Sufficient PSU for...

[jinxpad]

Hey All,

I currently have my trusty Enermax Galaxy 850W (EGX850EWL) - Sitting in my case, and am now looking towards upgrading my current GTS 250.

I'm leaning towards either of the following:

480GTX
5870

or

460's in SLI

However I was just wondering whether or not I would need to get a new PSU to power any of these particular possibilities, as it does factor into my spending a great deal. If I was to buy a new CPU, I would invest in a good one, which then adds another £150+ to the value of the graphics card.

However if my current PSU is able to run these cards that would just be awesome news.

If it can't, can anybody recommend good PSU's preferably which would futureproof any power requirements for the foreseeable future.

Many thanks!

 

[95thrifles]

no your 850W enermax is more than enough for any of those combinations, in fact itll handle 480SLi/5870Cf quite easily too

 

[jinxpad]

no your 850W enermax is more than enough for any of those combinations, in fact itll handle 480SLi/5870Cf quite easily too

Wow, I'm impressed, makes me happy I invested in getting it then

In terms of the connectors though, I know the newer Nvidia cards they use an 8 pin connector as well as the 6 pin, if I decided to with the 480, how would I overcome this issue as I think the PSU only comes with 6 pin power connectors.

cheers

 

[95thrifles]

This when in stock, or check out the case mods section, think theres some pre-braided versions in there if you like

 

[Marine-RX179]

I think 5870 1GB is only worth getting if you can get it at £270 or less. If you have to pay around £300 for one, you'd be better off getting the MSI GTX480 at £350. And yes, your 850W is decent made and would be enough for an overclock system with dual cards. According to hardocp, GTX480SLI consume close to 600W under load:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/03/26/nvidia_fermi_gtx_470_480_sli_review/7
But with overclocking, it might be cutting a bit close. They recommend a 1000W PSU for GTX480SLI with an overclocked system such as i7 920.

 

[jinxpad]

I'm leaning towards the 480 based on potential overclocking and performance. The noise doesn't bother me so much as I usually have my headphones blasting or the 5.1 turned up nice and loud when I'm gaming.

Now the only issue is whether or not I should hold out for the next set of cards, as splashing out £350 only to see new cards to come out a month or 2 later would really kick my a**.

 

[Marine-RX179]

You could wait (not sure for how long) for may be ATI 6000 series or GTX475/485. You should overclock your GTS250 1GB if you want to hold out for the next range of cards.

GTS250 is rebranded 9800GTX+, which is capable of overclocking to 800MHz or a bit higher, and memory clock to 1200MHz or a bit higher. From what I remember the EVGA's GTS250 model is downclocked to 675MHz (so slower than the 9800GTX+ at 738MHz). Try to have a go at overclocking your GTX250.

 

[jinxpad]

Yeah I think I'll hold out for the next series of cards, as it seems that my gfx card is my bottleneck at the moment but I think I can wait a little longer

I got around to OC'ing my GTS last night now that you mention it, I think I have the core at 815 and the mem at about 1210.