Power supply help ?

Lukehawk129

Lukehawk129

Lukehawk129

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14 Feb 2012
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U.K
hey im looking to get a power supply for my new build i am running 2 gtx 560 ti at 900MHz and a i7 2600k.

there are so many different types of power with all this 80 plus bronze, silver and so on but i just don't know what to get. Looking to spend about £150
 
what PSU do you have at the moment?

i would suggest something in the 7-800W range made by seasonic or one of their resellers such as corsair XFX or antec
 
Hi there,

If you are looking for the cheapest good quality PSU to run that system, then this one is a decent option.

However, if you would prefer something with modular cables then this is a good one.

If you want to get one that is not only fully modular, but also semi-passive and very efficient then this one is excellent (it also comes with a 7 year warranty).

If you want to use up your full budget then the Corsair AX 850W will give you more upgrading headroom.
 
i don't get what is with all the bronze and gold efficiency im new to all the power supply and i have a x-predator case so it as a lot of room for cable management
 
the effeciency is basically how much power it draws from the mains to give the power your components require, in a perfect world, it would be 100% effecient,

eg a 80% effecient PSU will draw 100W but will only be able to provide 80W, the rest is wasted as heat, sound etc.
 
Basically PSU efficiency is a measure of how much of the power drawn from the wall socket is transferred to the computer components and what proportion is wasted as heat (ideally you want a 100% efficient PSU, but in the real world it will always be less than this).

It is better to have a more efficient PSU, since you will use less power from the wall (money) delivering the same power to your PC components and the PSU tends to get less hot (which helps extend PSU lifetime, requires less cooling - so less noise and it heats up your PC less).

As the grades increase (80plus, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) the efficiency rating of the PSU increases. Here is an explanation of what each of these grades mean.
 
been a huge help guys thanks think i will go for the xfx 850watt silver as it gives me that little bit of money extra to get a few case fans as mine only came with 2 :/
 
clartymarty said:
Slightly off topic but what would be better just you got me thinking thats all.

A single gfx card upgrade OR 2 550ti together?
Click to expand...

The GTX 550Ti aren't particularly high performance graphics cards and are rather overpriced - so I wouldn't suggest using them (since the HD 6850 can be had for the same money - which is much faster).

As for two of them in SLI - so long as the SLI scaling is working properly in the particular game then you can expect performance around the level of a GTX 570 or GTX 580 (see here). However, you will likely run into issues with games that don't run well with SLI, you may have problems with microstutter and in some games the 1GB of VRAM (as the VRAM of each card isn't added) will bring down your performance - depending on your resolution.

Overall it is much better to go for a single fast card - as the performance is much more reliable. In the ~£200 price range the HD 7850 and GTX 570 are good deals at the moment.
 
cmndr_andi said:
The GTX 550Ti aren't particularly high performance graphics cards and are rather overpriced - so I wouldn't suggest using them (since the HD 6850 can be had for the same money - which is much faster).

As for two of them in SLI - so long as the SLI scaling is working properly in the particular game then you can expect performance around the level of a GTX 570 or GTX 580 (see here). However, you will likely run into issues with games that don't run well with SLI, you may have problems with microstutter and in some games the 1GB of VRAM (as the VRAM of each card isn't added) will bring down your performance - depending on your resolution.

Overall it is much better to go for a single fast card - as the performance is much more reliable. In the ~£200 price range the HD 7850 and GTX 570 are good deals at the moment.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that :) you have helped me out there. I will keep my eyes open for some deals over the next couple of months. It is doing ok for what I need atm but will be looking to upgrade in the future. This spec was just a starting point with me only every having an xbox and ps3
 
i only really play farm simulator and silent hunter and a few sims the higher more demanding games like bf3 i have on xbox so i wont need that much demand from my graphic card
 
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