i am building a new computer and have pretty much decided upon my specs untill i was reading the thread "power supply upgrade- need some recomendations" i used a power supply calculator to try and figure out how big of a PSU/cooling i needed in the new case (note: i know nothing about cases and have been having a hard time finding somethign i know will work). to make a long story short my specs said i needed 700w on my psu, and i dont know what type of cooling i should be using or any websites to find a tower that will work and include cooling/psu. having a few concerns about finding a tower and if i should downgrade (from quad to dual processor) because of my high PSU needs(had a hard time with exact power needs because i am not sure if my motherboard is high end, and other little things like that). anyone who can provide information as to a tower with a good enough PSU/cooling/proper number of ports, etc, can tell me how much power i actually need or recommend a tower would be great. here are my computer specs:
*gigabyte ga-p35c-ds3r motherboard (p35 intel chipset)
*intel core 2 quad q6600 2.4ghz processor
*2 dimms of 1gb ddr2 6400 dual channel RAM
*geforce 8800 gts (320 or 640mb) video card, havent decided but calc didnt change much between the 2.
*i am using my old drives for the time being, floppy drive, dvd drive, and cd+rw drive, 5400 assuming IDE harddrive and am not using any USB or other divices such as external drives.
*not sure on the fans/cooling aspect because i do not have a tower for it yet
*is there anything i am missing that will make it easier to figure out? i couldnt find a thread that talked about cases so i figured cooling was an appropriate place to put this thread, if not, plz let me know and i will repost in the proper forum, your help is much appreciated,
Swen

Look at Antec cases. Not cheap but top quality and usually come with a generous PSU and decent chassis fans all in.

How did you get 700W? My guess is that computer won't use over 400. I have a very similar system, C2D 6400 instead of your C2Q but that processor is still only 95-105W, and I've got another hd. Everything else is the same, and mine uses something like 317W according to a PSU calculator. If I remember I'll hook up my Kill-a-Watt to it tonight and get an actual number for you.

As to your question, I like Cooler Master cases. They will come with intake and exhaust fans. Your processor, unless you buy OEM, will come with its own heatsink/fan which will be sufficient unless you are overclocking.

Then just buy a quality PSU such as an Enermax.

Agreed on CoolerMaster - and some of them have a fan in the side of the case which delivers additional cold external air to the CPU fan.

so does this mean that pretty much any case will work granted it fits the ATX style motherboard? i used this power supply calculator to the best of my ability. there are several questions and or options that i was not quite sure of tho so its quite possible i did something wrong, or maybe it doubles everything to make sure i have a good enough power source? i dunno either way it said around 700w. if u have a similar system and have a reading for yours i wll just go off that. thx again

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

Swen

i just used it again and got 375w, that sounds more like it, dunno what i did wrong the first time. so i will probly try to go with a 450 continuous to allow for some upgrades, etc, does that sound about right?

For the most part my cases have at least one 120mm fan in the front and the same in the back. You could also substitute two 80mm or 92mm fans for one 120mm fan. You might also find a case with a blow-hole. I too like CoolerMaster cases and have the original CoolerMaster Stacker

Yes, that seems much more reasonable. Only slightly higher than what I would have guessed based on what I remembered about mine plus the CPU difference. I'll still try to get a kill-a-watt reading under gaming and idle conditions after I get off work. Make sure you are getting a decent 450-500W PSU because if you pick up a $25 450W it could either not work or die on you in the future taking out something more valuable. PSUs aren't a component to go cheap on.

Any ATX case will work, which includes about 95% of the cases newegg sells.

Here are the results of my Kill-A-Watt testing

Somewhere around POST: 202W
Just as Windows Login Screen Appears: 204W
System idling at desktop: 171W
Command & Conquer 3, fairly decent battle scene: 232W
Command & Conquer 3, typical: 214W
BioShock Demo: 245W Highest, when you are just regaining control of your dude before you leave the capsule.
BioShock Demo, Typical: 220-225W
1080HD movie in VLC: 176-191W

Hardware Involved:
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
Intel Core2Duo E6400 at stock speeds
2GB Mushkin DDR2 800 RAM
eVGA 8800GTS 320
Seagate SATA 400GB
Maxtor SATA 250GB
Plextor PX-740A DVDRW Drive
Some Sony DVDRW Drive
Couple Benq 20.1" monitors
1 80mm Case fan
1 120mm Case fan
Stock Intel HSF (replacing with a ZalmanCNPS9500 when I quit being lazy (its here sitting next to me))
Enermax Noisetaker II 485W PSU (Maybe going to swap with a Noisetaker (orig) 470W from another computer).

awsome, that helps a lot. i will pick up a decent 450-500w PSU for my rig and i should be all set, thx for the help! assuming i am going to get a case with an intake and outake 120mm fan should do the trick!

swen

ok so i have bought everything but my video card now so i figured i would reply with what i chose,
case is a coolermaser centurion 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119077

and my PSU is an enermax noisetaker II 485w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194009

pretty sure im going to rock the 8800gts 640mb on the video card. i got everything installed in my new system and case except my old drives which i am still currently using and video card.

my processor also came with an absolutely massive heatsink+fan on it, assuming just the case fans and CPU fan should be plenty of cooling?

Yes the installed fans should be enough to cool your computer.