Shoutbox

At least 300W, to make sure you will come nothing short in the far future, make it 400W...

Also read the following thread (entirly), it contains a massive amount of very usefull info if you go shopping for one:

new power supply, help

cheers cookie, also can someone explain what ATX is all about. i know that at the moment i dont have an ATX PSU.

ATX is a form factor.
Just as AT and BTX are other form factors

AT is the old form factor for PC's...
ATX is the current widespread used form factor for PC's...
BTX will be the new form factor of the future...

(all have sub form factors, like babyAT, microATX, microBTX, etc)

A form factor defines how and where things are placed and what the dimensions are. It describes the general shape, what sorts of cases and power supplies it can use, its physical organization, etc. Thus so component A would fit in/on component B.

For example, a company can make two motherboards that have basically the same functionality but that use a different form factor, and the only real differences will be the physical layout of the board, the position of the components...

eg: a power supply with form factor ATX would not fit in a case with form factor AT or BTX. So make sure you buy the correct PSU with the correct form factor for your case and motherboard. This would mean an ATX one, unless you still have a stone-age PC or a ultra-super-modern PC.

http://www.formfactors.org/formfactor.asp

hmm, well my mate was buying me a case, and he got me one with a 500W psu. its way too much i know, but will it affect my components?

quote:

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Originally posted by Reaper
hmm, well my mate was buying me a case, and he got me one with a 500W psu. its way too much i know, but will it affect my components?

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No, infact it will give you more juice if your components need it, which makes it a good thing because if you plan on upgrading your rig over time then having the extra juice that the PSU offers will lead to less problems than having an underpowered PSU as you add energy munching components.

If you are getting a cheapy case, I wouldn't trust the PSU that comes with it, if one does. If you are getting a case from a reputable manufacturer (eg Antec), then the PSU should be good. If getting a no brand case, I get rid fo the PSU that case with it and buy a quality PSU.

Like CookieRevised said, 300 W will be enough, unless you want to run some crazy lighting off it to show off your SLI PCI-E video cards , but if a yumcha PSU says that it can output 300 W, it might not be able to.

Summary
If buying a case from a trusted manufacturer, the PSU will probably be 300 W or more, and you'll be set. If buying a dodgy brand case, the rating that is given for the PSU is probably false, so don't pay attention to what rating is given, or whether there is a PSU at all, and buy a quality PSU to use instead.

well i dont know much about case manufacturers, but the case is:
I-Cute 0408XL-BS Black ATX Case With 500 WATT PSU
cost is £50

I dunno....
£50 would be just enough to buy a decent 500W PSU... let alone a decent case together with a decent 500W PSU...  and since that case is a special "designers/modding" case I personally would not buy that as I think the PSU must be a very cheap one for that price.


I-Cute 0408XL-BS

The prices I've seen for that case alone, range from £30 to £60... let alone that you can have a decent 500W PSU for the rest of the money...

I wonder what you're going to do with 500W anyways though

quote:

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Originally posted by Reaper
well i dont know much about case manufacturers, but the case is:
I-Cute 0408XL-BS Black ATX Case With 500 WATT PSU
cost is £50

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I've never heard of I-Cute before, but that doesnt mean that it is guaranteed to be a bomby case or PSU, but the website doesn't give me a good impression . £50 works out to about AU $120, which is on the cheap side for a 500 W PSU (though maybe all  prices are like that in London).

It looks like there is a lid that goes over the optical drives, which isn't very practical (and you can't show off your drives).

Antec, AOpen and Coolermaster are some good brands.

To add some personality, buy a simpler looking case, and then you can mod it to your preference (unless the Icute is exactly what you want )