I'm about to put together a new computer with the following:

athlon xp (1700 or 1800, not overclocked, at least not for a while)
geforce4 ti 4200
80gb WD special edition
40gb maxtor
dvd-rom
cd-rw
512mb centon DDR PC2700

I'm looking at the antec slk2600amb at Amazon.com (I have some GC money there), which gets great reviews, though it only comes with a 300W PSU. but, it's an antec PSU, much better than cheapo PSUs. however, I'm still concerned it might be pushing it to just get 300W, especially with 2 hard drives. I can get the slk3700amb from Amazon also, for $16 more, but it's also 8 pounds heavier and a few inches taller/deeper so I'd really prefer a smaller (and cheaper) case. so I'm wondering if the 300W should be enough, since I don't want to have to buy a new PSU if it's not...thanks for any input!

That should be more than enough, I figure you will be drawing less than 250 watts, besides Antec P/S are very strong.

Antec SLK2600AMB w/300W PSU is the case I use for my current system. The case & PSU are great. I wouldn't have any worries about the PSU not providing enough power. I don't have any power issues with this configuration:

ASUS A7N8X Dlx Motherboard
XP1700+ overclocked to 1.84Ghz
768MB PC2700 RAM
ATI 9000 Pro
Two HDD's (sometimes 3)
52X CDRW (sometimes 2)
USB Printer
USB Scanner
USB or PS2 Keyboard (keeps changing)
USB or PS2 Mouse (keeps changing)
Two case fans (one front, one rear)

I agree, you really should be fine.

My system:

Antec 350W PSU
AMD 1700+ OC'd to 1900+
Gigabyte +7VRXP mobo
PNY GeForce4 ti 4200
DVD-ROM
DVD-R/W
CD-R/W
2x WD 120Gb SE <-- NOT raid'ed
1 IBM 60Gb Deathstar
Scanner, Printer, USB Keyboard/mouse, USB Joystick, USB Driving wheel all plugged in

Never even a hiccup.

wow, antec PSUs are strong. looks like I'll go with the smaller slk2600 then, should be refreshing after 3 years of using my 30 pound antec sx830!

looking at his question from the "other end", how would some one know if the pc needs stronger PSU?

My pc was starting to have "random reboots" last week, and I disabled a few start up items, last of which was some REAL NETWORKS agent, and the problem stopped (so far). But for a little while it crossed my mind the PSU could be cause, even though mine is an Antec 350W!

Choosing The Right Power Supply
This article should answer most of your questions. It's a good read.

good article. I went with the slk2600, hopefully it will be enough. I also realized that my current computer is also running on an antec 300W PSU, with dvdrom, cdrw, zip, floppy, and 3 hard drives! if you think the PSU might be the source of random reboots, have you tried unplugging an unnecessary component to see if that helps? I'm no expert on PSU issues, but if the problem was the PSU, shouldn't you have seen reboots all along, instead of just recently?

You're probably right, I started out by looking for the most recent changes on the pc, which included REAL's junky media player. As I said, it CROSSED my mind, but I tried to rule out other causes first. I think usually if you install bad software the effect is more immediate, and hardware is more prone to problems as it AGES, not so much right away.

just got my slk2600 today, so much smaller than my previous antec case

also, great paint job! no window or light, but who needs that? now I just need a motherboard and cpu...

I went to computer fair a couple of weeks ago to look for a good case that didn't look like a Christmas decoration. I only found one suitable one (out of 100+) but it was over $150 so I passed. I ended up getting an Antec case from Staples (AC/PM of course!). It's not perfect but it's the best case I've ever owned.

yeah i like antec cases + ps's. i have the plus1080amg