What PSU for dual 285gtx

sharpy992

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Aug 4, 2009
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Hi guys i plan on getting dual 285 gtx's 1g but im not sure if a 1 thousand wat power supply is good enough or if i can go lower? Any suggestions?
 

Hellboy

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A good 700 watt should suffice but i would recommend no lower than an 850w..

The reasons for this means if you had hard disks etc youll have loads of room to cope..

a 1000w is designed for tri or quad sli systems......

the thing I would wait untill nvidias new card comes out in a month or so..

one new card will be faster than the old 2 and it will be dx 11..

SLi is a buzz word and not worth the money imho..
 

sharpy992

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Well the thing is i alreadt have a i7 3.20 and a 285gtx and im thinking of upgrading in the FUTURE so i was just curious on what psu would hold 2 sli cards cause im upgrading my psu now.
 

AsAnAtheist

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Sep 15, 2009
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A GTX 285 sli system usually consumes 550w-580w
this is with a i7-965@3.7 ghz, 3gbs of ddr3 1600 mhz memory test system.

Since it consumes 550w-580w you need to add around 30% more for the PSU to handle like a charm. It amounts to 754w.

This is a REALLY good deal. No joke.

SeaSonic S12D 850 $109.99$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151083
Silver certification 80 plus, 70a on 12v rails. (2x 40a 12v rails but only 840w load, so that's 70a or 35a each.

This is a REALLY good deal. No joke.
 
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.

A high quality 500 to 550 watt psu will have a +12 volt rail rated at 40 amps. A high quality 700 to 750 watt psu will have a +12 volt rail rated at 60 amps.

In addition the power supply should be at least 80+ Bronze certified for energy efficiency. There are some models available which have achieved 80+ Silver and 80+ Gold Certifications.

Corsair and Seasonic are two of the brands that have a reputation for high quality power supplies that consistently earn high marks in technical reviews. They are reliable, stable, and come with a 5 year warranty. Lately we've been seeing a few other brands offering some high quality units. One example would be the Antec Earthwatts series which is a major improvement over Antec’s older psu’s like the Basiq models.