Power supply?

[Azkalani]

It's My intention to get a new computer soon probably Gateway - Desktop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 8GB Memory / 1TB Hard Drive from best buy( cant post links yet)

now I have a nvidia 9800 graphics card, but intend to upgrade probably in a year or so, how important would it be to get a better power supply, and if I do need one im finding it hard to find one without reviews that say they fry out after a year.( the above comp has a 300W)

[Madcaptn]

corsair 600w

[haxartus]

how important would it be to get a better power supply

Very important.
500-600W will power pretty much anything if you don't do SLI/Crossfire.

[Azkalani]

k thank you

[taekvideo]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371048
very reliable & powerful, and cheap to boot.

[Deleted]

Rule of thumb:

Desktop PC + Mid-Range (~200 dollar) GPU require roughly 350 Watts of power. A 400 Watt PSU should be used in case you want tp upgrade at some point.

Desktop PC + High-end (300+ dollar) GPU require roughly 400 Watts of power. Same rules apply.

Desktop PC + Dual GPUs in SLI or Xfire require 550 (Mid-Range) or 600 (High-end) Watts of power.

The suggested 600 Watts PSU is a little excessive but will give you plenty of room for future upgrades and overclocking.

Here's a calculator: http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

[haxartus]

Rule of thumb:

Desktop PC + Mid-Range (~200 dollar) GPU require roughly 350 Watts of power. A 400 Watt PSU should be used in case you want tp upgrade at some point.

Desktop PC + High-end (300+ dollar) GPU require roughly 400 Watts of power. Same rules apply.

Desktop PC + Dual GPUs in SLI or Xfire require 550 (Mid-Range) or 600 (High-end) Watts of power.

The suggested 600 Watts PSU is a little excessive but will give you plenty of room for future upgrades and overclocking.
Here's a calculator: http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Except that most 400W PSUs in fact have about 300-320W on the 12V rail and if you put them on a configuration that requires 350W they will blow up. And you need to take in mind capacitor aging for at least 3-4 years ahead.
300-350W configuration is good with a quality 500-550W PSU.
400-450W configuration is good with a quality 600-650W PSU.
An example for a 400-450W configuration is i5-2500k with a GTX 580.