Is my PSU powerful enough for 9800 GX2?

[bubbabigsexy]

I am going to get a 9800 GX2 at the end of this month. I have an Asus Maximus motherboard and a Q9450. My current PSU is a 650W Seasonic that a bought a few months ago. Will this be powerful enough or do I need to buy a new PSU?

 

[QuixoticOne]

Should work ok AFAICT.

http://www.tomshardware.com/fo...52055-33-power-9800gx2

well I've seen the GX2 max load at around 360-380 depending on system, now the Q6600 runs around 100 watts when all 4 cores are maxed. So I'd personally say no. the 500 Watt seems to be a Tad too low. Ocing will be out of the question as well.

But the 9800GX2 has a recommended 600W PSU
http://www.evga.com/products/m...%209%20Series%20Family

Here's what NVIDIA themselves had to say about this issue, and a list of PSUs that will work:

QUOTE
The minimum recommend PSU for the GeForce 9800 GX2 is 580 watts. For two GeForce 9800 GX2 cards, we recommend a minimum PSU of 850 watts. You should use a higher rated power supply if your system has power hungry CPUs, hard drives and other devices.
The GeForce 9800 GX2 requires both a 6-in and 8-pin PCI-E power connector for proper operation.

PSUs that will work:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/g...800gx2_pwr_supply.html

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1032486098
A single 9800 GX2 does not require 40A on the12v rail for itself, but rather 40A total on the 12v rail for the entire system. 40A x 12v = 480 watts. The 9800 GX2 does not draw /anywhere/ near 480 watts, even heavily overclocked under full load. The 40A recommendation includes a generous buffer intended to keep those who buy trash PSUs from shooting themselves in the foot quite so badly, since many units that claim 40A on the 12v rail likely can't produce more than 25-30A reliably.

In reality, you'll be seeing more like 350-380 watts at the wall under full load on a system with an overclocked quad core. Assuming 80% efficiency, that's 280-304 watts internal draw for the entire system. Given a PSU is rated for its capacity for internal draw, not draw at the wall, it seems reasonable that a quality 650-700 watt unit actually capable of consistently providing its rated output could support quad SLI with a pair of 9800 GX2s.

Is it a good idea? No. Running your PSU past ~70% of its capacity is rarely if ever a good idea, and I don't recommend anyone try this. Just saying, it should be possible.

 

[sgrinavi]

I had a 9800gx2 on my x48 board with a q6600 & three hard drives using a HX620 PSU.. You will probably be fine