Windows 7: Hardware Power Consumption-Picking a new Power Supply

Ok, so it's time again for me to pick a new power supply, however, I'm in need of some help determining the appropriate wattage for my hardware setup.

AMD Phenom II X4 955 45nm AM3
GSkill Ripjaw X 16.0 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 668MHz (9-9-9-24)
Corsair TX750w (I dont think its the V2)
ASUS M5A97 (AM3r2)
***here are the voltages listed on speccy*** (if they are of any use??)
+12V 11.731 V
+5V 4.935 V
CPU CORE 1.284 V
VIN3 1.668 V
VIN4 2.148 V
+3.3V 3.132 V
VIN6 1.092 V
VIN7 1.632 V
VIN8 1.668 V
ASUS ATI Radeon HD 5870 (x2 in Crossfire @ 158w ea)
59GB Patriot Pyro SE SSD
31.3GB OCZ OCZ-ONYX SSD
LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NS90 ATA

I have terrible luck with random bsod's and power supplies pooping on me, I want to pick one this time that will last me. Also, I have my power running through a Monster Power HT700, I live in a new apartment so the wiring should be ok, I've dusted out all of the components inside the case, double checked my connections, all that jazz. I've got a cooler over my memory, I am still using my stock cpu cooler, but thats changing soon (I get crashes @ idle too) Any help I could recieve I would appreciate, thanks

Andrew

You have pretty much the same problem as me (getting BSOD's randomly). For me it's bulging capacitors on motherboard. You should take a closer look for capacitors on your motherboard. Dead capacitors look something like that:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...densatoren.jpg

This is a brand new board, I'm familiar with the capacitors bulging and I don't see any sign of mine doing that

The Corsair TX 750 is made by Channel Well as far as I know.

Channel Well would not be my choice.

750 is plenty of power, but I would try to find a Corsair 750 TX version 2, which is made by Seasonic.

Or a Seasonic in that power range.

Or an XFX in that power range (made by Seasonic)

The XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular unit should serve you well.

What should I be looking for? I know the more 12v rails the.better and the platinum certified thing, what else? How can I add all my stuff together to tell?

Check out this site to calculate your power needs.

eXtreme Outer Vision - eXtreme tools for computer enthusiasts

Check out this Seasonic PSU, one of the best on the market.

Newegg.com - SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Read the review at this site. He really puts the units through some tough tests.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...Story&reid=192


Jim

Other than the 12 volt rail, about all you can do is look for a quality manufacturer and a good efficiency rating. A highly efficient PSU might save you 5 dollars a year in power costs.

There aren't many quality manufacturers. Most PSUs are not made by the name on the label. They are built by one of a few subcontractors according to the specifications of the contract---to hit a certain price point or market segment.

Most of the power draw on modern PCs is through the 12 volt rail. A rating of 30 amps on the 12 volt rail equates to 360 watts (12 x 30).

The good PSUs can run at their rated maximums for long periods of time. Cheesy PSUs can't.


Good manufacturers can make excellent PSUs or average PSUs or poor PSUs--to meet whatever specs they are asked to meet by the brand. The PSUs that manufacturers sell under their own name are typically their best technology since the brand name is at stake.

AMD's Phenom II X4 955 processor - The Tech Report - Page 1

Above link says the TDP of your processor is 125 watts

Add in your own figures for the 2 video cards: ASUS ATI Radeon HD 5870 (x2 in Crossfire @ 158w ea)

That's 441 watts.

The rest of it can be estimated.

Hard drives use under 10 watts.

The last figures I saw for motherboards were 20 or 30 watts.

DVD drives maybe 20 when in use.

RAM sticks maybe 10

Fans a couple of watts.

Above estimated figures for components are from 5 or 6 years ago and may be higher than current technology?

So maybe 600 watts under extreme load and a lot less most of the time.

For 15 or 20 bucks you can buy a Kill-a-watt and connect the PC to it to see what it actually draws under various conditions.

It will probably use less than your estimates most of the time.

Here is a sample set of specs, for the Seasonic fanless 400 and 460 watt models. The "+12v" column is the important one.

http://www.coolermaster.outervision.com/. Great little tool to calculate the PSU recommended wattage.

awesome thanks guys, so i need to pat attn to the amp rating per 12V rail? so theoretically if i could find a psu with 2 12v rails at 35 amp ea. @ 840w total, that would be a good one? (based solely on numbers) I go through psu like nobodies business, and I wan't to get one that I dont have to replace in 6 months, so im trying to approach purchasing a psu differently than i have in the past.