Power Supply

[JaMBo]

Hey Fozzik, is a 550W Power Supply really necessary or can I go with a 500W? (I'm using everything from your $2000 recommended system except the sound card).

[Fozzik]

Depends on the brand of the 500w.

In general, the rule for power supplies is the cooler they run, the better they work. If you are going to have overkill anywhere in the system, the power supply is a good place for it. A high-quality 500w power supply will work fine for the $2k system, but keep in mind that depending on the 12V rails and the amps they can push...it may limit your upgrade potential in some way.

If you have a particular power supply in mind, link it up and I (or someone else) will be able to better say if it's a good substitute.

[JaMBo]

Thermaltake power supply.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153028

[Lord_Vyper]

That particular PSU is pretty good. No frills, no thrills, just does it's thing.
I'm starting to be kinda leery of TT PSUs though. It's starting to seem too hit-or-miss as to whether you get a quality PSU or not.

I'd recommend Antec TruePower 2 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103930)instead.
Same price, same connectors, more reliable PSU.

[Nubb]

Fine choice, imo. Personally I'd spend $20 more and get the 550 watt one.

Save $5, actually you'll save >$6 more on shipping as well! Dump NewEgg's corporate whor..err werehouse:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=371258
(cheaper, and FREE 2nd day) I have used zipzoomfly exclusively for the last 2 or 3 years now (used to use monarch & allstarshop). Only thing I've ever paid shipping on was a monitor.

550w link:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=371280

Nubb

Edit
I will, sorta, agree with Lord Vyper. In that I use Antec (and Fortran) PSU's. Never actually used a ThermalTake (have always heard they're good though). Might be worth looking into it -- if they are producing questionable PSUs then I'd definitely go with another brand (never want to skimp on your PSU!) :)

[Fozzik]

Vyper and Nubb pretty much got it covered... I like Antec best myself, but that Thermaltake should be fine. Either one should be plenty to handle your system. As far as quality questions about Thermaltake, I don't know. I've never owned one, although most of what I've read has been good.

[Traldan]

In my system, I've got a newly installed X1900XT, a slightly overclocked P4 (down to stock for now, will explain in a sec), 2 cd drives, 2 hard drives, 4 case fans (1 80, 2 90's, 1 120) and 2 gigs of ram, and my 420w TT Purepower can't handle it (the graphics card can't kick itself into 3d mode, so the system kills itself - kinda ironic, I can use it but not to play games).

I've got a Sparkle FSP550 SLI-rated PSU on the way. It's got a good solid single 12v rail (ATI recommends like 20+amps on the 12v rail) and enough wattage to keep my system.

OCZ Powerstream 520 is another very nice powersupply, a little more expensive, but definitely worth the money (its like an inch longer though, so wouldn't fit in my case).