How wattage psu do i need?

[bubbabvi]

I am about to order a computer off ibuypower.com. I am wondering how much wattage i will need for my graphics cards. As of right now im getting a 4-way crossfire motherboard with 2 6970 iceq 2gb graphics cards. Later on, I am planning on installing myself 2 more 6970 iceq's. As far as the other specs go,

AMD FX-8150 CPU

Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)

16 GB [4 GB X4] DDR3-1333

Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 -- AMD 970

Primary Hard Drive
40 GB Intel 320 SSD - Single Drive

Data Hard Drive
1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, Power Saving, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

Optical Drive
24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black

Flash Media Reader / Writer
12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black

NZXT Sentry 2 Touch Screen Fan Controller & Temperature Display




So, could i get by with a 1200 watt psu, or do i need to get a 1500?

 

[bubbabvi]

Another note, i do not plan on overclocking anything... and sorry about the title, i meant to write what wattage psu do i need, not how lol

 

[bubbabvi]

And one more thing, will I be bottlenecking my cpu with 4x2gb graphics cards?

 

[inzone]

What do you intend to do with this computer that you need 4 video cards? Have you read any of the reviews for the AMD buldozer? The Intel i7 2600k and the i5 2500k walk all over the Buldozer , no contest. With the 4 video cards and the liquid cooling you may have to go with the 1500w , you are almost at 1000w with the 4 cards. I have two 1200w psu's in my system.

 

[inzone]

You may have to overclock the cpu to avoid bottleneck from the 4 video cards. The SSD is a little on the small side I would bump that up to a 120gb for the OS as you will have to plan for updates and such and you could run the current game you will be playing off the SSD.

 

[beenthere]

If you want to objectively, accurately and scientifically determine what PSU power is required for your Vid card and PC in both watts and 12v rail amps., the forum Utility link below will show you how easy it is to calculate this information and objectively determine which PSUs are quality built, reliable PSUs that can meet your needs. Be advised that the available 12v rail amps. is just as important as the total PSU wattage. You need both to be correct.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/314712-28-please-read-determine-power-required

 

[zhongyan]

You should get a least a 60gig ssd like the Crucial M4's if you're going to using it as your primary boot drive.

Quad-fire with 6970's would be a huge overkill, what resolution monitor/s are you planning on using?

 

[theitaliansico]

if ur gonna spend that kindev of money on 4 cards. Just get 2 6990's and a 1350w PSU.I dont even think DX11 takes advantage of more than 3 cards anyway. What are you gunna be running just out of curiosity? BTW i7 2700k is better choice for CPU
Price of 2 6990's=1400$ recommended power for Crossfire is 1200w(1350w to be safe)
Price of 4 6970's=1400$ recommended power for 4 is about 1350w system maybe 1500w.
According to XTreme PSU calculator:
2 6990's under 90% load with system with liquid coolant and specs you mention above :926 watts
4 6970's:1136 watts
not sure of differences in performance. Check it out yourself on this website to see what you need in terms of watts.
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[theitaliansico]

i would always go highest you can go just to be safe. PSU is not an area you would want to cheap out on

 

[bubbabvi]

I am familiar with intel i7 2600k, but for the price, i doubt you can beat the bulldozer, plus at higher resolutions the bulldozer has been know to beat out intels offerings. I am glad you mentioned updates for the OS, that is not something i was putting into consideration. I am worried I might bottleneck the processor, but this processor is overclock friendly so I may rev it up a little. And as for what im doing with it, im just trying to make it as future proof as possible...Also I have taken into consideration just getting 2 6990's, but 4 6970's seem to outperform the 6990's plus there is no difference in price, beside the psu that is...

 

[cuecuemore]

That CPU will bottleneck 1x 6970 25% of the time, 2x 6970 90% of the time, and 3 and 4x 6970 100% of the time. So I'd reevaluate that situation and then look at a power supply.

 

[bubbabvi]

That CPU will bottleneck 1x 6970 25% of the time, 2x 6970 90% of the time, and 3 and 4x 6970 100% of the time. So I'd reevaluate that situation and then look at a power supply.

Can you please tell me how you calculate that?

 

[cuecuemore]

AMD CPU's (any model) are completely unsuitable for 3 and 4 card setups, and for high-end 2-card setups. I know this from looking at benchmarks, personal experience, friends' experience, etc. Take a look around and you'll see the same thing.

EDIT: I have an X4 965 (matches or beats the performance of the 8150 in games) and it bottlenecks my SLI 460s half of the time. My roomie has to get his i7 920 into the high 3.x GHz or low 4.somethings to unbind his CF 6870s, which are a whole step down from the 6970. And the 920 beats every AMD CPU in every gaming benchmark, no exceptions.

 

[phatbuddha79]

Go with the 2500k, it's a better cpu in almost every way and is cheaper.

 

[4745454b]

I'm really certain you can't quad fire single GPU cards. You tri fire, but if you want quad fire you need to use two dual GPU cards. This means you can only run up to three 6970s. The TDP of the 6970 is ~225, so x3 and your looking at 675W for the cards alone. The CPU is 125W (no OCing) so your up to 800W. Toss in other 50W for the board, ram and drives and you need a PSU that can output 850W on its 12V rail(s) You also need one with three 8pin plugs and three 6pin plugs.

plus at higher resolutions the bulldozer has been know to beat out intels offerings.

Benchmarks or it never happened. At high resolutions its the GPU(s) that matter. Wouldn't surprise me if BD can come close every now and then.

 

[bubbabvi]

I'm really certain you can't quad fire single GPU cards. You tri fire, but if you want quad fire you need to use two dual GPU cards. This means you can only run up to three 6970s. The TDP of the 6970 is ~225, so x3 and your looking at 675W for the cards alone. The CPU is 125W (no OCing) so your up to 800W. Toss in other 50W for the board, ram and drives and you need a PSU that can output 850W on its 12V rail(s) You also need one with three 8pin plugs and three 6pin plugs.

plus at higher resolutions the bulldozer has been know to beat out intels offerings.

Benchmarks or it never happened. At high resolutions its the GPU(s) that matter. Wouldn't surprise me if BD can come close every now and then.

Only at 2560x1600 does the bulldozer begin to strike even with intel. So with 3 cards, do you think it would bottleneck?

 

[4745454b]

Everyone in this thread has said yes/better with Intel. I agree with them. Dump the BD idea and get the 2500k.

 

[bubbabvi]

That CPU will bottleneck 1x 6970 25% of the time, 2x 6970 90% of the time, and 3 and 4x 6970 100% of the time. So I'd reevaluate that situation and then look at a power supply.

Im pretty sure the 8150 was built for multiple video cards... By the way I am not a AMD fanboy, but I do think once windows 8 comes out, this cpu will smooth out.

 

[cuecuemore]

Im pretty sure the 8150 was built for multiple video cards... By the way I am not a AMD fanboy, but I do think once windows 8 comes out, this cpu will smooth out.

I'm absolutely sure it wasn't. Windows 8 ain't gonna help it for gaming. I'm just trying to help you, you'll get far superior performance and save money with a 2500k, but it's up to you.

 

[theitaliansico]

Isnt two 6990's just 4 6970's. Why dont you save money on that 4 way motherboard and get a 3 way one and upgrade to i7 or even i5. Then pop in two 6990's. With a 1350w or 1500w PSU for future proofing.

 

[Deemo13]

Honestly I would get a new hard drive if I was you. I wold either get rid of that "power saving" hard drive and get something like a Caviar Black or something like a SSD. 4 6970's is insane overkill especially with some sort of APU in your system. You might as well just get 1 or 2 6970's and be done with it. The 8150 was definitely not made for multiple cards. Even though I have an AMD 965 in my system, if you were to run that many cards pointlessly in any system, the 2500K or 2600K would be a much better choice. Also, I don't think its actually possible to quad crossfire anything unless you use 2 6990's.

 

[bubbabvi]

Honestly I would get a new hard drive if I was you. I wold either get rid of that "power saving" hard drive and get something like a Caviar Black or something like a SSD. 4 6970's is insane overkill especially with some sort of APU in your system. You might as well just get 1 or 2 6970's and be done with it. The 8150 was definitely not made for multiple cards. Even though I have an AMD 965 in my system, if you were to run that many cards pointlessly in any system, the 2500K or 2600K would be a much better choice. Also, I don't think its actually possible to quad crossfire anything unless you use 2 6990's.

Alright guys thanks for all the help I really do appreciate it.. Ive decided to tri fire 6970's because they are the iceq turbo, so they run cooler and at 900mhz.. Im going to upgrade to a 60gb ssd instead of a 40.... As far as the cpu im still going with the fx 8150 mainly because ive seen its performance is better than the 2500k but not as good as the 2600k (In most benchmarks ive seen), but it is cheaper than the 2600k.. and i think programs will start to optimize 8 cores sooner than later... With that being said i will probably upgrade to the excavator when it is released..And with all that, im thinking a 1200 watt psu..

 

[jyjjy]

You should really stop ignoring everyone about the CPU. AMD simply is not the way to go for what you are talking about. Their current processors are not comparable to Intel's Sandy Bridge chips either in pure performance or performance per dollar. If you are willing to OC then the difference grows substantially. If you think you have seen benchmarks showing otherwise then link to them so we can explain how you are misreading them.
What resolution will you be using that you think 4 HD6970s are a good idea?

 

[bubbabvi]

You should really stop ignoring everyone about the CPU. AMD simply is not the way to go for what you are talking about. Their current processors are not comparable to Intel's Sandy Bridge chips either in pure performance or performance per dollar. If you are willing to OC then the difference grows substantially. If you think you have seen benchmarks showing otherwise then link to them so we can explain how you are misreading them.
What resolution will you be using that you think 4 HD6970s are a good idea?

Do you think I could keep a 1200 watt psu if I overclock the cpu? aka, I know intel makes much better processors, but on ibuypower, putting a 2600k processor in with the same setup bumps it up 200 dollars. Im thinking the 8150 will do amazing till 2014, and I am aware that 3 video cards is to much for now. But when the excavator comes out im sure it will take advantage of all three cards and then it will all work perfectly, if not ill just upgrade to ivybridge by 2014, if i had a few more hundred i might go with the 2600k or 2700k now but i think 8150 should be beyond what im looking for, for the next 3 years... So thats my crazy reasoning for getting the 8150 lol.

Edit: I would just make one myself, but I'm thinking on cyber monday ibuypower will have good deals, plus i wouldnt consider myself a pro at wiring computers lol.

 

[bubbabvi]

Best answer selected by bubbabvi.