Require advice moving to a new base platform regarding PSU.

[finngrace]

Hey, all. I'm planning a new base system upgrade to possibly an X99 or Z170 platform. As it stands, my peak load is around 720W and idles at around 250-270W (tested using 3DMark's Firemark Ultra, monitored using Corsair Link).

My main question is whether I should upgrade my power supply in conjunction with the upgrade to the base system. I'm quite content with it and have been using it for about 3 years now.


If I move to the X99 build, I'm not thinking about overclocking heavily as it seems to use more power off the bat, but if it matches my current board's power draw I should still be fine for moderate overclocks. If I move to the Z170 build, I'm definitely thinking about heavy overclocking.

My current specifications are below:

Current Specs
CPU: AMD FX-8350 @ 4.6GHz
GPU: 2x EVGA GTX 780 SC 3GB GDDR5 (Reference cooler)
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3
RAM: 4X 4GB KLEVV DDR3 1600MHz
PSU: Corsair AX860i 860W
Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme
Storage: 2x 120GB Intel 520 Cherryville in RAID 0
Fans: 6x Corsair AF140 WLED, 1x Corsair SP120 High Performance (in CPU cooler)
ODD: Generic LG Blu-Ray drive

My current choices in potential hardware are:
X99
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K
Mobo: EVGA X99 Micro2, or MSI X99A SLI Krait, or ASUS X99-A/USB3.1
CPU Cooler: Cryorig R1 Ultimate, or Corsair H110i GTX
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 2400MHz

Z170
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K
Mobo: ASUS Z170-DELUXE, or EVGA Z170 Classified K, or ASRock Z170 Extreme7+
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GTX
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 2400MHz

 

[N3rdR4ge]

z170 has stronger single core performance and higher base clock. z170 has a slight advantage over x99 in terms of gaming. x99 blows z170 out of the water with things like rendering. either platform will benefit from overclocking and have fairly similar gaming performance out of the box or overclocked.

your power supply is more than enough. the intel z170 processors usually take less wattage than the amd fx-8000 series. if anything, you will require less power.

you also want to look at the motherboard you are buying and find out if it is quad or dual channel in terms of memory. quad channel = best with 4x4gb dual channel = best with 2x8gb. most z170 boards are dual channel, most x99 are quad channel.

air cooling is the way to go. water cooling is expensive and gives little advantage over a good air cooler like the cryorig r1. plus theres no chance your air cooler will leak and destroy your components.

 

[R_1]

that is a tier 1 power supply.
I would go with it. that unit has a 7 year warranty and isn't middle aged yet.

 

[Karadjgne]

Absolutely no worries with that psu, its among the higher ranked tier1 psus and is plenty for sli 780s. If anything, a move to Intel will require either the same power or less, x99 being 140w vrs amd 125, and z170 around 100w. Won't be an issue.