1000+ watts?!

[smokie23]

Ok I did alot of reading and still got mixed opinions on how much power a pc needs. Im doing this because am in the progress of building a higher end gaming/3d design computer.
- Ive read that getting 1000+ watt PSU will put less stress on your components?! can someone confirm this?
- Ive also read that running your PC at the min level of power consumption would not be good because when under load...if your GPU doesnt get the power needed then your GPU wont work at the efficiency they are suppose too, as the same thing with other components. Is that also correct?
- If there is a shortage of power, can you damage any components?
- How do you calculate how much a PC build would need? Like this is the build im thinking of.

Intel Core i7 960 Processor (4x 3.20GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
Cooling Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1366] (Standard 120mm Fan )
6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600 - Corsair Dominator
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 - 1.5GB - Single Card
10/100/1000 LAN Surge Protector
[SLI] Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R w/ 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16
1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive
24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - [Lightscribe Technology] Black
Flash Media Reader/Writer 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black
Meter Display NZXT Sentry 2 Touch Screen Fan Controller & Temperature Display
Network Card Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Eagle Arion 2.1 Soundstage Speakers w/ subwoofer

Looking at the 850 Watt -- NZXT HALE90 / 80+ Gold PSU for this system. (might go double SLI in future)

The thing I dont get is alot of reading it looks like alot of people base PSU on the GPU they use?? I do understand that the gtx480 does require a min of 600w. Personally I think 1000+w for a system like this is overkill. As for futureproof...money isnt a biggie with me and companies will be releasing better PSU's in future?

 

[hunter315]

How does one figure that a 1kW PSU puts less strain on your components? It would put less strain on your power supply, but not on any of the other components in the system.

You never want to run a PSU at full capacity, it will age quicker, may shut down the load is too high, might slow things down, or it might just die. If it dies then you have the chance of it taking other things with it.


There are PSU calculators available to help you figure out how much power you might need
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

In general we go by rules of thumb, any single GPU can be powered by a good 500-550W unit with ~40A between its 12V rails, two lower powered GPUs like 5770s or even GTX 460s can be handled by a good 650W unit with ~50A between its 12V rails, and two high power GPUs like GTX 480s can be done on a good 750W unit with 60A between its 12V rails, but they are super hungry so an 850W unit like what you picked out provides a nice amount of headroom so you dont need to worry. It recently got a 9.5/10 for performance and a 9 overall at jonnyguru which is quite good.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=199

 

[treefrog07]

There is a PSU calculator here. 1Kw is overkill on most systems. Tri-SLi, maybe you would need that. I have a 1Kw I got about 2 years ago because I really didn't know much about PSUs and I was going to run crossfire in a gaming rig, it worked. I'm now running 2 4870s in crossfire on a Corsair 650W PSU, which is my 27/7 rig. Since the 1Kw still works in the gaming rig, I'm not taking it out - too many hours invested in cable mgmnt. See my configuration for both of those rigs.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

^5 +1 what hunter315 said.

Corsair and Seasonic are two 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. Some of the newer models come with a 7 year warranty (in the USA).

 

[smokie23]

How does one figure that a 1kW PSU puts less strain on your components? It would put less strain on your power supply, but not on any of the other components in the system.

You never want to run a PSU at full capacity, it will age quicker, may shut down the load is too high, might slow things down, or it might just die. If it dies then you have the chance of it taking other things with it.


There are PSU calculators available to help you figure out how much power you might need
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

In general we go by rules of thumb, any single GPU can be powered by a good 500-550W unit with ~40A between its 12V rails, two lower powered GPUs like 5770s or even GTX 460s can be handled by a good 650W unit with ~50A between its 12V rails, and two high power GPUs like GTX 480s can be done on a good 750W unit with 60A between its 12V rails, but they are super hungry so an 850W unit like what you picked out provides a nice amount of headroom so you dont need to worry. It recently got a 9.5/10 for performance and a 9 overall at jonnyguru which is quite good.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=199

Nice calculator! very handy and thx for jonnyguru! I felt reassured by how in-depth his review was for this PSU and how it rated! Havent seen any review close to it. Clears things up for me.

 

[smokie23]

Best answer selected by Smokie23.