SLI power supply required with only 1 video card?

[stim]

I am building a new system and I'm probably going to get a SLI board. I just have a couple of questions before I buy a power supply.

I'm only planning on using one video card initially, but I might upgrade to two of them in the future. I've been looking at this power supply. It's not rated for SLI, but will it work OK if I'm only using one video card?

I know that the stickied P/S guide on this forum said that some of the SLI board manufacturers recommend 400w power supplies not including any additional components... When I use this calculator, it says that I need a 380w power supply. Is this including the motherboard?

Thanks!

 

[nigelf]

an antech @ 500W should be enough. If you do want to SLI you should maybe go for something more powerful, depending on the cards you get.

 

[pengwin]

yah, smart power 500 is more than sufficent.


which cards do u plan to SLi?

 

[stim]

yah, smart power 500 is more than sufficent.


which cards do u plan to SLi?

Thanks for the input guys.

Honestly, I will probably never run 2 cards. I just want to keep the option open in case I would like to add one in the future.

 

[Crashman]

A decent 500W power supply can usually power two card that require the 6-pin cable if you use a splitter. Maybe not two 7900GTX's though.

 

[pengwin]

yah if u wanna run 2 7900GT sure but like dual X1800's would be pushing it, dual X1900's is not possible.