To dual (PSU) or not to dual (PSU)...

dougolada

dougolada

dougolada

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Consett, County Durham
I am looking at a new gaming build and the Corsair Obsidian 900D case with space for dual PSUs caught my eye. It got me thinking, it would be cheaper to buy a second 650W PSU than to upgrade to a single 1200W PSU.
How feasible is this to do? I have been trying to research it online and found a lot of conflicting information as to whether it's a good idea and how to go about doing it.
How would I get both power supplies to work properly with only having connections for one PSU on a motherboard? Is the hassle worth the financial saving or would I be better just biting the bullet and spending the extra on a 1200W (or thereabouts) PSU?
 
Why do you need a 1200w psu? ive got 2x 780Ti and a 4770k and run with a 1000w PSU.
To be honest I don't think its worth it, just sell your 650w and buy a decent single PSU.
Having an extra PSU that you don't really need is just another thing to go wrong.
 
nikki5974 said:
You can use this for the PSU not connected to mobo

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-021-OK

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-000-BP&groupid=962&catid=1534

1st 1 out of stock but something like that will do
Click to expand...

Would that make the PSU power up as soon as the main switch was turned on? That certainly is a cheap option! Would there be any way of having both PSUs controlled by the motherboard, ie starting up and shutting down simultaneously?
 
dougolada said:
Would that make the PSU power up as soon as the main switch was turned on? That certainly is a cheap option! Would there be any way of having both PSUs controlled by the motherboard, ie starting up and shutting down simultaneously?
Click to expand...

no you would have to use the external power switch on the psu
 
nick.lidgett said:
Why do you need a 1200w psu? ive got 2x 780Ti and a 4770k and run with a 1000w PSU.
To be honest I don't think its worth it, just sell your 650w and buy a decent single PSU.
Having an extra PSU that you don't really need is just another thing to go wrong.
Click to expand...

I probably don't need 1200W but I'm thinking for a dual GPU setup, 650W probably won't be enough. Whether it's 100W or 1200W is not really of too much concern right now...
 
dougolada said:
I probably don't need 1200W but I'm thinking for a dual GPU setup, 650W probably won't be enough. Whether it's 100W or 1200W is not really of too much concern right now...
Click to expand...

Ok its just that you said about upgrading to a 1200w PSU in your OP.

Just stick with one, don't take up radiator space with an extra psu.
 
ThaReaperGuy said:
What are the 2 GPU's you'll be using, having 2 separate PSU's will cause more annoyance than it's worth.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure as yet, I was thinking of the GTX 780 or if budget allows GTX 780Ti. My intention would be to start with one GPU and then as games develop, or prices of 4K monitors come down, I would get a second card. I think I'm realising that a single PSU would be altogether better and simpler...
 
nick.lidgett said:
Ok its just that you said about upgrading to a 1200w PSU in your OP.

Just stick with one, don't take up radiator space with an extra psu.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the confusion, it is more of a hypothetical situation at the moment so the details are as yet uncertain. I think a single PSU will be what I will ultimately go for, when I have the available funds...

Thanks for your advice :)
 
You can run a 780 on a 550 W PSU. Add 100-150 W for overclocking and your 650 W should cope fine. Upgrade the PSU if you need to down the line (I bet you don't).
 
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