I ran into a major problem while installing my upgrades today, and now my computer is in pieces, and I'm looking for answers! I have everything screwed down into the case - the CPU, the mobo, the heatsink, the ram, everything went great until I went to plug the 8 pin ATX 12V power connector in...problem: my PSU doesn't have an 8 pin ATX 12V power connector!
My System:
EVGA X58 SLI LE
Corsair Dominator 1600 3 x 2gb (6gb ram)
Core i7 920
Antec Earthwatts EA430W Visiontek Radeon 3870
3 hard drives (formula 1 terabyte, 300gb velociraptor boot drive, 250gb barracuda)
What do I do? I was going to wait on replacing the PSU (I was going to replace it soon anyway, as I want a more powerful gfx card, and might sli later, but for now I was going to keep it to save money). Is there a way to make it work, or do I need a new one? I have no idea what PSU's are good, I haven't researched them in forever, please help me out with suggestions, I really need my computer back.
You could do some light overclocking.
What cards will you buy? Two 5850 would only need a 600W PSU.
But the Corsair 750TX and 650TX are the same price at the moment.
The general rule of thumb is a high quality 500 to 550 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can easily power a system with any single video card made. A high quality 700 to 750 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can power a system with two video cards operating in dual mode. There are a few exceptions like the new ATI Radeon HD 5XXX series cards which use less power due to their energy efficiency.
The Corsair TX750 you mentioned is a high quality power supply that can easily handle a system with two video cards operating in dual mode.
I had an i7 920 system running with the Antec EA430 for a couple of month. There should be only one way in which the 4-pin male connector fits into the 8-pin (EPS) female connector.
I second that you shouldn't push the system too hard. Wait for your new PSU before you overclock...