PSU recommendations for 6970 Trifire

[spagalicious]

Hey Im thinking of buying 3 6970's for a couple monitors but I only have an 800w PSU. I doubt this would be enough. Is there a cheap 1000w that would be capable?

 

[rolli59]

It depends on which 800watt PSU!

 

[spagalicious]

Sorry about that. This is the PSU I have right now.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339035

 

[iam2thecrowe]

^+1, also, a cheap 1000w PSU can perform like a good quality 600w psu. You really need to look at a good quality/brand 900w psu. It will also depend what else you are running in your system and if you will be overclocking.

 

[kajabla]

I'd go at least 1000. 6970s will hit 300W under load, and the CPU will take plenty. You should never really have both full CPU (all cores) and full GPU load simultaneously, but 1000W is desirable.
Silverstone is highly regarded. I'd skip the $150 offerings and go with this 80+ silver one, $175 after rebate. It may save you the $25 in electricity bills anyway. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256057

 

[spagalicious]

I dont have much running in my system. Just a 2600k at 4.0ghz, 4 dimms, 2tb WD Green, and blu ray drive. Ill be adding a SSD with this purchase too but if I backed it down to 2 6970's, would my PSU be enough?

 

[ilysaml]

What's your budget ? As said above you need a 900-950W PSU, 1000W will cost you around $210, The HEC is a small market segment PSU and when the GPUs are in load it won't resist or be efficient enough to handle the rest of the system, plus it's made for 2-way CF of Mid-Range Cards.

 

[wa1]

If you backed down to 2x6970 then I would say yes you can run them.
But again, don't push that PSU too hard, if you can buy 2x6970 then why can't afford a better PSU with high quality...

 

[spagalicious]

Well I have around $1100 left in my budget for the final parts that I want to put in. I need graphics cards and an ssd and Im pretty much done. If I get three 6970's I won't have enough for the ssd so Ill get it around christmas but if I need a new psu I might have to forgo the third and get a new psu.

 

[ilysaml]

One of the best PSUs ever produced, NZXT 1000W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116013

 

[spagalicious]

So you don't think my PSU can run 2 6970's?

 

[ilysaml]

It will handle 2 HD 6970s in CF, each GPU consumes about 207W in Full GPU Load.

 

[trihedral]

I'd say get 850W and over.

About 900W-950W should be good, 1000W like someone said before would be more desirable.

The PSU you currently have has bad reviews, so the product may cause issues when running 3 GPU's.

Speaking from a person who has the NZXT 1000W, it's awesome. No difference between 850W & 1000W for two 6970's, though the NZXT has a power phase control which is awesome.

with 1000W you won't need to worry about your system not getting enough juice. the NZXT one also uses their circuit boards under SuperFlower which i believe also makes Corsair PSU's, like the AX1200.

I got mine for $179.99, price dropped to $169.99

This was the site i got it from.

http://www.directron.com/hale901000m.html

 

[monsta]

Excellent PSU especially at its price!
It can run anything you throw at it, would be perfect for Tri xfire.

 

[unksol]

So you don't think my PSU can run 2 6970's?

this is just me but I wouldn't trust your PSU WITH 2 6970s for a second. Its one of those shady multi 12v rail supplies that should be avoided like the plague. The rails are NOT independent at all. I blew out a similar 1000 watt PSU using the rails scam with 2 4850s. The good supplies have gotten over the marketing/safety hoax that caused this to happen in the first place, and gone to a high amp single rail. You'll notice if you add up the individual AMP ratings on your rails you'd have an 1150 watt supply.... Ermm... I think not

 

[trihedral]

^ Agreed.

Single Rail +12 is the best.

 

[ilysaml]

I'd say get 850W and over.

850W is not enough for HD 6970s in 3-way CF, each GPU consume about 207W and more in full load, which will leave the rest of the system about 250W, A high end Quad Core CPU overclocked consumes about 140-150W, 850W watt is not recommended if the OP will OC the CPU, GPU & every nail in the PC.

The PSU you currently have has bad reviews, so the product may cause issues when running 3 GPU's.

Where did you see those reviews ? HEC is known for its "Small Market Segment" products, but it's more reliable than any cheap garbage PSUs, i would say that the PSU will crack when the PC is in full load, but with 2 HD 6970s in CF and the CPU OCed, the PC will draw about 550W. the PSU will handle more than that in the worse cases.
Besides, that PSU got a great feedback from newegg users, most of them complaining about materials and fan noise and i indicated that it's a small market segment product, so no problem with the performance.

 

[spagalicious]

Best answer selected by Spagalicious.