Can a 850W supply support 2 Asus Radeon 290 cards?

[vmhomeboy]

I'm building a system this weekend and am definitely going with 1 Asus Radeon 290 card, but am now considering 2.

http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/R9290DC2OC4GD5/

I was thinking that a 850W power supply (Corsair HX850) would be sufficient for 2 cards, but the store I'm buying from is telling me that I need at least a 1000W supply. I've had mixed results with the advice from this store, so I'm trying to figure out if they're just trying to upsell me on a higher power supply which I don't really need. I trust people on this forum a lot more

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

EDIT:

For more detail, I'll be running with a i7 4770k (likely at stock speed), 16GB RAM and 1 SSD (will install one more in a few months).

 

[lehtv]

HX850 is high enough quality that it should handle 650W of DC load without issues. It may be a bit noisy while doing so but it should handle it nonetheless (and the dual cards will be noisy as well). If it chokes under pressure, it's RMA time... put that 7 year warranty to use. But it shouldn't.

What resolution are you planning to game at? If you're not running at least 1440p, you don't need more than a single card.

Running the 4770K at stock speed isn't a very good idea. You're planning to spend hundreds of dollars on high end graphics cards, but can't afford a $30 cooler to give the 4770K an overclock that takes 5 minutes to set up?

 

[vmhomeboy]

Hmmm ... that's interesting. This system will be connected to my TV, so it's only running games at 1080P. I'm trying ot build a system that will play pretty much anything at 1080P with graphics at max. From benchmarks I've seen, it seems as if one card could drop quite a bit under 60fps for a lot of games. You bring up a good point though. I should probably try out one first and then decide if a second card is really needed.

I'm going to have a good cooler on the 4770k, specifically the Noctua NH-U14S. I'm mainly interested at keeping the processor as cool as possible. My room can get a little warm over the summer, so I'm a little hesitant to overclock at the moment. I guess, like with the video card, I can try overclocking and see how it affects things.

 

[lehtv]

Definitely try a single card first. I can almost guarantee you'll be happy with it. Yes, some games will not have perfect minimum framerates, but often those situations are CPU limited anyway so a second 290 wouldn't help at all. In GPU limited scenarios, you'll only need to adjust a few settings to get back to 60 fps, and it's likely you won't even notice the difference in image quality.

What I do with my 7950 to achieve smooth framerates is I don't use MSAA at all (except if the game is super easy to run). I only use post-processing SMAA with Radeon Pro, its effect on framerates is minimal and the antialiasing quality is good enough for me.

I'm mainly interested at keeping the processor as cool as possible.

There's literally no benefit to keeping a processor cooler than what the stock Intel cooler is capable of at stock voltages. Typical load temperature for that scenario is about 80-85C which is low enough that the CPU will last decades before malfunctioning. Increasing voltage (which is necessary when overclocking) will reduce lifespan by some years, but it'll still become obsolete tech well before the end of its lifespan.

You should be able to get to 4.1-4.5Ghz with that cooler, depending on ambient temps and how good of an overclocker your chip happens to be. Monitor temperatures with a program like HWMonitor or HWinfo64, and verify that your temperatures stay at about 80-85C at most with a stress test such as Prime95.

I would still recommend overclocking if you only use one card. A stock 4770K is likely to limit an R9 290 in some games at that resolution.

 

[Z15CAM]

A quality 850W is more then enough for an OC'd single 290/X including running Pumps and fans ...etc and be sufficient for X-Fire 290/X's if you don't OC.

I run a 1050W PSU with X-Fire 290X's and drive 3 Pumps and 7 x's 140mm PMW Fans.

I say your PC Shop has it right. If you're serious about 290 X-Fire OC'g you need at least 1000W's

 

[NewYorksFinest]

Hmmm ... that's interesting. This system will be connected to my TV, so it's only running games at 1080P. I'm trying ot build a system that will play pretty much anything at 1080P with graphics at max. From benchmarks I've seen, it seems as if one card could drop quite a bit under 60fps for a lot of games. You bring up a good point though. I should probably try out one first and then decide if a second card is really needed.

I'm going to have a good cooler on the 4770k, specifically the Noctua NH-U14S. I'm mainly interested at keeping the processor as cool as possible. My room can get a little warm over the summer, so I'm a little hesitant to overclock at the moment. I guess, like with the video card, I can try overclocking and see how it affects things.

Meh, one R9 290 will be fine. At 1080p, an R9 280X should suffice.

 

[Pseudoics]

Same situation here so I'll ask for advice in this thread.

Quick Specs:
4770k OC (4.7ghz@1.25v, NH-U14S)
2 x 290 Tri-X OC (out of the box clocks)
CoolerMaster Real Power M850 <----- http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CoolerMaster/RealPower_M850/4.html

Playing Crysis 3 I'm seeing up to 740w total system usage. I'm unsure if this is pushing the PS too close to the limit. On the box it says 'Output Capacity 850w continuous' and 'Max Output 1000w' but I don't really know what to trust. Everything seems stable with limited testing so far. It is an old PS though and I've never had a problem, but never pushed it this much.

Is this unit good enough? What signs will it give me if I am too close to the edge? Overclocking the cards further is out of the question I'm sure, but I also like to game on a large 1080p Plasma (with gobs of AA) and performance is not an issue.

 

[Kenmitch]

Same situation here so I'll ask for advice in this thread.

Quick Specs:
4770k OC (4.7ghz@1.25v, NH-U14S)
2 x 290 Tri-X OC (out of the box clocks)
CoolerMaster Real Power M850 <----- http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CoolerMaster/RealPower_M850/4.html

Playing Crysis 3 I'm seeing up to 740w total system usage. I'm unsure if this is pushing the PS too close to the limit. On the box it says 'Output Capacity 850w continuous' and 'Max Output 1000w' but I don't really know what to trust. Everything seems stable with limited testing so far. It is an old PS though and I've never had a problem, but never pushed it this much.

Is this unit good enough? What signs will it give me if I am too close to the edge? Overclocking the cards further is out of the question I'm sure, but I also like to game on a large 1080p Plasma (with gobs of AA) and performance is not an issue.

If it's as old as the review you linked your probably pushing your luck.

It would be best to replace it asap.

 

[Z15CAM]

If the PSU is an 850W KM3 designed Seasonic, Corsair or XFX it can providing you don't exceed a single 290X under water other then that if you you go X-Fire under Water you require at least a 1050W KM3 PSU unit.

Other words an 850W KM3 PSU Unit will provide power for X-Fire 290/X cards if you you don't OC or run more then a single H20 pump and more then 5 x's 140mm fans.

Been there done it.

 

[deathbyburrito2]

I'm running 2xR9 290 on a Corsair HX750 with a 4770k everything is under water. It is pushing ~740 at the wall while mining, but much less while gaming. Should I have a bigger PSU? Maybe? Does it work fine and stay within the rating of the PSU? Yes.