CrossfireX R9 290 on 650w PSU?

nicowp

Reputable
Mar 18, 2014
38
0
4,540
Hello!

This is my build:
Intel Core i5 4670K 3,4 GHz
Gigabyte Radeon R9 290
Gigabyte z97x Gaming 5
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
Corsair Vengeance LP 4GBx2
Corsair Hydro H105
Corsair RM 650
Corair Obsidian 450D
Windows 8.1

I am wondering if I will be able to CrossfireX 2x R9 290.
I have used MSI PSU Calculator and they recommended 640w and also eXtreme Power Supply Calculator by Outer Vision wich said minimum 592w and recommended 642w.
I won't be overclockin either CPU or GPU.

Thanks in advance!

Nicholas
 
Solution
Personally I would go for a newer stronger single card rather than SLI or Crossfire if you are gaming on 1080p on a single monitor
If you want to do that go for the GTX 980 or wait for AMD 300 Series to come out :)
I wouldn't get the 780 since you wouldn't gain much upgrading from a 290

mark2603

Distinguished
Oct 25, 2014
179
0
18,760
I wouldn't do that, those cards draw a lot of power
I recommend a good 850W power supply for using two of them in crossfire
Edit
Two R9 290 alone at peak load would draw ~500W (this is without the rest of the system)
 
I wouldn't recommend going below a good 750W. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Drawing around or over 80% of a PSU's intended power draw causes it to degrade faster than it normally would and that can be a problem if you do it for more than a year or two.
 

nicowp

Reputable
Mar 18, 2014
38
0
4,540
Thank you mark2603 and blazorthon, this helped alot!

Do you think I should buy a new psu and crossfirex 2x R9 290 or buy a better graphics card like GTX 980 / 780?

Thanks!
 

mark2603

Distinguished
Oct 25, 2014
179
0
18,760
Personally I would go for a newer stronger single card rather than SLI or Crossfire if you are gaming on 1080p on a single monitor
If you want to do that go for the GTX 980 or wait for AMD 300 Series to come out :)
I wouldn't get the 780 since you wouldn't gain much upgrading from a 290
 
Solution

nicowp

Reputable
Mar 18, 2014
38
0
4,540


Thank you very much!
I totally agree with you! :)

Thank you blazorthon also!