Power supply for 2 Geoforce 7950GT cards

simon11 · 24 Dec 2006 at 14:40

Power supply for 2 Geforce 7950GT cards

I have ordered a base unit

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
2* 1GB PC6400
2*320GB sEAGATE
ASUS psn32sli Premium Quad
2* Geoforce 7950GT 512mb
Tagan 430w psu
Wireless 54mb USB adaptor
Liteon dw1650 16x

This is a pre-built and tested unit.
Since ordering I have read several threads about these cards taking 400w each. Is this power supply adequate? Tagan 430w

As the system has a twelve month warranty I can't see why they should build them with an inadequate power supply.
Who is wrong the guy's who are buying 1000w power supplies or the manufacturer that supplies these with a 430w supply?

Rroff · 24 Dec 2006 at 15:23

400watt each... no - a whole system with one of these cards would need a 400watt PSU... personally I'd say you needed a 500 to 550 for 2 of them in one system...

again personally I'd say if your running SLI get yourself one of these now

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-018-OC

simon11 · 24 Dec 2006 at 15:48

Thanks for this info. I don't know if the 430w is a misprint. In a review on the same site it states that it comes with a 530w supply but in the spec when purchasing it says 430w.
I will have a word with them after Christmas to check. If it is a 430w I will see about buying the one you suggest. It gives a bit spare for when DX10 cards are required.

thefishdude · 24 Dec 2006 at 16:42

yeah i would say the 430 is cutting it close. that must be a misprint.

Rroff · 24 Dec 2006 at 16:57

530 would make sense - I just had a look at the tagan 430 tho and seems a tidy PSU probably just about upto the job aslong as you don't go adding too much else to the PC.

I wouldn't bother changing unless you actually have issues with the PC - i.e. random restarts...

There should be a diagnostic utility on the CD that came with the motherboard (if you have it) that shows the voltages on the various rail - this would give a good idea as to if the PSU was struggling or not.

man_from_uncle · 24 Dec 2006 at 16:58

It's unlikely that a 430w power supply will get anywhere near powering 2 cards, unless they were from the 7600 family and even then it'd be touch and go. For a pair of 7950s you're looking at a decent 500w supply minimum and probably more like 550w. The Hiper 580w PSUs though are great for SLi-ing anything up to and including 7900gtxs and are comparitively affordable.

Cyber-Mav · 24 Dec 2006 at 17:41

enermax galaxy will do the trick, either 850 ot the 1kw model will be fine.

Rroff · 24 Dec 2006 at 17:49

You don't need anything like 800+ watts for that system... yeah they'd be fine but totally overkill... that system is gonna be needing about 400watt max - as I said unless he adds another couple of drives or a few fans, etc. he should be fine...

I'd be happier if it was my system with a 600watt OCZ GameXStream or similiar quality PSU sitting in it.

thefishdude · 24 Dec 2006 at 17:52

nvidia recomends aroun 550+ for dual of these in agood quality power supply.

man_from_uncle · 24 Dec 2006 at 19:02

Rroff said:
... that system is gonna be needing about 400watt max - as I said unless he adds another couple of drives or a few fans, etc. he should be fine....

400w won't run dual 7950gts. I've never actually tried it, but I have had a single 6800 fail with only a 400w supply (though admittedly not a particularly great one).

Rroff · 24 Dec 2006 at 19:05

I'm talking actual power - not the PSU rating... as I said earlier... 500-550 atleast for the PSU rating...

man_from_uncle · 24 Dec 2006 at 19:07

Rroff said:
I'm talking actual power - not the PSU rating... as I said earlier... 500-550 atleast for the PSU rating...

Ah, yes indeed.

Rroff · 24 Dec 2006 at 19:08

man_from_uncle said:
with only a 400w supply (though admittedly not a particularly great one).

my brother had the same problem with a cheap 440... it was actually less powerful when I looked at the stats than my old good brand 300watt.

Cyber-Mav · 24 Dec 2006 at 19:09

what you need is the top of the range qtec 650w psu. it has triple fans a a gold plated finish

Rroff · 24 Dec 2006 at 19:15

Cyber-Mav said:
what you need is the top of the range qtec 650w psu. it has triple fans a a gold plated finish

oh... my...

I have the misfortune to have a q-tec PSU in my old P4 atm... bought in an emergency when my old PSU died one weekend (only make sold on the high street around here) and too lazy to change it, I know I'm gonna regret it in the long run... after xmas I'd better line up something a little better for it...

Cyber-Mav · 24 Dec 2006 at 20:50

depends, qtec is not as bad as people make out. its still more reliable than crucial 2gb ballistix ddr ram, and way more reliable than a nvidia 79** series gfx card.

simon11 · 24 Dec 2006 at 23:02

Thanks for all the input. As I don't think they will have dispatched the base unit yet I will contact them and ask if they could fit me a much better power supply and I will pay the difference. I do intend to overclock this a touch and then there is the extra power for DX10 cards when the games arrive.

Naffa · 24 Dec 2006 at 23:20

Cyber-Mav said:
depends, qtec is not as bad as people make out. its still more reliable than crucial 2gb ballistix ddr ram, and way more reliable than a nvidia 79** series gfx card.

*Directs salt truck to empty load into mouth* :rolleyes:

Bennah · 24 Dec 2006 at 23:30

Tagan 580w SLI unit would do the trick fine.

Used one not long back on a mates new build with a E6600 and a 7900 GTX and worked perfectly without no flaws at all.

They are very quiet too

Rroff · 25 Dec 2006 at 05:21

Cyber-Mav said:
depends, qtec is not as bad as people make out. its still more reliable than crucial 2gb ballistix ddr ram, and way more reliable than a nvidia 79** series gfx card.

I'd agree they probably aren't as bad as people make out... however they didn't get the horror stories for nothing

and I'd also agree they have to be more reliable than ballistix ram lol... I know people who have rma'd that stuff like 5 times in a row until they finally gave up...