Windows 7: PS unit ~ how many watts for 8GB ddr3 1333 ?

TY ! Will do that. I have had good success w/ Corsair and Antec products. Have not heard of XFX nor Seasonic 'til now. Will look into them. Thx much ignatzatsonic

the 12v rail ...what is the rail ? i get the 12v, but don't understand what rail is or what pertains to? Give it a hardy laugh...i'm pretty green but learning and still battin' away....haha !

Is there a reason you are choosing the e8400? It's a very slow chip compared to today's low end processors.
It's also a socket 775 chip and not many 775 motherboards support ddr3 ram, ddr3 ram is keyed differently and won't go into a ddr2 slot.
Also, what program do you plan on using to edit your videos and what format/resolution is your source footage, and what format/resolution is the end product going to be.

Hey Zepher !

Yeah, pretty much. Busy upgrading what we have. the system i am replacing is a 2.4 GHz single core mobo holding 2GB ram, no vid card....an old P4.

this is a stepping stone intermediate unit replacing an older P4 until i can swing all the parts for a nice i-core 7 and higher end mobo.

I have run w/ an E8400 duo core 2 on another unit...works ok.
As mentioned, an intermediate unit used in garage. the mobo is a 775 socket yes, however the board will handle ddr3 at 1333 FSB. I was surprised when i saw this board. it of course is not a zinger top o the line but think it will do for what the vids requires and the price was right especially since i am looking only to better that P4 and have something at least useful until the nice unit is built.

i don't do vids per say....my partner does.
He's using Pinnacle and i believe Sony Vegas Pro. As far as the format/resolution of the source footage, and format/resolution at end product is, that i cannot tell you because i do not know. What i do know is the man knows how to do vids, do them well.

Sorry i don't have any more info on that.

thx for asking. I am open to anything from anyone so if there is something more, please add. thx !

Yep sorry again for confusing the issue firejolt. Personally I like the Corsairs for PSU's the HX 650 is a ripper if it is within your budget.

Think of a rail as a circuit.

Most components in a PC, including the CPU, get their power from the 12 volt rail. That's why you need to pay attention to how much of the total power is provided through the 12 volt rail, rather than the 5 volt or 3.3 volt rails.

But the fact is that manufacturers realize that the 12 volt rail is where most of the power is needed, so they build their PSUs with that in mind. You aren't likely to find a 500 watt PSU that can provide only 150 watts on the 12 volt rail.

Ten or fifteen years ago, the 12 volt rail was not as demanding, so you saw considerable power provided by the other two rails.

It didn't seem like you confused anything at all John and recommended a PSU calculator.

No prob, Mate !! Appreciate the communication and fortunately i can sort thru it....haha !

I will def check that out. I like NE for parts but there are a few others that are kool too....sometimes I have found some decent stuff at Superbizz or Geeks. either way....i will look into that Corsair 650 and giv'er a checksie.

thx again.
Ya know ICit2 talking about c'fusion ....here's another i will run by ya while we're here....now i haven't done this but from what i am understanding as long as i am running a 64bit chip and have a 64bit op system i am pretty much good to go on the amount of ram i can pump into it, providing the mobo will support it? ex: 8, 16, 24, 32 GB if mobo will take it, yeah? and i am talking Windows 7 HPrem 64 bit, not ultimate

Alrighty then....much better idea on the rail thing....and i will look for that when studying a PS Unit. TY!

Well, I know I'm def in the right place. Hey i just wanna say thank you so much...truly....i have gleened more of an edu-ma-ca-tion tonight and in just a very short time i might add in between welds (at the farm!). this is by far advanced compared to searching and scouring the web....sometimes i get lucky but most of the time i probably phrase the google search incorrectly and am seemingly forever trying to find my answers for computer stuff.

What I learn as i go I will make sure to pass on. Ya'll have just been super !!

Yep it is exactly as ignatzatsonic says mate.

The mains coming in is stepped down from whatever your mains voltage is say 240v AC like us in the primary winding (a coil around an iron core) . This induces a a lower voltage (usually and for our purposes) in a secondary winding (also around that iron core) - but they do not actually meet.

The 12v 5v and 3.3v (AC) supplies originate from that secondary winding on the transformer at differing points in that winding (tappings).

Now the current from those secondary windings goes through a circuit which in very simple terms rectifies the AC (alternating current) to DC ( direct current) and also boosts the current output to a much higher current than it is at the transformer tapping. (The tappings are AC and usually a slightly higher voltage than the DC output because of some energy loss in the rectification and transport process)

Depending on the quality of the transformer and the other circuitry you get a DC voltage / current for your machines components. The better the quality and design of that circuitry the more you will get as usable wattage.

You can calculate the wattage by simply multiplying the current by the voltage (stated on the PSU specification sticker) and you are always or I am guided by the specs of the 12v rail current. ie 12v X 25 amps = 300watts.

For pure curiosity's sake it is exactly the same formula for the other rails.

Not quite:

Windows 7 Home Premium is limited to 16 GB of RAM.

Professional and above can accept I think 192 GB if your hardware supports that much.

But 90% of users are OK with 8 and probably 99.5% with 16.

I have 4 GB of RAM and don't think I've ever used over 3 GB of it.