nVidia SLI Power Supply Needed

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Eidolon

Member
Jan 10, 2000
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I'm in the process of SLIing two GeForce 7900 GTX 512 MB cards togeather. I'm currently running an FX-53 (Socket 939) CPU, two SATA hard drives, one DVD drive off of an Antec TrueBlue 480W power supply. Is this enough power or am I going to have to up the PSU more? I'm hoping I won't need more power, but it certainly seems possible that I may have to.

Anyone who knows anything about this let me know - thanks.
 
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Tig Ol Bitties

Senior member
Feb 16, 2006
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Your 480W isnt going to cut it in the long run I dont think, it'll probably work, but when artifacts start appearing, you'll know why. Id say no less than 550W and 38A on the 12V rail...if its dual 12V rails, then there should be at least 19A on each to run those 2 cards. Unless you're getting the PC Power and Cooling 510W, which is rather expensive still, then no less than 550W "respectable" vendor PSU just to be safe. OCZ power supplies are nice, I have a 600W SLi-Ready one, maybe the 520 might be able to run those cards, but you might still be pushing it a bit. Seasonic, Enermax, and Hiper are respectable PSU makers as well. Depends on how much you're willing to spend, but I would not run those two cards on that 480W of yours. That Antec recommended is a great PSU, my cousin and I had one and hes still running two 7800 gt's on them after 6 months. Your cards will probably require a bit more power, but it'll probably handle it alright...you can find out for us lol.
 
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batmanuel

Platinum Member
Jan 15, 2003
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See that stickied power supply thread up top? I bet there is a ton of useful info in there. :)
 
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Eidolon

Member
Jan 10, 2000
62
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I read that stickied post and it was filled with nothing definitive enough to say I should definitely get one now as opposed to wait and see. That's why I asked - I'm not being some toolbox who doesn't read the stikies.

Anyway it sounds like I'll prolly need a 550W... I'll probably TRY it on my 480W and see how it goes, but I'm expecting it to fail and freeze up as of right now.
 
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Cheesetogo

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2005
3,824
10
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I run two 7800gts in sli on a 420 watt enermax, so that psu might be able to run those cards.
 
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Tig Ol Bitties

Senior member
Feb 16, 2006
305
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goodness, get a new psu. That PSU "max" is 480W...doesnt mean its gonna push that much. If you look at the output ratings on that page you linked, your rails will only push a max of 460W. Watts arent everything, but you only got a single 12V rail thats only giving 22A which is quite low, especially for 2 video cards.

Yea, i notice people are running 2 cards on some of the lowest output psu's, but it really depends if you want to take that risk. Your PSU could fry and take other components down with it, so I suggest 550W just to be safe w/ at least 18A (dual rails) or >32A (single rail) on the 12 V line. If you're gonna spend so much on 2 top of the line cards, why go cheapo on the PSU to power them, especially if that PSU has the ability to kill the rest of your computer????:confused:
 
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Eidolon

Member
Jan 10, 2000
62
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I wasn't planning on it, just clarifying that I only had one rail and was reading this correctly and making sure that the extra 100 dollars for a PSU was necessary.

So yeah, I'll look into which new PSU to get soon. Thanks for your help.
 
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Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
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A PSU with a single 12V rail isn't necessarily insufficient. However, most new PSUs do have multiple rails.

How much can you spend on a PSU?

The Enermax Liberty EL500AWT and Seasonic S12-500 can handle it... barely.
 
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Eidolon

Member
Jan 10, 2000
62
0
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I CAN spend any amount I want to (I mean I bought two friggin 7900 GTXs haha)... I'd prefer to keep it under $100, or $150. I'm looking at that Antec PSU and I'll look at some other good PSUs over the next couple days. If anyone has a specific recommendation, please feel free to post it here.

Thanks.
 
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TheRyuu

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2005
5,479
14
81
Seasonic S-12 600w. Very nice PSU (i got one, and I'm running SLI)

If you want it sleeved (cause the S-12 isn't), you can get one from performance-pc (for a little more money, ok it's $200 for the 600w one sleeved)
 
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alimoalem

Diamond Member
Sep 22, 2005
4,025
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i'm sure the fortron 500w and the enermax liberty 500w will be enough. seasonics and antecs are good too...go for 500w-550w
 
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