Hybrid AMD + nVidia(Physx)(What PSU size)?

[jelms1]

I found a GTS 250 card for 55$ new and needed a physX card. I just need to know what size PSU I need and will my PSU be enough. I used a "Kill A Watt" while bench-marking and I was only using 340w of power topped off fans blowing like crazy and all(PC Connected to a nice Battery Backup(UPS). Anyway here is my system.

PSU Thermaltake TR2-600n(650wMax)
Operating System: Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.120305-1504)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: BIOSTAR Group
System Model: TA790GX A3
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.4GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8192MB RAM
Page File: 2007MB used, 14373MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
//GPU = HIS HD 6870
Card name: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x6738)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6738&SUBSYS_20101787&REV_00
Display Memory: 751 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1008 MB
Shared Memory: 3839 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: HP 2311 Series Wide LCD Monitor
Monitor Model: HP 2311
Monitor Id: HWP293A
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: HDMI
Driver Name: aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx32,aticfx32,aticfx32,atiumd64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atidxx32,atidxx32,atiumdva,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll
Driver File Version: 8.17.0010.1124 (English)
Driver Version: 8.961.0.0
DDI Version: 10.1
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail

 

[blazorthon]

Grab an ~600w PSU (seasonic, Antec, or Corsair would be the best brands). Also, you might want to get a cheap CPU cooler such as a Cooler Master Hyper 212 ($20) or the 212
Plus (sometimes goes on sale for $20, but i's better than the regular 212) and overclock your CPU. It might be a minor bottleneck for this system.

 

[jelms1]

Grab an ~600w PSU (seasonic, Antec, or Corsair would be the best brands). Also, you might want to get a cheap CPU cooler such as a Cooler Master Hyper 212 ($20) or the 212
Plus (sometimes goes on sale for $20, but i's better than the regular 212) and overclock your CPU. It might be a minor bottleneck for this system.

^I have a Thermaltake 600 which is 600(650max) watt psu already. I found a nice deal(60$) 850w psu and wanted to know if I even needed an 800+watt psu for hybrid PhysX. I play a lot of Batman Arkham(Asylum/City), Metro 2033, Mafia 2, and from what I hear more newer games are going to have physx in them soon. Figured 100$ to make a bit more eye candy wouldn't be bad considering 100$ for console upgrades only like 2 controllers.
Oh and I have a nice cpu cooler that this microprocessor has been at 3.8Ghz steady. I don't like to keep things overclocked, however lol.

 

[blazorthon]

Okay then. Your current PSU should be fine. I'm not sure if PhysX will be a big thing for games because Nvidia's Kepler cards don't seem to do it as well as the older Fermi cards did (Kepler gaming video cards have crap compute performance).

If that PSU isn't a Corsair, Antec, Seasonic brand or at least has a very high rating from previous buyers, then don't buy it. A lot of cheap PSUs are garbage regardless of how high their rated wattage is and when they die (this usually doesn't take too long), they often kill other components too.

 

[sharpiedpanda]

I have a ocz 650W and am running hybrid physX with a 7870 and a GTX460 on three screens and my system is pretty stable. these cards are more power hungry than yours so you should be fine on one monitor

-SP

 

[jelms1]

Between you both I don't know who to give the best answer to. I found an 850w psu(A-Power) for 50$. Checked out a lot of reviews and over half of the review were horror stories of sparks and whatnot. Geeks(dot)com was kind of a shady site to begin with so I think I'ma save my 50$ for a game or even just save it in general. Thank you so much!

 

[jelms1]

Best answer selected by jelms1.

 

[jelms1]

I have a ocz 650W and am running hybrid physX with a 7870 and a GTX460 on three screens and my system is pretty stable. these cards are more power hungry than yours so you should be fine on one monitor

-SP

Picked you because although your didn't answer in as much detail as I felt blazorthorn, you did give me a nice example with your system. Oh and the fact that you could use the points being new while he is a "Veteran" is another factor lol.

 

[blazorthon]

I don't have such a system, so him having one is not a fair thing to mock me for. I have no computer that uses PhysX, so I had to go by sheer power usage knowledge. I did say that your PSU was sufficient.

 

[jelms1]

I don't have such a system, so him having one is not a fair thing to mock me for. I have no computer that uses PhysX, so I had to go by sheer power usage knowledge. I did say that your PSU was sufficient.

Never mocked you friend, you did awesome. You gave me sufficient advice via knowledge which is more than people with big computer builds usually have(sad but true). I was serious when I said I gave him points because you are already at Vet status. He needs them. If I could have given you both best answer I would. Again, you did great!