How much power would I need for this setup?

[LintMan]

I'm planning a (mostly) new system and wondering how beefy a PS I need to get.

My current plan:
Intel E6700 processor (I'll likely try to do some OC'ing with it, but not hardcore)
Zalman 9500 HSF
EVGA 680i MB
4GB DDR2-800 RAM
8800GTX video card (possibly an OC'd one)
SB X-Fi sound card
Raptor 10K RPM hard disk
2x WD 7200RPM hard disks
2x Lite-On optical drives (DVD+/-RW, CD-RW/DVD combo)
3.5" floppy

I'm also kicking around the possibility of getting a quad core Q6600 or Q6700, if I allow myself to go nuts now, or at some future upgrade point.

I'm thinking about getting one of the Seasonic PS's, maybe a modular one. My guess was wanting something in the 600-700W range. But I don't know if thats overkill or underkill.

Also, if you buy a larger PS than you need, is it wasting that extra power? (ie: if you have a 700W PS but only need 500W, is the supply wasting that extra 200W?)

 

[DfiDude]

I would probably recommend a 700W power supply just to be future proof. Mabe this one. Its got good effeciency so the rails and voltages are stable under load. This is also a good power supply, got a lot of powerful rails that will keep your system stable. Just my two cents.

 

[yosuke188]

Try here.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: DfiDude
I would probably recommend a 700W power supply just to be future proof. Mabe this one. Its got good effeciency so the rails and voltages are stable under load. This is also a good power supply, got a lot of powerful rails that will keep your system stable. Just my two cents.

heh i always take the rule of thumb. The bigger the better Hence why im dropping a Silverstone Op1000 in my QX.

But to be honest, the 8800GTX requires a lot of power. My original build was going to be based off the 700W seasonic, which blew. But from recient reviews on the Corsiar 620W, i hear thats enough to power 2 8800GTX's and a OC X6800, so that might be the best bang in your price range if you dont intend on adding more hard drives.

 

[LouPoir]

Good 600 watt PS

 

[LintMan]

Thanks all. From that online calculator yosuke188 linked, it looks like a 600W would be good, but I might go 700W just for the headroom, thought that still wouldn't be enough for an OC'd QX6700!

 

[RallyMaster]

Corsair HX620W

 

[orion23]

Get a 700W, if not, OCZ even has an 850W unit out there.......And getting a good 700W unit when requiring only 500W does not mean "a waste" in any way. Your system will only use what it needs.

Dump the 9500 LED fan and get yourself a tuniq tower 120 or the newer 9700LED.

Save your money, and change the E6700 for an E6600 since the difference in speed is not worth the money, and an E6600 can give you 3.2ghz EASILY.

 

[us3rnotfound]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
Corsair HX620W

Woah, Corsair makes power supplies? :Q

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: us3rnotfound

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
Corsair HX620W

Woah, Corsair makes power supplies? :Q

Well, they don't actually "make" them. The Corsair PSUs are manufactured by Seasonic, and they are very good PSUs.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo

Originally posted by: us3rnotfound

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
Corsair HX620W

Woah, Corsair makes power supplies? :Q

Well, they don't actually "make" them. The Corsair PSUs are manufactured by Seasonic, and they are very good PSUs.

able to handle 2 8800GTX + an OC X6800 would constitute it higher then very good. Id say near excellent in its power range.

 

[Gautama2]

Originally posted by: us3rnotfound

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
Corsair HX620W

Woah, Corsair makes power supplies? :Q

Where have you been lol?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i'd take the corsair 620 or the PCPC 610 if you dont plan on doing gtx sli, if you are... save yourself the trouble for later and get the PCPC 750

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: LintMan
I'm planning...

I'm also kicking around...

I'm thinking about...

My guess was...

Also, if you buy...

Heh!

This is obviously a pipe dream!

Get the biggest PSU you can imagine...

 

[AstroGuardian]

Bear in mind that regular 8800GTX wastes almost 500W by itself. Add the CPU and the disks. I would say that you need at least 750 maybe 800W PSU or better.
Don't play games with your ultra-expensive build.

 

[LintMan]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
Heh!

This is obviously a pipe dream!

Get the biggest PSU you can imagine...

Heh. The quad core might be a pipe dream, but the rest of the system isn't. I already have some of the components. Most of my "likely's" are because I'm still open to suggestions. I'm ready to pull the trigger on the rest as soon as I can decide what I want.

But deciding is taking some time - I haven't found my ideal motherboard or case (thanks in part to you ) yet . I'm just obsessive about putting together the right system: It's gotta hold up well for at least the next two years, since for marital harmony purposes that's about as soon as I'll be able to upgrade after this. At the same time, though, I don't want to pay double/triple for super high end that might be discount-rate in 9 months. Hence my waffling on the quad core. (Though I already know that will likely happen with the 8800GTX).

But getting the biggest PSU I can imagine.... hmmm. The Antec P190 comes with a 1200W supply, doesn't it? Two problems solved!

 

[Operandi]

Reality check; a Core 2 Extreme QX6700 + 8800GTX consumes 321 watts (AC) under full load (READ HERE). Buying a PSU a 700-800 watt PSU when you can only effectively use 50% of it's power is a sad waste of money.

LintMan a good 350-400 watt PSU would run your setup fine (380 watt Seasonic S12). If you want some more overclocking heardroom the 500 watt M12 or S12 would be plenty.

 

[AstroGuardian]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Reality check; a Core 2 Extreme QX6700 + 8800GTX consumes 321 watts (AC) under full load (READ HERE). Buying a PSU a 700-800 watt PSU when you can only effectively use 50% of it's power is a sad waste of money.

LintMan a good 350-400 watt PSU would run your setup fine (380 watt Seasonic S12). If you want some more overclocking heardroom the 500 watt M12 or S12 would be plenty.

Check this out friend:

"DailyTech previously reported NVIDIA recommends a 450-watt power supply for a single GeForce 8800GTX graphics card"

you can read more here:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4442

Hmm... this kinda confuses me. I am sure i read on Anandtech that dual 8800GTX in SLI should not be run unless you have 800W psu.

Any "less confusing" reviews?

 

[Boyo]

You will need a minimum of 500W to run that rig. I would recommend a 700W PSU. Better to be on the safe side with a rig like that. Nice specs BTW. Great system. Good luck.

Read jonnyguru for the Seasonic M12 700W. That's my two cents.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: AstroGuardian

Originally posted by: Operandi
Reality check; a Core 2 Extreme QX6700 + 8800GTX consumes 321 watts (AC) under full load (READ HERE). Buying a PSU a 700-800 watt PSU when you can only effectively use 50% of it's power is a sad waste of money.

LintMan a good 350-400 watt PSU would run your setup fine (380 watt Seasonic S12). If you want some more overclocking heardroom the 500 watt M12 or S12 would be plenty.

Check this out friend:

"DailyTech previously reported NVIDIA recommends a 450-watt power supply for a single GeForce 8800GTX graphics card"

you can read more here:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4442

Hmm... this kinda confuses me. I am sure i read on Anandtech that dual 8800GTX in SLI should not be run unless you have 800W psu.

Any "less confusing" reviews?

Thats nVidia's baseline recommendation for all PSUs. A lower quality (cheaper) 350-400 watt unit could have problems but a good 350-400 watt Enhance will have no trouble running a single 8800GTX system.

As far as SLI Corsair (Seasonic built) has already shown off their 620watt unit running an 8800GTX system in SLi.