I need help with choosing a good graphics card..

[PCMasterRaceDude]

So, I've figured out what I want to get and I'm almost done... only problem is I'm new to building computers and do not know if this is all compatible and will work together well, as well as I am missing a graphics card. No specific price, just not crazy expensive. Aiming to get around 850-900 max for the computer in all, here is the amazon wish list:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/19YLPT9ECEJOU/ref=topnav_lists_1

Any and all help is appreciated.

 

[MADD617]

No, what it IS is that 75% of builders are noobs and will choose the cheapest F'king PSU they can get, or one that looks "shiny" like the Raidmax units, and install that POS into their rig along with a two to four hundred dollar card and in at least SOME of those cases, even with with a crap unit, if it's WAY over what's necessary, maybe some of them will actually live to see the second boot sequence.

Considering that if they only said 550w, and knowing most novice builders aren't going to use a 550w or better EVGA, XFX, Seasonic or other quality unit, but will slap a POS Corsair CX or builder series, or worse, a Thermaltake Smart series or TR2 unit, they hope by exaggerating the spec to keep their RMA's down when it's really the PSU and not the card.

I've got a really bad 430W (actually a 300W unit and burns out at 380W) Thermaltake PSU which came with my Thermaltake V4 case. I didn't know anything at the time, as my dad got if for me when I was 10 lol.
5 years later, no issues at all. Maybe i'm lucky. My system only needs 222W according to Cooler Master's PSU calculator.
I'm getting it replaced with a 750W Evga Supernova Gold (overkill but it's good and cheap) along with a new GPU and CrossFire in the future.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Make sure it's the G2 series. The G1 series is not much cheaper, but not nearly as good. And it's certainly not overkill for any system that's got a decent overclock or dual cards.

 

[MADD617]

Make sure it's the G2 series. The G1 series is not much cheaper, but not nearly as good. And it's certainly not overkill for any system that's got a decent overclock or dual cards.

Yeah, I'm getting the G2.
I use Cooler Master's PSU calculator and it showed 440W for the R9 280 (which is what i'm getting) + another one for the future = 640W. 110W is probably not overkill but more than I would need.
I'll have a 5th gen (i7 most likely) by then which use much less power than my current i7 870 (95w).

 

[Darkbreeze]

750w is minimum for that card in CF. 850w would be much better, especially if you plan to overclock OR allow the boost features to remain enabled. While 750w meets the minimum requirements, if you game for long periods of time with the GPU under high loads you may find the PSU to be quite loud and possibly struggle with near capacity demand. It will work, but consider that with the amount of heat generated, everything, including the PSU, case fans, cpu cooler and GPU fans are going to be running at much higher speeds and drawing an increased amp load as compared to when it's run at average levels.

I know a lot of people will pull out their calculators and say, aw, it really only needs this much, but honestly, with overclocking or dual cards, too much is never too much.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDFAQs&op=FAQ_Question&ndfaq_id=3

 

[MADD617]

750w is minimum for that card in CF. 850w would be much better, especially if you plan to overclock OR allow the boost features to remain enabled. While 750w meets the minimum requirements, if you game for long periods of time with the GPU under high loads you may find the PSU to be quite loud and possibly struggle with near capacity demand. It will work, but consider that with the amount of heat generated, everything, including the PSU, case fans, cpu cooler and GPU fans are going to be running at much higher speeds and drawing an increased amp load as compared to when it's run at average levels.

I know a lot of people will pull out their calculators and say, aw, it really only needs this much, but honestly, with overclocking or dual cards, too much is never too much.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDFAQs&op=FAQ_Question&ndfaq_id=3

CF?
And Linus says that a higher wattage PSU can be less efficient when it's not necessary.
The 850W Supernova G2 is 33 AUD more, might look into that.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I give a damn what Linus says, I'll trust Jonnyguru over Linus any day of the week when it comes to power supplies. If you read that link you saw this:

Is there such a thing as "too much power"?

◦Generally, no. A power supply only puts out as much power as needed by the system's components. In some cases, an 800W power supply may actually use less power from the wall than a 500W power supply, depending on the efficiency of the units. Often times, buying an "oversized" PSU is a good choice due to it's ability to perform even under higher temperatures, a quieter fan because the unit is delivering a lower percentage of it's total capability and considerable system upgradability without having to worry about having enough power when upgrading a graphics card, adding a graphics card for SLI or additional hard drives.

In any case, any PSU with the fan running full throttle because it's near capacity and it's hot, is going to be pulling more from the wall than a unit with it's fan running low or cycling off and on because it's nowhere near capacity.

R9 280 (which is what i'm getting) + another one for the future =

CF = Crossfire

 

[garryash]

I have no problems running my Sapphire dual x r9 280X with an XFX 550w non modular PSU.

 

[Darkbreeze]

NOT in Crossfire you won't. We're talking about crossfire, not a single card configuration.

 

[MADD617]

Yeah I read that.
I think Linus is wrong with this one too. Didn't he say power supplies are designed to constantly give out it's maximum capacity? Wouldn't that mean overvolting or something?

But wait, you're saying 550W for 1 R9 280 is more than enough, but 2 of them with 750W is minimum?
So even if 500W is sufficient for 1, you're saying 250W more is minimum when the card uses 200W?

 

[Darkbreeze]

They don't double the capability of the performance, and they don't pull twice the power. The configurations used to calculate PSU requirement depend greatly on the card and the scaling of the card when it's paired up. These numbers at the following link are the direct result of much testing, not just a bunch of numbers they decided to throw on a page to make it look important, as some people seem to think. Not you, other people.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

There are a couple of figures that are a little higher than what is "really" necessary, by about 50w, but for the most part, it's pretty much in line with recommendations found from a variety of sources.

Here's the thing, as an example, I live in Southern Colorado and I know I can drive from my house to Denver on half a tank of gas. I know that 99% of the time that's enough to get me from here to there. However, I'd be bone dry by the time I got there. If there is excessive head winds, unforeseen traffic, bad tire, a problem with the engine driveability causing poor fuel mileage or any number of other unexpected issues that occur, I'm not going to have enough fuel to get there without crapping out. That's why I fill the tank before I leave. Just in case. It's a good idea.

It's also a good idea to have a little more juice in the tank when it comes to your PSU. Just in case. It's a good idea. Having more capacity than you need will never cause any harm. Having too little, could easily have negative effects.

 

[MADD617]

They don't double the capability of the performance, and they don't pull twice the power. The configurations used to calculate PSU requirement depend greatly on the card and the scaling of the card when it's paired up. These numbers at the following link are the direct result of much testing, not just a bunch of numbers they decided to throw on a page to make it look important, as some people seem to think. Not you, other people.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

There are a couple of figures that are a little higher than what is "really" necessary, by about 50w, but for the most part, it's pretty much in line with recommendations found from a variety of sources.

Oh ok, thanks for the link.
Edit: My 210 GPU shows 300W, at least i've got a 300W PSU which is named under 430W lol.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Edited the above post.