Do I Need a Stronger PSU?

[pcguideuser745]

My next build consists of the following components, I am wondering if the listed power supply will be enough to power my system. Thanks!


Power Supply: Thermaltake W0117RU 750W



optical drives: one DVD ROM & one CDRW drive
hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB (model: WD2500KSRTL)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 2.66ghz Kentsfield quad core
motherboard: Evga 680i SLI (A1 revision)
ram: 4GB (2 x OCZ2G8002GK) OCZ Dual Channel Gold Edition DDR2 800mhz RAM
sound card: Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
video card: PCI-Express x16 Evga GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB
monitor: 19" HP LP1965 (max resolution 1280 x 1024)
Fans: 3 case fans, CPU fan, and maybe 1-2 more miscellaneous.

I am also wondering if the power supply i listed would be able to handle an 8800GTS in SLI, should I later decide to add another card in.

Is this reaching very close to the PSU capabilities? should i invest in a more powerful PSU for more leeway on my components? please note that i will also be using approximately 5 extra USB devices, which may draw additional power from my PC.

With the SLI setup and USB drives, how much leeway would i have on this power supply for adding on additional components?

Thanks in advance for the responses.

[odannyboy000]

750W should be good enough. Two 8800GTS's in SLI will only draw max 600W.

[saphalline]

That PSU is quad-SLI certified! It will be just fine with all the things you listed. It would probably even handle two 8800 GTX's in SLI, along with the other stuff. Even so, I'd recommend a nice UPS with active PVR to protect all that high-end hardware and keep the power clean. No sense living on the edge with a quad-core CPU! :eek: ;)

[jlreich]

Hey Saph, from what I understand the 8800's actually use about 50w less power than 7xxx cards (according to PC Mag). If this is true it is a good thing. Graphics cards power usage is starting to get out of control in the last couple of years.

[saphalline]

The 320MB version definitely does, and I suppose I could see that for the 8800 GTS vs 7900/7950 GTX, but the 7900 GS is pretty stripped-down. I imagine that's the least power-hungry out of all the 79xx's. And of course the 7800's are right out! :p

Oh man, don't even get me started on R600! The way ATI is going, that thing will blow away your notion of a "vid card"! There are even rumours about external liquid cooling and external power supplies! :eek: It's probably going to be so out of control that the highest end R600-based vid card will cost as much as an entire mid-budget system! This is getting ridiculous...

[Fruss Tray Ted]

It used to be w-a-y back in the early days of computing that they took up loads of space and consumed loads of power. Then it went from that to smaller, faster, and more efficient, and it became possible for pc's in every home.

Now what is going on with the need for 700+ watt power supplies and outside power assistance for video cards?!? Hello?

Next time my lights flicker or dim, I'll just attribute it to the kid next door must be having a LAN party! :eek:

[jlreich]

Now what is going on with the need for 700+ watt power supplies and outside power assistance for video cards?!? Hello?
That's what I'm thinking. Modern CPU's are all about 'do more with less power'. With graphics processors being one of the most advanced processors out there, why can't they do the same for them?

the 7900 GS is pretty stripped-down. I imagine that's the least power-hungry out of all the 79xx's.
I know when I went from a 6800GS to a 7900GS recently my UPS load meter went from about 35% up to 45%, at idle. That's a pretty big jump for it being so low to start out with. So if that's a stripped down version I would hate to see what kind of load a 7950GTX would be.

[saphalline]

Think of it as diversifying! :D

Small and power-efficient computing devices are still being made, and they're even better these days. Why, just look at pocket PC's and Palm's and tablets! Your average pocket PC these days is more powerful than a full-blown gaming desktop from 10 years ago!

There are also middling computers, like SFF's and mini-towers with complete desktop power. Not very roomy or upgradeable, but they still have plenty of power without breaking the electric company's back.

The latest high-end gaming systems, however, are more equivalent to super-computers or mini-computers from 15-20 years ago. Quad-core CPU's? 8GB of RAM? This is the stuff of legends back in the day, with a more modern spin. So if you think of it that way, super-computers really have become smaller and more energy-efficient! :cool:

I know when I went from a 6800GS to a 7900GS recently my UPS load meter went from about 35% up to 45%, at idle. That's a pretty big jump for it being so low to start out with. So if that's a stripped down version I would hate to see what kind of load a 7950GTX would be.6800 GS to 7900 GS? So you went from 8 pipes to 20 on the most power-hungry processor in your system and you wonder how it jumped 10%? :p The 6800's vs the 7900's are a completely different ball game. I thought we were talking 8800's vs 7900's? ;) Besides that, we really are getting more performance per Watt with the latest vid cards. But if you look at the benchmarks, GPU/VPU performance has been shooting through the roof! CPU's are lagging a bit behind. Look at all the numbers and you'll see what I mean.

[pcguideuser745]

I hate to bring up old threads again, but I thought this might be a better alternative to creating yet another thread on a similar topic.

I am thinking of taking advantage of EVGA's Step-Up Program, and stepping up my 8800 GTS 640MB to an 8800 GTX 768MB card instead, then purchasing another 8800 GTS to put them in SLI.

So my new question is: Will the Thermaltake W0117RU 750W power supply still be sufficient enough to power my computer? (listed below for ease of reference):

optical drives: one DVD ROM & one CDRW drive
hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB (model: WD2500KSRTL)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 2.66ghz Kentsfield quad core
motherboard: Evga 680i SLI (A1 revision)
ram: 4GB (2 x OCZ2G8002GK) OCZ Dual Channel Gold Edition DDR2 800mhz RAM
sound card: Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
video card: dual GeForce 8800 GTX SLI
monitor: 19" HP LP1965 (max resolution 1280 x 1024)
Fans: 3 case fans, CPU fan, and maybe 1-2 more miscellaneous.
Additional Devices: Several additional USB-powered "items"

According to Nvidia's website, slizone.com, the power supply I have right now is only certified to run dual 8800 GTS's in SLI, with the 850W version certified for dual 8800 GTX SLI setup. How reliable is Nvidia's SLI Certification and what exactly does it mean? I have seen a 750W PSU also listed to be certified for 8800 GTS SLI operation with similar stats to my current PSU. So why is that one certified for dual 8800 GTXs and mine is not?

I also intend on overclocking my components. Should I look into getting a more powerful PSU not only to give me more headroom in overclocking, but one that can provide enough juice to power dual 8800 GTXs (if my current PSU cannot)?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[TopChip7]

8800GTX in SLI and only ONE 19" monitor??? Isn't this a bit of overkill?
OF COURSE IT IS - good 4 u lol