PSU advice

macfanuk · 2 Mar 2011 at 23:48

Firstly, why don't we have a PSU section on here? Lol

Looking at getting a power supply to power the following PC:

Intel Core i7 860 CPU
4 or 8GB DDR3 Ram
2 x GTX280 Graphics Cards
1TB Samsung F3
2 x SATA DVD Writers
and a couple of decent fans.

I've seen a Powercool 950W Quad Rail PSU on the MM for £50 but I'm just wondering if something like the OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W would be more reliable and would a 600W PSU power the above computer?

Aretenon · 3 Mar 2011 at 00:39

850watts is a minimum for a system like that. So no the OCZ one won't be powerful enough, altho in most situations it will be more reliable than powercool, which also probably won't be enough for your system.
XFX Pro 850W Core Edition £80
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 00:50

I was worried you'd say I'd need to spend more money

How about with just one GTX280 for the time being?

Brian8bit · 3 Mar 2011 at 00:52

850 a minimum for two 280s? I was watching a Linus Tech Tips video and they where running two 580s and a 950 off an 850w.

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 00:57

How about the CoolerMaster GX 750W?

Brian8bit · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:03

macfanuk said:
How about the CoolerMaster GX 750W?

Can't comment on that particular model, but I have used Coolermaster PSUs exclusively in builds I've done for family and friends and they've been flawless. No failures yet. But then again, they're not in gaming rigs. I think the biggest card one was powering was a 5770.

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:08

The PC the PSU is for will never be used for gaming, it's going to be used with projectors in a church which is why budget is somewhat an issue. Good to know Coolermaster PSU's have been good for you though

Aretenon · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:08

Sorry misread, thought you were listing GTX 480s. Will check power requirements of two GTX 280s now.
But don't get the Cooler Master GX 750 yet, because it has a lower temperature rating than other high quality units and been poorly reviewed because of it.

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:10

Aretenon said:
Sorry misread, thought you were listing GTX 480s. Will check power requirements of two GTX 280s now.
But don't get the Cooler Master GX 750 yet, because it has a lower temperature rating than other high quality units and been poorly reviewed because of it.

Ok, appreciate your help and will await your reply

Aretenon · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:18

Ok, Guru3D showed the power draw of a PC running two GTX 280s to be 530 watts, so a good 650W PSU with two 6-pin and two 8-pin PCI-e connectors would be good enough. And the 650W version of that XFX fills that requirement:
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition 80Plus Bronze £69
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

If there isn't going to be any gaming then why do you need two gaming cards, surely you could just use one?

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:24

Aretenon said:
Ok, Guru3D showed the power draw of a PC running two GTX 280s to be 530 watts, so a good 650W PSU with two 6-pin and two 8-pin PCI-e connectors would be good enough. And the 650W version of that XFX fills that requirement:
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition 80Plus Bronze £69
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

If there isn't going to be any gaming then why do you need two gaming cards, surely you could just use one?

Thanks, I'll have a look at that XFX. Still a bit more than I was looking to pay but hey.

The reason for the 2 cards is we need one output for the monitor, one for projector and one/two for the monitors that will go on the stage...pain I know.

Brian8bit · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:25

macfanuk said:
Still a bit more than I was looking to pay but hey.

Rule of thumb: Never skimp on the PSU. Especially when running the kind of hardware you're running.

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:32

Thanks for all the help guys. I've just found an XFX 850W on Special Offer elsewhere so will get that.

EDIT: Would a Corsair TX650 be better than the XFX?

Aretenon · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:36

Not really, as the efficiency is higher on the whole XFX range compared to the old TXs. And the 650TX doesn't have enough PCI-e cables, so you would have to use adapters.

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:38

Aretenon said:
Not really, as the efficiency is higher on the whole XFX range compared to the old TXs. And the 650TX doesn't have enough PCI-e cables, so you would have to use adapters.

Fab...you've saved my bacon

Cheers mate

Aretenon · 3 Mar 2011 at 01:47

Glad to help mate.

Essexraptor · 3 Mar 2011 at 02:30

macfanuk said:
I was worried you'd say I'd need to spend more money

How about with just one GTX280 for the time being?

The second rig in my sig runs the same/similiar spec as you specified (with 1 x OC GTX280) with the stated PSU without any problems

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 08:43

Thanks Essexraptor. I think it's probably a good idea to go with the 850 XFX which will give me head room when we add a second card or incase we decide to add extra hard drives, etc.

macfanuk · 3 Mar 2011 at 12:52

As a general rule of thumb, if you were buying a second hand psu, what's the oldest (in age) you'd buy? Trying to toss up the difference between a new XFX or a used Enermax for £22 less

drunkenmaster · 3 Mar 2011 at 13:34

macfanuk said:
Thanks, I'll have a look at that XFX. Still a bit more than I was looking to pay but hey.

The reason for the 2 cards is we need one output for the monitor, one for projector and one/two for the monitors that will go on the stage...pain I know.

But why exactly 2x280gtx's? You could get 2x220gt's to do the same job, or theres a multitude of AMD options that have between 3 and 6 outputs on a single card, from low end to high end, then you've got Matrox for multi-output cards.

This is for a church to run several displays off, 2x280gtx's feels like insane overkill, what else will they be doing, unless you're running intensive Cuda apps then if you're not gaming a high end card is a complete waste.

Likewise a simple low end gpu or pair of gpu's means you'd be both saving 200-300W in power usage which will save money, cost less initially, and allow the use of a quieter, cheaper, lower power PSU.