PSU for new build

[lankymorley]

Hi, after a long while of planning, I should be putting the money in for all my components for a new build pretty soon. This is my first build, but I have been reading around ages so I'm fairly confident it will go well.

My conclusions on specs so far are as follows:

-Antec 1200

-Asus P6T Deluxe

-Intel i7 920

-Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme TRUE Black Edition (+ the socket 1366 kit, of course)

-2 x Scythe S-Flex fans for the heatsink

-6GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz CAS 8

-BFG 9800GX2 (this component is definately not subject to change as I bought it a while ago to go in my current PC, but for various reasons the upgrade was not possible, never mind, I'm big on folding! )

-ASUS Xonar D2X / Azuntech Prelude 7.1

-1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 for storage

-300GB WD Velociraptor for OS and apps

-LG GGW-H20L Blu-Ray Rewriter

I would like a 1000W PSU incase I decide to upgrade my GFX a couple of years down the line and I have heard great things about both the Corsair HX 1000W and the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 1000W. If any of you could give your thoughts on these PSUs or any others which you think may suit my needs then it would be greatly appreciated. Any comments on the rig in general are also very welcome!

 

[AntiHeroUK]

Before I saw you mention those PSUs I was about to recommend the Corsair HX1000W. The Be Quiet PSUs are also great so it comes down to personal preference on which you choose

 

[°TheMadDutchDude°]

I'd say the Corsair to be honest. Just a personal thing really, either will do

 

[Rastalovich]

Need about 600w ? off the top of my head.

 

[°TheMadDutchDude°]

I would say 750w tops, but he has budgeted for a HX1000 so might as well give him the choices he wants if you ask me.

I personally don't think you need to get a 1000w PSU as it will just be wasted power, however if you got the cash and want to make a good, long investment, I'd say go for it.

I know I don't need all the power from my PSU but when I was upgrading I thought I'd might as well get a powerful one to prepare for what ever else I decide to chuck in the rig in the coming months/years

 

[Rastalovich]

How about meeting me half way, 750W and the best efficiency model on the market, with the same cash if possible ?

They're only good for 5 years nominally.

 

[lankymorley]

Thanks for all of your opinions! I take your point that 1000W is a bit of an overkill, but I had that in mind due to any future upgrades, I just wanted to be covered. How much more power would a new, power hungry card such as the GTX295 or 4870X2 need over a 9800GX2? If one of those cards could be covered by a 750W/850W PSU then I'll save myself a few quid and get one of those, possibly the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 850W?

 

[°TheMadDutchDude°]

I think they're about on par but possibly because they're newer with new die designs, they run cooler and use less energy so.. I'd say get the 850W you mentioned, just be sure you get the best one for your money.

 

[tonpal]

Lets make some assumptions

High end video card (GTX295 or 4870x2) power draw is 300W

CPU power draw is 150W

Motherboard, memory, HDDs, ODDs and fans draw another 100W

So far I am up to 550W.

Unless I am missing something the only thing that would justify running a psu much over 650W is a pair of GTX295s or 4870x2s

 

[Bungral]

I ran my 4870X2 with an overclocked 65nm quad at 3.8GHz for a little while on my 700w Cooler Master M700.

Did the job perfectly well.

 

[Rastalovich]

Lets make some assumptions

High end video card (GTX295 or 4870x2) power draw is 300W

CPU power draw is 150W

Motherboard, memory, HDDs, ODDs and fans draw another 100W

So far I am up to 550W.

Unless I am missing something the only thing that would justify running a psu much over 650W is a pair of GTX295s or 4870x2s

U probably kinda/sorta right, I mean I'm powering qx9650/gtx280/3hdd/minor ocing/etc etc with 500w. But tbh it's not the psu I planned on using which was 600w, thanks to 8pin pcie connections. I haven't got much if any headroom.

U should do a rough calculation like above, add on 50-100 for old times sake (wear plus everything accessing at the same time), a fistfull more for potential ocing, and anything u think u might be upgrading to.

 

[°TheMadDutchDude°]

Yeah, so play safe and get a 750w!

I think that this will surfice your needs for a long time to come, unless you intend to use two 4870x2s for example.

 

[tonpal]

The point of the rough calculation was to show that a 1000W PSU was over the top. Rastalovich is right is saying that you should do a better calculation then add a margin.

Ideally you should not run your psu over 80% or below around 30%. I personally try to aim for a load of 60% to 70%.

 

[Daza]

Whistles http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

[lankymorley]

Thanks for all of the advice, I think I'm going to go with the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 750W edition as I've heard a lot of very positive reviews about it which say it is one of the most efficient models on the market and it's also very quiet. There's £40 saved on that HX1000W!