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PSU needed for 2 x 3870X2.

pieman109

pieman109

pieman109

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As title. I'm trying to future proof atm and I'm contemplating trying out crossfire with two 3870X2 cards and I know me old enermax 485w noisetaker ain't gonna cope, so... any suggestions on how powerfiul the psu needs to be would be appreciated, Its gonna have to power the system in me sig below, buit with an extra 3870X2, (both to overclocked). Not fussed about brand atm, just power requirements. I'm figuring around the 650w minimum meself, but I would like some more informed info.
Cheers.

Would mods please move this thread if in wrong section, thanks.:)
 
Just going on the 650W Toughpower I have on the test bench, seems quite nice. Very solid rails for the money, quality harness and its not loud at all, 140mm fan an all. I use PCP&C for my main rig and they're neither quiet nor cheap, excellent PSU's though.
 
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fornowagain said:
Just going on the 650W Toughpower I have on the test bench, seems quite nice. Solid rails for the money, quality harness and its not loud at all, 120mm fan an all. I use PCP&C for my main rig and they're neither quiet nor cheap, excellent PSU's though.
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Ive actualy read that the 850 is the odd one out as the rest are meant to be relatively quiet. Think they messed around with the fans in the 850 and its much louder.
 
I run everything in my sig on an OCZ 600W PSU and it's solid as a rock.

So power requirements of a clocked quad and X2 arn't really that high that you need those OTT 1kW PSU's etc.

As a bit of future proofing a good 800W PSU would be more than ample imho.
 
HeX said:
I run everything in my sig on an OCZ 600W PSU and it's solid as a rock.

So power requirements of a clocked quad and X2 arn't really that high that you need those OTT 1kW PSU's etc.

As a bit of future proofing a good 800W PSU would be more than ample imho.
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Hey Hex, how quiet is that ocz psu? I was looking at those due to ocz's reputation for being a quality manufacturer. Also I think 1000w psu are OTT, though would be nice to have.:)
 
pieman109 said:
Hey Hex, how quiet is that ocz psu? I was looking at those due to ocz's reputation for being a quality manufacturer. Also I think 1000w psu are OTT, though would be nice to have.:)
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Silent m8, i've litterally never heard the thing. One of the reasons I bought it :)

As for the 1000W PSU, if someone gave me one I wouldn't say no :D But there really is no need to buy one.

850W is more than enough for even the highest OC'd rig.

Have a look at SimonMaltby's rig, watercooled OC'd QX9650, Crossfire 3870X2's (4GPU's), tons of other stuff, all running on an 850W PSU...
 
pieman109 said:
As title. I'm trying to future proof atm and I'm contemplating trying out crossfire with two 3870X2 cards and I know me old enermax 485w noisetaker ain't gonna cope, so... any suggestions on how powerfiul the psu needs to be would be appreciated, Its gonna have to power the system in me sig below, buit with an extra 3870X2, (both to overclocked). Not fussed about brand atm, just power requirements. I'm figuring around the 650w minimum meself, but I would like some more informed info.
Cheers.

Would mods please move this thread if in wrong section, thanks.:)
Click to expand...

Dont you think you should upgrade the CPU before getting a second 3870X2, that E6600 @ 3.4Ghz could be a potential bottleneck I rekon.
 
willhub said:
Dont you think you should upgrade the CPU before getting a second 3870X2, that E6600 @ 3.4Ghz could be a potential bottleneck I rekon.
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Will be for sure, i'd want an E8400 @ 4Ghz+ or a high clocked quad in there before I even looked at a 2nd X2.
 
HeX said:
Will be for sure, i'd want an E8400 @ 4Ghz+ or a high clocked quad in there before I even looked at a 2nd X2.
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I talk to a guy on MSN who has sold his E8400, apparently the overclock kept getting unstable slowely, like he was at 4.2Ghz stable, then the same voltage only 4Ghz, then not stable at 4Ghz at any voltage at all, even 3.8Ghz was not apparently, seems like the E8400's are abit flakey but then again I know some people's E8400's are fine, I just feel I'd proceed with caution around the penryns at the moment.
 
willhub said:
Dont you think you should upgrade the CPU before getting a second 3870X2, that E6600 @ 3.4Ghz could be a potential bottleneck I rekon.
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An E8400 is gonna be me next upgrade, after the psu that is. If I can get the e8400 up to around 3.8ghz-4ghz I'd be happy so the graphics card/s shouldbn't be bottle necked. Just trying to think ahead here.:)
 
willhub said:
I talk to a guy on MSN who has sold his E8400, apparently the overclock kept getting unstable slowely, like he was at 4.2Ghz stable, then the same voltage only 4Ghz, then not stable at 4Ghz at any voltage at all, even 3.8Ghz was not apparently, seems like the E8400's are abit flakey but then again I know some people's E8400's are fine, I just feel I'd proceed with caution around the penryns at the moment.
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thats happening with some Phenoms. some people have clock them to 2.8ghz then after about 7 days it slowly degrades
 
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