When should i switch a psu?

So i'm selling my ps3 and pretty much building a newer computer
in order to play diablo3,bf3, and its time i needed an upgrade my old computer has just been sitting
my hds are failing, southbridge fan stopped for a while.. and the cpu fan took a dump too, never got around using it since i had a macbook

i'm upgrading to an phenom ii x4 95w, hopefully a 6870, 8 gigs of ram, and im probably running 3 or 4 hds
(2 ide, 2 sata probably) and i'm contemplating a bluray drive since i am planning on selling the ps3

my old computer has an neoHE550, still runs like a champ but its been a while.. so its just dusty, but it meets all the specifications including the dual 12v

so how frequently am i supposed to change out psus anyways? would i be fine running the 550he? or should i just change the psu for good measure as well

PSU calculator, it'll allow you to estimate what your power needs will be: http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/

And ditto on the AMD thing, save up until you can buy an Intel.

Specify at what setting you want to play the games, and at what resolution? There's no comparison between D3 and BF3, when it comes to system requirement. Like others have said go with intel, especially if you plan on playing BF3 on high to max settings.

Your power supply is from a very good brand, i doubt you will have any problem reusing it. However a generally PSU degrade 10% for every year they are in use. Its just a rough generalization.

thanks MSP thats a cool little tool.. well i've only been pushing maybe 300 watts max but i've been using it for probably 7 years now

going with the phenom ii cause it was on ebay for cheap with a motherboard and everything, so i figured why not?
it can't be that bad can it? i mean it oc's to 3.6 on stock hsf

is sandybridge the only way to go these days? at work i change out many mobos now! too many 775s god dammit! and the most updated computer i've built is maybe 2 i7's a month? rest seem to be all budget builds using phenoms or even x3 :/

i'm really outdated on cpu's.. last time i remember amd64 was good... then c2d came out and did intel take the lead for everything?

the psu calculator says i'll technically be running at peak.. i guess i'll just buy one later and have it laying around till the neohe takes a dump

Processing power per clock cycle (and per dollar) has been overwhelmingly in the Intel camp for a few years now. Energy efficiency too, or at least it was the last time I really read into it. Why folks continue to buy AMD CPUs is a bit of a mystery to me.

Even an OC Phenom ii cant compete with SB i5 2500k at stock. Also ivy bridge is out too its about 10 to 20 percent better then SB, with native support for USB3.0, pcie 3.0. IVY have some heat issue because intel wanted to be cheap on tim. If you OC to 4.5+ IMO you will get in heat issue. As things are AMD dont have any thing that can compete with inetls SB chips, or IVY bridge.

AMD is just fine for average non super stressful use, but not good for gamers. Especially for latest game, like BF3 and new upcoming games.

msp - well amd chips are cheap

i was trying to keep my budget at 400-450$.. but if i go with sandybridge it would be somewhere around 700 im guessing or even ivy.. well back to the drawing board i guess.. but another reason i went with the phenom is cause the motherboard so i can use all my old ide stuff..

What are the parts you need, can you specify please? If you are lucky enough to live near Micro Center then you might get lucky. i5 2500k with Z68 board you can get good deal like $50 off on combo. Here's just a rough idea. Going with $450 budget.
Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 $169.99. SB unlocked chips OC like crazy and runs cool.
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 $121.99
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 Initially for $149 after MIR and 10% disc cost $119.

There's your 3 core component for $410, and all of them got tons of review all pretty good. Rams are dirt cheap, you can easily find a good deal just make sure its 1.5v ram. You dont need 8 gig unless yo do alot of encoding. 4gig is more then enough for any games. You wanted 6870 gfx but 6850 O.C and matches 6870 stock speed easily. You can also find HD6870 on deals, lately there's alot of good deal on them. The z68 board is compatible with new IVY. So later you can upgrade, with just bios update. Well that should give you some rough idea.

yeah after doing some research, i want a i5 2500k.. good thing i got outbid on the 945 phenom i guess.. well im gonna wait and see where it goes.. put a couple bids up already i should know in the next day or 2

turns out where i work tommorow has a micro center close 169.99!!! can't beat that with some low cas ram should be fine.. and i don't plan to oc.. the i5.. but yeah your probably right about the videocard, i just heard the 6870 2gb is leaps ahead

Yeah AMD chips are cheap. But you gotta focus on the value. Price per performance. AMD used to be the bang-for-the-buck CPU company, but those days are long gone.

I didn't know you needed 2gb card. How many monitors you plan on running. AFAIK, higher rams on GFX translates to, being able to run multiple high res screens. 1gb cards can easily run most, if not all games on max settings for single monitor system. As long as other components dont bottleneck it.

Yeah, we can see how intel's already screwing us over already. Since they know there is no competition, they screwed up Ivy bridge. Using cheap tim and not properly securing the plate on top of the chip. Which is leading to heat issues.

is that so? i was bidding for an 6870 because it does have alot more shaders for like 20$ more.. anyways i'm currently bidding for an i5 sandy bridge system that comes with a 6850

but i think i should cancel my bid for the 6870 since i'm playing 1 monitor, 1024x768 at most.. i can run much higher but i like that size

or i can sell the 6850 for like $100 i guess

Yeah, I pray AMD can seriously get back into the game. They're still competitive in the video card department at least.

thats only cause they bought ati i guess.. back then i used to think intel was keeping them alive so they have competition

Wow, on that resolution you can max out BF3 and get over 100FPS lol. Also dont be afraid to OC 6850, even using there own CCC you can overdrive the card. Or set profile you can change with two click, one for gaming, and another for common stuff. You can even push it further by using afterburner; but if you never played with it, just read up on it abit. If you are not going to OC the i5 2500k, then save money, by getting a non K series chip. Since all K series chip are unlocked, for MAX O.C ing.

good deal thanks..

if i don't win i'll go with the i5 2400 or something

and i already bidded for a 2gb 6870, so should i cancel that? i mean i have a day to think about it so (i'm winning right now thats why i said i'll sell the 6850 cheap or something) but your right i guess i don't need the extra gig, and i'll be fine with the 6850

i've oc'd videocards before its just my house gets hot in summer so i'd like to just leave it as is (unless its a couple hundread mhz maybe)

but the cpu, i've never oc'd so ill just leave it at that..

That tower deal sure looks too good to be true... Just hope all the parts in it are fully functional. As for the gfx, if you really just play games at 1024x768, then i don't see you ever needing a 2gb card. However when it comes to building PC; IMO more is better lol. If your budget allows you to buy 6870 2gb, then why not. In future you can go dual+ monitor and play game at 1680+ resolution. But if you want to save money, you will be just fine with 6850 imo. Especially for that resolution.

hopefully i win it, i'll probably switch the spinpoint on it if i do, and pull that wifi card out and stick my soundcard in and the 6870 if i win, either i'll use that or sell it goes both ways.. i just gotta do it fast