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Help me choose PSU - Need Help Quick!

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Hey guys, I need advice to buy a good PSU.

I've had some help up to now... but it only made me even more confused. I hear some PSUs are gold rated, or silver rated... but even then... when tested... I hear some of them "Gold rated" ones are worth Silver in the end... or silver ones worth "gold rating" in the end...

I need a PSU that will power these, feed constant voltage and help me reduce my electricity bill:

i7 875k (OC @ 4Ghz)
8Gb RAM (OC@2000mhz)
2x radeon 6950 unlocked shaders in crossfire

and my fans... (for more info look @ my system specs)

I'd like to get a REALLY good 1000w PSU. Point me towards the very best for my intel rig pls
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
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How come you didn't get the PSU that matches your case..the Hale90, or something like that?

I made my recomendation in your other thread...Antec TPQ-1200. It's overkill, for sure, but you'd be covered if ya wanted to add another card, or water cool, add another 100 fans, whatever.

I'm in Edmonton. if you are local to me, send me a PM.
 
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ok thx, does the antec 1200 have multi rail or sinlge rail?
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
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Multi-rail, 38a per rail. Works great with similar parts to yours, just finished using it with 2x6950, i7 870, P7P55D-E Pro.

I have the "OC" version, each cable for PCIe has labels saying which rail the cable is connected to...each vga has acess to two rail in dual card configs.

It's red/black to match the VGAs, too. ;)
 
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cool, I heard that single rail is better than multi-rail because it can transfer 100% of the power... well I trust you guys on the antec...

why is it rated silver if it's that good%?
 
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oh and a noob question, should the PSU fan be facing down or up?
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
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cool, I heard that single rail is better than multi-rail because it can transfer 100% of the power... well I trust you guys on the antec...

why is it rated silver if it's that good%?

Silver is 85%+ efficiency @ like 20%, 50%, and 100% load. PSU is rock-solid for me. You also find most of the "pro" benchers use one, so that's a definite vote for it too.


oh and a noob question, should the PSU fan be facing down or up?

Depends. some cases require it be facing down, however, for the Antec unit, it doesn't have any fan that is affected by installed orientation. Yet another reason I like it.
 
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so.... then.... what does gold rating stand for?

what would be the best gold rated PSU for my rig according to you? (don't hate me for asking so many questions, I'm a perfectionnist, and I know how much details count...)
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
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I dunno so much about gold PSUs....I thought my Silverstone 750W gold would have been enough for two cards and a serious OC, but it wasn't.

I guess anything gold rated @ 50c should be pretty good, but gold isn't the highest, either...there is also a "platinum" rating, don't know if any units exist that meet that rating though.

Here's a good page for you though:

http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSupplies.aspx

Don't worry about the questions, suits me jsut fine..jsut running some benchmarks for a review, so I've got the time right now to answer!
 

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I love my XFX 850w Black Edition, silver certified
 
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There is no reason to get a 1000w power supply, I guarantee your system pulls less than 700 watts. A good 750 would easily power that system, if you want to be even more on the safe side pick up a 850 or so. I would recommend a Corsair power supply either an 850TX or if you want modular cables an 850HX

Will easily power your rig with lots of room to spare. Both have single 12v rails at 70 amps each. No reason to go to super high end power supply.
 
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Alright, I'm going for the Antec tpq 1200w
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
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No reason to go to super high end power supply.

Modded 6950 can draw 250w each, easily, @ just 6970 clocks. Go over 6970 clocks, and it's higher.

That leaves 250w or so for cpu, fans, drives, etc..might be just barely enough. Figure @ 4ghz his cpu is drawing about 135w...that leaves 115 for the fans, drives, etc...

BUT...

if the fans are powered by the motherboard, some juice is lost there as the power is distributed through the board....

I have recommended a minimum 850W for dual VGAs for a couple of years now, won't change that any time soon, either.

Once summer heat kicks in, and temps increase, power consumption will increase as well.

When PSu is the heart of your system...it's best to make sure you get the best you can. A good power supply will power excellent parts jsut as well as cheap ones, but a cheap powersupply cannot. It's the one thing I think users should spend the biggest consideration on when building a system.

In the end, Kenshai, you are right...there's realyl no need for a 1200W unit, but at the same time, PSUs quite normally deliver less power than they are rated for after extended use, so it's not jsut about what the PSU can do now, but also how long it will last...a PSU near the limit is going to have a much shorter life than one barely stressed.
 
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antec 1200w tpq purchased
 
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Both cards aren't going to pull 250 each. According to this review crossfired 6970's with an i7 970 pulls under 600 watts total system draw. Granted they run a stock clock but considering the 970 has a relatively high power draw I don't think the difference will be 200 watts.
 
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Modded 6950 can draw 250w each, easily, @ just 6970 clocks. Go over 6970 clocks, and it's higher.

That leaves 250w or so for cpu, fans, drives, etc..might be just barely enough. Figure @ 4ghz his cpu is drawing about 135w...that leaves 115 for the fans, drives, etc...

BUT...

if the fans are powered by the motherboard, some juice is lost there as the power is distributed through the board....

I have recommended a minimum 850W for dual VGAs for a couple of years now, won't change that any time soon, either.

Once summer heat kicks in, and temps increase, power consumption will increase as well.

When PSu is the heart of your system...it's best to make sure you get the best you can. A good power supply will power excellent parts jsut as well as cheap ones, but a cheap powersupply cannot. It's the one thing I think users should spend the biggest consideration on when building a system.

In the end, Kenshai, you are right...there's realyl no need for a 1200W unit, but at the same time, PSUs quite normally deliver less power than they are rated for after extended use, so it's not jsut about what the PSU can do now, but also how long it will last...a PSU near the limit is going to have a much shorter life than one barely stressed.

Well said; a 1000w is enough, in case he overvolts his 6950's; overvolted gpu's are very power hungry, I'm telling you.
 

cadaveca

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Both cards aren't going to pull 250 each. According to this review crossfired 6970's with an i7 970 pulls under 600 watts total system draw. Granted they run a stock clock but considering the 970 has a relatively high power draw I don't think the difference will be 200 watts.

Yes, of course.

First, 6970's at stock, IMHO, will draw less than 6950 modded to 6970. Once you've clocked past 6970 clocks, there's no telling how much power that card may draw...too far out of spec.

Even @ 600W, that's 50% of the Antec unit, which is still 85% efficient...and it will never be stressed by his system, even if he decides he wants to go crazy and try LN2.

600w is almost too close to 850W for my liking. Almost. PSU then runs @ like 60%, all the time when gaming or such...that's out of my comfort zone, really. Like I said, I do not think anyone should be using a PSU anywhere near it's breaking point...

This system here in this pic, was held back by both a Silverstone Strider 750W GOLD, and a Corsair TX850. 24/7 clocks, sure, it's fine, but when benching, neither unit was enough. If i can find the point where PSU becomes the limit...then the PSU is not good enough, IMHO. Yes, that's a bit elitist, but I don't care...it's a good, safe recommendation. I feel better knowing that the PSU currently used will never be a limiting factor in stability testing or clocking.
025a.jpg
 
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well in my case, I'm pulling LOTS of power:

i7 875k oc @ 4Ghz,
RAM oc @ 2000mhz (they're 1600mhz sticks)
9 fans in my NZXT phantom case !!!
2x radeon unlocked shaders, MSI AB OC @ 1.25v 975/1475mhz (that's 2x 6950 goin crazy)
2xhard drives
1x SSD drive
Fan Hub Controller
Blu-Ray disc reader/burner
CPU water cooler...
And all the fans are LEDs...

So yah, if you knew me, yes right now 900w is plenty... but I want my RIG to be FUTUREPROOF... I might get 2xradeon 6990 in 5 years from now... see what I mean?
 

cadaveca

My name is Dave
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You've got what I consider a high-end rig, and it deserves a high-end PSU. Each other component cost $200 or more, so your PSU should ring in at about the same cost, IMHO.
 
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lolz, I agree, this RIG is Insane!!! (Considering the sandy bridge CPUs weren't out when I bought the parts and built it)
 
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You've got what I consider a high-end rig, and it deserves a high-end PSU. Each other component cost $200 or more, so your PSU should ring in at about the same cost, IMHO.

thats the right way to think for a problem less system!
 
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Multi-rail, 38a per rail. Works great with similar parts to yours, just finished using it with 2x6950, i7 870, P7P55D-E Pro.

I have the "OC" version, each cable for PCIe has labels saying which rail the cable is connected to...each vga has acess to two rail in dual card configs.

It's red/black to match the VGAs, too. ;)

HOw is that possible? How do each VGA get access to 2 ramps... aren't they linked to one wire?
 

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Both cards aren't going to pull 250 each. According to this review crossfired 6970's with an i7 970 pulls under 600 watts total system draw. Granted they run a stock clock but considering the 970 has a relatively high power draw I don't think the difference will be 200 watts.

Which is at the wall (not factoring in efficiency) in furmark.
 
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