Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > Power Supplies, PC Cases & Case Mods > 500W Antec Earthwatts w/ 8800GT SLI on my system?

500W Antec Earthwatts w/ 8800GT SLI on my system?

Forum CPU & Components : Power Supplies, PC Cases & Case Mods - 500W Antec Earthwatts w/ 8800GT SLI on my system?

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Viking_AM   05-04-2009 at 02:00:56 PM

Hello, just curious for a few more opinions before I finally get my second 8800GT into my rig.
Given the following configuration, do you think I'll be safe to put it in and successfully run in SLI?

Antec 500W Earthwatts PSU
Intel Q6700
Arctic Cooler 7
4 x 1GB OCZ Gold Edition XTC PC2-6400
XFX 680i SLI Motherboard
2 x Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200RPM HDD
Samsung 20x DVD+/-RW Optical drive
Gigabyte OC'ed 8800GT 512MB

The other 8800GT I have new in box right now is a regularly clocked PNY 512MB.

Thanks in advance for any input.

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Helloworld_98   05-04-2009 at 02:07:51 PM
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No, I would get a high-end 550w first, 65nm cpu's and gpu's use up loads of power.

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Silver CPUs badge JohnnyLucky   05-04-2009 at 03:22:52 PM
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A pair of 8800 GT (512MB) video cards in dual SLI mode will use about 200 watts and 17 amps at load. If you overclock your cpu, then the rest of your system will probably use somewhere around another 300 watts during a gaming session. That brings the total to about 500 watts. You'd definitely need to upgrade the psu.

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Viking_AM   05-04-2009 at 06:17:08 PM
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Wonderful to hear so soon from all of you. Thanks a ton for the layout of wattage consumption, too!

Now, since I have left everything at its manufacturer's clock speed and have not touched any voltage adjustments, I could game with a possibly stable system, right?

In a few months, I'll probably oc, and then I'll worry about getting a better PSU.
Right now, I'm really just managing my digital media and working.

I'd love to have a GTX 200 series card, but I already have these GPUs and the value of these cards has gotten a little shaky to re-sell.

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Silver CPUs badge JohnnyLucky   05-04-2009 at 08:08:23 PM
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Yes, if you have not overclocked your cpu and have just one 8800 GT, then you are okay for now.

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mousemonkey   05-04-2009 at 08:10:10 PM
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I'd give it a go, a pair of 8800GT's are not THAT power hungry.

Reply to mousemonkey
zipzoomflyhigh   05-04-2009 at 08:11:44 PM
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You should easily be able to get $90 each for those on ebay and get yourself a fast single card.

------------------------------ P965/Q6700@3.2 8MB HD4850 OC Edition
4GB Corsair XMS 800
Vista64/Win7
Fatality 550w/Antec 300
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HundredIslandsBoy   05-04-2009 at 09:04:36 PM
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I had two 9800 GTs SLI on 575 watt PSU and sometimes while OC'ing and under full load I'd get freezes/hangs that I thought was the PSU choking.

I got a GTX 260 and OC'ed it about 15%, got rid of the 9800 GTs and my benchmarks and frame rates are better than the SLI setup. And I'm happier without the heat and fan noise from 2 GPUs.

Message quoted 1 times
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Viking_AM   05-05-2009 at 02:23:53 AM
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Great, I've got a plan of attack now. Thanks everybody!

Reply to Viking_AM
slacko   05-05-2009 at 09:42:32 PM
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HundredIslandsBoy wrote :

I had two 9800 GTs SLI on 575 watt PSU and sometimes while OC'ing and under full load I'd get freezes/hangs that I thought was the PSU choking.

I got a GTX 260 and OC'ed it about 15%, got rid of the 9800 GTs and my benchmarks and frame rates are better than the SLI setup. And I'm happier without the heat and fan noise from 2 GPUs.




To piggyback on this question: I have a rosewill 550W PSU with 2 12V rails at 18A a piece. I was looking at the 260GTX, but its specs suggest a 500W 36A min PSU. Would this one be enough? Thanks.

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Viking_AM   05-05-2009 at 10:30:43 PM
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wusy wrote :

Not only will you gain more performance with a HD4890/70 1GB or GTX260 216 or GTX275 than 2x8800GT SLi, but you'll also be spending less in total since you won't have to replace the PSU and selling the 8800GT to cover some cost.

The EarthWatt 500W is a great PSU for both its quality and value.



Along with this statement, I have to ask... Would my current power supply be substantial enough to run a GTX 260?
The Earthwatts 500W PSU has 2 12v rails at 17A a piece.

Reply to Viking_AM
mav2k9   05-07-2009 at 03:16:28 AM
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Hi all, I currently have an Asus 650i intel chipset, E6550 Core2Duo with an 8800GT 512mb card and was wondering, given i have an old motherboard chipset now, the 650i, with a first gen pci-e x16 port, will I get a significant performance boost if i put in a GTX275 card instead?

Reply to mav2k9
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