Dual 5870 i7 system?

[w_willgress]

hello all,

wondering what would be the smartest power supply for a system including;

asus blu ray/dvd writer
2 asus 5870 rog 2g matrix cards
950 i7
2tb wd caviar black
asus rampage3 rog formula mobo
and a raid 0 config of ssd drives yet to be decided on


TIA!

Will

 

[sp12]

If you've not bought GTX 460 SLI eats 5870 crossfire for the price (and often beats it outright!), and if you're triple monitor gaming the 460s beat it in performance too. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/181?vs=163

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/17/geforce_gtx_460_sli_vs_radeon_hd_5870_cfx_5760/

Considering the 460s are ~210 each and the 5870 is ~500 each, IMO it's a no-brainer.

 

[w_willgress]

thanks for the video card advice but really not the issue , what power supply should i go for was thinking Coolermaster Silent Pro Gold 1000W SLI CrossFire 80+GOLD is this good or over kill?

 

[Juanchioo]

XFX 850w Black Edition

 

[sp12]

You sure it's not an issue? Those 460s are 40% of the price but offer 105% of the performance on average.

IMO the XFX black edition 850 would be the hot buy right now.

 

[w_willgress]

already bought the two 5870. I guess what i want is a rock solid power supply is 1000 w too much or 850 a safe great power supply?

 

[spentshells]

well Im amazed at those #'s and if you are out of your mind with cash and play @ 2560 then for sure you would want 5870's anything less it seems like a waste wow I'm impressed

 

[Juanchioo]

with 850w u can run 2 5970... lol i tink that awnser ur question

 

[photonboy]

850W is about right. I agree. Corsair is a good choice.

Points:
1) the 2GB versions add NO performance value. It's been benchmarked. It is purely a marketing gimmick. All benchmarks were within about 1%, however that extra 2GB total of VRAM will add a lot of heat thus noise to the fans.

2) I have a single HD5870 and most games. I'm running most games at their top settings. I wouldn't trade the extra fan noise for the boost in the few games that would benefit from an extra card. I'd keep the HD5870 and upgrade in a year or two (the rest of your system needs no upgrading obviously)

3) the HD6000 series is coming soon. You may wish to consider something like the HD6870 1GB if it's a slight boost to the HD5870

4) I'd prefer NVidia if they can get their Idle consumption power down. They too might have something better before Christmas but I'm not sure what they can do with their huge die size.

Summary:
- get 1GB, not 2GB cards
- 850W Corsair

 

[photonboy]

RAID0:

After extensive testing I believe the following is the best performance and value to a gamer:

1) 60GB SSD, OCZ Vertex 2 (for Windows 7, no games)

2) 2x1TB RAID0 (for games, backups, and multimedia)

 

[Juanchioo]

u dont need raid 0....

 

[w_willgress]

Thanks for your thoughts and advice!! Much appreciated!!

 

[spentshells]

850W is about right. I agree. Corsair is a good choice.

Points:
1) the 2GB versions add NO performance value. It's been benchmarked. It is purely a marketing gimmick. All benchmarks were within about 1%, however that extra 2GB total of VRAM will add a lot of heat thus noise to the fans.

2) I have a single HD5870 and most games. I'm running most games at their top settings. I wouldn't trade the extra fan noise for the boost in the few games that would benefit from an extra card. I'd keep the HD5870 and upgrade in a year or two (the rest of your system needs no upgrading obviously)

3) the HD6000 series is coming soon. You may wish to consider something like the HD6870 1GB if it's a slight boost to the HD5870

4) I'd prefer NVidia if they can get their Idle consumption power down. They too might have something better before Christmas but I'm not sure what they can do with their huge die size.

Summary:
- get 1GB, not 2GB cards
- 850W Corsair

the 2GB cards are for use with eyefinity and is noticeable when you res up to the big #'s like 3 screens wide

 

[w_willgress]

Good to know, Any advice on how to hook up a Dell UltraSharpTM 3007WFP-HC with dual dvi inputs ? would i take an output from each of the cards in CF or just from one? I am trying to figure if a large single monitor 30" is better than three 24" led lit monitors as i would roughly be the same cost .

 

[sp12]

You just connect with with a dual-link DVI cable to a single input.

In general, yes as the 30in is IPS whereas all of the current LED panels use low-quality TN panels.

 

[dragon5677]

how about a 5970 or 2 gtx 470.
carosair 850w the new ones which are 80+ gold

 

[w_willgress]

Best answer selected by w_willgress.