Will This Power Supply Run My Setup Smoothly?

gamesterc

Distinguished
Sep 14, 2011
2
0
18,510
This is my current PSU

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply

Here is a link to it on newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

The PSU is a couple years old, but was pretty good when i bought it. Was hoping i wouldn't have to upgrade since I shelled out a lot on the rest of my new setup. Here is a list of my new setup for reference. Was just wondering if that PSU would be enough, or if I would have to upgrade that as well.


Motherboard- ASUS P8Z68-V Pro

Processor- Intel i7 2600k

CPU Cooler- Thermaltake Frio Overclocking Universal CPU Cooler CLP0564

Ram- 16g G-Skill Ripjaws 12800 1600 MHz / PC3-12800 - CL9 - 1.5 V - unbuffered - non-ECC

2x Video Cards- ASUS EAH6870 DC/2DI2S/1GD5 Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP x2 Crossfired

SSD- Kingston Digital SSDNow V+100 96 GB Solid-State Drive SVP100S2/96G

HD- Western Digital 1.5 TB Caviar Black SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive - WD1502FAEX

Case- AZZA Solano 1000 CSAZ-1000 Full Tower Case (Black)

Standard DVD-RW


Your help is greatly appreciated.


[edit] Almost forgot, These are the specs for my current Power Supply


Type ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V v2.91
Maximum Power 650W
Fans 1
PFC Active
Main Connector 20+4Pin
+12V Rails 3
PCI-Express Connector 1 x 6-Pin, 1 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Power Connector 6
SLI No
CrossFire No
Modular No
Energy-Efficient 80 PLUS Certified
Input Voltage 100 - 240 V
Input Frequency Range 47 - 63 Hz
Input Current 10A @ 115V, 5A @ 230V
Output +3.3V@25A, +5V@25A, +12V1@22A, +12V2@22A, +12V3@25A, -12V@0.5A, +5VSB@2.5A
Approvals UL, CUL, FCC, TÜV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC
Dimensions 3.4" x 5.9" x 6"
 
Solution
One of the problems of the Antec EA-650 is that it only has two PCIe connectors. A 6870 needs two (6pin) by itself, so you would have to use adapters to get the extra pair of PCIe connectors - I am not a fan of this method.

A good 650W PSU can easily run a pair of 6870s.

Intel i7-920 3.33GHz 15/12/2010
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4061/amds-radeon-hd-6970-radeon-hd-6950/24
6870 Crossfire Power Consumption:
Idle = 170W Load - Crysis = 415 Load - Furmark = 481W

Even if these numbers weren't obtained at the wall, which I think they probably were, then a 481W load would only stress a good 650W PSU to 75%. Obviously that is a lot higher than a lot of people are comfortable with, but is easily within the capabilities of a high quality...
i think it will run on the 650w, but a 750-850w would be safer, you dont want to be pushing the psu near its limits. The 12v rails dont look very well spread, maybe look for something from corsair or xfx with a single 12v rail or a better spread like 4 12v rails on the antec trupower. i cant remember if a 6870 has 8 pin or 6 pin connectors, i think 8, so that psu doesnt have 2 6+2 pin connectors and you would need to use adaptors, which i wouldnt do. just get the correct psu in the first place.
 
One of the problems of the Antec EA-650 is that it only has two PCIe connectors. A 6870 needs two (6pin) by itself, so you would have to use adapters to get the extra pair of PCIe connectors - I am not a fan of this method.

A good 650W PSU can easily run a pair of 6870s.

Intel i7-920 3.33GHz 15/12/2010
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4061/amds-radeon-hd-6970-radeon-hd-6950/24
6870 Crossfire Power Consumption:
Idle = 170W Load - Crysis = 415 Load - Furmark = 481W

Even if these numbers weren't obtained at the wall, which I think they probably were, then a 481W load would only stress a good 650W PSU to 75%. Obviously that is a lot higher than a lot of people are comfortable with, but is easily within the capabilities of a high quality 650W unit; the only issue at that capacity should be fan noise. Also 481W was under Furmark, so typical load will be much lower.

So generally I agree that it would be better to get a new PSU with four PCIe connectors. But I'm not worried about a 'lack of power'.
 
Solution

TRENDING THREADS