Any recommendations for my future gaming rig?

[Didzo]

Windows 7 is win.

Go for it.

[Versus]

always overbuy power, my PSU wasn't enough after I upgraded my processor, so I had to unplug some hard drives.

[Kirby]

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=4209.msg137428#msg137428 date=1266453040]
[quote author=Karthkarthkarth link=topic=4209.msg137399#msg137399 date=1266448942]
Also thinking about throwing in this graphics card.

Worth it?

I read on Tom's that 2 250's are the best bang for your buck. You should be getting a big PSU no matter what though and you can still SLI that baby.
[/quote]
Spore said I shouldn't f with sli. :X

I'm only buying one card, but upping my power supply isn't a bad idea. Is 600 Watts really not enough?

Holy eff this computer is basically being made from scratch.

ALSO: Would installing Windows 7 be wise?
[/quote]



I've got a 600 watt powering my 4890, 3x HDD, 1 optical and my mobo, and underneath my tower resides a 2nd 400 watt powering my RAID and casefans as well as the outside cold maine winter air duct from window to side of case fan. When I upgraded from my old PC I kept the PSU, PC kept resetting after a bit, moving RAID and fans off that PSU stopped it.

TL;DR - Not rly.

[KarthXLR]

[quote author=Karthkarthkarth link=topic=4209.msg137430#msg137430 date=1266453133]
[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=4209.msg137428#msg137428 date=1266453040]
[quote author=Karthkarthkarth link=topic=4209.msg137399#msg137399 date=1266448942]
Also thinking about throwing in this graphics card.

Worth it?

I read on Tom's that 2 250's are the best bang for your buck. You should be getting a big PSU no matter what though and you can still SLI that baby.
[/quote]
Spore said I shouldn't f with sli. :X

I'm only buying one card, but upping my power supply isn't a bad idea. Is 600 Watts really not enough?

Holy eff this computer is basically being made from scratch.

ALSO: Would installing Windows 7 be wise?
[/quote]



I've got a 600 watt powering my 4890, 3x HDD, 1 optical and my mobo, and underneath my tower resides a 2nd 400 watt powering my RAID and casefans as well as the outside cold maine winter air duct from window to side of case fan. When I upgraded from my old PC I kept the PSU, PC kept resetting after a bit, moving RAID and fans off that PSU stopped it.

TL;DR - Not rly.
[/quote]
So, how high of a wattage should I be looking for?

[copulatingduck]

1.25 jiggawatts

[Surf314]

[quote author=Kirby, the Axe Zealot link=topic=4209.msg137449#msg137449 date=1266461066]
[quote author=Karthkarthkarth link=topic=4209.msg137430#msg137430 date=1266453133]
[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=4209.msg137428#msg137428 date=1266453040]
[quote author=Karthkarthkarth link=topic=4209.msg137399#msg137399 date=1266448942]
Also thinking about throwing in this graphics card.

Worth it?

I read on Tom's that 2 250's are the best bang for your buck. You should be getting a big PSU no matter what though and you can still SLI that baby.
[/quote]
Spore said I shouldn't f with sli. :X

I'm only buying one card, but upping my power supply isn't a bad idea. Is 600 Watts really not enough?

Holy eff this computer is basically being made from scratch.

ALSO: Would installing Windows 7 be wise?
[/quote]



I've got a 600 watt powering my 4890, 3x HDD, 1 optical and my mobo, and underneath my tower resides a 2nd 400 watt powering my RAID and casefans as well as the outside cold maine winter air duct from window to side of case fan. When I upgraded from my old PC I kept the PSU, PC kept resetting after a bit, moving RAID and fans off that PSU stopped it.

TL;DR - Not rly.
[/quote]
So, how high of a wattage should I be looking for?
[/quote]

700 is enough for a decent system, 850 is good for most systems, 1,000 is your best bet as it is pretty future proof - but it's expensive. 1,200 for insane builds.

[KarthXLR]

[quote author=Karthkarthkarth link=topic=4209.msg137450#msg137450 date=1266461722]
[quote author=Kirby, the Axe Zealot link=topic=4209.msg137449#msg137449 date=1266461066]
[quote author=Karthkarthkarth link=topic=4209.msg137430#msg137430 date=1266453133]
[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=4209.msg137428#msg137428 date=1266453040]
[quote author=Karthkarthkarth link=topic=4209.msg137399#msg137399 date=1266448942]
Also thinking about throwing in this graphics card.

Worth it?

I read on Tom's that 2 250's are the best bang for your buck. You should be getting a big PSU no matter what though and you can still SLI that baby.
[/quote]
Spore said I shouldn't f with sli. :X

I'm only buying one card, but upping my power supply isn't a bad idea. Is 600 Watts really not enough?

Holy eff this computer is basically being made from scratch.

ALSO: Would installing Windows 7 be wise?
[/quote]



I've got a 600 watt powering my 4890, 3x HDD, 1 optical and my mobo, and underneath my tower resides a 2nd 400 watt powering my RAID and casefans as well as the outside cold maine winter air duct from window to side of case fan. When I upgraded from my old PC I kept the PSU, PC kept resetting after a bit, moving RAID and fans off that PSU stopped it.

TL;DR - Not rly.
[/quote]
So, how high of a wattage should I be looking for?
[/quote]

700 is enough for a decent system, 850 is good for most systems, 1,000 is your best bet as it is pretty future proof - but it's expensive. 1,200 for insane builds.
[/quote]

How about this?

[at0m]

You might want to make sure that supply fits in the case you've selected, since its set up for reversed power supply mounting. As in, PSU in the bottom of the case, pulling air straight through the PSU (as it is in the Antec P180 series and the Antec 900)

[Surf314]

My Case has a bottom mounted PSU but it has some air holes to let the air flow down. I'm not entirely sure how great the airflow is total but it is kinda nice it is blowing hot air directly out and not into the tower.

[zaneyard]

Don't do sli
just buy a better card if you need the performance boost

[Surf314]

Don't do sli
just buy a better card if you need the performance boost

Why is everyone against SLI?

[at0m]

[quote author=zaneyard link=topic=4209.msg137561#msg137561 date=1266529107]
Don't do sli
just buy a better card if you need the performance boost

Why is everyone against SLI?
[/quote]Because if you look at the performance gain of SLI on an older-generation card vs upgrading to a single newer-generation card, the gain per dollar is typically much less than just getting a single new card. Also, SLI support, last I checked, is still a little shaky. Which is strange, since it's been around for so long.

[Surf314]

Tom's Hardware seems to be in the tank for SLI. Most of their best graphics cards for your buck articles heavily feature SLI or crossfire.

[zaneyard]

sli is for when you NEED that last frame a second
it's not worth it for, money, heat, power.

[Surf314]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...602_263622

This is the one I really want.

[Tricks]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...602_263622

This is the one I really want.

I love gaming computers. But..I mean that has the power drain of a Microwave running FULL time. You are doing to need a different outlet, maybe new electrical wiring if you have anything but that PSU installed on just one wall outlet.

That or you are going to head down to your basement to reset your breaker every 5 minutes.

[Surf314]

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=4209.msg137660#msg137660 date=1266615191]
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...602_263622

This is the one I really want.

I love gaming computers. But..I mean that has the power drain of a Microwave running FULL time. You are doing to need a different outlet, maybe new electrical wiring if you have anything but that PSU installed on just one wall outlet.

That or you are going to head down to your basement to reset your breaker every 5 minutes.
[/quote]

Ultra-Efficient
High-performance doesn’t need to translate into over-the-top energy use. With an ultra-high 90% efficiency rating, the 80 Plus® Gold certified Z1000 power supply offers ultimate stability without driving up your energy costs.

[Didzo]

Overkill.

[at0m]

[quote author=TR1CK link=topic=4209.msg137662#msg137662 date=1266615792]
[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=4209.msg137660#msg137660 date=1266615191]
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...602_263622

This is the one I really want.

I love gaming computers. But..I mean that has the power drain of a Microwave running FULL time. You are doing to need a different outlet, maybe new electrical wiring if you have anything but that PSU installed on just one wall outlet.

That or you are going to head down to your basement to reset your breaker every 5 minutes.
[/quote]

Ultra-Efficient
High-performance doesn’t need to translate into over-the-top energy use. With an ultra-high 90% efficiency rating, the 80 Plus® Gold certified Z1000 power supply offers ultimate stability without driving up your energy costs.

[/quote]Surf, it's still a thousand watts. They have to come from somewhere. High efficiency just means its not pulling two or three thousand watts to pump a thousand into your hardware. :x

That said, unless you're _consuming_ 1000 watts, it's not pulling near that amount of power off the lines. So if you're not actively gaming, the power drain is quite a bit less. I'm thinking about building a power monitor to check that though.

[Surf314]

That's what I thought that it only pulls what you use.