EVGA 750W 80+ Gold enough for GTX 970 in SLI

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ko888
Power Supply Requirements for two GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards in 2-way SLI mode
• NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 700 Watt or greater system power supply. (Minimum system power requirement based on a PC configured with an Intel Core i7 3.2GHz 130 Watt TDP processor.)
• the power supply must also have a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 50 Amps or greater
• the power supply must also have at least four 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors. There are some non-reference design cards that require one 75 Watt 6-pin and one 150 Watt 8-pin PCI Express supplementary power...
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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I would opt for something a bit bigger. 850w+ especially if you think you might overclock. If you think you might overclock the gpu's, somewhere closer to the 1000w range. Under load a gtx 970 can pull a little over 300w just on its' own. In sli, that's around 620w which only leaves you around 130w for everything else. Usually a good idea to have some headroom beyond your actual usage rather than being right at the threshold of what the psu can produce.

In the upper range of psu power the prices are pretty similar and if you have more headroom than you need you're better off than running out and having to go get a new psu. You'll only draw what your system requires but by having a larger psu you'll ensure you have the extra power when you need it.
 
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Damn_Rookie

Damn_Rookie

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I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with your advice. Where did you see this ASUS model of 970 pulling over 300W? Looking here they reported a maximum of 173W, and here they report a maximum of 166W.

If you're talking an overclocked exapmle of the ASUS Strix 970, well HardOCP reported a value of 323W for the whole system, with the graphics card being responsible for 228W. But that was measured at the wall (the input wattage), so the actual amount supplied to the card (the output wattage) would have been less than this due to efficiency losses. If the PSU was 90% efficient, we're talking about the card pulling only just over 200W.

HardOCP also tested a 970 SLI setup using one ASUS Strix model and one MSI 970 Gaming, with the MSI model clocked down to the level of the ASUS Strix. At the plug (input voltage) they measured 451W, with the cards being responsible for 361W of that. Even if the whole system was overclocked, a 750W supply would be more than adequate.

Realistically the high quality 750W EVGA PSU the OP is talking about would be fine for his Z97 setup. It certainly wouldn't do any harm to go up to the 850W model, but it's certainly not necessary, even if they do overclock.
 
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ko888

ko888

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Power Supply Requirements for two GeForce GTX 970 graphics cards in 2-way SLI mode
• NVIDIA specifies a minimum of a 700 Watt or greater system power supply. (Minimum system power requirement based on a PC configured with an Intel Core i7 3.2GHz 130 Watt TDP processor.)
• the power supply must also have a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 50 Amps or greater
• the power supply must also have at least four 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors. There are some non-reference design cards that require one 75 Watt 6-pin and one 150 Watt 8-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors or just one 150 Watt 8-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector per card.

EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 (220-G2-0750-XR)
• OEM: Super Flower
• maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 62.4 Amps <===== More than sufficient
• four (6+2)-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors
• Full Modular Output Cables: Yes
• Official Intel Haswell Compliance: Yes
• 80 PLUS GOLD Efficiency Certification
• 10 Year Limited Warranty
 
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synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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The 850w suggestion was a bit beyond 'actual' needs as I said I try to recommend slightly over just to ensure 'freak' conditions don't push the system beyond the load capacity. Worst case scenario if you will. When overclocking, especially overclock gpu's and in sli, that can quickly push the power consumption. That's "if" the op will be attempting to overclock the vid cards in sli. Kind of a multiple choice and what's the best case for each particular scenario.

Once you get near 700w, 750w or 850w psu's the prices are within $10-20 of each other usually. There's always the extremes. Being so little difference, going with bare minimum right now what happens when the op wants to upgrade to a different card or cards in the future and they exceed the current system specs for power. Now they're shelling out another $130+ for a new psu again.
 
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Damn_Rookie

Damn_Rookie

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Just to note, the link you provided in your post above shows the total system power consumption, not just the graphics card power consumption. The 300W it reports for a stock 970 is for the entire computer.

I agree that the small difference in price between 750 and 850W PSUs can make the larger one rather appealing, especially if you plan to keep it for many years, but within reason of course.
 
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H

HighSenpai

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Feb 15, 2016
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This man is absolutely correct. And knows what he is saying.
 
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