Power Supply(Alienware Aurora)

Hey,

I just purchased a new alienware aurora. My question is can you upgrade the psu? IE: from what is now 875 watts to lets say 1000 watts? My main concern is if it will fit in the case, and where can I purchase one(power supply)? Keep in mind this it the Alienware Aurora, the one with the mini atx at alienware.com

sorry I have another question. How long will I be able to do SLI or CROSSFIRE with a 875 watt psu? Meaning how many years do you think I can keep my alienware psu so that I can run dual high end video cards(ie: ati hd 5870) I don't want to do 3 or 4 sli, my computer only has two pci 2.0 slots anyway.

Thanks.

given that each HD 5870 will consume less than 200w at full load, and paired with the default aurora specs (core i7 at its base) you really wont be seeing huge power consumption, just because this is high end stuff of today doesnt mean its all that power hungry...in fact you are seeing lower power consumption in some cases. The HD 5870 for instance is rated at 188w, while it provides the same or better performance than the HD 4870x2..which was rated at ~310w.

So honestly even if you picked the fastest components alienware offers inside that pc, you'll be seeing about 450-470w while gaming, and about 650w under absolute peak (where in every component is running at its maximum...something you'll never see..). So frankly I dont see why you would want to upgrade the power supply beyond the 875 that alienware offers. Very few people really need power supplies this big, you'd be fine with a decent 700w unit in fact. 1kw is just more than you'd need.