Need a solid PSU

[sowexly]

I'm thinking of a rebuild.

My current rig is nice but my CPU is holding me back.

Phenom x4 965 BE
GTX 580
750W PC Power & Cooling PSU
Crosshair Formula IV
4Gb G.SKILL ECO @ 1600

Case: Hades NZXT
I plan on upgrading my CPU to a SB i7 but I want to wait until they release the newer ones.

I also plan on getting another 580 and perhaps in the future 3, so what size PSU should I get?
PS: I would like to keep my current case, I might change it but I like it for what it is.
Also I OC so I would need some headroom too.

I got my eye on a few 1000W but I think I would need a 1200W for 3 way SLI later on.

 

[obsidian86]

850 is more the comfortable range for 580 sli with some OC
look into

corsair ax850
seasonic x850
or antec hcp 850

for 1.2kw

the corsair ax1200 and antec hcp1200 trade blows for whose the best 1200 and should soon be joined by the silverstone gold 1200

 

[geofelt]

PC P&C is a quality vendor that is conservative on their ratings.

I suggest you try it first.

 

[alex3948]

Corsair and Antec are great PSUs according to my tests. I always suggest going for a PSU a little stronger than what you need so you can be future-proof.

 

[sowexly]

So what you guys are saying is I could run 2 580s OC'd on my 750w PC Power & Cooling PSU ATM??

That amazes me, and it's a Silencer BTW if that helps.

I didn't think my 750w would handle 2 of them with an OC but I guess that doesn't matter too much.

But I think 580s pull ~350w on load, so I was thinking 1000-1200w would be safer.

 

[geofelt]

350w = 29a, half of the 750 silencer continuous output capability.
Try it first.

 

[joelmartinez]

I think you'll be able to run dual 580s on that PSU

also I think that you should wait to upgrade, how far have you overclocked your 965 and on what cooling?

 

[sowexly]

I do plan on waiting to upgrade, I want the next SB to come out first.

And I only OC my 965 to about 3.8GHz on air.

I haven't tried to get to 4 stable.

 

[joelmartinez]

Sorry I need a bit more TIM? Cooler?

Go for 4 stable if you're temps are decent

And what next SB you mean IB

 

[geofelt]

I doubt that you really need an upgrade.
What is your problem now?
Running a quad @3.8, and a GTX580, you should be able to play any game well at 1920 x 1200.
What is your resolution?

Run these two tests:
1) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.

2) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

If you have some cash to burn on an upgrade, I suggest a SSD.

If you are multitasking while gaming, then an upgrade to 8gb can help.

 

[galeener]

Didn't OCZ buy out pc power and cooling?

 

[jaguarskx]

Didn't OCZ buy out pc power and cooling?

Yep. Seasonic still manufactures PCP&C Silencer series.

 

[sowexly]

By SB I mean the new Intel CPUs which are hopefully quad cores.

I will run the test ASAP, and post results.
But I only run my game, nothing else.

My resolution is 1920x1080

I really want an increase of my FPS on Metro 2033 and Crysis (both total resource hogs)

 

[joelmartinez]

SB=Sandy bridge=p67+h67 already released
IB=Ivy bridge= x68 coming this year

 

[sowexly]

SB=Sandy bridge=p67+h67 already released
IB=Ivy bridge= x68 coming this year

Ahh I see now, sorry I didn't know the naming convention yet.

 

[PreferLinux]

Wrong. Ivy Bridge = 22 nm die shrink of Sandy Bridge coming end of this year/beginning of next. What you are thinking of is X68/78 (not sure which) with LGA2011/1356 (don't know which, some say 1356 was discarded, others say no) which is Sandy Bridge, and should have hex cores.

 

[joelmartinez]

I guess I don't know the lingo yet. So is it LGA 1356 or Ivy bridge that has pci-e 3.0

 

[sowexly]

Well I don't wanna risk not being able to run both of them and they aren't worth the price tag without OC'ing

So besides trying to run 2 on my current supply what brands do you guys recommend?

Links are appreciated and amazon is prefer due to gift cards

 

[joelmartinez]

850w lots of headroom: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Performance-850-Watt-CMPSU-850AX/dp/B003PJ6QW4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296450801&sr=8-1 cheaper at newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015&Tpk=ax850 the ax850 is great albeit overpriced if best deal for your money the xfx will do http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001&cm_re=xfx_850w-_-17-207-001-_-Product

 

[sowexly]

I was looking to get a 1920x1200 monitor but I couldn't really find one, I might be able to get a refund and buy one but they aren't too common.
Not to mention quality one's are around 300$

Thanks for the suggestions BTW, I'll look into them.

I might just get the 1200w Corsair they seem to make solid PSUs
If that 850 will run my RIG with a good OC on all my components I would definitely get it in a heartbeat.

 

[joelmartinez]

It most definitely will

 

[blackhawk1928]

Sowexly...you said that without overclocking GTX580's aren't worth the price correct?...I may have misinterpreted that.

However if this is the case, if your monitor is 1920x1080 (1080p)...im pretty sure a single GTX580 should, without a sweat, easily max out any game on the market, assuming your CPU isn't a bottleneck, im pretty sure crysis would be a cake walk for your card at 1080p...getting two of them for such a resolution is overkill IMO. Your money will be better spent on an SSD, which provides realtime, noticeable, everyday performance increase and truly makes a difference and lives up to its cost.

Whichever PSU you get should be a quality brand. If the corsair PSU costs 50bucks more than the other brand or generic for the same power...cough it up for the corsair, because you're going to increase your chances of regretting it later when the other PSU dies. Anyway from my own personal experience quality brands are Corsair and OCZ...ive owned PSU's from both and they make solid PSU's IMO. People on the internet will tell you that Seasonic, PC P&C..etc are also good so those are your best choices.

1 GTX580=550-600watt
2 GTX580=700-800watt
3 GTX580=Around the 1K range

^This will be + or - depending on the amount of other devices you have like DVD drives, HDDs, PCI cards, fans, overclocks...etc

 

[sowexly]

You're right the 580 does kill just about every game on my res, but my CPU must be a bottleneck for Crysis and Metro because I hate when my FPS goes below 40 (input feels delayed)

I was considering a SSD, but I wasn't sure if I should wait for prices to go down or not.

Also when I was talking about the 580, I meant bang/buck I could have gone with some 570s or even 6950s to get better performance to price ratio but with a nice OC the 580 price point balances out just fine.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Well if your CPU is a bottleneck then a new CPU should be your primary target

And stop considering an SSD, get one. I do not know a single person who has gotten an SSD (from a reasonable brand) and not been satisfied with the purchase. I got the X25-M over a year ago for 300bucks (80GB) and it was the best 300bucks on hardware I've ever spent....seriously !!!!

 

[sowexly]

Well if your CPU is a bottleneck then a new CPU should be your primary target

And stop considering an SSD, get one. I do not know a single person who has gotten an SSD (from a reasonable brand) and not been satisfied with the purchase. I got the X25-M over a year ago for 300bucks (80GB) and it was the best 300bucks on hardware I've ever spent....seriously !!!!

Alright good to know, I should be able to pickup a 120gig then.

As for upgrading my CPU I want to wait until Intel releases more CPUs.