Hi, I am a first time computer builder and just wanted to know how much wattage I would need for my rig and which brands are reliable (and that preferably run on 1 or 2 rails). My friend recommended a 750W PC Power & Cooling psu for $165@Tigerdirect. My setup will be as follows: Intel core 2 extreme QX6850 3ghz quad core processor (I won it at work =p, the retail is a grand but sells online for only 300-500 so i figured I could just use it) ASUS P5Q intel P45 mobo EVGA 9800GTX+ superclocked (PCI-E 2.0) - 770mhz core, uses less wattage than regular 9800gtx apparently RAM- 2 x 2gb DDR2..unsure of which brand and speed (800,1066,1333) to purchase. will heatsink be necessary for this setup? WD Caviar 500gb HDD LG dvd-drive Antec Nine Hundred Case Samsung 245BW Display I was looking at PC&P 610W version psu that is much cheaper but i am unsure if it will be enuff sustain the machine. Also on the side I was comparing the BFG 9800GTX+ OC to the EVGA one. The BFG one is 30 dollars cheaper, however it supports regular PCI-E rather than EVGA's PCI-E 2.0. Is there a major difference between PCI-E versions? I havent opened anything yet, so I can always exchange cards or any part for that matter. Thanks
Both 750w and 610w silencer's are fantastic power supplies. They're both more than adequate for that setup. Both cards are PCIE 2.0, not like it makes a difference. They're both good so you might as well save $30 and get the BFG. For RAM go GSKILL 8000 or 6400 kits (whichever fits your budget).
Thanks alot for the info and recommendations i rlly rlly apreciate it. I was looking at several benchmarks for single card performance and the 9800 was slightly better than the 4850 (marginal tho). however the 4850 does perform better in crossfire config. over the 9800 in sli. But im sticking to one card for now. But then I found out we got the new BFG card at work, so i could get a little deal on it for under 200 dollars including tax. The 4870 diamond is a lil outta my budget. Also how would the PC&P 610W compare to the Corsair TX Series 650W and 750W (both on single rails) and OCZ GameXStream psu's like the 700W (2 rails)? Also are more rails better or worse? 1 friend said try and get a single rail psu while another friend said the more rails the better Thanks
The way I've heard it most manufacturers try and use multiple rails because while a single large rail is preffered (specially for multi gpu setups) it's also tougher to manufacture. Corsair TX like the PCP&C are also good PSUs but OCZs simply can't reach the same level of quality. This is despite the fact that OCZ has purchased PCP&C (They haven't rebranded the products or changed anything though). Regular 4850 is faster than regular 9800 specially with AF/AA turned on. The 9800+ is a different matter though. The issue with going for nvidia is that you'd need an nvidia chipset to do SLI: 1)You don't have an nvidia chipset (P5Q is P45) 2)Nvidia chipsets suck compared to Intel's offerings So OK you want a single card right now but if you're thinking of adding another one say in 6 months time you'd be better off with the 4850.
ah ok, thanks alot guys. u all rlly cleared things up for me. Now i just gotta decide between the 4850 and 9800gtx+. im still leaning towards the nvidia card tho since i most likely will not be running multiple cards for a few years to come.
If you can afford it, go for the ATI Radeon HD 4870. Take a look at the ASUS EAH4870 review - Tech ARP - ASUS EAH4870 Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Card Review for the reasons why. Don't worry about running multiple cards. By the time you decide on an upgrade 1-2 years down the line, there will be totally new graphics cards that can offer you twice the performance for the same price or even less.
well it's easy then. Got budget get the 4870 (around 1k and maybe less) if not enough budget then it's the 4850 (around 600 or less) since both card already can beat the hell out of 9800gtx+ ...
put it this way, I'm using a GTX280 on a 550w and it's fine. so your HD4850 even on whatever overclock also won't need until 600w.
Overclocking should not increase power consumption, unless you start to vmod. In fact overclocking barely increase 5W-10W unless you touch the voltage.
alright thanks again for the input, now i just gotta go and haul all these parts in =p. I think im gonna go with the PCP&P 610W or Corsair TX650W just to have some headroom and be more futureproof. I am really excited and looking forward to putting this thing together.
If you want to be futureproof, don't worry so much about getting MORE power. Even with many hard drives, you are unlikely to need more than 500 W unless you really want to use 2 or more graphics cards. Make sure the PSU comes with at least one 6-pin AND one 8-pin power connector. If you can get modular PSUs with the ability to add more connectors, that's even better.
oops, got some stuff mixxed up =_=..I though it's slightly faster? thanks for pointing it out *everyone is learning here*
PRECISELY. I bought my Gigabyte 550w Odin GT earlier this year thought that it would be fine and all to use with 3870X2 and to my horror, it doesn't have 8-pin PCI-E connector! so I did this......... it works on GTX280 too!