How much power do i need?

[jsackett]

Right now i have a 6800GS and i am going to upgrade my entire computer to
3800X2 - currently have
2x 7900GT
ASUS SLI x16 Mobo
WD 250gb hd
Ageia Physx card
20" Samsung LCD
4gb OCZ Ram


what are some good power supplys for this setup right now i have a 6800GS on an HP stock 300 watt ps and it runs pretty good but some times the power cuts out, i know for this setup i really will need alot of power so if you have any good ones let me know, i dont wanna spend more than 100 on the powersupply

 

[Effect]

With 4gb of RAM (why 4gb?, if i might ask), a PhysX card, and 7900GT SLI, i'd expect a budget higher than $100 for a PSU... There's not too many good choices i can think of in that price bracket (for your setup), but i'd look for a good Enermax, OCZ (Powerstream, a little outside $100, Modstream supposedly isn't as good), FSP (or Zalman rebranded FSP), silverstone,seasonic or an antec. I'd also suggest something over 500W to be safe. Also remember to check mobo manufacturer's site for compatibility. Someone else will prolly give you a more specific suggestion, but admittedly, i don't know too much about PSU's.

 

[Acanthus]

Honestly, unless you have a specific use for 4GB of ram, id drop down to 2GB and get a better power supply and cpu.

 

[DeathReborn]

http://www.xoxide.com/hiperpsu.html

I use 2 of these (one ran X1800XT CF and the other 7800GT SLI) and they will provide you with plenty of room to upgrade at a later date and keep the PSU.

You could get by on a decent 400W PSU but the Hiper Type-R 580W will give you room to overclock/voltmod and upgrade.

 

[BassBomb]

enermax liberty, fortron, pc power and cooling

dont get a phyx card yet

 

[swinger222]

I wouldn't get a Physx card. At the moment, they're just a gimmick and look as if they'll die soon. There are few games that support them. Also with the rumours that nvidia is planning to work in physics processorws into newer cards, you will be stuck with a piece of crap. If you're really sold on it, I would wait a few more months for the price to drop, then add it in later. Also, windows xp can only address about 3.5 gb of all that ram and you wont really get a performance increase. Like deathreborn said, get a hiper type-r 580w psu. They have nothing but good reviews and its sli capable. BTW where did you get your hiper psu DeathReborn?

 

[Praxis1452]

Seasonic 500W

 

[DeathReborn]

Originally posted by: swinger222
I wouldn't get a Physx card. At the moment, they're just a gimmick and look as if they'll die soon. There are few games that support them. Also with the rumours that nvidia is planning to work in physics processorws into newer cards, you will be stuck with a piece of crap. If you're really sold on it, I would wait a few more months for the price to drop, then add it in later. Also, windows xp can only address about 3.5 gb of all that ram and you wont really get a performance increase. Like deathreborn said, get a hiper type-r 580w psu. They have nothing but good reviews and its sli capable. BTW where did you get your hiper psu DeathReborn?

I bought mine at http://www.scan.co.uk (Black ones) they were £80 at the time. I upgraded from a Hiper 350W PSU that powered my old XP 2500+ & 9600 256MB.

 

[jsackett]

ok thanks ill look into those and i wont get the physix card, i have the 3800X2 already so i cant upgrade that, um anyone know anything about the Antec 550 watt truepowerII, its on sale at newegg or zipzoom

 

[Captante]

Antec is decent but not the best PSU around by any means, Seasonic & OCZ are both very good as are Fortron high-end units & if you want the best money can buy (a lot of money!) PC Power & cooling is the way to go.

Edit: As for how much power you need, while a quality 500 watt unit would likely do the job, I'd shoot for 600 watts with SLI.

 

[CP5670]

If you're willing to deal with the rebate, this 520W Powerstream comes out to $95 in the end and will easily power your system. I got one of these recently.

The 7900 GTs actually don't use all that much power unless they're voltmodded.

 

[ElFenix]

can windows even make use of 4 GB of ram?

 

[Cabages]

Just to point out, I wouldnt go SLI. Just get a single 7900GTX or X1900XTX and be happy with it.

Its also a little to early to make the call on the physx card, IMO.

 

[TheRyuu]

If your getting all that high end stuff, you must NEED that 1KW PC Power and Cooling PSU, right?

Just stick with the name brands. Seasonic, FSP, OCZ?, Pc Power and Cooling (they sell lesser ones that 1KW ), etc.

 

[Powermoloch]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
can windows even make use of 4 GB of ram?

does the 64 bit version handle that ?

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: Powermoloch

Originally posted by: ElFenix
can windows even make use of 4 GB of ram?

does the 64 bit version handle that ?

I thought that Windows (even the 32 bit one) CAN make use of 4gb of ram, just that any one program can't use more than 3gb?

 

[jsackett]

Ok then if i dont get 2 7900GTs should i get a X1900XT and overclock it to XTX speeds or just buy the XTX?, i kinda still want the SLI just because performance is alittle better but....

 

[Cabages]

Performance is a little better, in some games. But performance with a single card solution is better a lot of the time too.

You save money on the PSU, and the extra card.

I would say the X1900XT, then put it to XTX speeds. I will probably end up doing the same in the near future.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: jsackett
Right now i have a 6800GS and i am going to upgrade my entire computer to
3800X2 - currently have
2x 7900GT
ASUS SLI x16 Mobo
WD 250gb hd
Ageia Physx card
20" Samsung LCD
4gb OCZ Ram


...i dont wanna spend more than 100 on the powersupply

Welcome to the forums

Don't be a fool though.

You want to build a high end gaming machine, but you don't want a quality PSU to power it?

Sorry, but if you have money to burn on 4 GB of RAM (which you do not need for current or near future games), you'd better spend a wee bit more for a good PSU.

Here's my recommendation. FSP FX600-GLN 600W - $139.99 USD.

 

[jsackett]

ok, um ill probably just get 2 gigs then and spend more on the psu, what does ne have to say about OCZ powersupplies

 

[jsackett]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104155

like this one

 

[terentenet]

OCZ is good, Enermax is good, as long as it's 500W minimum. If I were you, I'd get a 600W+ PSU just to have some headroom, price difference is not big.
2Gb of RAM should do, I never saw my 2 gigs used 100% and I've tried.
Save some money from RAM, buy a better processor (A64 X2 4400+ or 4800+).

 

[akugami]

Let me put it this way. The power supply unit is the most important part in a computer system. Not the CPU, not the motherboard, not the video card but the PSU. You need clean and stable power if you want your computer to run stable (especially overclocked) as well as have more peace of mind that your computer won't blow out from a bad PSU. Now, even PSU's from PC Power & Cooling can die. That's just the nature of manufactored products since no product has a 100% rating as far as reliability. There are some that are bound to fail but you can drastically cut down the chances of something like that happening when you get a good PSU. So you think, what's the big deal. A PSU fails, I get a new one. Well my friend, the problem is that when a PSU fails it can send a huge jolt to the rest of your system in it's dying moment and fry other parts in your system. I've seen it happen first hand with a younger brother's computer as well as from one of my friends. Took out a HD and DVD drive on my brother's computer and fried the motherboard on my friend's computer. The PSU is like the heart of your system and pumps blood (electricity) to the rest of your system. When it dies, it's like sending poison down the veins of your system.

 

[jsackett]

Ok thanks ill probably get that OCZ Powersupply or an enermax one im still looking, um i already have the processor so i dont think i will be upgrading but i might buy a cooler and oc it

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: swinger222
I wouldn't get a Physx card. At the moment, they're just a gimmick and look as if they'll die soon. There are few games that support them. Also with the rumours that nvidia is planning to work in physics processorws into newer cards, you will be stuck with a piece of crap. If you're really sold on it, I would wait a few more months for the price to drop, then add it in later. Also, windows xp can only address about 3.5 gb of all that ram and you wont really get a performance increase. Like deathreborn said, get a hiper type-r 580w psu. They have nothing but good reviews and its sli capable. BTW where did you get your hiper psu DeathReborn?

I'd recommend a 500w or 620w Enermax Liberty. WinXP can address 4GB, it's just that most BIOSes currently map off 512-768MB of memory address space for peripherials, so WinXP reports 3.25-3.5GB of installed memory because that is all it can "see". That said, WinXP (32-bit) can only allocate 2GB of memory to any single program, so for games anything over 2GB is just plain overkill. Now if you want the best video encoding or Photoshop experience, then 3GB is a good place to be (1GB for the OS etc. and 2GB dedicated to Photoshop etc.). I suppose 4GB could futureproof you a bit for Vista if you have the extra cash just laying around.