Is this power supply large enough?

MineAheadTV · May 22, 2014

First of all, I'm new here, so I may or may not have this in the right place.

Ok, here's my rig:

Processor; AMD Fx - 6300, 6 core 2.5 ghz
Graphics Card: Evga Geforce gtx 660 (It's a strange version though, I haven't seen anyone else using it. It's 3gb and factory overclocked. Here's the page on evga's website for it: http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=03G-P4-2666-KR)
PSU: Don't remember the brand but its around 450 watts
(If you need any other info about my rig just ask)

So I'm looking to purchase a second 660 and sli them, but I don't know how big of a power supply I need. I know that the one I have won't be enough, but I don't know how much more I need. I found a cheap 550w one on craigslist, but I don't even know if that is enough. Also, do you guys think that sli'ing 2 660s is a good idea? How much of a performance increase can I expect?

Dylzan · May 22, 2014

Brand is important, if it's a poor one then it will not run. Also don't get the 3GB 660, unless you already have.

MineAheadTV · May 22, 2014

Dylzan :

I have already got one, and I like it. I understand that it's no longer an ideal card but since I'm already running one, I have to get a second one that's identical if I want to sli them.

Dylzan · May 22, 2014

MineAheadTV :

Don't SLI low end cards, I was going to SLI 660s but after reading up on it, I sold my old GTX 660 and got a GTX 770 instead, cost me less than 2 660s would have as well. But what is the PSU brand?

MineAheadTV · May 22, 2014

Dylzan :

MineAheadTV :

Don't SLI low end cards, I was going to SLI 660s but after reading up on it, I sold my old GTX 660 and got a GTX 770 instead, cost me less than 2 660s would have as well. But what is the PSU brand?

The one on craigslist doesn't say. What is your main reason for not sli'ing lower end cards?

Dylzan · May 22, 2014

MineAheadTV :

The main reason is that SLI really doesn't scale that well and only works with good driver support. It also creates a lot more noise and heat than a single card would. Don't buy the PSU. Go for this one:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£68.28 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £68.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-22 14:34 BST+0100)

cball1311 · May 22, 2014

For the PSU, I would go anything less than 750W. Make sure to get a good reliable brand. I suggest this one.

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US :: $109.99 before MIR)

You could go for the 80+ Bronze no modulation model for ~$91.

For performance, you will see a huge difference, almost a 100% increase in performance.

http://lanoc.org/review/video-cards/5953-nvidia-gtx-660-sli-performance?showall=&start=2

MineAheadTV · May 22, 2014

Ok. Looks like I could sell my current card for 150, so with that and another 200 what nvidia card do you recommend? I need to use nvidia because as well as gaming I also do a lot of 3d rendering and the program I use only allows gpu rendering with nvidia cards.

Dylzan · May 22, 2014

cball1311 :

Well what if I take a modern example such as Wolfenstein? Bugs, glitches and doesn't support SLI. A single card would have no such issues.

Dylzan · May 22, 2014

MineAheadTV :

GTX 770 all the way

Cryoburn101 · May 22, 2014

You never want to invest in cheap PSUs. The fate of your components rests on the stability and quality of your PSU. The 660 is a 140w GPU, so two would be approx. 300w. The CPU would be about 100w more. So 400w approx. required. A 550w-650w PSU should be fine, as long as there isn't any other really power-hungry components. The 660 is pretty power friendly...
If its possible, buy a single, powerful card instead of SLI-ing two old cards. This allows SLI down the road, and you don't have to deal with some of the odd issues with SLI in older games.
The performance increase for two 660 non-ti's wouldn't be an anything to scoff at though. Here are some benchmarks to look at.
http://www.behardware.com/articles/876-13/review-nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-asus-directcu-ii-top-and-sli.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_660_twinfrozr_iii_review,25.html

DSzymborski · May 22, 2014

If you can't even get the brand of the PSU, you don't want to buy it. The PSU is a crucial component - ordering based simply on claimed output is the PC equivalent of buying a house simply because it says three bedroom.

MineAheadTV · May 22, 2014

Ok, sounds good. I'm going to take a look at the 770 and do a bit of research on that subject. I'm sure there will be a million different answers to this but which brand do you guys think is most cost effective? Msi, evga... etc. etc.
Also thanks for the advice on the power supply. I'll take a look at the ones suggested.

cball1311 · May 22, 2014

You might wanna take a look at this thread before you jump to any of the previous conclusions. I agree with the moderator from this thread. It just depends on what you want to do in a long term sense. Save some cash now for better performance than a 770 or get a 770 and save up the ~$350 for another 770 down the road.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1866999/gtx-770-vrs-gtx660-sli.html

MineAheadTV · May 22, 2014

cball1311 :

Ok, thanks for the link. I'll have to do some research on this. So am I hearing the consensus on the power supply? at least 600 watts and a well known brand?

cball1311 · May 22, 2014

MineAheadTV :

Do you do any overclocking on the CPU? Do you think you will try to overclock the GPU's?. If yes to either or both of these questions, I recommend at least 650W minimum with at least a 40A +12V rail.

MineAheadTV · May 22, 2014

cball1311 :

MineAheadTV :

Do you do any overclocking on the CPU? Do you think you will try to overclock the GPU's?. If yes to either or both of these questions, I recommend at least 650W minimum with at least a 40A +12V rail.

No, I don't plan on doing any overclocking in the foreseeable future.

cball1311 · May 22, 2014

Ok. 600W should be sufficient. Remember make sure it is from reliable maker. XFX, SeaSonic, Antec HC, Corsiar non CX to name the best. And really you should consider this even if you go the 770 route. 450W that you have now will probably be risking it.

Is this power supply large enough?

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