Recommend a good 650w PSU?

[Carpy2]

Hey guys,

This is my setup:

Mobo: EVGA P67 SLI 130-SB-E675-KR
CPU: Intel i5 2500k
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 2133
And I have 6 fans going on my LanBoy Air.

I currently have a 550w PSU because I have not upgraded from my gtx 260 yet. But I just ordered two gtx 460's 1GB eVGA Superclocked cards to run in SLI mode. I know the general CPU sticky thread says: "recommended 650w for two 460's at 50 amps on a 12V rail."

I just want to double check if that is what I want to run with my setup, and also if anyone can recommend a PSU for me to buy. I might run three cards (2x460's and 1x260) so take that into consideration as well.

Recap:
1. Is 650w PSU what I need?
2. Recommend a PSU that I should buy.

Thanks,
Michael A.

 

[o1die]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341049. My ocz is very quiet, and I've used it close to a year. I recommend the 750w unit; better to play it safe. Whatever you choose, I recommend one with a single 12v rail.

 

[BlackHawk91]

This http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021 (80 Plus Bronze)
or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207016 (semi-modular and 80Plus Silver)
They both have 4 x 6+2-Pin Pci-e connectors for your 460s and with 750W you will have enough headroom for OCing.

 

[ko888]

It's best that you heed the +12 Volt continuous current rating of 50 Amps for the PSU. The power supply unit's +12 Volt continuous current rating is vastly more important than its labelled wattage.

If you're going to be doing any overclocking of the CPU and GPUs then it is better to have some reserve capacity available to handle it.

You need a PSU with at least four 6-pin PCI-E Supplementary Power Connectors. It's more easily found on 750 Watt PSUs.

My recommendation is the XFX PRO750W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80Plus Silver 750 Watt Power Supply. Made by Seasonic for XFX.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207016

Reputable reviews for the XFX ProSeries XXX Edition 750W (P1-750B-NLG9):

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/933

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=184

http://hardocp.com/article/2010/04/20/xfx_black_edition_750w_power_supply_review

 

[jsc]

Two 460's will pull 22 - 25 amps from the PSU. An OC'd SB CPU will pull around 10 amps. That is something like 420 watts. Figure another 100 watts for the rest of the system. That would put a 650 watt PSU operating at an 85% load. Personally, I am uncomfortable operating at that high of a load factor.

A good 650 watt PSU would be sufficient except for the number of PCIe power cables. Most 650 watt PSU's have only two and you need four. You could use molex to PCIe adapters, but a lot of us do not like to.

Corsair TX650V2 (2 PCIe plugs):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

SeaSonic X650 Gold (4 PCIe plugs, but expensive for a 650):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

I'd probably choose a Corsair (I like Corsairs- I own 5 ) TX750V2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

 

[Raiddinn]

Isn't your OCZ a multiple rail setup o1die?

I have an XFX Core 650w that I use and it is from Seasonic and top of the line.

I don't know if I would try to run 3 video cards on it, though.

BTW, if you run the 3 video cards all at once, you may find that they all want to run like the worst one. I am not an expert on using cards of different types at the same time, but I know computers often auto adjust things like RAM to the slowest of everything a lot of times. You may want to look into this.

It should be fine if you are just going to use the 2x cards. If you insist on 3x video cards I would consider going as high as an 850 or 900. If nothing else it will help your efficiency.

 

[o1die]

No. Some of those listed in my link are single rail above 50 amps. Take a look at the list and your budget before you decide. Ocz bought out pc power and cooling awhile back. They're pretty good, and a little less expensive than some corsair and antec models.

 

[davcon]

I'd buy the XFX ko888 suggested or this.
Corsair Professional HX750W
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=38649&vpn=CMPSU%2D750HX&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1190
Of course you could go with a non-modular unit and save $20-30 bucks.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Reputable reviews for the XFX ProSeries XXX Edition 750W (P1-750B-NLG9):

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/933

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=184

http://hardocp.com/article/2010/04/20/xfx_black_edition_750w_power_supply_review

The Black Edition and the Pro XXX Edition are two different PSU's. The XXX was a mediocre unit with a 7.0 jonnyguru performance rating

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=181

The Black got a 10.0 rating which is the one linked to in the quoted post

The Core Edition, while not in the class as the Black, gets a 9.5 rating and is ridiculously inexpensive at $60

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story9&reid=216
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014

But while it's big enough for twin 460s, the extra 260 is too much of a load

Using this for the 3 GFX cards, OC'd CPU (4.8 Ghz @ 1.4v), 1 SSD, 1 HD, 1 combo optical, 2 sticks of RAM, 5 eternal USB, 1 firewire, 6 fans and 15% capacitor aging, I come up with 783 watts.

That would put me in the 850 watt Core Edition, a huge bargain at $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

 

[ko888]

The Black Edition and the Pro XXX Edition are two different PSU's. The XXX was a mediocre unit with a 7.0 jonnyguru performance rating

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=181

The Black got a 10.0 rating which is the one linked to in the quoted post

The Core Edition, while not in the class as the Black, gets a 9.5 rating and is ridiculously inexpensive at $60

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story9&reid=216
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014

But while it's big enough for twin 460s, the extra 260 is too much of a load

Using this for the 3 GFX cards, OC'd CPU (4.8 Ghz @ 1.4v), 1 SSD, 1 HD, 1 combo optical, 2 sticks of RAM, 5 eternal USB, 1 firewire, 6 fans and 15% capacitor aging, I come up with 783 watts.

That would put me in the 850 watt Core Edition, a huge bargain at $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

I know the difference between the XXX Edition Classic series and the XXX Edition Pro series.

It is the XXX Edition Classic series which has only the one 650 Watt model that didn't rate well.

The XXX Edition Pro series model P1-750B-NLG9, that I specified, is in XFX's Black Edition product sheet.

 

[Carpy2]

Best answer selected by Carpy2.