what size psu will i need (i7 + ...?

Amleto · 5 May 2009 at 14:54

pondering over an i7 build, just waiting for some court money to come through. If I wanted something like;

i7 920
3x2gb 1600MHz ddr3

1-3 sata hdds
1x dvd rw drive

1x decent gfx for now, but possibility of crossfire/sli

maybe raid, but low on priority

valdai · 5 May 2009 at 15:00

~650W good quality make perhaps? Depends a lot on graphics card.

Amleto · 5 May 2009 at 15:10

for arguments sake, say 2x 280gtx as I presume they are quite hungry, and next gen are going to be similar or a bit lower?

Duran · 5 May 2009 at 15:24

I would go for a 850W then. the coolermaster one is a good choice

Nick1881 · 5 May 2009 at 15:52

I have a Be Quiet 850w, it powered a 4870X2 with 5 HDD's fine and I'm sure it will be fine if I ever go SLI with my GTX 280.

darwinws · 5 May 2009 at 16:53

Minimum I would use would be PC Power and Cooling 750W. Anything over that would be fine, 800-850W from a good make (Corsair etc).

JTrickle · 5 May 2009 at 18:11

grrrr double post.

JTrickle · 5 May 2009 at 18:13

what size psu will i need (i7 + ...?

The same size as any top end quad system has needed before it.

450W for a current high end single GPU gfx card.

for arguments sake, say 2x 280gtx as I presume they are quite hungry, and next gen are going to be similar or a bit lower?

High quality 750W for two of those + an I7.

Ninja Please! · 5 May 2009 at 18:29

750w minimum. It's what I have and works fine. Has the extra cables and power for another gtx 285 (which is why I bought it).

Cristian · 5 May 2009 at 18:44

I'm sure 650w would be more than ok for now, but considering you're willing to spend money on a quad and 2x gtx 285 then a few quid on getting yourself something 750w+ ain't gonna be that much of an effort.
for single gpu there's nothing that can eat more than 400w.

jamiehavok · 5 May 2009 at 19:03

2 gtx 280s i reckon you'd need 1000 watt for that to be comfortable 1 gtx 280 yeah 650 would be ok.

Amleto · 7 May 2009 at 06:38

ah, ok. so while i stick with one gpu, 475W enermax should be ok?

JonJ678 · 7 May 2009 at 07:37

Borderline, but your call man. I overspend on power supplies out of fear of an inadequate one failing and taking components with it. I had a decent ocz one fail on me, and all that happened is a light on the back changed colour. There are various reports of power supplies failing and taking out other components, so I consider it a bad thing to save money on.

Get a damn good one and keep it for years, I expect my pc power and cooling to be good for the 7 year warranty period, which is likely to be many generations of computer

Amleto · 7 May 2009 at 15:36

ok, well looking at ~750w psus, the ocz seems to be cheaper, but the components arent the best. the others go for 110-120 it seems, so might as well get the be quiet - that appears to get the best reviews.