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 The Power Supply Epistles
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We're still picking the shrapnel out of our ass cheeks after our last power-supply roundup; but hey, it's clear that not all power supplies are the same. That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's listened to our pontifications over the years; but to the unwashed masses, the lesson is simple: A quality power supply is absolutely critical to your system's stability. With new PC components sucking up power like a Hummer slugging fossil fuel, you simply can't count on your 3-year-old power supply to get you through any major upgrade. Plug in your 6800 Ultra, a clocked-up Prescott P4 or FX-55, and a couple of Raptors, and you'll be treated to the acrid smell of fried PSU in the morning. If it doesn't blow up within 24 hours of a major upgrade, it'll definitely give up the ghost on a summer afternoon when your bungalow hits a balmy 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Our top pick for a high-wattage PSU is PC Power and Cooling's Turbo-Cool 510 Deluxe Express ($195, www.pcpowercooling.com). Although a tad loud under load, we have no fear that any system could break this PSU—and nVidia has officially certified it to support SLI, Even better, threre's an SLI unit that's wired for two graphics cards. If you don't intend to run an SLI machine, are less noise tolerant, and desire removable cables, Antec's NeoPower 480 ($200, www.antec.com) is an economical and quiet alternative that falls just short of delivering the power required by SLI.
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