A new video card

[Zeriel]

@Ruken

Since I’m going to have to buy a new power supply to use whatever card I buy, I might as well try to buy one that I’ll be able to use in ~2 years when I build a new system. The 380W I purchased 3.5 years ago isn’t good enough to handle the upgrades that I want now. Is there any way to predict what I’ll be able to use down the road?

Newegg has lots of rebates on all sorts of PSUs. I’m willing to spend a bit more if it’s something I’m going to be able to use later. 500W? 750W? 1 kW? That’s a lot of power. Newer components can do a lot more than older ones, but I’m assuming they’re also more efficient. A 450W psu was overkill when I put this system together, and now it seems to be pretty standard.

Point of reference–I built my current $1.7k gaming system with 850W, you probably want to look at something in the 680W range if you want to re-use it later. Zalman, Antec, ZeroCool, Sparkle, and Thermaltake are good brands, and Rosewill is the only discount brand I’d even consider.