unsure what GPU, case, and psu to purchase.

[anaheim]

i have ordered a pc for $650, its encased in a bitfenix prodigy (mini-itx i think), it came with an i7 3770, 8gb ram, a ~120gb ssd, a good 600w psu, and a GA-H77N-WIFI motherboard. it didn't come with a GPU so originally i was thinking a gtx 970, im australian so the cheapest i can get it is $440, however an option to buy a single 290x for $300 or two for $500 has arisen. from what i have gathered, the 290x is just a tiny bit worse than the 970, thus it is more logical to purchase the 290x over the gtx 970 due to the price difference being unjustifiable. however this is where it gets tricky, im super keen on getting the 2 r9 290x's however the motherboard that comes with it doesnt support crossfire, neither does the case, nor the PSU (insufficient wattage). i really want this build to be as cheap as possible however the crossfired 290x's seem super enticing. so, assuming that i go with the crossfired 290x's, is it possible to just add on a 200w psu so i dont have to buy an 800w psu? (it doesnt have to fit inside the case ofc) and if its not a possibility, which is the cheapest case that includes a 750w-800w psu? btw, if i crossfire the cards, i will be buying a new case either way, because i dont think there are any mini-itx motherboards that support crossfire, however if the case that comes with the pc ends up being micro-itx i think im ok to keep the case and motherboard (unless the case isnt big enough to support crossfire?).

 

[4745454b]

And people wonder why I only buy full size ATX?

They did make "booster" PSUs, but from what I've seen you are better off just buying a PSU of the size you need. They would slide into a 5.25" bay or two and provide up to around 450w depending on the model. But I haven't seen any of these in a very long time. Because they are older units they will lack the 8pin plugs you need for modern cards. Because they were so small, they used 40mm fans for cooling and were load as heck. Finally, they were nearly as expensive as a PSU anyways, so you didn't get to save much money. The 290s are 300W parts, so you'll need 600W just for the cards. The 3770 is another 77W, and I tack on 50W for the rest of the system so you are looking at a draw of just under 750W. I mentioned this because an 800W PSU will have issues with this. A really good 850W will be ok, but you might want to look into a 1kW unless they make 900-950W PSUs.

 

[anaheim]

And people wonder why I only buy full size ATX?

They did make "booster" PSUs, but from what I've seen you are better off just buying a PSU of the size you need. They would slide into a 5.25" bay or two and provide up to around 450w depending on the model. But I haven't seen any of these in a very long time. Because they are older units they will lack the 8pin plugs you need for modern cards. Because they were so small, they used 40mm fans for cooling and were load as heck. Finally, they were nearly as expensive as a PSU anyways, so you didn't get to save much money. The 290s are 300W parts, so you'll need 600W just for the cards. The 3770 is another 77W, and I tack on 50W for the rest of the system so you are looking at a draw of just under 750W. I mentioned this because an 800W PSU will have issues with this. A really good 850W will be ok, but you might want to look into a 1kW unless they make 900-950W PSUs.

why would an 800W psu struggle with a system that requires 752W of power? (yeh i calculated it)

 

[4745454b]

Because generally PSUs aren't built to handle years worth of near 100% load. They might handle it fine in an hour or two of testing. But most sites that test 100% output only do it for 15-30min. What if you use that PSU for 3-5hrs 2 days a week (on your weekends) for years? Can it still do that? On a good gold or platinum PSU with a 5-10yr warranty I'd saw sure. 850W is still a better idea. But a PSU with a 1-3yr warranty is a bad idea. General rules of thumb that I've seen is you want at least 100W or 10-20% extra/spare power. I generally shoot for 80% load. That is usually where a PSU performs best anyways. My system should draw around 325W, and I use a 80+ gold 450W which is close to the 80% figure I mentioned above. ~50W spare is just to close for comfort.

 

[uglyduckling81]

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/narre-warren-north/components/evga-gtx970-4gb-ftw/1075597696
This guy is asking $400 for his GTX970 so I think you could probably get it for an offer of $370-$380.
I saw a 290x on here go for less than $280 a couple of weeks ago. It sat there for about a month before it finally sold so I'm not sure what the guy ended up accepting.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/homebush/components/amd-r9-290x-crossfire-cards/1074276254
This guy is asking $600 for his 290x crossfire setup so you might be able to beat him down $20-$30 and get them for a pretty good price.

 

[4745454b]

Why would anyone buy that? Here is the FTW eVGA 970 NEW with the game for $352 after shipping and rebates.

http://www.tomshardware.com/community/pm/write?to=323958

Buying that used for $400 is stupid.

 

[uglyduckling81]

Clearly you didn't read his post. He is Australian. In Australia we get fleeced on everything we buy. The cheapest you can get a new 970 is $440.
I wouldn't pay $400 for a used 970 either but I have been watching for over a month now and throwing offers out at people of about $350 for a used one. They always sell within a couple of days for their asking price as far as I can tell.

 

[4745454b]

Ah, good point.

 

[anaheim]

Because generally PSUs aren't built to handle years worth of near 100% load. They might handle it fine in an hour or two of testing. But most sites that test 100% output only do it for 15-30min. What if you use that PSU for 3-5hrs 2 days a week (on your weekends) for years? Can it still do that? On a good gold or platinum PSU with a 5-10yr warranty I'd saw sure. 850W is still a better idea. But a PSU with a 1-3yr warranty is a bad idea. General rules of thumb that I've seen is you want at least 100W or 10-20% extra/spare power. I generally shoot for 80% load. That is usually where a PSU performs best anyways. My system should draw around 325W, and I use a 80+ gold 450W which is close to the 80% figure I mentioned above. ~50W spare is just to close for comfort.

oh fair enough dude cheers

 

[anaheim]

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/narre-warren-north/components/evga-gtx970-4gb-ftw/1075597696
This guy is asking $400 for his GTX970 so I think you could probably get it for an offer of $370-$380.
I saw a 290x on here go for less than $280 a couple of weeks ago. It sat there for about a month before it finally sold so I'm not sure what the guy ended up accepting.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/homebush/components/amd-r9-290x-crossfire-cards/1074276254
This guy is asking $600 for his 290x crossfire setup so you might be able to beat him down $20-$30 and get them for a pretty good price.

haha they never reply, the pc i bought was off gumtree, its such a good site for us struggling aussies that don't want to pay 838478234 dollars for a decent gpu, I've been asking the guy selling the 970 about it for weeks now and he never responds aha, and the 290x deal is gone 🙁

 

[uglyduckling81]

Yeah cards come and go though. Probably been 20x 290x's come and go in the month I've been watching. Maybe 10 970's.
If you don't want the latest model I'm betting a whole lot of 290x's will be coming up when the 300 series launches.