What PSU will I need, 650 or 750??

[AresReborn]

Quick question. I plan on building a desktop that uses a i5-760, 4 gb DDR (1600), and a GTX 460. Eventually I'll pick up another GTX 460 for SLI, and I'm aware that the power consumption becomes even more efficient in SLI. I have heard people say that 650 watt is more than enough for GTX 460 in SLI, but are they also factoring in other factors such as the CPU and RAM??

In short, with an i5 CPU, DDR3 RAM, and GTX 460 in SLI; would it be a good idea to purchase a 650 watt PSU or a 750??

Thanks in advance!

 

[kreepa]

yo i got the exact set up man ha thats fuckd uup but yo i use a 650 w ...are you gtx 460s the 1 gb or the 768mb...i got the 768mb ....maybe the 1 g ones should take a 750...

 

[WR2]

Pick a good 650W PSU or an average 750W PSU.

 

[AresReborn]

lol that is funny.. What can we say, great minds think alike

I'm leaning towards the 1gig gtx460, I've heard the performance increase is worth the money.

 

[hunter315]

Go for the 1GB version, seems to be a decent performance boost. Something like the XFX 650W unit, or the Corsair 650HX/TX or the Antec TP-650 would all provide enough power for 2 1GB GTX 460s in SLI.

 

[kreepa]

ye the 1gs are better but if your sliing them i dont think youll notice much of a diff...sli is pretty overkill id say unless your using more then 1 monitor...but im no expert ha just got into soupin up my comp a few months ago..still learnin mad shitt

 

[enzo matrix]

Like WR2 said, a good quality PSU at 650W, like the corsair brand, would provide enough power. A 750W from a lower end brand would be about the same.

 

[AresReborn]

I have a slight concern, Nvidia doesn't have the Corsair 650watt PSU on their certified list. And I've been reading that the 650 watt Corsair needs to use a molex-to-PCI adapter when in SLI with the GTX460. Will using the adapter diminish some performance?

 

[WR2]

Will using the adapter diminish some performance?

Not at all.
You'll see the Antec True Power New 650W and 54Amps +12V power and 4 PCI-e power adapters is on the list at SLIzone.
Also the XFX XXX 650W and 52Amps +12V power and 4 PCI-e power adapters

So the Corsair 650TX 52Amps +12V power and 2 PCI-e power adapters or Corsair 650HX 52Amps +12V power and 4 PCI-e power adapter will have plenty of power for a GTX 460 SLI rig.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

if in doubt, spend the extra few dollars and get the 750w. It cant hurt.

 

[enzo matrix]

Will using the adapter diminish some performance?

I don't see how you can make that correlation.

 

[AresReborn]

Not at all.
You'll see the Antec True Power New 650W and 54Amps +12V power and 4 PCI-e power adapters is on the list at SLIzone.
Also the XFX XXX 650W and 52Amps +12V power and 4 PCI-e power adapters

So the Corsair 650TX 52Amps +12V power and 2 PCI-e power adapters or Corsair 650HX 52Amps +12V power and 4 PCI-e power adapter will have plenty of power for a GTX 460 SLI rig.

I think I understand what you're saying, but something someone said in another thread confused me. They said this about the Corsair 650TX "Corsair has only two PCIe conectors and you will need four for doing SLI" http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/288452-28-recommeneded-650watt

Since I saw that the TX model has only 2 PCI-e power adapters what I'm asking is, is that enough for SLI? Or will I need the HX version? And if TX can run x2 460 in SLI, would the HX model boost performance? Or just be a waste of money for these particular GPUs?

Thanks in advance, this is helping me out so much.

 

[WR2]

You will need four for 2x GTX 460 SLI. And the Corsair 650TX only has two.
--> But you can add two more PCI-e adapters to get the right amount of power into both cards.

Most card come with a moles to PCI-e adapter that let you hook up 2x4pin molex leads to get you the extra 6pin PCI-e power lead.
In this example the EVGA card has 2 of the molex to PCI-e adapters in the accessory pack. They're the 2nd and 3rd wired items moving from the left front, laying in the foreground of the accessory pack items.

 

[WR2]

And if TX can run x2 460 in SLI, would the HX model boost performance? Or just be a waste of money for these particular GPUs?

No increase in performance.
For $20 extra the 650HX gives you 80Plus Bronze efficiency vs just 80Plus for the TX. It also gives you hybrid modular cables. You can attach only the cables you need, giving you a neater interior, which is important to some people with windowed cases. And you also get the 4 PCI-e video card power leads.
There are things you can do to tidy up the interior of a case using the 650TX and the 2 extra molex-to-PCI-e adapters you'd need to use. You could wrap them in tape to more closely match the other cables, use shrink wrap tubing, etc. You can get those items at case mod shops like Xoxide or FrozenCPU.

 

[AresReborn]

whoa. That made 100% complete sense. I'm relieved now I know exactly what to get. Thank you so much!

 

[AresReborn]

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