Now that we’ve chosen a video card we can choose a power supply. Today’s video cards are extremely power hungry so you’re going to want at least a 650W PSU - at the bare minimum. We recommend going at least a 750W, or, if you plan to go the SLI route down the road, look even higher.
A power supply takes an AC current and converts it into DC current - to do this some power must be lost. Obviously, loss of “power” means its less energy efficient. Right now there’s a rating system out there called 80 Plus which measures how efficient a power supply is at different load levels. (http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSupplies.aspx)
Our Choice: Corsair AX750 Modular Power Supply ($138) [Available at NewEgg]
Website: corsair.com
We chose the Corsair AX750 power supply for a few reasons. For one, it’s Gold Rated - which means it’s 87% efficient at peak load. It’s also modular, meaning we only need to attach the power cables we need to use in our system, thereby freeing up room and not having to worry about all these dangling extras. Finally 750W should be more than enough for our system while also helping things run cool and quiet.
Corsair’s PSUs have really gained ground in the industry rather quickly for their quiet operation and reliability, past experience with them made this an easy choice.
Alternatives:
Lower End: Antec Earthwats EA750 Power Supply ($90) [Available at NewEgg]
Higher End: Corsair HX1000 Series Modular Power Supply ($220) [Available at NewEgg]