I'll shortly be undertaking a Quad-Core build, using a Q6600 and Asus 975X board. I have available an Antec NSK 4480 case. This came complete from Antec with a 380W PSU included. The spec lists the PSU as a "80Plus Certified EarthWatts 380W ATX12V v2.0 power supply with universal input and active PFC".

Will this be sufficient do you think? Other inclusions in the build are one SATA DVD/RW drive, 2x 500Gb SATA S300 drives (will be in RAID-0) and a GeForce 8600GT 512MB.

So, thoughts on power?

Cheers,

Steve

Hello Steve

The psu's included in Antec cases are generally of quite good quality,but i cannot help feeling your proposed build will be stretching it,and if it were me i would be looking at closer to 600w(enermax etc) and allow some extra "headroom"

Tank:)

My quad core pc came with a 400w PSU, soon replaced with a 600W jobbie because I added some components and it couldnt cope any more. Anything more than 1HD and DVD drive and a basic graphics card and you need a beefy supply.

Thanks guys. Was just about to order parts and it struck me that it might stuggle. I'll have a look about for some good quality, higher rated candidates. Needs to be pretty quiet as well. May have a look at Quiet PC again

Cheers,

Steve

the cpu takes very little these days.. its the gpu / hdd that cause issues.

intel 1ghz slot 1 xeon = 120w

intel 3ghz quad core xeon = 12.5w per core.... so quite a bit greener...

hdd will go low power 2.5" over next 2yrs.. leaving GFX cards as "the" carbon footprint in computing....

Thanks guys. Was just about to order parts and it struck me that it might stuggle. I'll have a look about for some good quality, higher rated candidates. Needs to be pretty quiet as well. May have a look at Quiet PC again

Cheers,

Steve

You should check "BeQuiet" , "Tagan" and "Topower" , they`re really good and silent - power shouldn`t be smaller than 500W (if U want good GPU )

Make sure you go for a good quality brand (Enermax:)), you'll see plenty of 500W+ cheap PSUs but they're not a patch on the proper kit.

It's worth looking at the modular PSUs, they'll help to keep the case clear for cooling.

I'm building my Quad Core with a OCZ Technology StealthXStream 600W Active PFC

available from DABS for £53 has been highly rated when it used to cost £120 last year.