Motherboard.

Hi,
I have brought recently a new case with a PSU of 500 watts. This may seem a silly question and might have already been answered but does the motherboard depend on the watts of the PSU?

it can, if you try to hook it up to like a 15 year old computer youd probably fry it lol. 500 watts will power most modern motherboards, as long as you have all the proper connections (I.E. 20 or 24 pin motherboard power, and CPU power) and 500 watts will run an average low-midrange gaming system ok. however, If you want to make a performance machine, especially a gaming machine, trust me, I learned this from experience, buy a newer name brand PSU, prolly no less then 600 watts, higher is better especially if your going to go with SLI or Crossfire, or use any high powered video cards. I know this from experience because I Purchased a 600 watt echo star (good generic PSU but not made for performance parts) and ran that until I put an ATI 3870 x2 into it, and the PSU promptly fried. there wasnt enough amperage going out, so i had to upgrade to a 750 watt Coolermaster. so trust me, if you want a gaming rig, spend the money now on a quality PSU, otherwise youll be spending more later. if the system is just going to be a media center or a general use computer, that PSU should do just fine.

That was very helpful thanks. I am thinking of building a gaming rig or similar to a gaming rig.

I have been looking at the manufacture who makes the computer case i have and they have a few PSU's. The highest PSU they do is 800 Watts which is enough.

If i was to use this PSU for a gaming rig, what would you suggest is an ideal motherboard? Im not sure what [if any] differences/similarities there are between AMD and Intel.

You are going to find many "opinions" in this area.

My own is Intel with a NVIDIA chipset and NVIDIA graphics card.

I stay away from AMD / ATI.

The first thing to consider is your budget.

Let us know what your total budget is.

Both PSU's and motherboards depend on the type of CPU and graphics that you want.

On the high end you want a PSU and motherboard that supports Quad Core CPU's and PCI_E 2 SLi graphics.

its all a matter of personal opinion. My own system is a gigabyte Mobo with an AM2 slot and AMD athlon 6000+ x2 processor, which I absolutly love, performs great with tons more power then I need, the only thing ive run thats used up all my CPU power is 3dmark06. however, I have also been impressed with Intels new core2 duos and quads, and AMDs phenom line looks like its just startin to give intel competition in the quad core line. if your on a budget, AMD does make processors a LOT cheaper then intel, with excellent performance, I think both intel and AMD make comparable processors, each with their strong weak points, youd be happy either way. as far as video cards, if your going high end, either ATI or Nvidia, you will need a far more powerful PSU then 500 watts, with more then 2 12 volt rails, and if your doing an SLI or crossfire system, your going to want 750 watts minimum, i think id prolly go with 800-1100 watts to be on the safe side, especially if you overclock. nvidia makes good cards, but i think ATIs new 3000 series are definetly worth lookin at, besides being cheaper, from what Ive seen offer comparable or maybe slighty better performance for less money, but thats all a matter of opinion. computers can be like houses, everyone likes different things, whats important is to make sure you have quality components, and that your happy with them.

As mentioned budget is the first key. I'd suggest these categories:

1) $1,000 > Basic decent gamer.

2) $2,000 > Good solid gamer.

3) $3,000 > Sweet gamer / upper end.

4) More $$$ > Totally high end.

Just using Newegg as a "comparison shopper" here is the current high end mobo's:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...24300+-+%24400

These all use DDR 3 RAM which is also more expensive than DDR 2 which is more common.

I'd also only suggest these boards if you are going to run SLi i.e. 2 graphics cards such as this 8800 GT 1GB VRAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130336

Again using two of them.

At this level a 1,000 Watt PSU is best. Also assuming Quad Core CPU.

I also highly suggest liquid cooling at this level of build.

Anyway let us know where your budget lays.


I should add that my price estimates are including everything. On a high end system I am assuming a 23" or larger wide screen monitor as well as multiple hard drives @ 500GB or more. Also an Operating System.

those are good decent price estimates, though some things you might try to save money on is to
A: if you have an old case, that still provides adequate cooling and has room for what you want, sometimes a can of spray paint can add a new zeal to it, and save you around 90 bucks there.
B: if your not using HD, then reusing old CD/DVD drives can save you some money.
C: shop around. neweggs not the only spot on the web, though they are normally the cheapest sometimes their not. consider other manufacturers and etc.
D: dont skimp on the important parts like the mobo and the PSU-especially if your running high end NVIDIA or ATI cards, both will fry a underpowered generic PSU rather fast. also, make sure your cooling is adequate, like jephree said, if you can afford it, liquid cooling is the way to go.
E: if all you you want to do is gaming, decide what games you want to do, and what you need to. most games these days do not need a quad core system. unless your running games like Crysis, (which even a quad core is going to struggle with) you may not need that much power. a 2.4 ghz core2 duo, or the athlon equivalent, will run most anything on the market today, save yourself the money on the processor, and use it on a good video card and ram, which is probably more important for gaming.
F: get a smaller HD. if your using it for gaming, you prolly wont need a terrabyte, or even 500 gig, of HD space, save your money and buy like 160 gig or something. unless you plan on using a lot of HD room, save the money use it on the more important items.

anyway, if your not worried about a budget and can afford it all go for it all, me personally im on a tight budget, and I believe in building comps for people on budgets that will fit their needs. if you dont need it, no sense wasting money on it. just my thoughts

Ummm, maybe, but to me, it is a matter of function - what is the computer going to be used for? For gaming, I see no reason to go with AMDs. If for office works, AMD is perfect. As for the PSU, it is a matter of power requirements and as jephree has pointed out, budget.

500W is plenty for most people, and fortunately, today's CPUs require LESS power than those of just a couple years ago. However, that is often offset by the demands for more graphics processing power and the desire for more RAM.

And realize that the PSU draws from the wall what the computer needs, not what the PSU can supply. Meaning, a computer that consumes 300 watts will draw 300 watts from the wall, regardless if the PSU is a 500W supply or a 750W supply. So my point, go for quality over quantity.

It is silly to guess how much power you need where there are excellent calculators that do it for you. Use the eXtreme PSU Calculator Lite to determine your power supply unit (PSU) requirements. Plug in all the hardware you think you might have in 2 or 3 years (extra drives, bigger or 2nd video card, more RAM, etc.). Be sure to read and heed the notes at the bottom. I recommend you set Capacitor Aging to 30%, and if you participate in distributive computing projects (e.g. BOINC or Folding@Home), I recommend setting TDP to 100%. Research your video card and pay particular attention to the power supply requirements listed on your video card maker's website for your card. Then look for power supply brands listed under the "Good" column of PC Mechanic's PSU Reference List. Ensure the supplied amperage on the +12V rails of your chosen PSU meets the requirements of your video card. Don't try to save a few dollars by getting a cheap supply. Digital electronics, including CPUs, RAM, and today's advanced graphics cards, need clean, stable power. A good, well chosen supply will provide years of service and upgrade wiggle room. I strongly recommend you pick a supply with an efficiency rating equal to, or greater than 80%. And don't forget to budget for a good UPS with AVR (automatic voltage regulation).

That said, if your 500W PSU is from a reputable maker, you should be good to go.

We have to be careful what you say here. Yes, it is true that AMD does make SOME CPUs that are a lot cheaper, but since the new Intel Core 2 Duos and Quads came out, the Intels have run circles around the AMDs in terms of processing power, low power consumption, low heat generation, and competitive prices. Yes, the new AMDs are a little less expensive, but over the life of the computer, AMDs are not a "LOT" cheaper.

For beginners (and experienced too) I recommend you check out MWave's "Motherboard Bundles" Wizard. This is a great research tool as it allows you to pick a motherboard, then the Wizard will offer a big list of CPUs and RAM that MWave has already determined are compatible with that motherboard. Or, you can start with a CPU and the wizard will list a bunch of motherboards and RAM options that will support that CPU. This is a great research tool you can use even if you buy elsewhere (although their prices are fairly competitive once you factor in shipping - if you live in the US). However, for only $9 more, MWave will mount the CPU and RAM on the motherboard AND test them. So not only do you know from the Wizard that your components work together, you know your specific parts will not be DOA - a nice warm fuzzy for only $9.

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Bill (AFE7Ret)
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Sorry i forgot to add my budget into it. My budget is between $2000-$3000 possibly more.

I just read what you all put and has been very useful, thanks. Especially the links that have been provided

With that budget, I would definitely go Intel.

__________________
Bill (AFE7Ret)
Freedom is NOT Free!

Heat is the bane of all electronics!
─────────────────────

Please help us help you.