Skyfire

I don't want people to criticize my decision to get the card, I have my reasons that are well thought out. However, I came to the realization that my current PSU will probably not be enough to handle the beast...

My current Sig has all of my current components, but fails to mention that it's now only 3 months away from its 2nd birthday, meaning that the PSU is probably worn down and less efficient than it used to be.

I've been looking long and hard at the Corsair 620W PSU...I'm looking for power, silence, and high efficiency(want as little heat as possible being produced, heating up my other components). And with the silence part, I'm waiting for HIS to come out with it's custom cooler(IceQ) for the x2900XT, though I've also read that the noise issue is a driver issue as well, but the heat being sent directly out of the case sounds like a better idea, so I'll probably wait(assuming it won't be a long wait...)

Anyways, back on topic, do you guys think the Corsair 620W can handle this with my current specs(subtracting the 7800GTX of course), or should I opt for a higher wattage PSU? And if so, what would you guys recommend?

I'm planning on putting together a new computer late next year, and it would be pretty dumb to get a PSU that wouldn't be able to handle crossfire(use the X2900XT for physics etc.) in just over 1 1/2 years when I get rid of my 939pin SLI board for an ATI board. So basically, if I can future-proof the PSU, then that will be that much less I'll have to buy when buying new components for the new computer.

Thanks a lot for the help, and I look forward to your suggestions


Also, anyone know where I can buy a 6 to 8 pin adapter so that I can overclock the X2900XT? or do I need a power supply that has native support for that? Still confused about that, and have had trouble finding any definite answer.

kris23

any 8 pin connector PSU should do, maybe the thermaltake 1000w or the enermax 1000w silverstone 1000w


you're most likely gonna need all the juice and circulation you can get.....

though i cant see any reason to buy it.

__________________

Skyfire

If you really want to know my reasons for deciding on the 2900xt, here they are...

1. Better performence than current card
2. comes with Half Life 2: Episode 2, portal, TF2, which I had plans on buying anyways, theoretically taking off $20-30 off the card's actual price
3. Current drivers are immature, performence will only increase
4. better folding performence
5. the cost of this + a new power supply combined will still be less than the cost of my 7800GTX when I got it
6. When I put together a new computer and get a new video card(R700), I'll be able to use the x2900XT for physics processing...aka recyclable, unlike the nvidia cards in their current state.
7. ATI has a long history of frequent, stable driver updates and support their entire line of cards, Nvidia's history is very sporatic, up to 6 months between WHQL drivers, some of which have simple, easily fixable bugs that somehow made it past WHQL testing.(did they forget pre-8x00 card users exist? or just abandon making drivers? or just taking their time with new drivers?)
8. I like ATI's control panel more(or lack thereof, depending on your taste)
9. The high temperatures on the card will be tempered by third party coolers(HIS IceQ for instance)
10. Noise will be taken care of via driver update(or third party cooler)
11. The recyclability part(#6), will allow the possibilty(assuming the physics processing is utilized, or it could be used for something else due to streaming processors) to achieve better performence when buying a new card for no extra cost, thus resulting in future savings(dont need to buy 2 of the same card for better performence)

and there you have it...all my reasons. And now...another question, will I really need a 1000W power supply? or is that taking into consideration crossfire down the road, efficiency degredation over time, etc.? or is it simply overkill? I'll need to look into those PSU's...I dont want them to be less than 85% efficient...imagine >150W turning into pure heat...eep, fried CPU/GPU

Tipstaff

From what I remember the card alone draws 200-250 watts at most, and that's during load. However, if you intend to overclock the card, either by letting ATIs Overdrive do it, or manually, you will need to get a PSU that has the new 8pin PCIE 2.2 and a 6pin PCIE power connectors on it. Otherwise the options for it are disabled. If, however, you intend to run the card at stock speeds, any PSU that has 2 6pin PCIE connectors will work fine.

In any case, at the moment, going by your current specs you probably use roughly about 350-400 watts (250-300 watts + 100 watts for the 7800GTX). Throw in an 8800GTX, and you'd be up to just shy of 450 watts (rough). In the case of the 2900XT, take your base amount of 250-300 watts, add another 250 watts max for the card, and you will be hitting 500-550 watts.. during load. To be honest, if you were running an SLI/Crossfire setup you would need a 1000 watts PSU, however since you will only be running a single card, 1000 watts would be more than plenty.

The real defining question you need to answer is whether you want to buy a new PSU if you ever decided to go SLI on that board (with Nvidia, of course, since the board you have only supports Nvidias SLI, and not AMDs Crossfire). If the answer is yes, buy the 1000 watt PSU to save yourself the hassle later.

__________________

Skyfire

Well, this explains why some numbers(power requiremetns) for the x2900xt are much different from what I was expecting. These past few months I was under the impression that the launch happening would be the cards built upon the 65nm process, and that they scratched the 80nm process into oblivion. Guess I was wrong...and should have taken my sources with more salt than I already was.

So...umm...do you know when the 65nm revamp will be out? please don't say fall...that would suck to have to wait that long...mid-summer I could handle, but I'm not going back to Nvidia.

Tipstaff

Ok.. I won't say it.

__________________

Judas

who knows at this point... they may just get rid of all the 80nm parts... and then whip out the 65nm emediately.. or we could be waiting till next year

__________________

ChaosMinionX

Speculation is still saying July / Q3 time for the XTX to roll out, could be 65nm R650.....But Im not holding my breath.

__________________

Judas

Well it's very conceiveable though.... i won't say it's impossible for it to happen.


Considering that te 2900 series WAS saposed to launch before christmas at the very latest..., a refresh would have been 6-8 months from then.... which would put us coming up on the 6th month here shortly...

__________________

kris23

for now....if you want no heat...and dont want to go nvidia...sucks for you dude

__________________

ChaosMinionX

Hopefully some good things emerge from the ATI fabs

__________________

H3X4D3C1M4L

Get a Galaxy... I don't know of anything that beast can't handle