Which Power Supply Unit should I buy?

[Guest]

Hi, I'm fairly new to system building, but I want to turn my PC into more of a gaming PC - as in an Intel IvyBridgeE i7 Processor and 4 AMD Radeon 7970GHZ edition GPUs. Obviously, this will need a good PSU. I would really like a fully modular PSU, but try to keep it as cheap as possible! I know that I'm asking for alot, but under £200 (or $) would be best.

Thanks!

 

[tiny voices]

You do not need an i7 or 4 GPUs to max games. A single 7970 and an i5 will max games with no problems at all.

 

[austing]

Hi, I'm fairly new to system building, but I want to turn my PC into more of a gaming PC - as in an Intel IvyBridgeE i7 Processor and 4 AMD Radeon 7970GHZ edition GPUs. Obviously, this will need a good PSU. I would really like a fully modular PSU, but try to keep it as cheap as possible! I know that I'm asking for alot, but under £200 (or $) would be best.

Thanks!

I'd recomend nothing short of 80+ Gold 1000W powersupply.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151105&Tpk=seasonic%201000w&IsVirtualParent=1

 

[jnkweaver]

post removed

 

[jnkweaver]

For a single 7970 system you need a good 500W power supply with a 6-pin and 8-pin connector. I would recommend the XFX 550w. About 53 pounds at multiple dealers http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

For a semi modular single you go to the XFX 650 about 70 pounds http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1650xxxb9


If you decide to cross fire (2x 7970's) then you need a good 850W with 2 x8-pins and 2x 6pins. The XFX 850 Gold is good at 127 pounds http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/Modular+700-950W/850W+XFX+Pro+Black+Edition+80PLUS+Gold+Modular+Power+Supply+%5BP1-850B-BEFX%5D+?productId=54051&source=skinflint

 

[tiny voices]

For a single 7970 system you need a good 500W power supply with a 6-pin and 8-pin connector. I would recommend the XFX 550w. About 53 pounds at multiple dealers http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

For a semi modular single you go to the XFX 650 about 70 pounds http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1650xxxb9


If you decide to cross fire (2x 7970's) then you need a good 850W with 2 x8-pins and 2x 6pins. The XFX 850 Gold is good at 127 pounds http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies/Modular+700-950W/850W+XFX+Pro+Black+Edition+80PLUS+Gold+Modular+Power+Supply+%5BP1-850B-BEFX%5D+?productId=54051&source=skinflint

OP said he plans to run 4 7970s which is stupid and unnecessary by itself, but 1000w won't even do it. A single 7970 will run on 550w no problem. The card pulls a max of 391 watts.

 

[giltyler]

The single most skimped on part is always the power supply
Buy a large quality powersupply and then when you upgrade later you will not have to worry.
If you build a rig with I7 and quad 7970 1200 watts is needed and possibly not enough with Water Cooling and other factors.

 

[jnkweaver]

It is unnecessary to do 4 7970's. You would need 1500W or more and the only ones I could find in the UK were unsuitable. The were either poor brands or too many rails. You need a LEPA 1600W gold for that setup. The only use I could see for a rig like that would be bit mining.

 

[tiny voices]

The single most skimped on part is always the power supply
Buy a large quality powersupply and then when you upgrade later you will not have to worry.
If you build a rig with I7 and quad 7970 1200 watts is needed and possibly not enough with Water Cooling and other factors.

Wrong. 900w would run that setup.

 

[giltyler]

The single most skimped on part is always the power supply
Buy a large quality powersupply and then when you upgrade later you will not have to worry.
If you build a rig with I7 and quad 7970 1200 watts is needed and possibly not enough with Water Cooling and other factors.

Wrong. 900w would run that setup.

You may need to re think that answer. Those cards would never run on 900 watts.

 

[jnkweaver]

The single most skimped on part is always the power supply
Buy a large quality powersupply and then when you upgrade later you will not have to worry.
If you build a rig with I7 and quad 7970 1200 watts is needed and possibly not enough with Water Cooling and other factors.

Wrong. 900w would run that setup.

You are the one who said one card pulled a max of 391W. 4x 391 =1564W. Where do you get 900W as being enough?

 

[tiny voices]

Each GPU pulls a max of 390w. In crossfire, they will both never run at full 100% at the same time.

Edit: I thought we were speaking about 2 in crossfire. My bad LOL

 

[jnkweaver]

Each GPU pulls a max of 390w. In crossfire, they will both never run at full 100% at the same time.

Edit: I thought we were speaking about 2 in crossfire. My bad LOL

No problem thats why I deleted one of my posts too.

 

[giltyler]

391 must be a typo I have read several reviews and the highest 7970ghz is 319 maxed.
As pointed out above only one or two of the four may stress that hard.

While we are talking over the top GPU rigs look at this guys rig. http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Best-Gaming-PC-SLINKY-SUPERCOMPUTER-Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-TITAN-Quad-SLI-/300847429965?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item460be7794d

 

[tiny voices]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/618 GHZ edition pulled 429w in Metro 2033