How Much Do You NEED?

[frostedflakes]

System uses about 250W at the wall while fully loading CPU and GPU. The PSU is a Seasonic X-650, heh.

I knew it would be serious overkill, just got it because NewEgg had a good deal going with this PSU and a case I wanted, and I like the low noise and high efficiency of the X series PSUs. With the kind of load I put on the X-650, the fan rarely even has to turn on. And it's nice to have the extra PSU headroom in case I ever decide to do SLI/Xfire or something more demanding like that.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I have the HX1000, I don't even think the fan ever kicks in under full usage 8)

 

[tomoyo]

I still have an "old" HX520, awesome psu. Fan never ramps at all even at full load. And I think my system is still mid-rangeish with an oced 3.0ghz core 2 and radeon 6850. I think my max power draw is generally around 250 watts or so, but I haven't measured in a while or worked on undervolting my video card properly yet.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

nVidia

GeForce GTX 580 - 40A and a 600W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 570 in SLi - 55A and a 750W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 570 - 35A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 470 and 480 in SLi - 55-60A and a 850W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 480 - 42A and a 600W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 470 - 38A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 465 in SLi - 46A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 465 - 30A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 460 in SLi - 42A and a 650W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 460 - 26A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce GTS 450 in SLi - 35A and a 600W PSU minimum
GeForce GTS 450 - 24A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce GT 430 - 22A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 295 in Quad SLi - 70A and a 1000W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 295 - 50A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 285 - 46A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 280 in SLi - 55A and a 800W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 280 - 40A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 275 in SLi - 50A and a 800W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 275 - 40A and a 550-600W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 260 OC in SLi - 50A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 260 OC - 40A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 260 in SLi - 50A and a 700W PSU minimum
GeForce GTX 260 - 38A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce GTS 250 - 32A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce GT 240 - 35A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce GT 220 - 30A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 9800 GX2 - 35A and a 550W PSU minimum
GeForce 9800 GTX+ - 32A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce 9800 GTX - 25-30A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 9600 GT - 26A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 9600 GSO - 26A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 Ultra - 35A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GTX - 30A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB - 28A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GTS 320/640MB - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GT in SLi - 36A and a 500W PSU minimum
GeForce 8800 GT - 26A and a 450W PSU minimum
GeForce 8600 GT/GTS - 24A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 8500 GT - 22A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7950 GX2 - 27A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7950 GT - 22A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7900 GTX - 22-26A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7900 GTO - 22-26A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7900 GT - 22-26A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7900 GS - 22-23A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7800 All - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7800 GS AGP - 20A and a 400W PSU minimum
GeForce 7600 GT - 22-26A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7600 GS - 15-17A and a 350W PSU minimum
GeForce 7300 GT - 15A and a 300W PSU minimum
GeForce 7300 GS - 15A and a 300W PSU minimum

ATI/AMD

Radeon HD 6970 - 34A and a 550W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6950 - 30A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6870 CrossfireX - 38A and a 650W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6870 - 28A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6850 CrossfireX - 35A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 6850 - 25A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5970 CrossfireX - 70A and a 900W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5970 - 50A and a 600W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5870 CrossfireX - 55-60A and a 700W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5870 - 40A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5850 CrossfireX - 55-60A and a 650W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5850 - 35-40A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5830 - 35-40A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5770 - 34A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5750 - 30A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5670 - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5570 - 24A and a 350W PSU minimum
Radeon HD 5450 - 22A and a 300W PSU minimum
Radeon 4890 - 32A and a 550W PSU minimum
Radeon 4870 X2 CrossfireX - 1000W PSU minimum
Radeon 4870 X2 - 600W PSU minimum
Radeon 4870 - 32A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon 4850 - 30A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon 4830 - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon 4770 Crossfire - 34A and a 750W PSU minimum
Radeon 4770 - 26A and a 400-500W PSU minimum
Radeon 4670 - 26A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon 4650 - 24A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
Radeon 4550 - 20A and a 300W PSU minimum
Radeon X3870 X2 - 30A and a 550W PSU minimum
Radeon X38xx series - 28A and a 450W PSU minimum
Radeon X2900 XT Crossfire - 45A and a 800W PSU is recommended for high-end rigs
Radeon X2900 XT - 35A and a 500W PSU is recommended for high-end rigs
Radeon X2900 Pro - 35A and a 500W PSU minimum
Radeon X2600 XT - 25A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon X2400 XT - 20A and a 350-400W PSU minimum
Radeon X1950 XTX - 20A and a 420W PSU minimum
Radeon X1950 Pro - 20A and a 420W PSU minimum
Radeon X1900 XTX - 25A and a 520W PSU minimum
Radeon X1900 XT - 22-25A and a 520W PSU minimum
Radeon X1900 GT - 22A and a 400W PSU minimum
Radeon X1650 Pro - 18A and a 350W PSU minimum

700W - 1000W

Enermax Revolution 85+ ERV1250EGT 1250W - 104A from 6 +12v rails
Enermax Revolution 85+ ERV1050EWT 1050W - 87A from 6 +12v rails
OCZ Z Series 1000W - 83A on a single +12V rail
Corsair TX 950W - 78A on a single +12V rail
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 910W - 74A on a single +12V rail
Corsair HX 850W - 70A on a single +12V rail
Corsair TX 850W - 70A on a single +12V rail
OCZ Z Series 850W - 71A on a single +12V rail
XFX 850W Black Edition - 62A on a single +12V rail
Corsair TX 750W - 60A on a single +12V rail
XFX 750W Black Edition - 62A on a single +12V rail
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W Quad - 60A on a single +12V rail

300W - 650W

Corsair TX 650W - 52A on a single +12V rail
Seasonic X-Series 650W - 54A on a single +12V rail
XFX 650W XXX Edition - 52A on a single +12V rail
Corsair CX 600W - 40A on a single +12V rail
Corsair VX 550W - 41A on a single +12V rail
Corsair CX 500W - 34A on a single +12V rail
Corsair VX 450W - 33A on a single +12V rail
Corsair CX 430W - 28A on a single +12V rail
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 420W ATX - 30A on a single +12V rail
Corsair CX 400W - 30A on a single +12V rail
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 370W ATX - 27A on a single +12V rail

^found this on tomshardware

 

[Concillian]

[... big list...]
Radeon HD 5770 - 34A and a 500W PSU minimum
[...more list...]
Radeon 4850 - 30A and a 450W PSU minimum
[...it just keeps going...]

Wat?

Some of these requirements crack me up. My 4850 used significantly more power than my 5770 does, but AMD puts a higher requirement on a 5770? BTW, they've both been used fine on 380W PSUs. The 500W for a 5770 requirement has an enormous CYA factor tacked on. My entire system with a 5770 is only pulling about 150-170W from the wall when in game, according to the good ol' Kill-a-Watt, which is probably closer to 130-150W output from the PSU.

 

[tomoyo]

Those numbers are absolutely ridiculous period. The only legit number for a video card is the actual measured power consumption for the card itself. I'd most likely divide all those numbers by HALF. Guessing the total system power needed is stupid because each system has different requirements.

 

[Elfear]

I measured 770W from the wallplate running the Stalker: COP benchmark. I'm right at the edge of what I consider comfortable with an 800W PSU. I tend to agree that you want to buy a PSU with a decent buffer in mind. Somewhere between 20-25%.