Power supply question.

I'm building a Gaming rig for as cheap as possible.
150$ cpu - video card - 50$ mobo . I checked the Newegg power supply chart and it says I should get 450w.

I can get a 80 certified 500w PSU for 40$ or a 600w non 80-cert psu for 30$.

Newegg.com - Diablotek DA Series PSDA600 600W ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply 30$
Newegg.com - COOLMAX ZX Series ZX-500 500W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply 40$

If my system really only pulls 450w, would the 500w work?
more importantly, even if the 600w only runs at 75 percent, it should work also right?

I dont have 50 bucks to blow on a PSU. Hardly 40.

Anyone know of a great PSU for cheap?

Currently Im hoping this one will work.
Newegg.com - hec HP585D 585W ATX12V Power Supply - No Power Cord - Power Supplies

its only 25$

Ask yourself this question. Do you have the money to replace other parts in your system? Becuase if you go cheap on a PSU, you run that risk of needing to replace other parts. If you would be willing to spend $50 to $60 for a game to run on that system, you shouldn't be afraid to drop the same amount on a PSU, even if it means waiting a little longer.

I'd pay somewhere between little and no attention to Newegg's PSU calculator.

Enter your video card in Google and find a test of a system with it that measured the actual power used by a system with that card.

Since you are trying to save every dime, add maybe 50 watts to the wattage figure reported by that test.

It may come in a bit lower than you think.

Then shop Newegg and elsewhere for a PSU with that much wattage, ideally as much as possible on the 12 volt rail.

I just looked over the list of PSUs at Newegg with a price of 39.99 or less. At that price level, I'd choose Fortron or Seasonic 350 watt units--rather than higher wattage units from other brands. If you can't get yourself to do that, don't eat every other day for a week--then use the saved money to get up to the say $60 level for PSUs.

If you just started pulling random 500 watt PSUs out of a barrel, you would find most of them can't put out that much consistently and cleanly.

robcardiv said:

Currently Im hoping this one will work.
Newegg.com - hec HP585D 585W ATX12V Power Supply - No Power Cord - Power Supplies

its only 25$

If the specs at Newegg are correct (15A at +12V), I'd say that it's a hopeless piece of junk, more of a 200W PSU than a 585W one.

However, according to the manufacturer, it has two 12V rails, one 19A, the other 20A:

HEC Group USA | HP585D

That's a little more plausible.

However, I'd suggest this one:

Newegg.com - Antec VP-450 450W ATX 12V v2.3 Power Supply

(Antec 450W). Note that it has 2 rails, 18A on each. It'll set you back another $14.

Ty vm. I'll have to go with that. That amp tip makes great sence, along with the bulk weigh idea.

This thread is probably going to be moved to the hardware forum, but you may consider:

Newegg.com - Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply

I use it & it handles a lot.

Here's the conclusion from a review by Hardware Secrets:

Antec Basiq BP500U Power Supply Review | Hardware Secrets

They noted it will handle up to 640 watts.