Wattage for SLI

[Cytagasm]

Hey guys

I'm sorry to ask this, but I've been having such a hard time trying to find an answer to this question and I really need the help!

I'm putting a new build together and my specs are:

i7 2600k
8 gb ram 1600mhz
MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67
1TB Samsung HD103SJ SpinPoint F3

My plan is to grab a geforce 560 now and then chuck another one in SLI mode in a year or two to spice up my system a bit.

However, the problem I have is I've found hundreds of different suggestions as to what power supply to get for an SLI set up. The PSU I had in mind was:

700W OCZ ModXStream Pro Modular Silent SLI/Crossfire Ready ATX2.2 Power Supply

I was informed on one site I'd need a PSU rated at 1 kW, whereas elsewhere I was told that 700 watts would suffice. I've tried different sites to calculate what wattage (and thus amperage) I'd need and looked at nVidia's official recommendations for minimum wattage etc but none of it seems to add up!

Can anyone shed light on this? Thanks in advance

 

[blackhawk1928]

The maximum power consumption of a Nvidia Geforce GTX560 is 150watts, SLI would be 300. A 650-700Watt would be fine. However make sure you get a quality PSU that stands up to its rated power output, meaning a good brand.

 

[photonboy]

Some points:

1) micro-stuttering: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

2) It's not just the Wattage, but also the Amps. You must add up the Amps for all the graphics cards. A PSU should supply at least 1.25x this number to be safe. For example, A GTX570 uses 38A so I recommend at least 48A.

For Wattage you can use an online calculator to estimate. There's several good ones.

3) Newer cards from AMD and NVidia are coming which use far less power than present:
- AMD 7000 series Q4 2011
- NVidia 600 series Q2 2012

Summary:
- IMO there are too many issues with SLI and Crossfire, in particular micro-stuttering. Invest in a single graphics card. Articles which show the cost of two cards as being "30% better" than a single card do not take into account the quality of the game experience. In particular, the frame rate may be high but then so too is the stuttering.

- New cards coming. I recommend one of these for a great gaming system that costs between $200 and $400 (depending on the benchmarks)

- PSU: Wattage from online calculator. Amps are at least 1.25x that of the graphics card (Amps for the +12V rail. Often printed on the side of the PSU)

 

[delluser1]

Hey guys

I'm sorry to ask this, but I've been having such a hard time trying to find an answer to this question and I really need the help!

I'm putting a new build together and my specs are:

i7 2600k
8 gb ram 1600mhz
MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67
1TB Samsung HD103SJ SpinPoint F3

My plan is to grab a geforce 560 now and then chuck another one in SLI mode in a year or two to spice up my system a bit.

However, the problem I have is I've found hundreds of different suggestions as to what power supply to get for an SLI set up. The PSU I had in mind was:

700W OCZ ModXStream Pro Modular Silent SLI/Crossfire Ready ATX2.2 Power Supply

I was informed on one site I'd need a PSU rated at 1 kW, whereas elsewhere I was told that 700 watts would suffice. I've tried different sites to calculate what wattage (and thus amperage) I'd need and looked at nVidia's official recommendations for minimum wattage etc but none of it seems to add up!

Can anyone shed light on this? Thanks in advance

You need 4 x 6 pin connectors

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%20600036444&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&CompareItemList=58%7C17%2D371%2D051%5E17%2D371%2D051%2DTS%2C17%2D341%2D041%5E17%2D341%2D041%2D12%23

 

[blackhawk1928]

Some points:

1) micro-stuttering: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

2) It's not just the Wattage, but also the Amps. You must add up the Amps for all the graphics cards. A PSU should supply at least 1.25x this number to be safe. For example, A GTX570 uses 38A so I recommend at least 48A.

For Wattage you can use an online calculator to estimate. There's several good ones.

3) Newer cards from AMD and NVidia are coming which use far less power than present:
- AMD 7000 series Q4 2011
- NVidia 600 series Q2 2012

Summary:
- IMO there are too many issues with SLI and Crossfire, in particular micro-stuttering. Invest in a single graphics card. Articles which show the cost of two cards as being "30% better" than a single card do not take into account the quality of the game experience. In particular, the frame rate may be high but then so too is the stuttering.

- New cards coming. I recommend one of these for a great gaming system that costs between $200 and $400 (depending on the benchmarks)

- PSU: Wattage from online calculator. Amps are at least 1.25x that of the graphics card (Amps for the +12V rail. Often printed on the side of the PSU)

If the power supply uses a single +12V rail then the current supplied will take care of itself...all you need to know is wattage.

If the power supply uses multiple +12V rails, you would then need to see the current draw from each card and make sure the individual rails can handle such power.

 

[Pilk]

Try looking at Corsairs range or seasonic they are the better and higher rated PSU"S also 700W should be more then adequate bear in mind the new core i7's are based on intels 32NM architecture this makes for a more power efficient CPU, as-well as the 6 series sandy-bridge chipset, all work together to be very power economical. Another thing the Samsung spinpoint uses the new eco drive technology so you have a lower RPM rate which makes for a slightly lower power consumption at 5400 RPM's

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/productTypeList.do?group=72&type=94