PSU for 7800 GTX SLI

[Spankymcbob1]

Is 500w enough for two 7800 GTX's in SLI? I just got a scrap am2 bould that is sli capable, and I was gonna use two of these cards for fun.

 

[Robert Cook]

from what I could find the the TDP on those chips is 81W each, so you are looking at no more than 95W per card. you should have ample power.

have fun with the old hardware!

 

[ko888]

NVIDIA's published requirements for two GeForce 7800 GTX cards in 2-way SLI mode is a minimum of a 550 Watt or greater system power supply with a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 30 Amps or greater and with at least two 75-Watt 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

 

[Robert Cook]

NVIDIA's published requirements for two GeForce 7800 GTX cards in 2-way SLI mode is a minimum of a 550 Watt or greater system power supply with a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 30 Amps or greater and with at least two 75-Watt 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

I read that as well, but it does not make much sense. lets say the cards somehow use 120W each, that still in no way gets near 500W unless you have a 9590 for a CPU. also those cards only take a single six pin. from the pictures I could find. I guess they were playing it safe on the rating?

 

[ko888]

NVIDIA's published requirements for two GeForce 7800 GTX cards in 2-way SLI mode is a minimum of a 550 Watt or greater system power supply with a maximum combined +12 Volt continuous current rating of 30 Amps or greater and with at least two 75-Watt 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors.

I read that as well, but it does not make much sense. lets say the cards somehow use 120W each, that still in no way gets near 500W unless you have a 9590 for a CPU. also those cards only take a single six pin. from the pictures I could find. I guess they were playing it safe on the rating?

Back 12 years ago, when that card was released, the PSUs combined +12V capacity was a lower percentage of the PSU's total capacity. It isn't the PSU's total power capacity that matters. The PSU's maximum continuous +12V capacity is the most critical spec.

The GeForce 7800 GTX is a 110 Watt TDP card.

NVIDIA uses an Intel system with a 130W TDP processor in their reference system specs and bases their power supply requirements based on that reference system.

A current day PSU like the Corsair Vengeance 400 would have no problem powering a system with two GeForce 7800 GTX cards in 2-way SLI mode.

 

[Spankymcbob1]

I was looking at that psu but I can't find anywhere to buy it

 

[ko888]

I was looking at that psu but I can't find anywhere to buy it

The Corsair Vengeance 400 is European market only.

In other markets the Corsair CX450M is considered its closest equivalent.

 

[Spankymcbob1]

Thanks, I'm probably gonna get the Seasonic S12II and move it to a system after I'm done messing with the project for a while.