Computer Q&A

[Byte Stryke]

How do I figure out how big of a PSU I need?

Thinking of running:

AMD 955 chip
890x mobo
ATI 5870 video

would 500w be enough or do I need 750? So confusing.

Getting back to the original post.
the setup you have and suggest will only require a 750w PSU at most.
this will even allow for expansion such as SLI cards, a spare HDD etc.

for gaming purposes I cannot express the importance of Memory in both fashions.
you are getting Win7 64b I recommend a MINIMUM 4GB
Its cheap right now, so its not that much.

Swap, very touchy subject for some.
You didnt list your HDD so I am going to guess that its a Run of the mill typical 7200rpm 500 GB.
with the price free-fall on HDDs right now... you might consider a stripe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

If you play MMOs with PvP or high resolution games as I think you do, you may want faster read/writes. This can be achieved by either SSD, SCSI or RAID.

Storage Devices PATA 1 x ATA133 2 Dev. Max SATA 3Gb/s 2 SATA 6Gb/s 6 x SATA 6Gb/s SATA RAID SATA 6Gb/s: RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID5, RAID 10 and JBOD
SATA 3Gb/s: RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD

It will definitely support a small array with no difficulty and will actually make better use of those kick-ass channels. all you would need to do is order 2 500GB HDDs. Just something to consider
Thing is, with Win7 its SUPER cake to set up. Seriously, you just switch CDs or use a thumbdrive or a second CD drive for the drivers.
It's so easy, a caveman can do it.

[BigBear]

You didnt list your HDD so I am going to guess that its a Run of the mill typical 7200rpm 500 GB. RGR, just a basic HD. Don't need any of that fancy stuff like SSD's etc. Remember that I'm trying to keep the cost down. I don't mind an extra second to wait to let the computer boot up.


It's so easy, a caveman can do it. How'd you get a pic of me?! lol.

As far as running two HD's and RAID and all that stuff... I'm honestly fine with a single HDD that I back up onto an external every week or so....