MSI GTX 1080 Ti Lightning requires 3x 8pin PCIE power, my PSU only has 2

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francescfuongbregas

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I plan to buy this GPU in the future, but my current PSU only has 2x 6-2pin. So my questions are:
1) Does the card come with the splitter?
2) Can I buy a splitter? If yes, can you recommend me a reliable cable?
Thank you for helping
 
Solution
Karadjgne
I would, especially if planning on any real OC. If you figure about 100w for the mobo/drives/fans and a 200w OC then add 350w worth of gpu, that's 650w with the pc absolutely crazy maxed. Generally, heavy gaming is going to be @60-70% of that or @ 450w. While that does leave a little headroom, a 700w psu being enough to cover everything without hitting 100%, there really aren't any decent 700w units, so the next best is 750w. And the crazy thing is that all 3 of the units I posted earlier, were actually cheaper than their 650w brothers. So you get a psu that's a little oversized, a psu that's almost probably better slightly than the 650w (things like warranty moves from 7yrs to 10yrs, full solid Japanese aluminium caps instead of mostly...
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francescfuongbregas

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Not really a solution that I'm looking for, but what PSU do you recommend? I prefer semi modular or non modular.
 
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jankerson

jankerson

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Better to hear it now than to have your brand new $800 graphics card wasted and maybe the rest of your system with it.

I would get a Seasonic Focus 650W or a Seasonic Prime Gold 650W.
 
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jankerson

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Not enough PCIe cables.

Better to get a Seasonic Prime Titanium 750W (Unit comes with 4x 6+2 PCIe Cables)

You NEED 3x PCIe 8 Pin connections. (3x Cables)

Was checking on actual cable counts.

So if you want THAT graphics card you really don't have a choice. That's a $1,300 Graphics card.... :ouch:

Or

You could get another Model GTX 1080Ti that has 2x 8 pin connections and get the EVGA BQ 650W.
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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You don't need platinum or especially titanium efficiency psus unless you are pushing extreme OC, and I mean Extreme. For most all OC cpus, Gold is all that's required, and most don't need that even, Bronze being sufficient. Most of what that efficiency brings isn't power savings, it's an extremely tight 12v DC ripple on the better units. The difference in efficiency per hour is less than what it takes to run a light bulb for the length of time you are gaming heavy.

The Evga 650BQ op linked comes with 4x 6+2 pcie, as will any decent 650w psu or larger. You can't go by cable count on many new psus as especially Evga and Corsair has taken to using split cables, 2x connections per single pcie cable.

Just watch for sales, many times the 750w variety is cheaper than the 650w and quite often the 750w is a slightly better unit internally than the 550w/650w versions.
 
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jankerson

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Only comes with 2X PCIe cables....

I checked.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=454
 
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jankerson

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That weird...

My Seasonic X-650 has PCIe 4 cables. (Getting Hard to find now)

Same as the Platinum Prime.

Never had one with the double PCIe connections in one cable.... No really sure about that personally as far as reliability goes.

But then I always buy higher end units so.

Interesting, looks like the 650W and 750W Prime Gold has to dual connection cables also. 2x Cables with 4x connections.

Must be something they are going to due to a lot of the high end cards having 2x 8 pin these days. :??:

Likely so they can use 2x cables instead of 4 for SLI or Crossfire for cards with 2x 8 pin.



 
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Karadjgne

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Yeah, it's a recent development by some psu vendors, an 18ga lead is good for @8-10A each and new gpus aren't pulling the rated power of the pcie. By connector standards, the MSI 1080ti lightning should be a 525w max card, that's 3x 8pin and the pcie slot. However, it's designed not to pull much of any power through the slot, almost all power directly from the psu, which is why the 3rd 8pin. So 450w card. In reality, maxed out it only pulls @340-350w, which would be close to max on standard 2x8pin + slot, so again, the necessity for the extra 150w 8pin, just for possible OC overhead.

Realistically, since it also includes a switchable dedicated LN2 bios, it's not designed for everyday users, but extremists.
 
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jankerson

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Ah HUH.... I learned something NEW today. :D

Thanks. :)

So he would really need a 750W PSU right?

I mean to be safe.
 
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Karadjgne

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I would, especially if planning on any real OC. If you figure about 100w for the mobo/drives/fans and a 200w OC then add 350w worth of gpu, that's 650w with the pc absolutely crazy maxed. Generally, heavy gaming is going to be @60-70% of that or @ 450w. While that does leave a little headroom, a 700w psu being enough to cover everything without hitting 100%, there really aren't any decent 700w units, so the next best is 750w. And the crazy thing is that all 3 of the units I posted earlier, were actually cheaper than their 650w brothers. So you get a psu that's a little oversized, a psu that's almost probably better slightly than the 650w (things like warranty moves from 7yrs to 10yrs, full solid Japanese aluminium caps instead of mostly etc) and it's cheaper as well. That's a win, win, win in my book, not to mention gaming wattage is solidly around the 50ish% mark, the highest efficiency range instead of the slightly lower range above @70%. With that gpu in particular, yeah, I'd go for a good 750w, for a regular 1080ti a good 650w is plenty as the draw is significantly lower on the gpu.
 
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jankerson

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Yeah, that's what I am using with my GTX 1080, 650W is plenty even when I OC it once in awhile. It does go up a lot, lots of OC room in the FTW2, even without messing with the voltage. :)

 
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rcald2000

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I no longer see the MSI GTX 1080 Ti Lightning for sale by NewEgg; only 3rd parties who are price gouging:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137159&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleKWLess&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleKWLess-_-DSA-_-CategoryPages-_-NA&gclid=CNaMxd7O9tYCFdJMDQodcHMGbA&gclsrc=aw.ds

With this in mind, why do you specifically want this card? Where do you plan to buy it and for what price? I'm asking because I'm wondering if your goal can be achieved with another card, that doesn't require this one's sacrifices.
 
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Karadjgne

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I've seen that particular card go for $1300, and with its relatively little performance bonus as compared to the Asus STRIX, I can't see it being worth anything close to that. It really is an extremists card meant for LN2 usage and benchmark trophys more than regular gaming, even at 4k.
 
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francescfuongbregas

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The card was out of stock once, and the stock came back then out again. So, nobody will be crazy enough to buy from that guy, just be patient :D
Anyway, I just picked a brand new unopened Strix GTX 1080 Ti OC Ed on Craigslist for $700. Save me much more from buying a new PSU and the Lightning :D
Again, thank you guys for all the suggestions, you guys are awesome
 
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