What PS should I go with?

[rjbeck]

I am building a system I can game with and to learn more about OC'ing.
I cobbled up a bunch of parts and XP64, and hopefully it will all work.
But, the PS I have is only 500W, and is not SLI/XF ready. I don't want to use it anyway. I would prefer to get a new one.
Do I really need one that is SLI ready? I have never built a dual card system. The Corsair's power supply selector on their website says I need a 1000W PS if I want to OC.

Here's my specs:
EVGA 750i SLI mobo
Intel C2d E7300
8GB Corsair XMS DDR2 RAM
two XFX 9800GT's in SLI
two SATA hard drives
one or two DVD/CD RW drives
maybe a 3.5 floppy
-edit- also, 120mm case fan, two or three 90-95mm fans

In the future I might OC the cards and processor, but not radically.
I was thinking the Power PC & Cooling 700W Game Xstream, Corsair TX750 or TX650, or the BFG LS680.
I like the price of the BFG, but can get a Corsair TX750 for a decent deal.
I hear good things about Power PC & Cooling supplies too.
Ideas? Comments? Questions? Any input helps!

 

[aevm]

Get this one:

PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011&Tpk=S75CF

It's better than the Corsair 750TX and $30 less at Newegg. BFG makes great video cards but mediocre PSUs. PC Power & Cooling and Corsair are the PSU leaders these days.

 

[alvine]

650-700watts would be plenty

i personally have 700w silverstone striker series psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256045

 

[rjbeck]

I figured I didn't need 1000W. Maybe the next build will need 1000W but I got at least two or more years before I build another system like what I am doing now. (unless my overclock learnings go wrong...)
I like the suggestions. The S75CF and the Silverstone are both appealing and within my budget.

 

[PrangeWay]

check jonnyguru.com for the review after you finalize a few choices.
Only site I've found that really tests a PS AND actually posts all the tests and findings. Great site for PS info.


PW

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Corsair power supplies are very good. They consistently earn high marks in reviews. Tom's Hardware and Anandtech both did psu reviews recently. Corsair as always did very well. Rock steady and very stable.

PC Power and Cooling power supplies are also very good.

 

[aevm]

Read this article too for more ideas:
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3186&p=2

 

[einstein4pres]

Realistically, this thing probably will draw around 300W[1] from the wall. Something like a EA500 would be plenty. Perhaps in the 600W range for overhead/safety.

jonnyguru and silentpc are both excellent sites for PSU reviews.

The PC P&C 750 looks pretty good for its price, though.

[1] 8800GT and 9800GT are the same: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3140&p=13

 

[rjbeck]

Good links. That's the kinda stuff I was looking for!

 

[MRFS]

Try to target a steady-state demand equal to 50%
of the rated capacity of the PSU you do choose:

without seeing the actual efficiency graph,
50% utilization will approach maximum efficiency,
on average.

This is a very good "rule of thumb"
that works out quite well in actual practice.


MRFS

 

[boop334]

right here ! this is what you are looking for! i have it and it is amazing!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

(it is the corsair 750tx you talked about) just get it!

 

[aevm]

right here ! this is what you are looking for! i have it and it is amazing!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

(it is the corsair 750tx you talked about) just get it!

Nah, that Corsair 750TX is worth $5 less than the PC Power & Cooling 750W IMO. Definitely not worth $25 more. That is, it's a great PSU, and good value at $105, but there's no sense in paying $105 for it if the other one is on sale for $80.

 

[rjbeck]

I like the PC P&C but I think I might go with the Corsair TX750 because I can get it for less than $80 brand new. As much as I dislike Dell, we get a great corporate discount from them, plus there is a mail-in rebate for the Corsair cutting $20 off the price.

 

[aevm]

Well in that case go for it, absolutely.

I'd dump 4 GB of RAM and the floppy and use the savings to upgrade the E7300 to E8400.

Edit: also, get Windows Vista 64-bit. You need Vista for DirectX 10 and 64-bit to see the whole 4GB or 8GB you buy. Otherwise you might end up with 2.75 GB accessible or even less.

This shows how 2GB/4GB/8GB behaves in games. My conclusion was that 2GB is really bad, while 4GB and 8GB are OK and about the same.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/07/08/is-more-memory-better/5

 

[rjbeck]

I think either will work good for me. I am thinking of modular supplies now though.

 

[aevm]

Why bother with modular if you're going to use almost all the cables anyway? That system will be loaded, you won't be able to remove that many cables.

 

[rjbeck]

Good point. I can tie back what I don't need. I have a big enough case. There are so many choices out there it is hard to pin one down. I guess in the end, you just gotta go with it. Thanks!