Starting My Own Business: Building Computers.

[mjs1217]

I vote Fortron. They come highly recommended from sites like Tom's Hardware Guide where they regularly test stable to 130% of rated load capacity. See the comparisons from 2002, 2003, and 2004. As a bonus, Fortrons cost about half as much as Antecs. Try either Directron or NewEgg for the best prices on a PS.

The Forton model I'd recommend is either this 350W ATX or this 350W ATX w/ SATA connectors. I have four desktop PCs at home, and each has either an FSP 300 or 350 in it. They've been running super quiet and stable 24/7 for years.

And THAT is why I wouldn't be successfull in that business,

[slateman]

Scotty: I need more power.

Seriously, I'm gonna need like 480W for my 6800GT. But I'll look into that brand.

And since I'm here, can i get a reccomendation on a HD. I got an 80GB one thats almost filled. How about another one, eh?

Actually, what I'd really like to do is transfer all my games and such onto a fresh install of Windows XP. Is therea program/way to do that?

[Dryden]

Sorry, I meant the 530W Fortron FSP for you power users! You can fry eggs on your chassis and heat your home with these puppies (chrome exhaust pipes not included).

What type of HD connections do you have? IDE, SCSI, SATA? It sounds like you've got a power users' rig, or are building one, so I'd be inclined to go with a Western Digital SATA Raptor or pair in a SATA RAID-0 array as a boot device, then retire your current 80Gb drive as a data-only drive. They're expensive, but geesh ... they're worth every penny. If you're on a budget for drives, really any modern Western Digital or Maxtor will suit you. The performance differences from one IDE to another has become mostly negligable, so I'd go WD for brand awareness or Maxtor for warranty service and price. I used to fret over HDs all the time, but for about the past two years I've mostly bought whichever one had the best mail-in rebate attached to it at Best Buy.

I wouldn't migrate an XP installation, period. Install fresh, then immediately patch to SP2 (current is RC 2), it makes a WORLD of difference. If that is a problem, Symantec/Norton Ghost is the popular choice - but make absolutely certain you get an XP-supported version.

[Dryden]

And THAT is why I wouldn't be successfull in that business,

You'll be fine, Antec is a great brand too, just priced a little high IMO. Believe me, you can do this for 20 years and never learn a quarter of what you want to or think you need to. I do this stuff everyday and there's always a new challenge at work or with a client. :)

[OysterBoy]

Try to strike a wholesaler deal with www.tigerdirect.ca . Some of the best prices I've seen, my dad builds and sells computers using TD. Makes a tidy profit, just make sure you know what you are doing.