Need recommendation (guide sucks)

[xavierq]

Yeah I tried the recommender thing, it's an antiquated nightmare. So I'm just gonna ask instead.

P4 3g. HT.
Abit IC7Max3
1.5 gig ram
X1950Pro
SB Audigy
dvd burner
kenwood 52x
pextor cdr
card reader
140g hd (ide)
cheesy pci vid card
lot of fans

I've got a 350watt now and it wont run the vid card. No sata or pcix stuff, but scaling to future hardware wouldn't hurt.

Card says it needs 450watt and 30amps on the 12 volt rail. I don't want to spend a ton of money, but I want decent hardware.

[jubrany]

corsair hx520 or similarly tiered seasonic

[xavierq]

It looks nice, and I like that it's modular, but it only has 17 amps on the 12v rail, and the card requires 30.

*edit*
It seems that these are set up to do power sharing on the the three 12v rails, and can deliver up to 40amps on one rail, even though they're each only rated to 17.

[masteraleph]

It looks nice, and I like that it's modular, but it only has 17 amps on the 12v rail, and the card requires 30.

1) There's no such thing as a card that actually requires 30amps on a 12v line.

2) In fact, that particular graphics card requires fewer than 10 amps on the 12v rail (10amps*12volts=120watts, and that card, even under full load, doesn't pull 120 watts on its own. It may, however, call for a PSU that can put out 30 amps on the 12 volt side, but it does not need that on its own.

3) The HX520 is, despite branding itself as a 3 rail PSU, is really a 1 rail PSU. It can provide up to 480 watts on the 12 volt rail, meaning 40amps. It is more than powerful enough to power that right and still give you plenty of headroom.

[Scroatdog]

Seasonic S12-600. Efficient, powerful, silent. :D

[xavierq]

Yeah, that's what I meant. It requires a supply that can provide that. I never meant to imply that the vid card was actually sinking 30 amps on its own.

That may be what I end up going with, then.

[dark_phantom36]

I would also suggest the corsair 520hx. It's currently on sale for $100 - $20 rebate at buy.com : http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w-sli-certified-modular-atx-power-supply/q/loc/101/203270716.html