PSU for GTX 480 sli?

prattlesnake42 · 16 Dec 2011 at 21:04

Hi there guys what psu would you reccomend for 2 GTX 480's in sli? i was thinking 850w?

RJC · 16 Dec 2011 at 21:46

I would remove the competitor link before a mod see's

Idleman · 16 Dec 2011 at 21:56

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-052-OC

This.

Leeroy123 · 16 Dec 2011 at 21:56

You only need about an 850watt psu.Yeah remove the link though lol. Yeah as idleman says thats sound, or if you want modular http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

setter · 16 Dec 2011 at 22:19

Id be looking at at least a 900w with sli 480's, will also depend on what cpu you intend to run with it. Particularly if you want to oc both the cpu and gpu's.

prattlesnake42 · 16 Dec 2011 at 22:24

Yeah thanks for the response guys and it was a pretty stupid idea to put that link there :L DOH!

Liquid · 17 Dec 2011 at 03:02

I am running 480 sli with a Corsair HX 850w psu, I overclock my cpu(i5 [email protected]) and sli with it too(@830mhz), runs sweet as a nut. I also have 4 hard drives too.

xsistor · 17 Dec 2011 at 03:25

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1497 Can't beat this for price.

Locky · 17 Dec 2011 at 10:41

what psu for tri sli?

rjk · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:07

Liquid said:
I am running 480 sli with a Corsair HX 850w psu, I overclock my cpu(i5 [email protected]) and sli with it too(@830mhz), runs sweet as a nut. I also have 4 hard drives too.

i ran that exact combo without issue for a year. good psu imho

Locky said:
what psu for tri sli?

I have ran 480 trisli and a gulfy all folding 24/7 for 8 weeks on a HX1000W

i have said it before and i will say it again:

CPU: Intel i7 990X & 4.2GHz
GPU: 2x, Nvidia GTX 590, 607Mhz
System Spec: Dominator GT 2000MHz, Gigabyte OC, RevoDrive + WD Black, Custom Water
Power Supply: OCZ ZX 1250w

Power Consumption:
Standby: 2w
Desktop Idle: 276w
Prime95 Blend: 346w
Prime95 Blend + Furmark: 860w

you don't need a MASSIVE psu for a big system.

setter · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:16

rjkoneill said:
Prime95 Blend + Furmark: 860w

you don't need a MASSIVE psu for a big system.

Saw a power draw of 860w (and climbing before i stopped it) with my cpu at 4.2ghz, gpu's at 750/1500/1674 running furmark and prime small fft simultaneously. Psu is a corsair hx 850, in game draw is 630w ono. seen a few horror stories from Greebo and Arcane on here, of sli 470's and high clocked 17 9** series cpu's, with 850w psu's the atx 24 pin socket burnt out. I was thinking of purchasing a 1000w psu, as id like to oc the gpu's a bit more, but hopefully the hx 850 should be fine.

RJC · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:18

Don't forget under normal circumstances I don't think any game will make the card use as much power as Furmark does.

I had this discussion with Bigwayne when he was about.

setter · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:21

Didnt a lot of the review sites stop using furmark? As the load it places is too extreme, and will never be encountered under normal circumstances.

Bigwayne, wonder what made him stop posting on here, pretty knowledgable fella whos posts were always very well constructed.

RJC · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:31

Sometimes personal life take over and work, indeed a shame, I liked his posts as well.

I think you might correct regards Furmark, I did hear another poster mention this, there is a warming on the 580 which which mentions you could damage the card if you issued the unlocked GPU-Z which removed the limiter on these cards.

GoogalyMoogaly · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:42

Was it Big.Wayne that said that Intel making only the K SB chips overclockable was going to kill them off and AMD would be the new king once they released Bulldozer?

Back to the original point, I always get PSUs that are way bigger then I actually need. Don't know why, guess I figure they'll be more efficient and reliable if they're not being pushed too hard. I know I do it but can't help it

Does anyone know what % load PSUs are most efficient at? I'm sure I heard 55% somewhere, sometime...

setter · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:48

I have another x58 sli rig, (930 with sli 460's) it was being run on an old enermax infiniti 650w with just a single card. Upgraded the psu to an antec true power 750w. The enermax would probably have been fine with dual cards, but unfortunately it was missing some of its modular pcie cables. Would have had to use molex adapters which would have been a bit messy.

Speed · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:52

Ran i7 920 D0 @ 4GHz + SLi 480s on a Corsair TX750W for ages with no issues, but 850W is the generally accepted requirement.

setter · 17 Dec 2011 at 12:59

For me, heat is a major concern with sli. The rig in sig is fine as the cards are very well spaced. However on my other machine, the cards are a few mm apart. Gigabyte windforce 460's. Not ideal, they run hotter than the 470's which are notoriously hot running cards.

460's

470's

Speed · 17 Dec 2011 at 13:03

What sort of temps were you getting setter?

setter · 17 Dec 2011 at 13:11

The 470's hit 70c each in game, idle at 43-37c in windows, theyre oc'd at 750/1500/1674. The 460's are hitting 70-81c respectively in game, idle at 45-30c in windows, cards at stock. Both have custom fan profiles in afterburner. Ill maybe try a bodge mounted fan behind the 460's, something similair to the spotcool setup on the main rig. Btw, the second machine uses the 930 i got from you, hvent got round to clocking it yet. But if its a nice low voltage cool runner, itll end up in the main machine.