Do I need to upgrade my PSU?

[darkgauntlett]

Current Build in a Haf 922 (built July 2010-GPU recent addition)

Mobo- GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3
CPU- Core I5 750 (gigabyte smart quickboost to 3.0)
Ram- GSkill Eco 1.35v - 8GB (2GBx4)
HDD- Samsung spinpoint 1tb 7200rpm
Vid- Sapphire 2GB 6950
PSU- Corsair Enthusiast series 650TX

I'm getting a new x8/x8 capable mobo as a gift as a friend of mine is leaving lynnefield by way of a sandy bridge. I figure it wouldn't hurt to xfire the 6950 as my set up is a bit taxing at 5760x1080(eyefinity). I was told that the PSU should be okay as the 6900 series doesn't draw as much power as previous models but I want to be sure. I would also like to explore SSD. I assume more drives = more power. Not to mention the quickboost on the CPU. Corsairs website says my system "is a beast" and basically recommends 1000W. It seems a little ridiculous as i've seen bigger systems run on less. Can I keep my PSU or do I need a boost?

I know this isn't the right forum but if you'd like to drop some advice on SSD i'd like to read it.

This was/is my first build so I'm a little green.

 

[Silvune]

Your PSU definitely has enough wattage/amperage to power your system, so yes you can disregard the 1000W recommendation from Corsair. A potential problem is that the Corsair 650TX doesn't have enough PCIe connectors to connect to two 6950s (which need two each) as the 650TX only has two in total. So you would have to use peripheral (molex) to PCIe adapters, so you'd be using 4 peripheral connectors to provide those extra two PCIe connectors. The Corsair 650TX does have plenty of peripheral connectors (eight according to this link: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article813-page2.html ), so aslong as you are happy to use those adapters (which sometimes/usually come in graphics card bundles) then there's no need to change power supply because of a lack of power/lack of connectors.

SSDs use next to no power, thus they have no bearing on what size of power supply should be chosen.

 

[cronos177]

^Silvune is right, unless you want to CF, then you may need a quality 750W.

 

[Silvune]

Maybe I need to clarify that a 650W PSU is plenty for a system with two 6950s in Crossfire.

 

[Emperus]

Your current PSU is enough -

www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6950-crossfirex-review/14

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Is it the TX650 V2 ? If so AMD certified the PSU for use with two 6950's

http://support.amd.com/us/certified/power-supplies/Pages/details.aspx?item=547

The original TX650 however is not so certified, presumably because of the connectors issue.

 

[Silvune]

The V2 version doesn't have any more PCIe connectors than the original.

 

[darkgauntlett]

Thanks guys! I do have the molex to PCIe that came with the GFX card. I know my CPU isn't high end but i just want to make sure that it doesn't impact power consumption enough to worry. According to the article, i might want a 750w if i'm Oc'd on a high end yatta yatta. I'm assuming high end CPU's mean 125w i7 versus the 95w one I have.

I can drop back down to 2.8 or stock 2.6 if I need to. The difference in performance was noticeable but a big enough deal to spend an extra $135.

 

[Wisecracker]

If 'clean power' becomes an issue you may use the power control function in PowerTune to drop your video card(s) TDP ...


From Legit Reviews:

The answer to your question may lie in how you manage your HD 6950, and the capabilities of the second card that you add to the mix:

If you crank the card(s) in a modded state (note: if you have a dual BIOS reference card) with an OC'ed processor you will certainly be stressing the limits --- Furmark will essentially add 20-30w as opposed to typical gaming.

Under their GPU test, OCCT will plot your voltages/ripple and save them as a PNG chart image if you wish to test your power delivery.

 

[gametstr]

I 'd like to add that Multimonitor setups tax the GPUs about 40% more than normal.
If u r going to CF then look to getting a quality 850w unit just to be safe. keep the psu at 60 - 80% load.

 

[Silvune]

I 'd like to add that Multimonitor setups tax the GPUs about 40% more than normal.
If u r going to CF then look to getting a quality 850w unit just to be safe. keep the psu at 60 - 80% load.

Do you have some evidence for your first statement? My google search terms seem to be inadequate to find any for myself.

 

[darkgauntlett]

I'd be leaving the GPU at stock speeds. At least until I get more comfortable.

What is TDP?

If 'clean power' becomes an issue you may use the power control function in PowerTune to drop your video card(s) TDP ...


From Legit Reviews:

http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/1488/ati-overdrive-6950.jpg


The answer to your question may lie in how you manage your HD 6950, and the capabilities of the second card that you add to the mix:

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww165/Back_at_the_Ranch/AMD Overlords/hd6950-powerup.jpg


If you crank the card(s) in a modded state (note: if you have a dual BIOS reference card) with an OC'ed processor you will certainly be stressing the limits --- Furmark will essentially add 20-30w as opposed to typical gaming.

Under their GPU test, OCCT will plot your voltages/ripple and save them as a PNG chart image if you wish to test your power delivery.

 

[Silvune]

TDP: Thermal design power. It is usually used to indicate how many watts a particular component will use when fully stressed. Which doesn't happen that often in most systems, so is a worst case number.