Tri sli 280 gtx psu help

I would suggest you return the PSU if it is still in the 30 day time frame........The TX850 is more adequate.....

If not then go all out and try using the 750.... you should be fine......

It'd be pushing it since three GTX 280 consume about 660w, though the Corsair's 750w can put out 900w.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/505/8

Depends if you really want to push that psu to it's limits.

Well it said "soon have a 280 gtx sli setup" so I thought you were talking about dual 280's not TRI-SLI 280's.... the answer is NO, it wont work....You can try but I will bet my house you will get a nice fancy BSOD......

Peeps that push Tri-280's normally have at least a 900w psu.......

I have tried pushing 3 GTX 275's with a corsair TX750 and the cards just beg for more.... Upgraded to a TX850 and all the issues disappeared.....

Oh, for some reason I assumed Tri SLI w/ GTX 280s.

Quite simply, these figures are an entire rigs power consumption.
That rig consisted of
CPU: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 @ 3.2Ghz
Mainboard: ASUS Rampage II Extreme X58/ICH10R
Memory: Corsair TR3X3G1333C9 3GB @ 1333Mhz 9-9-9-20 1T
Storage: WD VelociRaptor 300G 10krpm 16MB
Power: Corsair HX 1kW

1 GTX 280 = 295w
2 GTX 280s = 475w
3 GTX 280s = 665w

Thats a very interesting review, well it does make me feel a little bit better thats its basically a 900w psu. Now if say i decided I would like to have a 9600 gt for physx in addition to my current psu that would be pushing to far?


Are there any negatives to pushing a psu to its limits?

And is there any negatives to using 2 psu's in a system, I have a 500w in a box somewhere....

thanks for all the help!!

Well you are right to assume tri sli........sorry should have made it clearer. I will within a week have a 2nd 280 and maybe a month will buy a 3rd.

thanks again

Let the GTX 280s take of PhysX. Though even if you tried to put a 9600 GT, it wouldn't work along side a different card.

There's isn't any negatives to having two PSUs other than the extra wires and space that it'll take up. You'll need one of these if you going to consider the dual PSU route

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5637/cpa-167/Lian_Li_...

Sure there's drawbacks to overloading a psu, shortened life span is one. There's a reason Corsair put 750w on the side, it'll perform best at that. Knowing that the PSU can go to 900w just assures you that pulling 750w isn't going to blow the thing up. I wouldn't recommend pulling 900w, but i'm curious to try it myself on mine when i replace it.

If you had the cash for Tri-280's you should have the cash for a decent PSU.....

Alright thanks a lot!! If I add a turbolink 420w psu as a second psu, will that be enough for everything?


Why wouldnt a 9600 gt if used only for physx not work alongside a 280gtx sli or tri sli setup? I thought if setting a seperate card in the nvidia control pannel to physx calculations only it would work. As long as the card was 8 series or higher.

thanks again

Well the psu is like 3 months old so I rather just keep it. And Im not going out and buying 3 cards all at once....I save money and as I get enough I will be a new card. You would be surprised how much you can save up in a short period of time just not spending a few extra bucks a week....plus all the change

Yes Sir!!! +1 for that

Save up, and in the end you have what you need.... Don't settle for less.....  

I would look at more than a 1kw psu actually. I know of someone that killed a 1kw PC power and cooling 1kw PSU running tri sli gtx 280's.

I have plenty of money saved up for a new system or upgrade, my only problem is I feel guilty blowing all this money on computer stuff, even though I kinda want to, plus my mom gives me crap (and I have to use here credit card, ohh if only i could get paypal to recognize my bank account) ):

What resolution are you using? 3 GPUs is overkill for anything less than 25x16.

TX750 is not adequate for 3x GTX280; generally you should use a PSU that has the required connectors for your components.

I would recommend a Corsair HX1000, but I'd also recommend GTX275 instead of 280.

my resolution is only 1680 by 1050 for now....will upgrade down the road, but that might be a couple years.

And seeing that I already have a gtx 280 it wouldnt make sense to get a 275

Ebay the 280 and get a 275. Better card. Also 280's tend to fail easily. Very fragile indeed.

At 1680x1050, there is not much point to tri-sli. A pair of 280s should be more than sufficient, and you would hit diminishing returns with the third card anyways.

Yep, I smell bottleneck.... Anything over dual 275's @ 1680 x 1050 is a waste of cash........

Yea I would get the monitor before you bought more graphics cards. Monitor will last a whole lot longer compared to graphic card in terms of usefulness.

At that resolution, even a single GTX275/280 is plenty.

You have the 280 go get another one.
That's what I'm going to do.

Samsung 22" at 1680X1050
I am also going to upgrade my PSU from SILVERSTONE ST75F 750W ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V SLI Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply

to this:Thermaltake Toughpower W0133RU 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power

You planning to add a couple more 280s? 750 is plenty for 2.

Sounds like you have a nice setup there! The 280's seem kind of hard to come by these days? I cant find a xfx anywhere at a reasonable price. I guess Ill have to go with bfg or something, not that it matters much, I just wanted the same brand to go together.

So you think I should stick with just 2 then at my res? Im just trying to get crysis to run very high with some aa....and still be very playable...

My comment was actually about the extreme overkill of a 1200W PSU for 2 video cards.

2x GTX280 is plenty for Crysis at your resolution with 4xAA.

Adding a 3rd will only give a 25-30% increase in performance.

Yes I will be buying a used 280 off of Ebay.

I was burnt on my first PSU as I out grew it in 6 months. My fault for not researching enough for my first build.
This 1200 w will last as I grow.

1 + 1 is only 2, 750 is plenty for that. Silverstone is a good brand. 1200W is only necessary for a system with a LOT of HDDs or 4 video cards.

If I decided to go tri sli and have a 4th gpu say like a 9600 for physx only...what would be a sufficient psu?
thanks

Dont play aroiund with your PSU.
Get 1200w and be done with it.
You will never have to get a larger one especially if you are going tri V cards.

For 4 video cards, 1000W+.

alright thanks a lot!! Ive been looking at the corsair 1000w modular. This should be good right? I most likely will have just sli and a physx card. But if I decided to go tri and have a 9600 that psu should be cool right? Corsairs are the best right?

thanks again

u HAVE TO LOOK AT THE MAX NUMBER OF pci-E cables the PSU will allow.

each Nvidia card req one 6 and one 8 pin cables.

Well thats not exactly true, seeing that older psu's dont have those connectors. For example my older 500 watt has none. But anyway theres this "

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

It has enough for 3 gpu's, the 9600 only takes a single 6 pin, so one of those molex to 6pins would work fine.

I just want to make sure I wont kill it. I heard Corsairs are the best, so it shouldnt be a problem right?

thanks

Wow that's a nice find. I just added it to my NE wish list.

How did you configure your card to the older PSU if you did not have 6 pin and 8 pin PCI_E connectors?

They make molex to 6pin or 8 pin, if I recall correctly it requires to molex to 1 six or 8 pin.

Thinks it's two molex for one six or 8 pin. or at least thats how my adapter is, If you don't have enough molex just get a molex splitter.

I cant do SLI on my current PSU see above for details.