4870 power requirements

It most likely does. The only card I remember that had more power plugs than it needed at startup was te 2900XT which had an 8 when it only needed a 6 for stock.

Now, the 4850 only has 1 6 pin and draws a max of 110W, so I doubt that 2nd plug will be used much at stock, but it most likely will still be necessary. I can't say for sure, though.

Yep that's right.

I suggest either a Corsair TX750 or a PCP&C Silencer 750. You could get away with a TX650, but it doesn't have 4 PCIe power connectors so you'd have to use adapters.

Same Corsair 750 for $89 w/google checkout and no shipping charges.
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-tx-750w-atx-12v-power-s...

I'll say it again, Newegg always rips people on PSU's.

Newegg does overcharge for PSUs, but I always link there 'cause it's so easy  

Thats damn good value!

Some of what I've heard (possibly just speculation) puts the 4870 at around 150w of power draw. In other words, it technically COULD possibly run with just one plug, though it'll probably refuse to boot without the second. It won't have much need for that much power... However, chances are that because of that, it should have plenty of room for overclocking if the GPU and GDDR5 allow.

That things got $10 rebate and you know those are a hassle.

This speculative guessing is driving me crazy - but hey! - I am still reading it = hahaha!

This is quickly moving into the realm of the "cyber athletes" and professional gamers - why don't they just put a Cummings Diesel on it and get it over with. I think I am losing it - o well. For all we really know, it's probably solar powered, self-replicating, and some new kind of renewable resource. If it makes good coffee, I'm in!

Imagine trying to ggogle this a year from now, and getting all this speculative misinformation.

Excitement overload for just another little while. And then, the interpretations take over. Wow. (I have to go to work).  

Thanks guys, i would normally wait to find out myself, but i wanted to get my rig before june 30 for tax purposes, then the card when its available.

I think im going to go with the corsair PSU, many thanks all.

Cyb

there were rumours that it only needs one to run at stock speeds, the second one is there only to help overclocking...

Is the 750 necessary? Could one get away with the Corsair 550VX or even a 520HX?

No doubt a VX550 has enough 12V amperage, but it doesn't have 4 6pin PEG connectors. Molex -> PEG adapters should work, but they're kind of a hassle and that doesn't leave you with much room for other components. I just recommended those 750W monsters because they're the only ones with enough connectors; power wise they're way overkill.

So possibly a 610watt PCP&C Silencer might be able to do 2 4870s in crossfire? That changes my whole mindset on what I'm going to do for my graphics set up.

Sure, the 610W PCP&C model has a whopping 49A +12V rail. From the speculated 150-160W TDP we can assume that the 4870s will draw ~13A each. So that leaves you with 23A for the rest of your components. Unless you overclock the bejesus out of everything you should be OK with that PSU.

Sweet that will be a good step up from my single 7900GT KO