1800+ Power Supply for quad Titan Z build

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Phoenix14

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Can't find one. The highest I could find was an EVGA 1600w on newegg.

Anyone know where I could get one at least 1800+?
 
I'm pretty sure you can run more than two if you aren't using SLI but for things like compute.

Four Titan Z is ~1500w minimum just for the cards at load, so adding in a powerful CPU and other components to use them to the fullest I'd probably be looking in the 1800w range, too.

The issue is finding one that gives that much power, and I can't find one with my limited time spent Googling. You'll probably end up needing to use two separate power supplies.

Be aware that you will need a 20A breaker to plug the system into, as you'll be very close to the maximum that a 15A breaker can safely provide. Your wiring will also need to be up to snuff, as well, but if a 20A breaker was installed, then the wiring should be sufficient if the installer wanted to pass inspection.
 
You will likely need to go with a dual PSU setup.

I don't know of anything bigger than 1600W.
 
If you're serious about this you need to realize most circuits in a house are 15 amps which is 1800W so you'd really want 2 PSU's anyways which each on its own circuit unless you have a 20 amp circuit to put them on with nothing else.
 
jedimasterben said:
Be aware that you will need a 20A breaker to plug the system into, as you'll be very close to the maximum that a 15A breaker can safely provide.
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You're forgetting efficiency... an 1800W 80 Plus Platinum unit would push a 20A breaker to the limit. I've clocked 1600W Gold units pulling 16A from the wall as is.

I'm not sure the UL would even pass such a beast without a specialized line cord that prohibited the unit from jacking into a 15A circuit. Or ran at 240V only, requiring even more specialized connections. No such units exist on the North American market at present, and I'm not sure they ever will. Aside from the certification hurdles, you'd then have to convince yourself as a PSU company that selling such a niche product would be worth it financially.
 
Dual PSU is the only reasonable idea. For such an expensive system I would not be saving pennies on power supply, Corsair AX1500i is the king of power supplies and just a good match to the queen of cards :). Two of them would definitely not look cheap comparing to the rest of the system. AX1500i has very high efficiency and up to 600W its fan even does not start. Two of them would be thus delivering at least 1200 W of silent power, and even with 2 000 W the power supply would be quiet.

Another issue is how to put the 4 Titan Z's together. Reference design is three-slot so four of them would not fit into standard mobos. EVGA has watercooled two-slot design. Due to enormous heat generation watercooling looks like the idea for such system but the radiator area would have to be significant.

BTW, four Titan Z's does not look like absolute limit of packing them into a single desktop mobo. Theoretically, after removing the DVI connectors the EVGA hydro design is single-slot. Removing DVI connectors would require desoldering them which is delicate operation but people were doing it so it can be done with care. After removing the DVI, by taking mobo with 7 PCIe slots (e.g. X99-E WS) it would be possible packing of 7 Titan Z's into a single system. Question would be then about operating system support for such build, it could be too much for Windows but should be doable in Linux. I would try to do it but funds required are :eek:. But just in case I already have the X99-E WS mobo with Xeon processor and temporary GTX 970 card, all powered by single AX1500i waiting for more expansion :).
 
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1800w is 15 amps at 120vac (technically more as it would not be 100% efficient), you cannot load a breaker to full capacity according to NEC/CEC. So that may be why they're hard to find. I would look at combining multiple 1600w units. I would run two dedicated 20 amp circuits just to play things safe. It might even be more efficient if you run them at 240 volts but not sure how much of a difference it really makes.

You'll also want very good ventilation in that room. Assuming you're actually loading those PSUs to near capacity (4 video cards will probably do that) it's like running a couple large baseboard heaters full pin.

You'll also want a massive UPS to protect that investment. Come to think of it, it may be easier to run a single 30 amp twist lock and get a commercial UPS.

If you're using power bars or extension cords ensure you use proper gauge. I would stick to 12 gauge to be safe.

But the real question is... will it run Crysis? :D
 
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Red Squirrel said:
1800w is 15 amps at 120vac (technically more as it would not be 100% efficient), you cannot load a breaker to full capacity according to NEC/CEC. So that may be why they're hard to find. I would look at combining multiple 1600w units. I would run two dedicated 20 amp circuits just to play things safe. It might even be more efficient if you run them at 240 volts but not sure how much of a difference it really makes.
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Such power supplies ar routine for server racks, there redundant power supplies there. Such servers obviously are residing in rooms with proper supply lines and breakers.

Red Squirrel said:
You'll also want very good ventilation in that room. Assuming you're actually loading those PSUs to near capacity (4 video cards will probably do that) it's like running a couple large baseboard heaters full pin.
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As described above, top range PSUs have very high efficiency nowadays so they do not emit a lot of heat. Good ventilation is needed to disperse heat from the graphics cards.

Red Squirrel said:
You'll also want a massive UPS to protect that investment. Come to think of it, it may be easier to run a single 30 amp twist lock and get a commercial UPS. If you're using power bars or extension cords ensure you use proper gauge. I would stick to 12 gauge to be safe. But the real question is... will it run Crysis? :D
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I think UPS would be needed if 24/7 operation is required. From the power supply point of view either redundant power supply or a significantly overprovisioned power supplies will ensure stable operation, note above my suggestion about 2x1500W. Dimensioning power supply to run on its limits is not a good idea for a very expensive system.

Now about the Crysis: this is interesting issue to which no ready answer can be found. Namely, having four Titan Zs in one system makes possible to connect a pair of them into SLI for gaming. Will the system operate correctly while there are two other Titan Zs not in the SLI?? Could it be run in such a way that the two which are not in the SLI will be running other apps while the SLI plays games? Finally, it would be even possible to connect two pairs of SLIs. How the system reacts to two pairs of SLI's, could they run in parallel two different games or there is a limit of one SLI per system?

Phoenix14 said:
Thanks guys.
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Would be interesting to hear if you move from theory into real implementation with such system.
 
The most you should really ever run on a 20 amp breaker is 2000watts, but the wiring has to be good as well. As long as the breaker is strong and the wiring has been inspected you can go to the max of 2000watts. Anything above that you'll need a 30amp twist plug and proper gauge wiring to go with it. Or two separate power runs to give you a max of 40amps, 20 per PSU. So with the biggest (1600watt) PSU x2 = 3200watts totall.

8.6amps = 1000watts (actual)

10amps = 1000watts (paper amps, safety amount built into the math)

Most houses only have 15amp breakers, newer houses have 20amps a lot of the time.
 
Red Squirrel said:
1800w is 15 amps at 120vac (technically more as it would not be 100% efficient), you cannot load a breaker to full capacity according to NEC/CEC. So that may be why they're hard to find. I would look at combining multiple 1600w units. I would run two dedicated 20 amp circuits just to play things safe. It might even be more efficient if you run them at 240 volts but not sure how much of a difference it really makes.
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AIUI PSUs are generally slightly more efficient at 240V. Also the lower currents will mean lower wiring losses in the building wiring (assuming you use the same size cable) and less chance of the pins on the mains inlet connector of the PSU burning out.
 
Phoenix14 said:
Can't find one. The highest I could find was an EVGA 1600w on newegg.

Anyone know where I could get one at least 1800+?
Click to expand...

Depending on what you use the Titan Zs for, in a real world scenario, about 500 watts per card could be required. If you tweak their clocks moderately you'll need about 550 - 600 watts (high over clocking =650 to 700 watts) per card. Then you'll also need power for everything else. To be safe, I generally use 400 watts for all else. Thus, to run 4 Titan Zs at stock in one system under full load, I'd suggest that you have 2400 watts of power (4x500 + 400) watts; I'd get two 1,400 - 1,600 watt PSUs. I have five Titan Zs and one Titan Black and am using 2x1000 and 3x750 watt PSUs for 3d work.
 
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Just throwing that out there, but since the cards draw power mostly from the 12v side and probably from the connectors you have to add to the card, maybe look at using a discrete 12v power supply for just the cards, something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/T-1500-12-S...837?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item485e52b0d5

You could run a couple of those. Make sure they arn't floating though, you want the negative to be ground. You'd probably want to fuse each card individually. You may be able to find even bigger power supplies, I just did a quick search for 100a 12v power supply to see what comes up. You'd have to do more research of course.

Whatever you end up doing, you should make sure to have a big analog volt meter somewhere to watch it go to MAXIMUM POWER when you power on that beast. :D
 
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