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Modular PSU needed for CF 7950's

N

NathanP2007

[H]ard|Gawd
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This will be a simple question guys. I plan on building a new rig (selling my current so that PSU will be gone). It will be a 3770K OC'ed, a 7950 (maybe 7970) and the possibility of a second down the road for crossfire. Once that CPU comes out, i will start building the rig and will be in need of the PSU. It needs to be modular because i plan on building the PC on a tech-bench http://www.highspeedpc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TopDeckXL
So keeping it as clean (wire wise) as can be is best.
 
NathanP2007 said:
Never heard of the brand before and very pricey, also a lot of DOA reviews. But you stand by that its high quality?
Click to expand...

seasonic is one of the best PSU makers in the world. They also make psus for loads of other companies that just slap their logo on them (antec, corsair, OCZ, xfx). I would never hesitate to buy a seasonic PSU
 
jaredpace said:
Very good Silverstone, perfect reviews 5 eggs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256057
Click to expand...

Your right, that seems to have perfect reviews, a very reasonable price (even a rebate) and looks to be great. Thank you. I havent heard of that brand either but thats not saying much.

Thanks CJ3, thats really good information. What would you account the DOA reviews to you think then? Bad batch maybe? And whats your opinion on Silverstone?
 
NathanP2007 said:
Your right, that seems to have perfect reviews, a very reasonable price (even a rebate) and looks to be great. Thank you. I havent heard of that brand either but thats not saying much.

Thanks CJ3, thats really good information. What would you account the DOA reviews to you think then? Bad batch maybe? And whats your opinion on Silverstone?
Click to expand...

I'm not gonna hazard a guess on the doa reviews as I know nothing about them. FWIW I usually just ignore newegg reviews. Silverstone is great. I actually have the 750w version of that psu. Super quiet, 100% modular, rock solid, and a great warranty. Cant ask for muh more. And depending on your config you can pick up the pp-05 short cable kit.

My heavily overclocked sig rig is running on that 750w unit without a hitch. that 1000w unit shouldn't even break a sweat
 
NathanP2007 said:
I havent heard of that brand either but thats not saying much
Click to expand...

Here are the best brands:

Antec, Corsair, Silverstone, Seasonic, OCZ, PCP&C I wouldnt use anything else. And from past experiences i'd pick Corsair first, then Silverstone.

The reviews help though.
 
NathanP2007 said:
Never heard of the brand before and very pricey, also a lot of DOA reviews. But you stand by that its high quality?
Click to expand...

I have built 4 workstations for work using the X750 and I am extremely amazed by the build quality and silence. If you want to take a more trusted reviewer's word, check the [H] review http://hardocp.com/article/2011/11/01/seasonic_platinum1000_1_kilowatt_power_supply_review/ which awarded this PSU the coveted Gold award, something the [H] doesn't just hand out. Even if some units DOA, Seasonic will replace them and the rest of the reviews on the egg are all 5 eggs.
 
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You only need a quality 750 watt power supply for your planned crossfire 7970 build.
 
cj3waker said:
I'm not gonna hazard a guess on the doa reviews as I know nothing about them. FWIW I usually just ignore newegg reviews. Silverstone is great. I actually have the 750w version of that psu. Super quiet, 100% modular, rock solid, and a great warranty. Cant ask for muh more. And depending on your config you can pick up the pp-05 short cable kit.

My heavily overclocked sig rig is running on that 750w unit without a hitch. that 1000w unit shouldn't even break a sweat
Click to expand...

What is a pp-05 short cable kit? I assume its a kit compatible with the PSU that are the same cables but much shorter cause in my scenario (tech bench) i dont need the super long cables. Am i right?

Paul_Johnson said:
The fan does not run under a prescribed set of conditions (http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/11/01/seasonic_platinum1000_1_kilowatt_power_supply_review/), I would venture to guess most people claiming DOA are seeing this and sending it back.
Click to expand...

Interesting, that makes sense, however i have no read the link yet, but i will. Thank you.

JosiahBradley said:
I have built 4 workstations for work using the X750 and I am extremely amazed by the build quality and silence. If you want to take a more trusted reviewer's word, check the [H] review http://hardocp.com/article/2011/11/01/seasonic_platinum1000_1_kilowatt_power_supply_review/ which awarded this PSU the coveted Gold award, something the [H] doesn't just hand out. Even if some units DOA, Seasonic will replace them and the rest of the reviews on the egg are all 5 eggs.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

Tsumi said:
You only need a quality 750 watt power supply for your planned crossfire 7970 build.
Click to expand...

Lol when someone posts asking about a PSU, theres always someone (or multiple) that say whats recommended is much higher wattage than whats needed. Not saying your wrong, for all i know your probably right. I am curious why everyone before you has been recommending 1000W though.
 
There are two people that actually recommended PSUs, and none of them are actually people who frequent the PSU subforum. All the other posts were defending the Seasonic brand, or recommending brands, which is actually one of the top brands you can buy from. I bet the second guy probably saw the first guy recommend a 1000 watt power supply, so he recommended a 1000 watt Silverstone because Silverstone power supplies worked for him.

IB overclocked on air: 150 watts (speculation based on SB).
7970 overclocked on air: 250 watts x2 (estimated with some headroom).
Rest of system for a typical system: 50 watts.

Grand total of max theoretical power usage: 700 watts. You will never see this kind of load unless you're folding, or other loads that simultaneously max out your CPU and GPUs (no game will do this).

Although, I have been recently made aware of this: http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch_v3.asp?px=FX&scriteria=AA79379 It's a pretty good deal, especially since most Gold-rated high quality 850 watt power supplies are in the $150+ range, and this is 1000 watt Platinum.
 
Tsumi said:
There are two people that actually recommended PSUs, and none of them are actually people who frequent the PSU subforum. All the other posts were defending the Seasonic brand, or recommending brands, which is actually one of the top brands you can buy from. I bet the second guy probably saw the first guy recommend a 1000 watt power supply, so he recommended a 1000 watt Silverstone because Silverstone power supplies worked for him.

IB overclocked on air: 150 watts (speculation based on SB).
7970 overclocked on air: 250 watts x2 (estimated with some headroom).
Rest of system for a typical system: 50 watts.

Grand total of max theoretical power usage: 700 watts. You will never see this kind of load unless you're folding, or other loads that simultaneously max out your CPU and GPUs (no game will do this).

Although, I have been recently made aware of this: http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch_v3.asp?px=FX&scriteria=AA79379 It's a pretty good deal, especially since most Gold-rated high quality 850 watt power supplies are in the $150+ range, and this is 1000 watt Platinum.
Click to expand...

+1, as I said before, my OCd sig rig should draw far more power than your machine, and I can run in on a 750w unit. a 750w unit should be fine for you, 850w will give you a bit of breathing room. 1000w really is just overkill

edit: oh and you are correct, the pp05 is just a short cable kit
 
Tsumi said:
There are two people that actually recommended PSUs, and none of them are actually people who frequent the PSU subforum. All the other posts were defending the Seasonic brand, or recommending brands, which is actually one of the top brands you can buy from. I bet the second guy probably saw the first guy recommend a 1000 watt power supply, so he recommended a 1000 watt Silverstone because Silverstone power supplies worked for him.

IB overclocked on air: 150 watts (speculation based on SB).
7970 overclocked on air: 250 watts x2 (estimated with some headroom).
Rest of system for a typical system: 50 watts.

Grand total of max theoretical power usage: 700 watts. You will never see this kind of load unless you're folding, or other loads that simultaneously max out your CPU and GPUs (no game will do this).

Although, I have been recently made aware of this: http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch_v3.asp?px=FX&scriteria=AA79379 It's a pretty good deal, especially since most Gold-rated high quality 850 watt power supplies are in the $150+ range, and this is 1000 watt Platinum.
Click to expand...

7970's can pull 400+ watts each by themselves overvolted and peaking, But i see by the end of your post you're also recommending a 1000w like the rest of us did.
 
jaredpace said:
7970's can pull 400+ watts each by themselves overvolted and peaking, But i see by the end of your post you're also recommending a 1000w like the rest of us did.
Click to expand...

No, they cannot.

I recommended that 1000 watt due to VALUE, NOT NECESSITY.
 
jaredpace said:
7970's can pull 400+ watts each by themselves overvolted and peaking, But i see by the end of your post you're also recommending a 1000w like the rest of us did.
Click to expand...

Actually, under certain circumstances, a 7970 can probably pull 600W+(LN2/LHe), I've seen 6990s pull 750W+ on air and 480s pull 550W also on air, however that's as relevant to this thread as my foot fetish.. if the OP was the type of user to go for HWbot records he wouldn't be making threads like this...

The fact that some piece of hardware can pull insane amounts of power under extreme circumstances does not make a good foundation for power supply recommendations... a 7970 at 1.25Ghz(~1.25v) will only pass ~300W under synthetic stress tests like Furmark or Kombustor which have no correspondence in actual, typical workloads..

You're making poor suggestion on topics you don't properly understand, please read more and post less.

ps. he suggested that particular PSU because it's far better that its price would let you believe ;)
 
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Dont tell me to post less. I don't have an agenda here, I'm letting the author know what the cards are pulling under load. Your numbers are far fetched, regardless that you've been here just a few months. 600watts on a 7970 is a STRETCH! Hard-modded with over current protection bypassed maybe 500 watts on a 5870. 550-600 watts is possible, I won't disagree but you're talking the most ever seen in any circumstance...

I've seen multiple posts of yours recommend that Kingwin PSU now. Do you have a particular reason to recommend such an irrelevant and unpopular product? I would like to know what it is. So from my standpoint: OP is aware of what the cards can draw. For all we know he may want to bench, is it fair for you to say "he's not that type"? Do you know him and what kind of person he is and what his gameplan is with this PSU and his Crossfire setup?

You've obviously corrected Tsumi's perception that a 7970 maxes at 250watts with your incredible 600 watt comment. And now we come to a topic where I agree with what you have to post: The card pulling ~300 watts in a typical workload at 1250mv. Henceforth, my suggestions are aimed at the author and people wanting to know about PSUs. Yeah this is true, when you load up a game you aren't going to see 800-900 watts from 2-card SLI or Crossfire. However, Anandtech did reach 851 watts with a stock cpu, and two stock gpus running furmark & linpack. If you were to overclock and overvolt only 20-25% higher than stock this number would be 1050-1100 watts. Remember, that's just a single cpu and two video cards.
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4012/33986.png

I would suggest to check out johnnyguru to get a good understanding of high quality PSU's. Newegg reviews and ratings are a good addendum to help make a purchasing decision. The 1000W Silverstone I recommended has 5-egg rating with 50+ reviews. It's the highest rated >1000watt PSU on all of newegg and has a very high recommendation from Johnnyguru's review. At 190 bucks it seemed like a solid deal.

Others I would recommend are Seasonic x-1250, Antec AX, High current pros, Corsair HX1000, 1050, and Strider Evolutions. These are all top-of-the-line Power supplies, with the highest ratings from Johnnyguru. Platinum certified at 1200watts+ is just now seeing the light of day.

All that being said, the possiblity of booting 7970 crossfire on a 500watt PSU exists. Just where do you want to go from there? Power supplies run better when they are at a lower temperature. They have less ripple and current fluctuation when they are in this state. Higher effeciency is a perk to boot and means you're only pulling from the wall what the hardware is calling for. A high quality PSU at 60-70% load in the running cool in mid 30'sC with the SILENT dynamic fluid fan barely spinning, and 2200uF caps at the end of the solid leads giving 100% pure clean power to your overclocked rig - Versus - a cheap ass 750watt running hot and loud, not efficient at all, causing your computer to crash and drivers to stop responding making you second guess the quality of your computer components.... Is this a serious question? Why would anyone recommend just what it takes "to squeeze by"? You got the Redline memory, you got the IPS panel, you got the Extreme CPU, you bought two of the $500 GPUs and a $400 motherboard... yes power all of this with a garbage can PSU, go right ahead and do that.:p

A name-brand 750 watt would get the job done. However, we know what the hardware is capable of once you start adding voltage. This is why the Pros have 2000-3000 watts of the highest quality power sitting on deck. Perhaps the OP has no intention of overclocking, and he doesn't require any headroom at all. Techpowerup's 7970 crossfire review maxed at only ~550 watts (all stock).

I stand firmly by my recommendation for the Silverstone Strider 1000 Watt. The reviews and ratings do back it up 100%.
 
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Paul thanks for the edit. Sorry about deep linking.

Would like to add this useful bit:

The owner of this site [H] Supreme Mr. Kyle Bennett uses the exact Silverstone Strider Power supply that I am recommending for his personal 2-way Crossfire 7900 rig. In fact, he uses the 1500 watt GOLD instead of the 1000 watt Silver! Now that's a guy I'm not gonna disagree with, no matter what.

Like I said, take it from the one's who actually have the experience: the professionals.
 
jaredpace said:
You've obviously corrected Tsumi's perception that a 7970 maxes at 250watts with your incredible 600 watt comment. And now we come to a topic where I agree with what you have to post: The card pulling ~300 watts in a typical workload at 1250mv. Henceforth, my suggestions are aimed at the author and people wanting to know about PSUs. Yeah this is true, when you load up a game you aren't going to see 800-900 watts from 2-card SLI or Crossfire. However, Anandtech did reach 851 watts with a stock cpu, and two stock gpus running furmark & linpack. If you were to overclock and overvolt only 20-25% higher than stock this number would be 1050-1100 watts. Remember, that's just a single cpu and two video cards.
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4012/33986.png

Others I would recommend are Seasonic x-1250, Antec AX, High current pros, Corsair HX1000, 1050, and Strider Evolutions. These are all top-of-the-line Power supplies, with the highest ratings from Johnnyguru. Platinum certified at 1200watts+ is just now seeing the light of day.

All that being said, the possiblity of booting 7970 crossfire on a 500watt PSU exists. Just where do you want to go from there? Power supplies run better when they are at a lower temperature. They have less ripple and current fluctuation when they are in this state. Higher effeciency is a perk to boot and means you're only pulling from the wall what the hardware is calling for. A high quality PSU at 60-70% load in the running cool in mid 30'sC with the SILENT dynamic fluid fan barely spinning, and 2200uF caps at the end of the solid leads giving 100% pure clean power to your overclocked rig - Versus - a cheap ass 750watt running hot and loud, not efficient at all, causing your computer to crash and drivers to stop responding making you second guess the quality of your computer components.... Is this a serious question? Why would anyone recommend just what it takes "to squeeze by"? You got the Redline memory, you got the IPS panel, you got the Extreme CPU, you bought two of the $500 GPUs and a $400 motherboard... yes power all of this with a garbage can PSU, go right ahead and do that.:p

A name-brand 750 watt would get the job done. However, we know what the hardware is capable of once you start adding voltage. This is why the Pros have 2000-3000 watts of the highest quality power sitting on deck. Perhaps the OP has no intention of overclocking, and he doesn't require any headroom at all. Techpowerup's 7970 crossfire review maxed at only ~550 watts (all stock).

I stand firmly by my recommendation for the Silverstone Strider 1000 Watt. The reviews and ratings do back it up 100%.
Click to expand...

Review for the Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000 watt. Maybe you should look up JonnyGuru before you start spouting your nonsense. Slightly worse voltage regulation than the Seasonic X-1250, but much better ripple suppression. 9.4 out of 10 on JonnyGuru

Profumo said 300 watts in an ATYPICAL scenario, NOT A TYPICAL scenario. Typical scenario is around 250 watts. 600 watts was with a LN2. Besides, you're going to run into cooling issues on air (safe bet OP is on air) before you reach that overvolting scenario. We're talking about things relevant to OP here, not irrelevant stuff that can only be obtained by watercooling or other exotic cooling.

No one here talked about recommending a 500 watt power supply, which would be completely unreasonable. I simply recommended a power supply wattage range that would fit the OPs needs, and that would be a 750 watt and above.

Pros do not need 2-3k of power. SR-2 quad-fire builders only need a 1.5k power supply. Vega used a HCP-1200 for his quad-fire GTX 580 990x system before he built his sub-zero setup.

That Anandtech is probably system power pull from the wall. Besides, the 7970s use significantly less power than the 480s, and 2011 CPUs use less power than 1366 CPUs.

jaredpace said:
Paul thanks for the edit. Sorry about deep linking.

Would like to add this useful bit:

The owner of this site [H] Supreme Mr. Kyle Bennett uses the exact Silverstone Strider Power supply that I am recommending for his personal 2-way Crossfire 7900 rig. In fact, he uses the 1500 watt GOLD instead of the 1000 watt Silver! Now that's a guy I'm not gonna disagree with, no matter what.

Like I said, take it from the one's who actually have the experience: the professionals.
Click to expand...

The Kingwin is not a Silver. It's a Platinum, which is much better than the Gold.

Why does Kyle use that power supply? Probably because he already had it. Why spend money on something else when you already have it? Are there better options out there? Of course. Is there any reason for him to replace it? No.
 
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Well... to give perspective, I was running my system with a single 7950 on a Corsair GS600. It was really right at the point of needing more power. I ended up going with the LZP 1000 to bump up to xfire. It's probably overkill but better safe than sorry (and I got a really good deal - $170). After reading a lot of reviews this was the only contender with the Seasonic PSU, which at the time was considerably more expensive.
 
K1tty said:
Well... to give perspective, I was running my system with a single 7950 on a Corsair GS600. It was really right at the point of needing more power. I ended up going with the LZP 1000 to bump up to xfire. It's probably overkill but better safe than sorry (and I got a really good deal - $170). After reading a lot of reviews this was the only contender with the Seasonic PSU, which at the time was considerably more expensive.
Click to expand...

There probably was something wrong with your GS600 if it can't power your CPU and 7950. But you're right in that it won't power two 7950s.
 
Oh, it powered the single 7950. From the calculations however, it seemed to be just right.
 
K1tty said:
Oh, it powered the single 7950. From the calculations however, it seemed to be just right.
Click to expand...

500 watts would have worked for you. Power supply calculators are never accurate, and they have to take into account the crappy power supplies that can only reliably put out 70% of their rated wattage or less.
 
JosiahBradley said:
Seasonic Platinum 1000. Very efficient, quiet, powerful, and modular. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151105
Click to expand...

Did you really recommend a $260+shipping PSU to this guy??? Wow, gtfo!

Is a 1000W power supply for 260+dollars really worth it?

I think I've seen a high wattage consumption right around 400 watts on my main setup in my sig. And that information is through a Cyberpower UPS. Not only that, but I've got my router and either modem or switch hooked up to it sucking juice as well. And I'm running my i7 on a Corsair 750TX which will be two years come the end of May... Zero issues.

I just can't understand people recommending $180+ PSU's let alone a $260 one... I paid $110 for my Corsair, and I thought that was pretty steep. And it's not the fact that the OP may or may not need 1000W, but I hardly believe he'll need a 1000W PSU that costs that much.
 
xTrident said:
Did you really recommend a $260+shipping PSU to this guy??? Wow, gtfo!

Is a 1000W power supply for 260+dollars really worth it?

I think I've seen a high wattage consumption right around 400 watts on my main setup in my sig. And that information is through a Cyberpower UPS. Not only that, but I've got my router and either modem or switch hooked up to it sucking juice as well. And I'm running my i7 on a Corsair 750TX which will be two years come the end of May... Zero issues.

I just can't understand people recommending $180+ PSU's let alone a $260 one... I paid $110 for my Corsair, and I thought that was pretty steep. And it's not the fact that the OP may or may not need 1000W, but I hardly believe he'll need a 1000W PSU that costs that much.
Click to expand...

There's more to power supplies than just wattage rating you know....

Although $260 is expensive for a 1000 watt, it is in line with most other 1000 watt Platinum power supplies, and what most Platinum power supplies are priced at. The exception is the Kingwin Lazer Platinum.
 
xTrident said:
Did you really recommend a $260+shipping PSU to this guy??? Wow, gtfo!

Is a 1000W power supply for 260+dollars really worth it?
Click to expand...

Well, when people though PC Power & Cooling "made" the "best" power supplies on the market they dropped $500 on the 1000W Turbo-Cool, and it was not the best 1000W unit then and certainly not even close to as good as the half as expensive (today) Seasonic Platinum 1000 ;)
 
Tsumi said:
There's more to power supplies than just wattage rating you know....

Although $260 is expensive for a 1000 watt, it is in line with most other 1000 watt Platinum power supplies, and what most Platinum power supplies are priced at. The exception is the Kingwin Lazer Platinum.
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm fully aware that there is more to it than wattage rating. But what are the cost savings of a 1000W platinum going to get you over... Say a bronze that cost $100 less? And that's if there a 1000W bronze at 100 less.

But even the Kingwin is, what? $80 bucks less? I would actually seriously consider the Kingwin if it's as good as people make it out to be. I can see spending $70 more on a 1000W PSU over my 750 with the better rating the Kingwin has. But $150? Hell no!


Paul_Johnson said:
Well, when people though PC Power & Cooling "made" the "best" power supplies on the market they dropped $500 on the 1000W Turbo-Cool, and it was not the best 1000W unit then and certainly not even close to as good as the half as expensive (today) Seasonic Platinum 1000 ;)
Click to expand...

Well, I understand that some people will fork out the money for the best... I just think it's ridiculous to recommend the OP a 260 dollar PSU... Hell even he said it was pricey. What happened to bang for your buck?
 
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Thanks for all the comments guys, i read them all. First off to clarify, i am not sure if i will be OC'ing my GPU's, if i do, it will however be to push them to how far they can go on air, then back off that edge a little so i feel more comfortable. However its quite possible the 7950 i get will be manufacturer OC'ed, so i might not do anything.
I am very aware of the scenario of getting a PSU that is right on the line of the power you need, and how having the PSU running at 95-100% is not good, having head room is a very good thing, like someone mentioned, it helps it stay cool and perform much better. I have heard of the opposite before however, if your rig only needs 600 watts yet you get a 1200Watt PSU, that having a PSU with that much headroom, its performance drops because its not being worked barely at all to give that power.

So i would agree that most likely 850 would be the sweet spot, but if i want to go 1000W then i will be okay.
Currently if i was to buy now, i really love the reviews, the recommendations here i got, the price and that short cable kit of the Silverstone http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite
What do you guys think? Definitely not going wrong if i chose that PSU?

(Btw i am surprised at you guys mentioning so much the "Gold, Bronze, Platinum" ratings of the PSU's, just because i have heard they are kinda a sham. Not that they mean NOTHING, but they arent very well regulated or something like. Care to comment on that? I could very well be wrong i admit.)
 
NathanP2007 said:
(Btw i am surprised at you guys mentioning so much the "Gold, Bronze, Platinum" ratings of the PSU's, just because i have heard they are kinda a sham. Not that they mean NOTHING, but they arent very well regulated or something like. Care to comment on that? I could very well be wrong i admit.)
Click to expand...

They are. However, since companies have started adding them to the name of their products it makes giving ECOS/ECOVA (and their 80 Plus mess) the proper amount of non-recognition difficult ;)
 
NathanP2007 said:
Thanks for all the comments guys, i read them all. First off to clarify, i am not sure if i will be OC'ing my GPU's, if i do, it will however be to push them to how far they can go on air, then back off that edge a little so i feel more comfortable. However its quite possible the 7950 i get will be manufacturer OC'ed, so i might not do anything.
I am very aware of the scenario of getting a PSU that is right on the line of the power you need, and how having the PSU running at 95-100% is not good, having head room is a very good thing, like someone mentioned, it helps it stay cool and perform much better. I have heard of the opposite before however, if your rig only needs 600 watts yet you get a 1200Watt PSU, that having a PSU with that much headroom, its performance drops because its not being worked barely at all to give that power.

So i would agree that most likely 850 would be the sweet spot, but if i want to go 1000W then i will be okay.
Currently if i was to buy now, i really love the reviews, the recommendations here i got, the price and that short cable kit of the Silverstone http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite
What do you guys think? Definitely not going wrong if i chose that PSU?

(Btw i am surprised at you guys mentioning so much the "Gold, Bronze, Platinum" ratings of the PSU's, just because i have heard they are kinda a sham. Not that they mean NOTHING, but they arent very well regulated or something like. Care to comment on that? I could very well be wrong i admit.)
Click to expand...

The 80+ are not a sham, they are just overmarketed, and the lax policing renders it semi-useless. However, it is not completely useless.

A Gold power supply generally has higher quality components than a Silver power supply from the same quality manufacturers. Meaning, a Seasonic Platinum uses better parts than a Seasonic Gold, and so on. Now, this doesn't always hold to be true, but it is true the majority of the time. So when you're buying better quality, you're also usually buying better efficiency.

At $180, the Kingwin Lazer Platinum is a better buy than that Silverstone. Better quality, better efficiency, and just slightly more expensive.
 
Tsumi said:
The 80+ are not a sham, they are just overmarketed, and the lax policing renders it semi-useless. However, it is not completely useless.

A Gold power supply generally has higher quality components than a Silver power supply from the same quality manufacturers. Meaning, a Seasonic Platinum uses better parts than a Seasonic Gold, and so on. Now, this doesn't always hold to be true, but it is true the majority of the time. So when you're buying better quality, you're also usually buying better efficiency.

At $180, the Kingwin Lazer Platinum is a better buy than that Silverstone. Better quality, better efficiency, and just slightly more expensive.
Click to expand...

Where does a Silver efficiency rating stack up with Platinum? I'm guessing just a bit lower?

Would you mind putting the ratings in order? Like Bronze, Gold, Silver, Platinum... Maybe that's right...?
 
Tsumi said:
The 80+ are not a sham, they are just overmarketed, and the lax policing renders it semi-useless. However, it is not completely useless.

A Gold power supply generally has higher quality components than a Silver power supply from the same quality manufacturers. Meaning, a Seasonic Platinum uses better parts than a Seasonic Gold, and so on. Now, this doesn't always hold to be true, but it is true the majority of the time. So when you're buying better quality, you're also usually buying better efficiency.

At $180, the Kingwin Lazer Platinum is a better buy than that Silverstone. Better quality, better efficiency, and just slightly more expensive.
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Thank you for that information, its what i assumed/heard. Okay that is good to know, does Kingwin have a similar short cable kit? Just curious, if not i would be okay with that.
A issue however is that link to the Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000W doesnt work anymore, and i cant find a " Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000W" on newegg or tigerdirect..so where are the places to keep a eye out for them?

X Trident: I always assumed it was like the Olympics: Bronze, Silver, Gold (then platinum). (Going from lowest to highest obviously).
 
NathanP2007 said:
Thank you for that information, its what i assumed/heard. Okay that is good to know, does Kingwin have a similar short cable kit? Just curious, if not i would be okay with that.
A issue however is that link to the Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000W doesnt work anymore, and i cant find a " Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000W" on newegg or tigerdirect..so where are the places to keep a eye out for them?

X Trident: I always assumed it was like the Olympics: Bronze, Silver, Gold (then platinum). (Going from lowest to highest obviously).
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You can just call me Trident. ;-)

And that's kinda what I'm thinking with the ratings as well. But I've never dug that deep into them.
 
80+ ratings.

Dang that Kingwin must have sold out fast. It's $210 on Amazon with Prime/FSS. If you pay tax at Mwave, that comes out to be about the same price, since I think mwave also charges for shipping.
 
xTrident said:
Did you really recommend a $260+shipping PSU to this guy??? Wow, gtfo!

Is a 1000W power supply for 260+dollars really worth it?

I think I've seen a high wattage consumption right around 400 watts on my main setup in my sig. And that information is through a Cyberpower UPS. Not only that, but I've got my router and either modem or switch hooked up to it sucking juice as well. And I'm running my i7 on a Corsair 750TX which will be two years come the end of May... Zero issues.

I just can't understand people recommending $180+ PSU's let alone a $260 one... I paid $110 for my Corsair, and I thought that was pretty steep. And it's not the fact that the OP may or may not need 1000W, but I hardly believe he'll need a 1000W PSU that costs that much.
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Yes I recommended and stand by my recommendation of the PSU. The most important part of your PC is the PSU and paying a little extra for something that will last you years and years and cost you more money over the long run in electricity, this is an excellent PSU. My recommendation was based around the fact that he was going to OC the CPU and run crossfire. You should never be running your system at 100% load just because it can handle the load there. You must factor in what happens when you get a brown out or a high voltage spike or some component dies and draws triple the amps. You want a PSU that can handle this and not burn out the rest of your components. I have been building systems for years and I stand behind paying a substantial amount for a good PSU.

Also it was just a suggestion. You do not need to be mean about it and tell me to 'gtfo'. All i did was offer a suggestion to a user asking for one. My suggestion is backed up by both experience with the brand and by reviews like the one on this site. Why has the simple question turned into such an argument?

Edit P.S.

I also recommended a quiet unit, because he is going to be using it on a test bench and the unit is silent at lower loads. Given the already high wattage of 1000W it will provide more output before the fan turns given it's very high efficiency. I have never heard my Seasonic x750's fan turn on, even when maxing out all the CPU cores and trying to stress the system. It has also survived tens if not hundreds of brown outs, or low voltage drops, as my office building is about 45 years and sometimes the power drops. During these times my coworkers PCs will turn off yet the X750 stays on and does its job protecting my system.
 
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The amount of misconceptions contained by your post is simply staggering, but I appreciate the effort so I'll try to address them.
jaredpace said:
Dont tell me to post less. I don't have an agenda here, I'm letting the author know what the cards are pulling under load. Your numbers are far fetched, regardless that you've been here just a few months. 600watts on a 7970 is a STRETCH! Hard-modded with over current protection bypassed maybe 500 watts on a 5870. 550-600 watts is possible, I won't disagree but you're talking the most ever seen in any circumstance...
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To let the author know anything you'd need a proper understanding of the topic discussed, which you lack.
My numbers are not far fetched, I admit the 7970 number is speculative and not witnessed, it's based on discussions I had with LN2 benchers and what I've seen from previous generation cards... by all accounts the 600W (max)estimation could even be low ;)
However, this is utterly irrelevant, the example was only given so you would understand the absurd nature of your argument, it seems it failed its purpose.

jaredpace said:
I've seen multiple posts of yours recommend that Kingwin PSU now. Do you have a particular reason to recommend such an irrelevant and unpopular product? I would like to know what it is.
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Typically this would prompt a short speech on ignorance, but I'll hold and just tell you this... if Kingwin is irrelevant and unpopular to you maybe you shouldn't be talking about PSUs in the first place.
As to why I recommend it, simply because is among the top five consumer power supplies ever made, and at 180$ nothing even comes close in value considering that only two PSUs of similar output offer comparable performance(the HCP 1200 and the Seasonic XP1000/XFX Black Edition 1000)


jaredpace said:
So from my standpoint: OP is aware of what the cards can draw. For all we know he may want to bench, is it fair for you to say "he's not that type"? Do you know him and what kind of person he is and what his gameplan is with this PSU and his Crossfire setup?
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Can you not see how that logic undermines your own argument?.. the exact same opposite is as valid, or better yet, as invalid ;)

You are, deliberately or not, ignoring a simple truth... an individual knowledgeable enough to bench this kind of hardware on LN2(a scenario where he'll see this kind of loads) already knows a lot more about hardware power requirements(and hardware in general) than the vast majority of the contributors on this forum... common sense dictates that he wouldn't be asking such questions, use your reason.
jaredpace said:
You've obviously corrected Tsumi's perception that a 7970 maxes at 250watts with your incredible 600 watt comment.
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Tsumi is one of the few good posters on this section of the forum, if he's throwing around such numbers is because he's trying to over simplify an answer that could turn out to be rather confusing or over complicated for the OP, or he's simply tired of explaining the same thing over and over again to people like yourself who seem too eager to post nonsense when they should listen and learn.

jaredpace said:
And now we come to a topic where I agree with what you have to post: The card pulling ~300 watts in a typical workload at 1250mv. Henceforth, my suggestions are aimed at the author and people wanting to know about PSUs. Yeah this is true, when you load up a game you aren't going to see 800-900 watts from 2-card SLI or Crossfire. However, Anandtech did reach 851 watts with a stock cpu, and two stock gpus running furmark & linpack. If you were to overclock and overvolt only 20-25% higher than stock this number would be 1050-1100 watts. Remember, that's just a single cpu and two video cards.
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4012/33986.png
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Simply reading this made some of my neurons liquefy, I'm not even gonna mentions how many I've lost trying to reply..

You don't just simply swallow numbers, you have to interpret them... that is power at the wall while using an Antec TPQ 1200, power supplies are rated at output and not input, you need to factor in the power lost during AC->DC conversion, estimating a typical efficiency of 87%(being generous) you'll get an actual load of only ~740W, on a power hungry platform with a much more demanding CPU, with two graphic cards with are in a league of their own in terms of power draw, GTX 480s(are you really comparing 480s with 7970s!??)




jaredpace said:
I would suggest to check out johnnyguru to get a good understanding of high quality PSU's.
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I'll do that, thanks :)

jaredpace said:
Newegg reviews and ratings are a good addendum to help make a purchasing decision. The 1000W Silverstone I recommended has 5-egg rating with 50+ reviews. It's the highest rated >1000watt PSU on all of newegg and has a very high recommendation from Johnnyguru's review. At 190 bucks it seemed like a solid deal.
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No, newegg reviews is a non reference, people writing reviews on newegg understand power supplies the way my dog does... check out some awesome Diablotek/Raidmax units ;)

jaredpace said:
Others I would recommend are Seasonic x-1250, Antec AX, High current pros, Corsair HX1000, 1050, and Strider Evolutions. These are all top-of-the-line Power supplies, with the highest ratings from Johnnyguru. Platinum certified at 1200watts+ is just now seeing the light of day.
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There are many many more power supplies from a variety of manufacturers, as good or better than the ones mentioned above.

jaredpace said:
All that being said, the possiblity of booting 7970 crossfire on a 500watt PSU exists. Just where do you want to go from there? Power supplies run better when they are at a lower temperature. They have less ripple and current fluctuation when they are in this state. Higher effeciency is a perk to boot and means you're only pulling from the wall what the hardware is calling for.
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This is the perfect proof of how little you do understand.. sorry, but I'm not gonna address this again, I don't hate myself that much.
jaredpace said:
A high quality PSU at 60-70% load in the running cool in mid 30'sC with the SILENT dynamic fluid fan barely spinning, and 2200uF caps at the end of the solid leads giving 100% pure clean power to your overclocked rig .
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What!? :))))
Just between us, that 2200uF rating means as much to you as it does to 90% of this hardcore community, and that's nothing... not to mention that it's a sad solution to a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place, filtering should be done inside the unit... also, those caps make almost no difference at all(I know;))

jaredpace said:
Is this a serious question? Why would anyone recommend just what it takes "to squeeze by"?
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No one is doing that ;)
jaredpace said:
A name-brand 750 watt would get the job done. However, we know what the hardware is capable of once you start adding voltage. This is why the Pros have 2000-3000 watts of the highest quality power sitting on deck. Perhaps the OP has no intention of overclocking, and he doesn't require any headroom at all. Techpowerup's 7970 crossfire review maxed at only ~550 watts (all stock).
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You're either severely delusional or trolling like there's no tomorrow..
And to clear it up, a 750W quality unit is plenty for his intended build
jaredpace said:
I stand firmly by my recommendation for the Silverstone Strider 1000 Watt. The reviews and ratings do back it up 100%.
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It's inferior in ever single way to the Kingwin and it costs more.

ps. I don't question your intention to help, but you lack the means to do so, instead of replying this nonsense to me or others you could maybe read more... and post less :)
 
Profumo: Though i understand your correcting almost everyone that posted...it doesnt really help ME that much. I would much rather like to hear your opinion(s) on which PSU's you'd recommend.
First off to clarify, i will 98% likely be getting a 7950, not a 7970 if that matters.

What i get from your post is you like the Kingwin, 750 is plenty for my intended build, your not a fan of the Silvestone considering its price, cause at around the same price you can get a higher quality PSU.

I think i would still like a higher Watt PSU than 750, even though i dont really doubt that 750 is plenty. Not saying im dead on wanting 1000W, if someone showed me a cheaper 800-900W Platinum that was a great PSU and a great deal, id be happy to jump on it.

Ironically im a descendant of James Watt, the Father of the Industrial Revolution who "Wattage" was named in honor of...so if anyone should know the most it should be me...but that's not the case lol, so thanks for all the help guys, keep it coming, im still not 100% locked down on what i should get. I love getting all the information to make my own decisions, but i love more being told the best specific product and it generally agreed upon by other knowledgeable posters that i will then end up buying.
 
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JosiahBradley said:
Yes I recommended and stand by my recommendation of the PSU. The most important part of your PC is the PSU and paying a little extra for something that will last you years and years and cost you more money over the long run in electricity, this is an excellent PSU. My recommendation was based around the fact that he was going to OC the CPU and run crossfire. You should never be running your system at 100% load just because it can handle the load there. You must factor in what happens when you get a brown out or a high voltage spike or some component dies and draws triple the amps. You want a PSU that can handle this and not burn out the rest of your components. I have been building systems for years and I stand behind paying a substantial amount for a good PSU.

Also it was just a suggestion. You do not need to be mean about it and tell me to 'gtfo'. All i did was offer a suggestion to a user asking for one. My suggestion is backed up by both experience with the brand and by reviews like the one on this site. Why has the simple question turned into such an argument?

Edit P.S.

I also recommended a quiet unit, because he is going to be using it on a test bench and the unit is silent at lower loads. Given the already high wattage of 1000W it will provide more output before the fan turns given it's very high efficiency. I have never heard my Seasonic x750's fan turn on, even when maxing out all the CPU cores and trying to stress the system. It has also survived tens if not hundreds of brown outs, or low voltage drops, as my office building is about 45 years and sometimes the power drops. During these times my coworkers PCs will turn off yet the X750 stays on and does its job protecting my system.
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I apologize for the "gtfo" comment, Josiah. I didn't actually mean it as a completely serious statement. I admit, when I clicked your link to see what PSU you recommended my jaw dropped when I saw the price tag. It's just one of those things where it seems like everyone just assumes people have an absurd amount of money... I guess in the case of the OP, he might considering what he's dumping into this build.

I've too been building PC's for years and while I don't think I have the same unstable power issues as you, I've had zero problems with any power supply I've ever used, and none of them have been remotely close to that 260 dollar price tag. I've read a lot about the talk of efficient enough PSU's that the fan doesn't even run... Since all of my builds up to this point have consisted of air cooling, the PSU fan, which is at the bottom and rear of my machine isn't going to have much to do with the overall sound. Basically, non-issue. And even though they are air cooled, I still consider most of them very quiet.

At first glance, I just couldn't believe a $260 dollar PSU was the way to go.
 
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