Is it ok if you have PSU with more watt than you need?(begginer help needed):)

[PatrikVujicic]

Hey guys

So I've Built this PC gaming build http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9Hjfcf.
1600W Beacuse I will upgrade to 4way SLI when I will have enough money.
Question is if its ok if I have PSU with 1600W on only 1 card?Will there be some problem?
GPUs will be G1 GAMING from gigabyte gtx 980 ti when its released.
Don't worry I already have SSD.

 

[Jon-Doe]

Perfectly fine.
The components in your computer will only pull the amount of voltage they need from your psu and no more so they won't be hurt by it at all.
The wattage is only how much the supply is able to give and not how much it is constantly giving.

 

[Dunlop0078]

Yes, your wasting a lot of money but yes it will be fine but it my run at a lower than advertised efficiency due to such a low load. And just saying, 4 way sli is pointless the scaling is not there yet, 3 way is slightly less pointless but 2 way sli is still the best way to go in the vast majority of games.

 

[price_th]

Sure if your electric bill isn't a major concern. PSU efficiency depends on power load. 10% load will waist more power than at 50% load. This is also a function of your PSU efficiency rating e.g. bronze, silver, gold, Platinum etc.

 

[PatrikVujicic]

Yes, your wasting a lot of money but yes it will be fine but it my run at a lower than advertised efficiency due to such a low load. And just saying, 4 way sli is pointless the scaling is not there yet, 3 way is slightly less pointless but 2 way sli is still the best way to go in the vast majority of games.

Well I won't upgrade to 3 or 4 way SLI so fast.I'm thinking that way beacuse in future I'm sure 4 way will be needed.Beacuse there will be new graphic cards with more power.But I will just add the same card which will be cheaper in future and I will have no problem

 

[Vlad Rose]

It will work just fine. The only difference you may notice with the higher wattage power supply is a very slight increase in power usage from the wall due to being outside the PSU's efficiency band. All that means is your power bill might be 1 or 2 cents more... lol. It is still cheaper than having to replace the PSU later one due to it not being powerful enough after your upgrades.

 

[PatrikVujicic]

Perfectly fine.
The components in your computer will only pull the amount of voltage they need from your psu and no more so they won't be hurt by it at all.
The wattage is only how much the supply is able to give and not how much it is constantly giving.

Thank you for your help

 

[PatrikVujicic]

It will work just fine. The only difference you may notice with the higher wattage power supply is a very slight increase in power usage from the wall due to being outside the PSU's efficiency band. All that means is your power bill might be 1 or 2 cents more... lol. It is still cheaper than having to replace the PSU later one due to it not being powerful enough after your upgrades.

Thank you for your help

 

[RAZER Gamer]

No you will have no problems. In fact you are very sensible, most people on Tom's Hardware buy really rubbish cheap 500W PSU's and then eventually they will overheat or fail because they were badly made or they will run out of watts and have to upgrade to another PSU. 1600W is a huge amount of power but it's very safe and should be fine for a 4 way SLI. Also your brand choice is brilliant, everyone buys rubbish unknown brands and then they will have faults and issues, but EVGA is a great company, Corsair is also great for PSU's and components. EVGA is very reliable and should last you a long time. Your pc is going to be great, your specs are brilliant. You even went for the new GTX 980 Ti (great choice).

Hope your build goes ok, if you have any problems you know who to ask. Good luck and I hope I helped!

 

[PatrikVujicic]

Sure if your electric bill isn't a major concern. PSU efficiency depends on power load. 10% load will waist more power than at 50% load. This is also a function of your PSU efficiency rating e.g. bronze, silver, gold, Platinum etc.

Thank you for your help

 

[PatrikVujicic]

No you will have no problems. In fact you are very sensible, most people on Tom's Hardware buy really rubbish cheap 500W PSU's and then eventually they will overheat or fail because they were badly made or they will run out of watts and have to upgrade to another PSU. 1600W is a huge amount of power but it's very safe and should be fine for a 4 way SLI. Also your brand choice is brilliant, everyone buys rubbish unknown brands and then they will have faults and issues, but EVGA is a great company, Corsair is also great for PSU's and components. EVGA is very reliable and should last you a long time. Your pc is going to be great, your specs are brilliant. You even went for the new GTX 980 Ti (great choice).

Hope your build goes ok, if you have any problems you know who to ask. Good luck and I hope I helped!

Yeah I just wan't to have very good PSU beacuse I'm afraid if I buy cheap one its chance to break or destroy my system and I don't want that so I just spend more money on PSU so I will have no problem Thank you very much for your help

 

[Jon-Doe]

Yes, your wasting a lot of money but yes it will be fine but it my run at a lower than advertised efficiency due to such a low load. And just saying, 4 way sli is pointless the scaling is not there yet, 3 way is slightly less pointless but 2 way sli is still the best way to go in the vast majority of games.

Exactly. Dual graphics was put behind crossfire and such so that they could move forward to the future of 3 way and 4 way but it isn't there yet so it isn't necessary but there's no harm in preparing for the future. Although I recommend going dual and saving the money you're going t spend on the other two cards for the future cards to come out.

And buying a smaller psu because they do have a life expectancy so if it isn't necessary to have it throughout the next two years then it could be pointless.

 

[MarkW]

No wasted money. Just because a power supply can supply say 1000 watts, if your computer only needs 500 watts, then 500 watts is all the power the power supply will give it.

And in some cases, if you end up with a power supply that is running near 50% load, that is the most efficient way a power supply can function. Efficiency drops off both at the low end and at the high end of a power supplies capacity.

In your case, the 1600 watt power supply will just provide the 500 or so watts you need now, and as you add video cards, it will ramp up with them.

Now on to SLI... 2 way SLI is pretty efficient. 3 way SLI drops way off. and 4 way SLI is almost not even worth thinking about, much less paying for. About the only time people do 4 way SLI is reviewers and the very few that just do not care what they spend. In addition to the cost, you have to find 980ti cards that take up no more than 2 slots maximum, a Extended ATX motherboard with 8 slots with the PCIe layout needed to support 4 way SLI, and a case that will allow the 4th card to hang down below the last slot on the motherboard, plus has 9 slot openings on the back of the case. These items exist, you just have to find them and make sure they all have just the right things for this to work out.

 

[Dunlop0078]

Yes, your wasting a lot of money but yes it will be fine but it my run at a lower than advertised efficiency due to such a low load. And just saying, 4 way sli is pointless the scaling is not there yet, 3 way is slightly less pointless but 2 way sli is still the best way to go in the vast majority of games.

Well I won't upgrade to 3 or 4 way SLI so fast.I'm thinking that way beacuse in future I'm sure 4 way will be needed.Beacuse there will be new graphic cards with more power.But I will just add the same card which will be cheaper in future and I will have no problem

4 way sli will never be "needed". Or practical, or sensible. Its for people with more money than sense no offence that's just my opinion.

 

[Derza10]

Wow you put a lot of money into that computer and then got a $70 case heh, just found that funny. About the 1600w PSU, that is even overkill for 4-way 980 ti's (really not sure why you would go past 2-way especially if you are only using a 1440p monitor) A good quality 1200w would be plenty.

 

[RAZER Gamer]

Glad I could help, thanks for choosing me as the best solution Good luck with your build, I hope everything goes well!

 

[Jon-Doe]

Yes, your wasting a lot of money but yes it will be fine but it my run at a lower than advertised efficiency due to such a low load. And just saying, 4 way sli is pointless the scaling is not there yet, 3 way is slightly less pointless but 2 way sli is still the best way to go in the vast majority of games.

Well I won't upgrade to 3 or 4 way SLI so fast.I'm thinking that way beacuse in future I'm sure 4 way will be needed.Beacuse there will be new graphic cards with more power.But I will just add the same card which will be cheaper in future and I will have no problem

4 way sli will never be "needed". Or practical, or sensible. Its for people with more money than sense no offence that's just my opinion.

Yeah I would agree that 4 way will never be needed. Look at the titan black. I would buy that over 4 cards any day and it's just going to get better.

 

[PatrikVujicic]

The only thing I wan't to use SLI is beacuse I wan't to make use of 144hz monitor beacuse if I max out a game like GTA V I will have like 70FPS but to make use of 144hz I will need like 120FPS+(2 way SLI should probably be enough) Now think about future games like GTA 6 I will probably need 3 or 4 way SLI to make use of 144hz on maxed settings with 120FPS.

 

[Derza10]

The only thing I wan't to use SLI is beacuse I wan't to make use of 144hz monitor beacuse if I max out a game like GTA V I will have like 70FPS but to make use of 144hz I will need like 120FPS+(2 way SLI should probably be enough) Now think about future games like GTA 6 I will probably need 3 or 4 way SLI to make use of 144hz on maxed settings with 120FPS.

Doesn't really work that way... Assuming a base value of 100% with a single card - going from 1 card to two cards will give about 180% performance, 3 cards about 220%, and going to 4 cards will give maybe 240% depending on the game and in some cases going to 3 or 4 cards will actually reduce performance.

So you would be better off saving that ~$1300 dollars (the cost of buying 2 extra GTX 980 Ti's) and in 2-3 years when a game comes out that you feel needs more power, sell your current 980 TI's and get the new best video card (or two) with that $1300 + whatever you can sell your current GTX 980 Ti's for. This also lets you save another ~$250 on the PSU (a good quality 850w is plenty for SLI GTX 980 TI's and they are ~$80-$120)