Alright I want to run SLI on my comp but have a 400w PSU, could I get another graphics card and run SLI and be fine with that wattage? Here's my specs..
Geforce 8600 GT 512mb
2 gigs of ddr2 800
Athlon 64 Dual Core Proc 4600+ 2.40 GHz
win 7 64 bit OS
I found that graphics card for like 20 bucks on ebay..
The recommended total Power Supply Wattage gives you a general idea on what to look for BUT it is NOT a crucial factor in power supply selection! Total Amperage Available on the +12V Rail(s) is the most important, followed by the +5V amperage and then the +3.3V amperage.
GPU's draw power from the +12V rail and cheap PSU's often/sometimes don't have that much on the +12V so if you have a "cheap" (not always so easy to know) model you might want to take that into consideration.
PSU's degrade after time. I believe it is around 5-10% loss per year and quality of the PSU most likely affect this too. They can also not run on max power for any long periods so the bigger buffer you have the better in the long run.
Also, you will not get a linear 100% boost in most games from SLI, atleast not from what I have read. But that was some time ago so you might want to read up on that. Newer single cards draw less power but are still more powerful then older SLI cards.
Maybe take a look on Tomshardware.com 's GPU charts and see if you can find a card thats faster then 2 8600GT cards and see if you can buy that instead.
To be honest, before you plan on SLI'ing, no matter which cards you use, I'd recommend upgrading to at least a 600-700 PSU, modular (personal preference). Also, I'd recommend waiting for nVidia's new 3xx and 4xx line to come out closer to the end of this year. All of the "big" cards (if you can find them) will drop in value (i.e. 285 // 295 will drop a lot).
8600GT isn't that good of a card currently, you can pick up a 250 card pretty cheap these days, and those have some power behind them.
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Alright thanks guys.. Yea I'll probably end up just getting a single card because PSU's are fucking expensive for good ones and I don't feel like updating half my computer when I plan to build a new one later in the year.
Well you can get a decent one for like $100 I think, and move that over to the new PC? That way you don't need to buy a new PSU when you get the new computer ;p
If you're planning on adding another card higher than what you currently have, I would highly recommend upgrading your PSU. Hell if you're going to add a 9800GT you need a new PSU. I mean you'll be able to run dual 8600GT's, but you'll be using around 85% of your PSU's max power, and that is assuming it actually produces the full 400w like it is advertised.
Ideally you want to run somewhere around 30-50% of your max PSU power for it to run most efficiently.
600-700w psu would be a good idea. For instance, I'm going to run a single 5770 pretty soon, and I'm upgrading to an 850w psu so that I can run in that max efficiency range.
This is true... Does anyone have any links to some good deals? Or direct me in the range of what I should get?
Also is there a program or something that can tell you how much of your PSU is being used?
I just loaded in my specs from the website smik posted. It said 200W and when I added in that I was running SLI it jumped to 238W..So does that mean I am in the clear to go ahead and run SLI then?
That's the PSU calculator I and a lot of people I know use. Pretty accurate, and it allows you to OC in the inputs.
I would suggest anything more than what you have now, uprgrade the PSU. Corsair, Antec, Apevia, Cooler Master, Rosewill, all good PSU's. Just check with me first depending on the Rosewill PSU because a couple older models are below spec.
I wouldn't trust that to run SLI. I'm running the single fan 120mm version of that, and it has decent power for running my rig, but when I upgrade to the 5770 card, a solid 850w psu is going in (probably corsair). I mean 18 amps on the 12v rail just doesn't make me feel very comfortable with high performance, expensive parts.
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Geforce 8600 GT 512mb
2 gigs of ddr2 800
Athlon 64 Dual Core Proc 4600+ 2.40 GHz
win 7 64 bit OS
I found that graphics card for like 20 bucks on ebay..
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GPU's draw power from the +12V rail and cheap PSU's often/sometimes don't have that much on the +12V so if you have a "cheap" (not always so easy to know) model you might want to take that into consideration.
PSU's degrade after time. I believe it is around 5-10% loss per year and quality of the PSU most likely affect this too. They can also not run on max power for any long periods so the bigger buffer you have the better in the long run.
Also, you will not get a linear 100% boost in most games from SLI, atleast not from what I have read. But that was some time ago so you might want to read up on that. Newer single cards draw less power but are still more powerful then older SLI cards.
Maybe take a look on Tomshardware.com 's GPU charts and see if you can find a card thats faster then 2 8600GT cards and see if you can buy that instead.
8600GT isn't that good of a card currently, you can pick up a 250 card pretty cheap these days, and those have some power behind them.
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Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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♣Strength and Honor♣
If you're planning on adding another card higher than what you currently have, I would highly recommend upgrading your PSU. Hell if you're going to add a 9800GT you need a new PSU. I mean you'll be able to run dual 8600GT's, but you'll be using around 85% of your PSU's max power, and that is assuming it actually produces the full 400w like it is advertised.
Ideally you want to run somewhere around 30-50% of your max PSU power for it to run most efficiently.
600-700w psu would be a good idea. For instance, I'm going to run a single 5770 pretty soon, and I'm upgrading to an 850w psu so that I can run in that max efficiency range.
Also is there a program or something that can tell you how much of your PSU is being used?
I just loaded in my specs from the website smik posted. It said 200W and when I added in that I was running SLI it jumped to 238W..So does that mean I am in the clear to go ahead and run SLI then?
♣Strength and Honor♣
That's the PSU calculator I and a lot of people I know use. Pretty accurate, and it allows you to OC in the inputs.
I would suggest anything more than what you have now, uprgrade the PSU. Corsair, Antec, Apevia, Cooler Master, Rosewill, all good PSU's. Just check with me first depending on the Rosewill PSU because a couple older models are below spec.
One of my buddies online has this laying around and will give it to me I just have to pay for shipping.
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