PSU for i7 & GTX260

[remlap13]

Hey guys. Building a rig in the next couple weeks. Already bought the GTX260 896MB card because of a killer deal someone found for me on NCIX. (209.00 CAD before tax and shipping). So that is a definite part of my build. Will more than likely be going with the i7 CPU, just waiting till next week to actually purchase it.

So what PSU would be enough for this build? My friend suggested I get AT LEAST a 700W, but some other people said that was overkill. This is in CAD obviously, and I would prefer to buy it from Memory Express. They do price matching though, so if you/I can find a good deal on one from say, tigerdirect, NCIX, or newegg.ca I can bring it into them and they'll give me the better price.

Thanks in advance for the help guys.

 

[Lozza81]

Go for an Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W PSU as its the best one on the market at present for efficiency, it is brand new and also supports host of future PSU standards which most others don't. It might be a little bit more expensive than other makes, but buying the best PSU you can is always sound advice. Checkout the many online reviews and you will soon see the Enermx Revolution 85+ is the one you will want!

Also 850W will be more than enough for your needs and also provide plenty of headroom if you go SLI in the future or start to overclock your core i7 and add alot more devices to power off your PSU etc.

Cheers

 

[remlap13]

Well at some point I will be overclocking my i7. I don't think I'll end up going SLI because I don't feel like spending an extra $200 on a mobo that supports it haha. But the i7 will be OC'd down the road when I need it.

 

[gkay09]

Well at some point I will be overclocking my i7. I don't think I'll end up going SLI because I don't feel like spending an extra $200 on a mobo that supports it haha. But the i7 will be OC'd down the road when I need it.

Well actually u wont have to spend more $200 for a SLI support in a x58 mobo

Check this SLI mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128386
which just showed up at newegg.com, which supports SLI and doesnt cost more than $20 from other cheap x58 mobo...so u can expect this mobo to show up in cananda very soon...and at a lower price too...

And as for ur view on SLI, am sure u will be willing to go SLI in the future if not now...so it is better to get atleast a 700W PSU
Get the corsair 750TX or the PC&P 750W...they are more than enuf...

 

[remlap13]

Hmm. Ya I saw an SLI mobo on newegg.ca and memoryexpress and they are MUCH more expensive.

 

[gkay09]

Well the one which I have listed is a new product so mayb within a week u can get it from newegg.ca...its a better buy as u are going with the nvidia card, and the x58 support SLI very well...

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Here is a link to a psu power supply calculator:

http://www.antec.outervision.com/

Fill in the blanks as best as you can. The total you come up with will be for the entire system. Please remember the wattage will be overestimated because there are people who buy cheap psu's of poor quality.

Here is a link to a chart at Tom's hardware showing video card power usage:

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 122-6.html

 

[Lozza81]

There is also this Power Supply Calculator from Thermaltake's website which looks the same as the one antec has:

http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/

As JohnnyLucky above notes these sites tend to over-estimate the PSU wattage you need by a little, but still it gives you a good idea.

 

[caniba]

Read this article

 

[cjl]

For just that, a good quality 600W or so is fine. If you want to SLI in the future, I'd go for more like 750-800W.

 

[croc]

For just that, a good quality 600W or so is fine. If you want to SLI in the future, I'd go for more like 750-800W.

What do you want to bet I can CF two 4870 1 GB's in under 700W? Hint: This is a trick question.

I think many people over-buy power supplies just 'to be safe' or to have 'headroom'. The problem with this is, a PSU has a sweet spot for running most effeciently. As a rule of thumb, that effeciency is usualy 70% to 90% of max. Look at a number of reputable PSU reviews (I prefer jonnyguru.com, but that's just one) and see where the effeciency rating comes in and where it rolls off.

Now, the hardest part is determining how many watts your GPU pulls. Again, look for a reputable GPU review site that does cf / sli reviews. They will usually have a power used section, and usually also a single vs. cf / sli performance section. See how many watts difference between the single / dual cards.. Simple maths, you know how many watts a given card uses. This isn't rocket science, folks... (Not picking on you personally, CJL....)

 

[cjl]

What do you want to bet I can CF two 4870 1 GB's in under 700W? Hint: This is a trick question.

I think many people over-buy power supplies just 'to be safe' or to have 'headroom'. The problem with this is, a PSU has a sweet spot for running most effeciently. As a rule of thumb, that effeciency is usualy 70% to 90% of max. Look at a number of reputable PSU reviews (I prefer jonnyguru.com, but that's just one) and see where the effeciency rating comes in and where it rolls off.

Now, the hardest part is determining how many watts your GPU pulls. Again, look for a reputable GPU review site that does cf / sli reviews. They will usually have a power used section, and usually also a single vs. cf / sli performance section. See how many watts difference between the single / dual cards.. Simple maths, you know how many watts a given card uses. This isn't rocket science, folks... (Not picking on you personally, CJL....)

You could very easily do it. I'm leaving a LOT of headroom there because most PSUs run at peak efficiency around 50-70% load, and because despite our best efforts, some people buy low quality PSUs. For example, my Corsair HX1000W runs at peak efficiency between 400 and 600W according to the JonnyGuru review, despite being a 1000W unit.

I've measured my setup, with 3 hard drives, a 4870x2, an i7 965@4GHz, and 12 gigs of RAM at 550W fully loaded (that's after factoring in the PSU efficiency - it was pulling about 650W from the wall), and that's running simultaneously with 3dmark vantage, prime95, and Folding@home, as well as a hard drive random access benchmark, so I am quite aware of the overstatement often associated with PSU requirements.

 

[croc]

OK, we'll agree to disagree on where best effeciency kicks in. From many various PSU reviews, my rule of thumb will still be 70 to 90%, but again this is only on PSU's that I'd buy / recommend. ie, rosewill's effeciency (like their power stability) is all over the chart...

Also, just for a strange comparison, that's about the same range of effeciency for most elements of a power grid. I'm sure that it is just a coincidence ...

 

[cjl]

It is true that you don't want to run most modern PSUs below about 40-50% load, at least based on the reviews I've seen. My PSU runs 86% at 40-50% load, 85% at 60% load, and 84% up to about 90% load for example, while dropping off to around 80% at the other end of the spectrum at 20% load (all based on the JonnyGuru review). So, it is more efficient to run it at higher loads, as there is a much shallower dropoff above the max efficiency point compared to below it.

Oh, and agreed about Rosewill. I will never recommend them for a build.

 

[UNICOMPLEX]

I agree Zipzoomflyhigh no it dont make sence, as for the PSU and the peck I have a Enermax 620W but it says the peck is 680W which sound strange !.
But in answer to the topic remlap13 get well branded 750w+ PSU to be on the safe side, dont buy any none discript rubbish or it could ruin your day.

 

[gkay09]

Why are they making these X58's with only 4 memory slots? I mean it doesnt make much sense when you need triple channel memory does it?

Yup...so as to save cost, they tend to take out the important features, tat decreases the performance...

 

[dragonsprayer]

yes 700-750

if you want to upgrade to sli then 850

 

[remlap13]

Well I ended up going with this one. http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC2550&vpn=CMPSU-650TX&manufacture=CORSAIR. Seemed to be perfect for the price, and I have heard a lot of great things about the Corsair PSU's.