New Build

[Maxwell]

Yup its for the 7970 with the q9400 with just a couple of hard drives. I would like get a little over kill incase i put more in it for future proof.

Someone with more technical knowledge than I have will have to weigh in, but if you want to future proof it, go to the 800-1000W range. I have a 1000W PSU in my computer that has successfully run dual 5970s, CPU at full load, all the assundry fans attached to my case, a HDD and a DVD drive. That was my uber setup, and didn't have any room for expansion, so i was happy.

[FourOh]

Maybe JPM can jump in here - my understanding is that PSUs are most efficient in the 50%-80% load range, so if you oversize your PSU not only do you spend money on the front end unnecessarily, you may not be getting the most bang for your utility dollar. Single 7970 systems are recommended to have a minimum of 500W, dual 850W (but 700W is enough if they are quality watts). I think you are wise to spend your money on the best quality PSU with the highest 80-Plus rating you can afford. I think either of the ones you posted are a good choice, though I'm partial to the EVGA lineup.

I used to buy cheap PSUs and I was always fighting with stability issues (my personal issues aside). I finally learned that forking over some extra money on a high end PSU saves a lot of pain, grief, and money in the long run. Good luck!

[Maxwell]

Maybe JPM can jump in here - my understanding is that PSUs are most efficient in the 50%-80% load range, so if you oversize your PSU not only do you spend money on the front end unnecessarily, you may not be getting the most bang for your utility dollar. Single 7970 systems are recommended to have a minimum of 500W, dual 850W (but 700W is enough if they are quality watts). I think you are wise to spend your money on the best quality PSU with the highest 80-Plus rating you can afford. I think either of the ones you posted are a good choice, though I'm partial to the EVGA lineup.

I used to buy cheap PSUs and I was always fighting with stability issues (my personal issues aside). I finally learned that forking over some extra money on a high end PSU saves a lot of pain, grief, and money in the long run. Good luck!

That's largely my understanding, too. A 7970 will draw ~300W at full load, and a q9400 will draw 95W. Add in the overhead for fans, hard drives, etc., and it'll be close to 500W, right (or am I overestimating overhead)? A 1000W PSU would put you at ~50% as the system sits, and would let you shove another 7970 in there and still keep it around 80%.

Of course, that's my thought process. I do tend to overbuild, if left to my own devices...

[Slicker]

Also consider that the PSU output will decrease over time. So while it may put out 1000W today, 4-6 years later, it may be down 20%. I've also come to the conclusion that the cheap ones tend to decrease 100% over a short period. In other words, they stop working. There's nothing scarier than having a PSU spit out sparks right when it goes. You wonder about whether a fire would happen if you weren't right there to turn it off. I've decided the money saved on cheap PSUs isn't worth the peace of mind of having one you trust.

[Maxwell]

Also consider that the PSU output will decrease over time. So while it may put out 1000W today, 4-6 years later, it may be down 20%. I've also come to the conclusion that the cheap ones tend to decrease 100% over a short period. In other words, they stop working. There's nothing scarier than having a PSU spit out sparks right when it goes. You wonder about whether a fire would happen if you weren't right there to turn it off. I've decided the money saved on cheap PSUs isn't worth the peace of mind of having one you trust.

While I've been fortunate not to have sparks fly out of a PSU yet, I've always had problems with PSUs before any other part goes. It's why I usually try to have a spare one on hand to keep things running until I can buy something decent.

[Fire$torm]

Here are the "JPM Guides"

Power Supply Efficiency - 80 PLUS (Link)

Hardware RMA Rates (Link) - Includes PSUs. I'm surprised to see Seasonic at the bottom as they have a great reputation for quality PSUs.

[aux9o]

Welp I was sitting here looking at power supplies when I heard it shut off again! I am going to have to order one soon as have a budget of 60.00. I am leaning towards EVGA because they have always taken great care of me on video cards at it looks like for 60.00 i can get a 600watt unit. I guess that will carry me until i get ready to put more cards in there.

[aux9o]

Ordered this paid to get it here on saturday.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[John P. Myers]

Ordered this paid to get it here on saturday.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also ordered a new PSU which just showed up a few minutes ago http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-007-_-Product

I haven't even installed it yet and i'm super impressed. This is my first Fractal Design PSU and i really wanted to see what they were all about. The thing that impresses me the most are the cables. Some of them aren't modular like the 20+4 pin motherboard plug, which is fine since it's not optional anyway. The 8-pin (4+4) EPS cable is also hard-wired, but again, gotta have it anyway, though there is an option to add a 2nd 8-pin EPS cable which is nice. There are also 4 6+2 pin PCIe plugs which aren't modular. This would annoy under normal circumstances since it's possible i might only use 2 of them, but the way these cables are designed, all 4 plugs only require 2 cables anyway, meaning if i install 1 7970 or 2 7970's, it doesn't matter. It's still only 2 cables to power them either way

For the modular cables, you have another pair of PCIe 6+2pins, sata, molex, floppy, etc. This also really impresses me because with most power supplies, you add a molex cable, but it has 5 or 6 molex plugs on it. Same with sata. To me that's always sucked when i only needed 2 or 3 of the plugs and now have to find some way to tuck the unused plugs into some inconspicuous cavity to keep the clutter at a minimum. With this Fractal Design, the modular molex cables only have 2 connectors and the sata cables only have 3. Also i get to choose what length i want (950mm, 800mm or 650mm) to further reduce clutter and improve airflow. It also has 80A of juice on a single rail

Again, i haven't installed it yet. Maybe the fan makes annoying clicking noises or something. But so far, this PSU is looking great.

[aux9o]

Looks like the new PSU fixed the problem!