The Power Supply Unit (PSU)
I wanted to find a cheap but very good PSU for my PC building exercise. I had already decided that it had to be both silent and 80% efficient at a minimum. The 80plus program details devices that are at least 80% efficient, so look out for the 80PLUS badge.
The 80plus website is an excellent way to check out the specifications of a PSU that you are interested in.
http://www.80plus.org/manu/psu/psu_join.aspx
By browsing this list I was able to find a 500W PSU that was 85% efficient at 50% load, which is good enough for me as it was inexpensive. I opted for a Coolermaster 500W Silent Pro M.
