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Another "I Has Nuff Powa?" Thread

M

m0d

n00b
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
3
Before I start let me say that I know you guys are all SICK of people asking you this question, over and over again for different setups and I'm very sorry for having to do so but... unfortunately I have done a lot of research on this and all the answers I have gotten differ so wildly that I need some solid confirmation or otherwise of said question in order to go through with a purchase.

Basically I am putting together a new rig and I am going to be getting 3-way sli'd GTX 580 3gbs. I am most likely not going to overclock those right away, but I probably will later should the need arise. I am going to be getting an i5-2500k which I do plan to overclock to around 5GHz 24/7 (This isn't my first build and i know how to OC safely and stably so I don't need to hear the "it no safe 2 run 24/7 at 5 mannn, too many voltages, it gon' fry!" I'm certainly not gimping on cooling anyway so it won't be an issue. And on the same note I'm not looking for any "Das wayyy too much gwafix, u no need so much!" Done ranting now.) I only plan on having 2 SSDs, 16gb of DDR3 @ 2133MHz, and I will most likely have around 8 high powered 12V fans and a bunch of USB peripherals.

The PSU I was looking at to power all this is the Corsair AX1200 Gold. I would really love to use this PSU since I am a big fan of corsair and I find their products to be of high quality. I know that the PSU has enough amps across the 12V rail to handle all 3 cards with no problems and it does have enough connectors.. But what I'm wondering is whether or not 1200w will give me enough headroom to run everything and give me some space to overclock quite heavily if I feel like it. I'm going to be gaming in 5760x1080 so the graphics cards are going to be getting quite a work out..

If 1200w isn't enough, then the only other option that I would be consider is the Silverstone ST1500 which is a 1500w power supply. Honestly I would rather not get this PSU unless it was absolutely necessary, since it adds a whole new dimension of issues, "Will this behemoth fit in my case", "Will I need to upgrade my wall socket so it doesn't burst into flames", "Will I inadvertently destroy the world" and so forth... Plus I'm not familiar with Silverstone products aside from a few 120mm fans I had once so I'd rather not "take a risk" in that sense unless as I said it's an absolute necessity.

So tell me so I can be sure once and for all. Will the Corsair AX1200 be totally solid for what I'm planning?

Thanks again for your patience with this thread. ;)
 
I think you will be fine with the AX1200. Now, the ST1500 comes with 2 cables. 1 for 20A outlets and 1 for 15A outlets. Make sure your outlets can power 1500W or it is useless.
 
WozniakMac said:
I think you will be fine with the AX1200. Now, the ST1500 comes with 2 cables. 1 for 20A outlets and 1 for 15A outlets. Make sure your outlets can power 1500W or it is useless.
Click to expand...

Odd, the one I had for review only came with one and it was a retail unit:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/09/01/silverstone_strider_st1500_1500w_power_supply_review/1

OP: Assuming your circuit breakers are working properly and you have the ST1500 on 15A circuit, and somehow draw more than ~1800W peak or ~1400W continuous, you won't have to worry about "Will I need to upgrade my wall socket so it doesn't burst into flames"
 
Thanks for the replies, my understanding of the ST1500 vs my wall sockets has been cleared up quite a bit :)

However, only one person has answered my real question which is do I even need the ST1500. Is the AX1200 in fact powerful enough to power everything I listed while heavily overclocked?
 
The GTX 580s won't pass ~320W max each due to the bios power throttling function.. add to that the fact that SandyB is anything but a power hungry platform and it's safe to say that 1200W would be plenty for your rig.. however, I'd go with a HCP 1200 ;)

edit: spelling
 
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AX1200 is enough for quad-SLI'd non-overclocked GTX 580's on a typical overclocked i5 2500k system. I would say the 1200w is enough for overclocking the 580's.

HCP1200 is better, but I would go with the AX1200 for Corsair's customer service and warranty.

Tip: next time, don't post explanations, it makes the post longer than necessary, and makes people less willing to read through it. Just post your system specs with your planned power supply, and we'll tell you what will work and what won't. If you really feel the need to explain yourself, then have a short and straight-to-the-point part, and then have your explanation. Then, those that actually care to read through the explanation can, while those who will just be providing advice can refer to the short section and not have to waste time reading through the post.
 
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