2 x Gigabyte GTX470 Super OC - PSU Requirements ?

kill1308

kill1308

kill1308

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28 Nov 2010
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Hi all,

Hope everyone is well :)

I have recently had a twitchy 'Buy Now' finger when browsing computer components and caved into buying myself an additional Gigabyte GTX470 Super OC to run in SLI with my existing one. Told myself I was going to keep my rig as it is for a while... but we all know how it is I'm sure :D

Anyway, I've done a few calculations using some online PSU calculators, but I'm a bit worried that my PSU isn't going to be able to supply enough power once I add the additional card. Some calculators results suggest I'm ok, others suggest I'm sailing close to the wind.

What's everyones opinion, do I need to upgrade the PSU? (shame if I do as I've only just bought it but hey ho :( )

PSU : Corsair TX-Series 650w

System Spec
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz @ 4.20GHz
Asus Sabertooth X58 DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair Dominator (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8
Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler
OCZ 60GB Vertex 2E SSD
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB
DVD Writer
Gigabyte GTX470 Super OC Graphics Card
(Rig is basically an Overclockers Black Ops bundle + a few bits)

As for fans, there's 2 x 120mm Akaska Apache Blacks on the heatsink, and 4 x 93mm fans.

So what does everyone think, am I sailing close to the wind installing a 2nd Gigabyte GTX470 Super OC? Or should I send it back and upgrade my PSU first before I start messing with SLI?

Sorry for the long post... any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance :)
 
I think a 650w supply could well be struggling with 2 SuperOC 470s. I think you'd need something more in the 800w range. The standard 470GTX has a max power of 215w so I'd imagine the SuperOC draws a little more. 430w out of a 650w supply is a huge chunk of it's available power.

I think you'd need 800w+ quality PSU to power two of the unneficient fermi cards.
 
Thanks for the reply Tealc, I know the Super OC is more power efficient than the reference model which surprised me, but not by enough to really make much difference I don't think.

The power draw for load/idle is 313w/98w for the Super OC vs 337w/101w for the reference according to some online resources. I just didn't know if the power draw would be the same in SLI as I've not really had much to do with SLI systems.

Does anyone know any way of monitoring wattage draw? I'm tempted to see how much it's using and if it's too close to the limits then I'll change the PSU and sell the Corsair 650w. Only had it 2 weeks now I think, but still it's my own fault for not leaving enough headroom :(
 
Well I've been pointed in the direction of http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine which I've been told is quite a good power supply calculator... not sure if anyone else here uses it or not.

It tells me my minimum PSU Wattage should be 583w and the recommended PSU wattage should be 633w..... so I'm guessing this is too close to the line for a Corsair TX 650w?

Ah well, guess I need to send the additional GTX470 back for the time being and upgrade the most important part first.

Thanks for the advice peeps, appreciate it :)
 
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I've decided not to send back the card and to just treat myself for Christmas with a new PSU, I'll sell my 2 week old Corsair TX-650w on ebay or something.

I'm looking at a Corsair HX 850w, should this more than cover it?
 
kill1308 said:
I've decided not to send back the card and to just treat myself for Christmas with a new PSU, I'll sell my 2 week old Corsair TX-650w on ebay or something.

I'm looking at a Corsair HX 850w, should this more than cover it?
Click to expand...

Good plan. the 850 will be plenty...... you'll be able to overclock the crap out of everything, and it'll probably be more than enough for whatever you replace the 470's with in a few years time.
 
HX850 Quality, you can't go wrong 7 year warranty, it has a lot in reserve, can't see me replacing it for sometime to come.
 
kill1308 said:
I've decided not to send back the card and to just treat myself for Christmas with a new PSU, I'll sell my 2 week old Corsair TX-650w on ebay or something.

I'm looking at a Corsair HX 850w, should this more than cover it?
Click to expand...
Excellent choice, im running that psu with sli'd reference gigabyte 470's, cpu clocked at 4ghz, gpu's at 751/1502/1684. Ive had the cards upto 800/1600/1700 as well without any issues. The super oc cards will be a bit more efficient than the ones i have, will also run a lot quieter/cooler. Love to see a few pics of the 470 SOC's installed.:)
 
Great, thanks for the advice all, I greatly appreciate it :)

Well my new PSU arrived this morning and I'll be installing it later along with the 2nd Gigabyte 470.

Setter said:
Love to see a few pics of the 470 SOC's installed
Click to expand...

Sure thing Setter, I'll put some pictures up once I've got them installed :)
 
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