the PC power supply with the wattage of the screens and modem, together with a safety margin to figure out the minimum wattage necessary for the UPS?
You don't need to be concerned about the monitors.. they have their own power supply. Modern computers run at about 150-180W at idle... about 220-250W at full load.. more if you have a hot video card. PSU is too important to skimp on. You should get at least a mid-grade from a known good brand.. Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, others...
gnome, My question about the monitors was about hooking them up behind an UPS: if I have to choose a UPS, I also need to know what the wattage is of each item that I hook up I think; in my case it would be a PC, 2 monitors and 1 modem. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.