Gateway Parts

How strong should a gaming computer power supply be?

So I have almost all of my computer parts together, but I have been delaying the power supply. I know that it needs to be good cause a poor one will result in be having a very expensive door stop. So simple question of how much power will keep my solid and where is the cutoff for too much I intend the computer for gaming. The motherboard is a GIGABYTE Model GA-EP45-UD3R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 3.0gig core2duo chip but debating out a different chip (a core2quad 2.5) Also..... If someone has some fan/heatsink advice... that stuff gives me a headache trying to understand all that.

Public Comments

1. i hear 500 watts is the minimum ud ever want, so i'd go bigger, especially if your going to have a lot of hardware in your machine.
2. Since a gaming computer uses more power because of faster processors and faster graphics cards. Try to use the power calculator from the website here:http://www.journeysystems.com/?power_supply_calculator A youtube video might help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWLCtCw0CH4 (how to put heatsink on motherboard)
3. Honestly its tough to advise you without the specs on the rest of your hardware, since you picked a single video card board, I would say that 500w would be plenty. But you need to add power for extra video, hard disks etc.
4. At least 450 Watt but if you have extras like Multi drive CD/DVD burner, extra internal fans, 256 mb Video card etc.. I would suggest 500 to 600 watt pwer supply. Other Answers may say a higher wattage but unless they are an expert, I wouldn't go higher than 650 watt. If you get the multi point power supply, you can connect the Monitor to the out point of the power supply (you will need a special cord). If you are running the power cord from a power board adaptor, you might have to attach other devices to a different power board. Things like the heater, scanner, printer TV, DVD Player etc. Best to have a common sized case rather than a compact small case to allow proper ventilation. The smaller sized cases are difficult to access should you want to change the ram or add things, Make sure the back of the computer has ventilation space, ie not enclosed in a tight space because the exhaust will just go back into the computer. You can add extra fans into the computer and attach them to the rear casing. Have the exhaust facing out and not into the computer. If you have any old Power Supplies, you can take the fan out of them as long as they have a removable connector with the right connector as some are 3-pin and some are 2-pin. If it is part of the circuit board, you cannot use it. Make sure you use the correct connectors. CPU Fan Connector is for the CPU Fan. Tie off loose connectors from the Power Supply so they don't interfere with fans or other connection points on the mainboard. Never cut them off. PS You will need at least 2 gb Ram
5. first of all, remember that you should buy a power supply from a good brand because cheap ones are a big risk for your other hardware - likewise keep in mind that a '500 W' power supply doesn't mean that it can constantly supply 500 W but rather can deliever this amount as a peak for a short amount of time. Put another way your power supply has to have more power than your computer is consuming usually. I dont know all your specs but here we go: CPU c2d 3.0, 65W Mainboard /w 2 RAM DIMMS, 60W 1 Harddrive / 1 DVD, 20W so basically you're at about 150W + whatever grapics adapter you choose. To be on the safe side I would probably buy a 400-500W power supply from enermax. As for your heatsink the boxed one that comes with the CPU should be fine.
6. It depends on what other hardware you have inside the computer. Have a look at the Xigmatek S1283 for a heatsink.