 Psu Question, Not sure how much "umph" I need |
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 Jul 12 2008, 11:05 AM
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 61 Joined: 5-June 06 Member No.: 70,801  |
But here's what my new setup is going to be. Motherboard: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Graphics Card: EVGA 01G-P3-N895-A3 GeForce 9800 GX2 KO 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card (SOON I'll be updating to two of these, so I'm keeping that in mind when I buy the PSU) Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive Drive: CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE/PATA 20X DVD±R DVD Bulk Burner I'm looking for a good PSU that can support what I need. The PSU I'm looking at: ZALMAN ZM850-HP Continuous 850W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.91 Modular Heatpipe-Cooled SLI Power Supply Reviews are good, and it seems like it would be able to support what I need. ANY suggestions on a PSU or on my rig in general are perfectly welcome. Thanks for you time, and help in advance.  |
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Jul 12 2008, 11:30 AM
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arachibutyrophobia Group: BC Advisor Posts: 4,187 Joined: 4-March 05 From: Northern CA. Member No.: 13,532 |
The big determining factor here is your graphics card, the minimum system requirements call for a 580W PCI Express®-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 40A or more.
That PSU will work just fine with your system. This post has been edited by dc3: Jul 12 2008, 11:34 AM -------------------- May we please have a little chlorine in the gene pool?
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Jul 12 2008, 01:36 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 61 Joined: 5-June 06 Member No.: 70,801 |
Would it be sufficient for 2 9800 GX2's? Without sparing quality, or reliability of a stable system?
Also: Do you think I'd have any power left over for a physics processor? This post has been edited by shiftplusone: Jul 12 2008, 01:37 PM |
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Jul 12 2008, 02:14 PM
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 Forum Addict Group: Members Posts: 1,056 Joined: 28-September 06 From: New York Member No.: 87,553 |
850-watt is more than enough for that set-up, even with 2 9800GX2's. They use a lot of power, but 850 watts is plenty.
One thing I was wondering is if the 780i's support quad-SLI? I'm pretty sure they do, but I can't find anywhere that it says that board does. --------------------  |
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Jul 12 2008, 10:11 PM
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 Distinguished Member Group: Members Posts: 610 Joined: 24-June 06 From: Pace University - New York City Campus Member No.: 73,266 |
Your PSU should be sufficient for two 9800GX2's. However, you should also factor in efficiency and a deterioration of performance over time. About 80 to 85 percent of that 850W will be usable and over time, it may go down further. For now, you can run your PC just fine. You should be able to use quad-SLI but not a sextuple-SLI (never thought I would use that word with SLI for a while) since they don't contain another SLI connector.
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Jul 13 2008, 04:03 AM
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arachibutyrophobia Group: BC Advisor Posts: 4,187 Joined: 4-March 05 From: Northern CA. Member No.: 13,532 |
Anything above 80% efficiency is considered to be good, and the Zalman is rated at 86% @ load operating temperature. The one truth in regards to electronics is that when circuits are running they are generating heat, and this is the loss of efficiency. This PSU running at 86% efficiency can lose as much as 17% of its wattage in heat. This means that this 850W PSU may actually be drawing over 900W from the wall.
Yes, a PSU will lose power over a period of time, but the amount is usually negligible, and it could be well over a year before you would be able to measure that loss. The Zalman PSU being used in the system that is being considered is going to be like breaking eggs with a sledgehammer as far as performance goes. -------------------- May we please have a little chlorine in the gene pool?
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Jul 13 2008, 07:46 AM
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#7
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Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 261 Joined: 20-May 07 Member No.: 131,991 |
I'm just going to suggest a different motherboard with a better memory speed. I recently built one that was much like this one, but not quite as good with the graphics card and PSU, but my vista ratings are almost all 5.9, except for the memory operations per second, which is at 4.5. It just bothers me a bit, because i was going to get a faster RAM speed before i changed back to a DDR2 800 RAM supporting motherboard.
-------------------- Q6600, 4GB g-skill, 8800GT, P5N-D motherboard  My art |
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Jul 13 2008, 10:32 PM
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#8
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Member Group: Members Posts: 61 Joined: 5-June 06 Member No.: 70,801 |
QUOTE(DJBPace07 @ Jul 12 2008, 11:11 PM)  For now, you can run your PC just fine. You should be able to use quad-SLI but not a sextuple-SLI Will the 9800 GX2's be able to run that? Sextuple? Cause I may look at that for as a future (maybe next summer) option. But would 850 be able to support that power wise? Or should I wait, and get the 850 now, since I'm on a sort of 1500 budget. QUOTE(Vaerli @ Jul 13 2008, 08:46 AM) I'm just going to suggest a different motherboard with a better memory speed. I recently built one that was much like this one, but not quite as good with the graphics card and PSU, but my vista ratings are almost all 5.9, except for the memory operations per second, which is at 4.5. It just bothers me a bit, because i was going to get a faster RAM speed before i changed back to a DDR2 800 RAM supporting motherboard. What would you suggest? I was looking at the 790i version from EVGA, but that's 100 dollars more, not to mention the price jump from DDR2 to DDR3. And I've heard it's got oodles of problems right now because of new technology glitches. Have you heard otherwise? I'd rather go for a reliable system, than take a $200-$300 leap into the realm of faster but less reliable. The 780i has reallly good ratings, but if you have any suggestions I'l of course take a look at them. That's why I came here. Suggestions and comments. I'm not going to leave any out just because I've heard good things about one thing. Thanks everyone for you time and good to know that PSU WILL work haha |
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Jul 13 2008, 11:09 PM
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#9
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Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 261 Joined: 20-May 07 Member No.: 131,991 |
QUOTE(shiftplusone @ Jul 13 2008, 09:32 PM) QUOTE(DJBPace07 @ Jul 12 2008, 11:11 PM) For now, you can run your PC just fine. You should be able to use quad-SLI but not a sextuple-SLI Will the 9800 GX2's be able to run that? Sextuple? Cause I may look at that for as a future (maybe next summer) option. But would 850 be able to support that power wise? Or should I wait, and get the 850 now, since I'm on a sort of 1500 budget. QUOTE(Vaerli @ Jul 13 2008, 08:46 AM) I'm just going to suggest a different motherboard with a better memory speed. I recently built one that was much like this one, but not quite as good with the graphics card and PSU, but my vista ratings are almost all 5.9, except for the memory operations per second, which is at 4.5. It just bothers me a bit, because i was going to get a faster RAM speed before i changed back to a DDR2 800 RAM supporting motherboard. What would you suggest? I was looking at the 790i version from EVGA, but that's 100 dollars more, not to mention the price jump from DDR2 to DDR3. And I've heard it's got oodles of problems right now because of new technology glitches. Have you heard otherwise? I'd rather go for a reliable system, than take a $200-$300 leap into the realm of faster but less reliable. The 780i has reallly good ratings, but if you have any suggestions I'l of course take a look at them. That's why I came here. Suggestions and comments. I'm not going to leave any out just because I've heard good things about one thing. Thanks everyone for you time and good to know that PSU WILL work hahahttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813186134 Of course, thats a bit more of a gamble, but it might work fine for you. I wish I would be able to upgrade my RAM to a faster speed with my current motherboard, even if I wouldn't ever do it. I see what you mean by its a large cost jump. -------------------- Q6600, 4GB g-skill, 8800GT, P5N-D motherboard My art |
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Jul 15 2008, 11:11 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 61 Joined: 5-June 06 Member No.: 70,801 |
I'm not sure if I want to take a "gamble" though is my problem. I really want to make sure everything will work as well as I can. I'm thinking of going with the 790i from EVGA, and just getting 2GB of RAM DDR3 1333.
Any suggestions? My options are somewhat like this: Get the 780i with 4gb DDR2 and eventually going up to 8gb Get the 790i with 2gb DDR3 and hopefully go to 4 soon. and so on and so forth. I personally feel like the 780i is a good option but I'm slowly gravitating towards the 790i, so any advice would be grand. Thanks a lot everyone |
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Jul 15 2008, 11:19 PM
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arachibutyrophobia Group: BC Advisor Posts: 4,187 Joined: 4-March 05 From: Northern CA. Member No.: 13,532 |
I don't see any mention of the OS you will be using, so I will just toss this out there. Unless you are going to be using a 64-bit OS you will not be able to use anything larger than 4GB of RAM. A 32-bit OS will recognize a maximum of 4GB or RAM.
-------------------- May we please have a little chlorine in the gene pool?
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Jul 15 2008, 11:23 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 61 Joined: 5-June 06 Member No.: 70,801 |
I'm thinking dualbooting XP 64 and Vista 64. I have them both, but would that be pointless for gaming? a 64 bit? I'm not sure
* I just remember that when I ran XP 64, I was annoyed with drivers and installing things. That was about a year and a half ago, though. This post has been edited by shiftplusone: Jul 15 2008, 11:34 PM |
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Jul 15 2008, 11:33 PM
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Distinguished Member Group: Members Posts: 610 Joined: 24-June 06 From: Pace University - New York City Campus Member No.: 73,266 |
The 64-bit implementation of XP is nowhere near as good as Vista's. It also has problems with drivers and compatibility with programs. Vista 64 has ironed some of the issues out, I have been able to play every game of mine on it. Also, the computer would be able to see all 4GB if you use a 32-bit OS, you just won't be able to use it all because of memory addressing. This is not a problem in 64-bit OS's, the entire 4GB is usable.
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