Fermi - GTX 480 / GTX 470 Power Supply Unit / PSU Buying Guide @ [H]

Great read and thank you for your hard work. It take a little of the guess work out of purchasing PC components.
 
It is a shame you didn't read the article. We articulated the point of sizing in the article.
Good for you.

Since you missed the points here is a quick rundown of why you do not understanding sizing a power supply:
You are mistaken.

1) Each person's system will vary
Really?

2) Those numbers you are throwing about are static numbers (with very inaccurate equipment) and not include any transient load values
Which inaccurate equipment, yours ?
I'll take "my numbers" from the internet, Slientpcreview, Hardocp and other psu review sites.
And yes, i take "recommendations" about the need for a very powerfull PSU from HardOCP, Guru3D and others with "a grain of salt". You wouldn't believe for example, what my poor old cheap ass 350watt PSU from Aopen did muster, without a hitch, all the time i used it (three years or so).

3) People upgrade systems!
Some more often then others, others once every three a four year. Why not
put in a 1500watt PSU to begin with! Insurance guarenteed :eek:

4) As power supplies age they lose capacity (there is a much longer version of that but it would be wasted here)
I know. I knowe also that a good PSU does not loose it's power that quick. Hardly a valid argument. It would count if you put a 400watt PSU in a system that takes almost 400watt, then you are indeed asking for troubles. A 550watt PSU for a 400/450 watt consuming PC is more then adequate to do the job for a long time.

6) Power distribution within the system and power supply vary from unit to unit and system to system
As your review show, PSU's also almost always producer more watts then there's written on the box. Again, you are making a point over nothing; nitpickking; that it is.

7) Noise output increases with load
True, but a good PSU can handdle 70 a 80% powerdrawn easily; atleast; it should.
If not, maybe you should put more weight to it so that manufactures do a better job in the future.

8) Power supplies derate with increases in operating temperature
A PSU should be able to handle the power it's made for; otherwise it's pure marketing what
is written on the box. When i buy a car with a V12 engine, sure that's gonna run hot when your
"put yout feet on it". Then again, it's made to deliver that power and performance; no excuses for a""hot running Rod".

9) And to your point and the number one reason you should care (given the complaining about amount of power needed) is efficiency curve's peak at around 40-60%
May a laugh a minute here ? You really care about powerconsumption ?
Yeah right. We don't want that a current eatring monster like the GTX470/480 don't waste even
more current, now do we :D

No, it's better to nickpicking, over 1 a 2% more efficiency. That's really gonna help! (not)

You know, at our forum, you would not believe this, i am more concervative then others regarding PSU recommendations. But what i see here and at other sites; i only can say one thing: "it's over the top".

Some examples:

Review HD5870
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1036-page5.html

> Shows that it consumes around 330watt maximum under full load (with furmark more then normally occurs)
So what can handle 330watt ?

All of the below, easaly!

400watt Corsair CX
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1008-page5.html

-Runs a litle hot, but nothing to worry about. Make some more noise, but that goes for your videocard also.
The latter will produce much more noice so it's likely you don't hear the PSU but, the fan from the videocard spinning
with Dba quickliy rising to far beyond 50 Dba. Compare that to the 35Dba of the PSU....

Enermax Eco80+ 500watt
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article994-page4.html

-a litte better overal.

Seasonic X-650
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article986-page4.html

-Good numbers. The Seasonic also shows that up to 80% load, aroud the 500watt AC mark, this PSU
delivers current without any trouble; the noise and heat are no issue at all!

The only thing you see, with all these cpu's; is 2% less efficiency then a PSU at the efficiency max.
Well, 2% of 330 watt for example; is a lousy 7watt.

Compare that to the douzens of watts the GTX 470/480 consume more then their rivals from ati.
Then you get a idea why a call some of your statements as "nickpicking & ridicilous".

ow, and last but no least. A good PSU shuts itself off when it can't deliver what it is ask for, without damaging the pc. That what makes the
difference between a good and a crappy PSU. Just like incidents involving power failures etc.etc.
 
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You are mistaken.

Actually based on your response you don't read the reviews published nor do you know what you are talking about, but here goes one last attempt.



Ya really, that is why it is a guide.


Which inaccurate equipment, yours ?
I'll take "my numbers" from the internet, Slientpcreview, Hardocp and other psu review sites.

That is great and if you understood anything about what was going on you would know that none of the sites mentioned when determining power draws for GPU's do it correctly (where are the hall effect ammeters on each lead simultaneously recording the current? The probes on the traces for the PCI-E slots to simultaneously the current?). Sticking a Kill-A-Watt between a PC and the wall does not give you an accurate number for power draw as Kill-A-Watt's claimed accuracy is very poor and its real world accuracy is even worse. We have seen Kill-A-Watt's give efficiency values of more than 100% in the past when really the units should have been in the 80% range.

Our numbers for PSU reviews are accurate, but that equipment costs many thousands of dollars comapred to the $20 people pop down on a Kill-A-Watt.

So yes, you are flat out wrong and so are most numbers bandied about for power consumption.

And yes, i take "recommendations" about the need for a very powerfull PSU from HardOCP, Guru3D and others with "a grain of salt". You wouldn't believe for example, what my poor old cheap ass 350watt PSU from Aopen did muster, without a hitch, all the time i used it (three years or so).

That is great, if you don't like the recommendations because you don't understand what is actually occurring then feel free to not use them but don't sit here and tell those of us who do understand that you do know what is occurring.

I know. I knowe also that a good PSU does not loose it's power that quick. Hardly a valid argument. It would count if you put a 400watt PSU in a system that takes almost 400watt, then you are indeed asking for troubles. A 550watt PSU for a 400/450 watt consuming PC is more then adequate to do the job for a long time.

Way to contradict yourself, and since aging is just one component in the reasons listed it is most definitely part of the valid arguement made.

As your review show, PSU's also almost always producer more watts then there's written on the box. Again, you are making a point over nothing; nitpickking; that it is.

Actually, no our reviews do not show that PSU's produce more than is written on the box as we do not overload PSU's (some can do more than their derating curve suggests but this, like an overclock, is not guarenteed and does not always occur in specification). If you are going to try and make a point please at least read what you claim to have as you are misrepresenting material facts.


True, but a good PSU can handdle 70 a 80% powerdrawn easily; atleast; it should.
If not, maybe you should put more weight to it so that manufactures do a better job in the future.

The point still stands.


A PSU should be able to handle the power it's made for; otherwise it's pure marketing what
is written on the box. When i buy a car with a V12 engine, sure that's gonna run hot when your
"put yout feet on it". Then again, it's made to deliver that power and performance; no excuses for a""hot running Rod".

Whoopie? Derating curves exist and power supplies derate with increases in temperature. It is a fact of life get used to it, and move on. The point still stands.


May a laugh a minute here ? You really care about powerconsumption ?
Yeah right. We don't want that a current eatring monster like the GTX470/480 don't waste even
more current, now do we :D

No, it's better to nickpicking, over 1 a 2% more efficiency. That's really gonna help! (not)

Again the point is correct and you are just whining. Don't bring up power as your big concern and then complain when one component out of a list of reasons it isn't enough.

Forrest......trees......anyone....anyone? Bueller?



ow, and last but no least. A good PSU shuts itself off when it can't deliver what it is ask for, without damaging the pc. That what makes the
difference between a good and a crappy PSU. Just like incidents involving power failures etc.etc.

And a PSU that shuts down hardly runs your system. Also, good power supplies do die. I had a very large brand name 1200W+ powersupply blow out on the secondary side at full load and cause several thousand dollars worth of damage to my load tester. So, really you are just wrong again.

In the end you managed not to raise a single valid point, refute any points, read any of your the claimed material, or understand the point of a guide. In the future if you feel the need to blindly start firing off comments about power consumption that you are wholly uninformed about, just stay in the SPCR forums.
 
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I've no doubt Paul knows what hes talking about when it comes to the specifics of power supplies, but the idea that you need 650W to power a single 250W card, I donno.

What are you going to do about powering the rest of the system?

Does the Unit blow up?

Depends on the unit but yes I have had a lot of units fail.

Does the PC not post?

Of course it posts, your CPU and GPU aren't at full power at POST.

Does a voltage alarm sound?

Does a black screen count?

What happens when a well behaved 650W unit is asked to push 700W? Does the world end? Does the part even show anyone the difference?

If the OCP is set correctly it shuts down, if not it can run, or it can run out of spec (voltage, ripple/noise, etc), or like some units have done it can blow out the primary switchers, or their can be a secondary failure and eat my load tester again.
 
Actually based on your response you don't read the reviews published nor do you know what you are talking about, but here goes one last attemp
Ya really, that is why it is a guide.
Wel thanks. If i still don't know what i am talking about, surely you or silentpcreview, who also use very good equipment to measure these things; have done something wrong :rolleyes:

That is great and if you understood anything about what was going on you would know that none of the sites mentioned when determining power draws for GPU's do it correctly (where are the hall effect ammeters on each lead simultaneously recording the current? The probes on the traces for the PCI-E slots to simultaneously the current?). Sticking a Kill-A-Watt between a PC and the wall does not give you an accurate number for power draw as Kill-A-Watt's claimed accuracy is very poor and its real world accuracy is even worse. We have seen Kill-A-Watt's give efficiency values of more than 100% in the past when really the units should have been in the 80% range. [/;quote]
Dunno why you keep ranting about kill-o-watts. I use YOUR numbers and that of Silentpcreview; which i believe, does a even better job testing these PSU's. Aldo you do a fine
job too, don't get me wrong here.

Our numbers for PSU reviews are accurate, but that equipment costs many thousands of dollars comapred to the $20 people pop down on a Kill-A-Watt.
Right. And that's exactly what i am talking about; your own accurate numbers, capiche ;)

That is great, if you don't like the recommendations because you don't understand what is actually occurring then feel free to not use them but don't sit here and tell those of us who do understand that you do know what is occurring.
I understand it perfectly, i also am familiar with your knowledge. Fact of the matter is
you take a different view of the matter, telling people to take a PSU heavy enough so that
it produces about 50% load. That may be perfect, and it is perfect. Only thing is, a PSU, a good PSU can easely deliver 70 a 80% load. Without hardly any compromise, atleast no serious one.


Actually, no our reviews do not show that PSU's produce more than is written on the box as we do not overload PSU's (some can do more than their derating curve suggests but this, like an overclock, is not guarenteed and does not always occur in specification). If you are going to try and make a point please at least read what you claim to have as you are misrepresenting material facts.
Well, don't know if it was here or at Silentpcreview, aldo i strongly believe that Hardocp used to do so; fact is that some PSU can deliver more. Not htat i encourage people to do so, it just makes clear that some PSU's have more reserves....





Whoopie? Derating curves exist and power supplies derate with increases in temperature. It is a fact of life get used to it, and move on. The point still stands.
I don't blame you, you are after all American, right? Must have something to do with your genes, FEAR is a big factor in the America culture.

[qoute]
Again the point is correct and you are just whining. Don't bring up power as your big concern and then complain when one component out of a list of reasons it isn't enough.
Your point is just a scorrect as mine is. If you can't see that, well....


[qoute[
Forrest......trees......anyone....anyone? Bueller? [/quote]
Lumber ? :D


And a PSU that shuts down hardly runs your system. Also, good power supplies do die. I had a very large brand name 1200W+ powersupply blow out on the secondary side at full load and cause several thousand dollars worth of damage to my load tester. So, really you are just wrong again.
Sure. Or maybe that PSU was just a piece of crap :p
I have had a powersurgent in mu PSU-Cable (to the wall); My Enermax 380watt survided it, along with all hardware. Must be luck then....

In the end you managed not to raise a single valid point, refute any points, read any of your the claimed material, or understand the point of a guide. In the future if you feel the need to blindly start firing off comments about power consumption that you are wholly uninformed about, just stay in the SPCR forums.
I go where i please. Who are you to tell me what to do, just because i don't "lick your B***s".

My reasons are valid, my argument rocksolid, you are just blinded with your own vision.
Not my fault.... Most funny thing is; where i do make a home run, you are eager NOT to speak about it. Can i still get that answer ?

Why are you so concernd about 1 a 2% less efficiency from aPSU, taking pc compontens that consume so much energy ?
That's what you brought to the table, as a "valid argument"....
 
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Wel thanks. If i still don't know what i am talking about, surely you or silentpcreview, who also use very good equipment to measure these things; have done something wrong :rolleyes:

No I haven't done anything wrong with the power supply reviews, you simply have not read them or understood them.

Dunno why you keep ranting about kill-o-watts. I use YOUR numbers and that of Silentpcreview; which i believe, does a even better job testing these PSU's. Aldo you do a fine
job too, don't get me wrong here.

Because you have no idea what you are talking about as has become painfully obvious.

Sizing a power supply requires that you know the load on the power supply. YOU are bitching about the size of the power supply recommended without knowing anything about the actual power draw of the components (which our power supply reviews don't tell you since we are reviewing power supplies with a SMPS ATE not reviewing components of a system and their draw as the SMPS ATE uses active loads to draw power from the PSU at whatever value I program). YOU are basing your incorrect ASSUMPTIONS on values you see reported from people around the web that DO NOT actually record power draw of individual components CORRECTLY (again where are the hall effect ammeters on each lead simultaneously recording the current? The probes on the traces for the PCI-E slots to simultaneously the current?).

Right. And that's exactly what i am talking about; your own accurate numbers, capiche

I DO NOT do GPU or system power draw numbers for reviews here. I DO power supply reviews. Power supply reviews DO NOT tell you anything about a systems POWER DRAW. Had you read MY reviews that you have claimed to YOU would know that. YOU have not though and yet YOU continue to claim to know what you are talking about. A SMPS ATE is not a video card. The values reported during a power supply review with an SMPS ATE tell you nothing about what the DC draw of a system is.

Don't capiche me when you are completely wrong.


Well, don't know if it was here or at Silentpcreview, aldo i strongly believe that Hardocp used to do so; fact is that some PSU can deliver more. Not htat i encourage people to do so, it just makes clear that some PSU's have more reserves....

It was neither. Gabe is the only one who does it. Before commenting you would do well to know what you are talking about. And NO it is not good for power supplies to have "more reserves". When a power supplies OCP or OPP does not turn on when it is overloaded that is a BAD thing. These safety components should be working properly.

Sure. Or maybe that PSU was just a piece of crap
I have had a powersurgent in mu PSU-Cable (to the wall); My Enermax 380watt survided it, along with all hardware. Must be luck then....

You clearly, once more, do not know what you are talking about. Inrush current and primary side surges are NOT the same as a secondary failure or a switching failure. All that means is your primary filtering was correctly speced and the surge was within its tolerances. Whoppie.

My reasons are valid, my argument rocksolid, you are just blinded with your own vision.

You were wrong across the board.
 
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No I haven't done anything wrong with the power supply reviews, you simply have not read them or understood them.
Because you have no idea what you are talking about as has become painfully obvious.
I do know hwat i am talking about, only have a hard time explaining myself while english is not my native language. Excuse me.

Sizing a power supply requires that you know the load on the power supply. YOU are bitching about the size of the power supply recommended without knowing anything about the actual power draw of the components (which our power supply reviews don't tell you since we are reviewing power supplies with a SMPS ATE not reviewing components of a system and their draw as the SMPS ATE uses active loads to draw power from the PSU at whatever value I program). YOU are basing your incorrect ASSUMPTIONS on values you see reported from people around the web that DO NOT actually record power draw of individual components CORRECTLY.
Allright. I have mistaken how you do review a PSU. That does not mean i can't know what
a system demands, when you know the efficiency of a PSU, anyone can do the math...

Don't capiche me when you are completely wrong.
I am not wrong. We are just talking over two different things.


It was neither. Gabe is the only one who does it. Before commenting you would do well to know what you are talking about. And NO it is not good for power supplies to have "more reserves". When a power supplies OCP or OPP does not turn on when it is overloaded that is a BAD thing. These safety components should be working properly.
Fact is that some PSU's deliver more amps then there is written on the box. How can that be a bad thing ? Hardocp don't, if i read the reviews correctly....


You clearly, once more, do not know what you are talking about. Inrush current and primary side surges are NOT the same as a secondary failure or a switching failure. All that means is your primary filtering was correctly speced and the surge was within its tolerances. Whoppie.
No, i clearly can't explain myself with my poor english; that it true. Don't tell me i don't know what i am talking about; i do. Thank you.

You were wrong across the board.
That are your words. I know i am not.

ps: Again not a single word about "your concern about efficiency". Must be hard to admit you "slipped" on that one....
 
That does not mean i can't know what
a system demands, when you know the efficiency of a PSU, anyone can do the math...

No you can not do that. The instrumentation used to get the AC draws you are relying on is NOT accurate, and samples too slowly to catch transient loads. My transient load tester loads are completely missed when you use the type of cheap meters people use to measure power draw and that is over a 100W DC load (figuring loss in the conversion process this represents an even greater AC draw). Further, you are only guessing at what the efficiency is as you have no way of knowing and the efficiency varies based on the operating temperature, distribution of the load (12v heavy loads are more efficient), and the unit to unit variances. So you can do math, but you are doing incorrect math based on a guess, a wish, a hope, a dream, and a prayer.


I am not wrong. We are just talking over two different things.
Huh?



Fact is that some PSU's deliver more amps then there is written on the box. How can that be a bad thing ? Hardocp don't, if i read the reviews correctly....

Really? Do you understand what the protection circuitry does?



No, i clearly can't explain myself with my poor english; that it true. Don't tell me i don't know what i am talking about; i do. Thank you.

You can blame it on language but that doesn't change the fact that you have been completely wrong on all of your points once you got passed the language.

ps: Again not a single word about "your concern about efficiency". Must be hard to admit you "slipped" on that one....

There is nothing to slip about, and nothing to address since I was correct. SMPS are generally most efficient between 40-60% of their rated output. You have presented nothing to dispute that where as I have over 100 published reviewed units and many times more than that unpublished sets of data showing that not only is it a theory but an operating principle.
 
where are the hall effect ammeters on each lead simultaneously recording the current?
One site actually does use them: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gpu-power-consumption-2010.html
Dunno why you keep ranting about kill-o-watts. I use YOUR numbers and that of Silentpcreview; which i believe, does a even better job testing these PSU's. Aldo you do a fine
job too, don't get me wrong here.
HardOCP's power consumption numbers from their video card reviews are measured with Kill-A-Watt meters. Only Paul uses a proper power analyzer in his PSU reviews. [H]'s GPU power numbers are just as inaccurate as anyone else's.
 

In which they make one good point relevant to recommending such power supplies:

The results discussed in this part of our review are interesting mostly from the theoretical prospective. We would warn you against repeating our tests in OCCT: GPU, because we have record of quite a few cases when not only the PSU safety would kick in, but also when graphics cards would fail because their electric circuitry couldn’t bear the load created by this synthetic benchmark.

On their Enermax Liberty ELT620AWT PSU (620 W) meaning that the PSU was not a suitable stable platform for even one GTX 295 when the GPU was really working. Also it should be noted those are non-Fermi based cards with power consumptions hitting up to 400W (GTX 295 in OCCT: GPU).
 
In which they make one good point relevant to recommending such power supplies:



On their Enermax Liberty ELT620AWT PSU (620 W) meaning that the PSU was not a suitable stable platform for even one GTX 295 when the GPU was really working. Also it should be noted those are non-Fermi based cards with power consumptions hitting up to 400W (GTX 295 in OCCT: GPU).
Yes, especially since a GTX480 only consumes a few watts less than a GTX295.
 
One word : nitpicking !

That word, I do not think it means what you think it means.

Really. How about all those crappy PSU's all over the world, you know, the kind you like to ignore. Funny that, aldo they aren't topnotch, far from it. We don't see zillions of pc's blowing themselves up. Unbelievable!

So you don't know?

No, you are so full of you own ideas, you do not see i am saying it is utter silly to argue about 1 or 2 % efficiency, while you don't mind to put a power energy Monster like those Fermi's in your pc. Is it so hard ?


I don't put Fermi based cards in anyone's PC. The numbers are the numbers and have nothing to do with me. When running heavy draw items higher efficiency values mean lower operating cost (if buying a new PSU), and less heat to remove from the case. I am sorry you can't understand those very simple principles. Someone complaining about power usage should be cheering on more efficient solutions, but alas you are only here to complain.

It is also silly your deniel that a good PSU can't deliver 70 a 80% of its power all the time. Despite the heat and efficiency, they can. And i don't get it ? lol.

I never said they could not. Have you ever even read a single review I have done?
 
That word, I do not think it means what you think it means.
I think i don't know what it is you are trying to tell me. I mean making more of something then it deserves; like recommending a little more PSU then is actually needed.

So you don't know?
Do you really want me to answer that ?

Wikipedia:
Overload protection is important to protect the electronic equipment hooked up to the power supply and to also prevent overheating, which could potentially lead to an electrical fire. Fuses and circuit breakers are two of the more frequent mechanisms used for overload protection.

I don't put Fermi based cards in anyone's PC. The numbers are the numbers and have nothing to do with me.
Well, that's too easy. Am i reading the headlines wrong ?
Think not, PSU's recommended by Hardocp for the Fermi GPU's. If i am dead wrong, shoot me.


When running heavy draw items higher efficiency values mean lower operating cost (if buying a new PSU), and less heat to remove from the case. I am sorry you can't understand those very simple principles. Someone complaining about power usage should be cheering on more efficient solutions, but alas you are only here to complain.
I am not complaining. When you review solely PSU's and favor them for their efficiency: GREAT!

But that is not the case here, now is it ?

I never said they could not. Have you ever even read a single review I have done?
Well, i sure don't see someone here recommend it. Far from it, that impression i get from you.
But if you say that they can and it is not a bad thing, we are finally have something sorted out of the way.
Atleast one thing we can agree on.
 
Well, that's too easy. Am i reading the headlines wrong ?
Think not, PSU's recommended by Hardocp for the Fermi GPU's. If i am dead wrong, shoot me.

Bang you are dead (wrong).

And that is that as you have not had a point in a long time.
 
Bang you are dead (wrong).

And that is that as you have not had a point in a long time.
Am i speaking german :confused:

Fermi - GTX 480 / GTX 470 Power Supply Unit / PSU Buying Guide

Tell me that it isn't what i think it is, really. Enlight me :D
Never mind, i got better things to do. Have a nice day :)


Our Focus


Our Focus is to look at what we think will be the most common Fermi based configurations and to make recommendations based upon what we would buy to power our Fermi rigs if we were building today. These video card configurations are as follows:


But i am totally, dead wrong; afcource :rolleyes:
 
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I can't believe that someone would spend so much time arguing over nitpicky details of this article. FWIW -- I appreciate and value the efforts of Paul and Kyle to test and evaluate the Fermi's and their power requirements. I would have liked the GTX 480 but would not feel comfortable with it on my Corsair HX620. And I'm not about to upgrade my PS when I can get an ATI 5870 for much less overall. IMO HardOCP has for many years filled a unique web gap in no nonsense, practical PC testing and evaluation. Please keep up the good [H]work.
 
Jediron, Paul is right, and you are wrong. Plain and simple. I looked into doing PSU reviews about a year before Paul started doing it here, the sheer cost of the required equipment put me off, the best I could have done at home is make a variable load box for each of the voltages, measure the outputs and scope them and see if the magic smoke came out on my budget. The ATE Paul uses cost as much as the last 4 used cars I've owned and is one of the few devices that will properly load a PSU for this kind of testing. Paul here at [H] is one of only about 4 or 5 people on the net who do real, honest PSU testing, not just passing on the marketing hype. I know a bit about SMPS, I've been an Electronic technician for over 30 years, repairing everything from TV's and vcr's (they use SMPS) to 10 kilowatt output radio transmitters. Thanks Paul and Kyle for going the extra mile to help seperate the wheat from the chaff in the PC PSU market.
 
I mean making more of something then it deserves; like recommending a little more PSU then is actually needed.

You seem to think that you can just get some load numbers for each of your components off the internet, add those up and if you get 500 W you should go out and buy a 500W PSU and expect to live happily ever after.

That is just wrong for so many reasons.

If [H] had published a buying guide based on your principle they would be the laughing stock of their readers (at least the readers who know anything about PSUs), and potentially liable for replacing quite a few blown/non-working PSUs and other components.

Feel free to correct me if I have misunderstood what you're trying to communicate.
 
Is there any chance my corsair HX1000 will run GTX480 TRI SLI No GPU OC(system specs in sig, CPU 920 @3.6)? It was fine with GTX285 TRI SLI so I figure I am pretty close, but maybe it would put me over the top.
 
Is there any chance my corsair HX1000 will run GTX480 TRI SLI No GPU OC(system specs in sig, CPU 920 @3.6)? It was fine with GTX285 TRI SLI so I figure I am pretty close, but maybe it would put me over the top.
It should be just enough.
 
I just wanted to say thank you for the guide.

I did not have enough amps per the four 12v rails on my last PSU, so I went for the Corsair HX850W. I learned A TON about PSUs within the past two days. It's a whole new world! Haha.
 
It should be just enough.

It may not be enough for his setup. I recently discovered that my BFG EX-1200 which ran a Core i7 980X @ 4Ghz, two Asus GTX295s (in Quad-SLI) a BFG GTX275 OC card, and 4 WD 300GB Velociraptors, a Creative X-Fi Soundblaster Titanium card, and two Blu Ray optic drives is NOT enough to run the same system when three EVGA GTX480 SCs are installed in the place of the GTX295s and GTX275 :( The problem occurs only when I attempt to overclock my 980X past 3.6Ghz. The system BSODs and I have to go into the BIOS to lower the multiplier. I've tried several different methods to run the CPU past 3.6Ghz, but all efforts fail. I did notice that when the CPU core voltage goes above 1.12V, is when the problem occurs. So, I took out one of the GTX480s and whalla, the 980X overclocks to 4Ghz no problem. So, with all that said, I ordered a Silverstone ST1500 PSU from Newegg today and it should be here by Friday :D I will be selling my BFG EX-1200 on Craigslist in Colorado Springs if anyone is interested...

<EDIT> I forgot to mention that the reason why I didn't buy the Antec TPQ-1200 or TPQ-1200 OC is that several reviews have stated that the 80mm fan, although pulse-width modulated still becomes very loud when the PSU is under full load (such as when running three GTX480s in tri-SLI). The Silverstone is much quieter with the 135mm fan and has 300 more watts of "ceiling" for future upgradeability if need be. In my situation, it will allow for the addition of two more hard drives into my Silverstone Raven RV-01W case :D
 
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Thanks to all for you criticisms of our article. I am sorry if you don't agree with our suggestions, but they are just that, a free suggestion guide for you to follow. Should you take the time to build your own, we would be happy to look at it as well.

Now please stop beating the dead horse. Your disagreement is noted. We stand by our suggestions and that is not going to change.
 
<EDIT> I forgot to mention that the reason why I didn't buy the Antec TPQ-1200 or TPQ-1200 OC is that several reviews have stated that the 80mm fan, although pulse-width modulated still becomes very loud when the PSU is under full load (such as when running three GTX480s in tri-SLI). The Silverstone is much quieter with the 135mm fan and has 300 more watts of "ceiling" for future upgradeability if need be. In my situation, it will allow for the addition of two more hard drives into my Silverstone Raven RV-01W case :D

I haven't noticed any noise from the TPQ-1200 that I can hear above that of my GTX 480 SLI!! And I've got my CPU at 4.1Ghz. Even when I had only the 5970 in there, again no noise issues with OCs.

The Strider 1500W is a very good PSU though, and I believe that anyone trying to run 3x GTX 480 should go ahead and get that PSU to leave room for OC. Because if you can't OC your CPU you are going to bottleneck the hell out of 3 GTX 480s.
 
Paul, where would 800watts psu stand? Like the ES-800. Would they be with the 750watts but not enough to handle the 850watts?
 
I noticed the lack of dedicated graphics PSUs on the list, and since a dedicated graphics PSU becomes cost efficient when the price reaches $170, at least an explanation was in order
 
I noticed the lack of dedicated graphics PSUs on the list, and since a dedicated graphics PSU becomes cost efficient when the price reaches $170, at least an explanation was in order

They are way overpriced for what you get and not worth being on the list. So they weren't.
 
Thank you guys very much for this guide. IIRC, the Seasonic 620's actually inside the PC Power and Cooling 610 silencer. If that's indeed the case, then I should be ok...saved me some bucks and a whole lotta hassle [H]!

That said, I'm upgrading my rig and completely neglected the power it might eat up. My PSU is the PC P&C 610 Silencer mentioned in this thread.

Previous configuration:

Asus Maximus @ 425
Q9550 @ 3.6Ghz 1.25V
2x2GB G.Skill 1020Mhz
GTX 260 216, stock clocks


Upgraded parts:

Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Rev 2.0
i7 930, likely to overclock between 3.6~4.2
3x2GB Kingston 2000Mhz
Galaxy GTX 470, overclocks very well


Carry over stuff:
7 120's @ 1200RPM
1 LED 40mm @ 4000RPM
1 LED 120mm @ 1500RPM
2 Cold Cathodes
1 DVD-RW
2 74GB Velociraptors
2 250GB Hitachis
Auzentech Forte
Mouse/Keyboard/other various USB devices

I haven't put it all together yet because I'm a little concerned about pushing the PSU that hard. What do you guys think? Can I swing this?
 
Thank you guys very much for this guide. IIRC, the Seasonic 620's actually inside the PC Power and Cooling 610 silencer. If that's indeed the case, then I should be ok...saved me some bucks and a whole lotta hassle [H]!
Actually, no. The 610W Silencer was manufactured by Seasonic, but based on a different design than the 620W M12II/S12II models.
I haven't put it all together yet because I'm a little concerned about pushing the PSU that hard. What do you guys think? Can I swing this?
You'll be fine.
 
You're using a 1Kw PSU and the only difference between our setups is another video card. Why did you go w/ so much power?

This is [H], man. We'd build mini-nuke reactors if it were feasible to power our rigs.. :D
 
ahahhaaha! but seriously, i cannot friggin' wait to get off this netbook. Firefox has become my enemy.
 
Would a HX 620W be able to handle a GTX 480 with 2 SATA HDD's, SATA DVD Burner, Q6600 @ 3.6 GHZ and 5 x 120mm Case Fans?
 
Easily. I'm running an i7 @ 4 Ghz and an overclocked 470 on a 3 yr old PC P&C 610. With LinX + Furmark + moving files all over the place, the fan's still quiet.

The UPS isn't very happy though. :(
 
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