EggXpert

hey fellas, first time posting here.

here are the specs for my new computer...which i have already ordered from newegg ofc. i cant put it together until next monday, so i was wondering if i made a mistake with just getting an 800W PSU. I checked your tiered list and it's in tier 1 however i am going to have 2x GTX 280s running...so at 82% efficiency is that cutting it a bit close? let me know what you guys think, appreciate it.

 

-1 x EVGA NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard
-1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz CPU
-1 x BFG Tech GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 Video Card
-1 x MSI GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 Video Card
-2 x OCZ Gold Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
-1 x LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA
-1 x Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
-1 x Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10000 RPM SATA HDD
-1 x OCZ EliteXStream OCZ800EXS 800W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 

itll run.

i would suggest getting faster ram though like 2x2gb of g skill ddr3 1600 pi series. and an aftermarket HSF for the CPU. if youre going to burn money make it worthwhile.

First of all, that is one hell of a system...

800W barely fits. I'm pretty sure each GTX280 has a TDP of 240W, so SLI would take 480W, which should leave you with enough for the rest of the system

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

well, that is getting a bit close to 800watts.  I estimate that your computer will draw around 700watts at full load.  So, you probably wouldn't want to do much overclocking unless you were to get a higher wattage power supply. 

However, at stock speeds, that EliteXStream should be able to handle your computer fine.  It is a very high quality power supply, tier 1 as you said, and is certainly fully capable of delivering the watts its rated for, if not a bit more. 

mrbiggums:

I'm pretty sure each GTX280 has a TDP of 240W

well, 236watts to be precise.  

 and, it's more accurate to do the calculation yourself, rather than relying on a power supply calculator.  In fact, it may even be a little faster to do the calculation yourself, if you know what you're doing. 

hey comp speaking of doing the wattage calc yourself you should seriously make a guide on that so they can do it themselves. they know what brand of PSU to get but they need help with what wattage.

Aedion:

itll run.

i would suggest getting faster ram though like 2x2gb of g skill ddr3 1600 pi series. and an aftermarket HSF for the CPU. if youre going to burn money make it worthwhile.

well, i don't want my memory to run faster than my fsb. that would seem like a waste to me. i'm not going to OC my cpu too much...although i read that it's possible to get 3.0GHz without increasing the voltage. I may try it and see what my power draw is. Do you guys think that I will ever reach 236W on both GPUs realistically? btw, the GTX280s are overclocked slightly to 615/2214 MHz. thanks for the replies.

 

btw, i did use that power calculator but i got a very low number (around 575W) and i input everything correctly. that doesn't seem to be very accurate considering that the max TDP is 236W per GTX280, as compwiz said..also the Q9450 is rated at 95W, so that doesnt add up in my mind. the other calculator gave me around 650W which seems closer to what i would estimate at 90%+ stress.

stoicblitzer:

well, i don't want my memory to run faster than my fsb. that would seem like a waste to me. i'm not going to OC my cpu too much...although i read that it's possible to get 3.0GHz without increasing the voltage.

 

I'm at 3.333GHz on my Q9450 at  1.26v, its a great CPU, I would suggest the higher ram if you do plan on a OC as the only thing limiting me is my RAM, yea, I made that mistake, hope you don't.

The Q9450 is good to 1.4V but I would water cool it at anything over 1.34v because the temps will climb high.

I feel if I had 1600 RAM I could get 3.9GHz on 1.32v or less. 

 

By the way..................... 2 X GTX280's in an antec 900 case?     Gonna be super tight dude, get a antec 1200 atleast, but Id suggest something like a Cooler Master Stacker, its huge with lots of fans, and all the fans have filters. 

Also Im just wondering why you bought a msi and bfg, just out of experience in the past with sli, its usually better to stick with the same brand, but it should work.. Just it kinda confused me of the brand change?

GmsCool:

stoicblitzer:

well, i don't want my memory to run faster than my fsb. that would seem like a waste to me. i'm not going to OC my cpu too much...although i read that it's possible to get 3.0GHz without increasing the voltage.

 

I'm at 3.333GHz on my Q9450 at  1.26v, its a great CPU, I would suggest the higher ram if you do plan on a OC as the only thing limiting me is my RAM, yea, I made that mistake, hope you don't.

The Q9450 is good to 1.4V but I would water cool it at anything over 1.34v because the temps will climb high.

I feel if I had 1600 RAM I could get 3.9GHz on 1.32v or less. 

 

By the way..................... 2 X GTX280's in an antec 900 case?     Gonna be super tight dude, get a antec 1200 atleast, but Id suggest something like a Cooler Master Stacker, its huge with lots of fans, and all the fans have filters. 

hah. honestly, the MSI included the witcher for free and had a large rebate, but it'll work.

 I'm not going to OC that high, i'm not sure my PSU can take it! and there is nothing i can do about the case, i already bought it dude. lol i wont make these little mistakes next time.

 

GmsCool:

By the way..................... 2 X GTX280's in an antec 900 case?     Gonna be super tight dude, get a antec 1200 atleast, but Id suggest something like a Cooler Master Stacker, its huge with lots of fans, and all the fans have filters. 

Well sense he has not got the 900 then he will need to mod it to fit the cards. And I do agree with Gms on this the cards are not that small. You will have to take the HDD racks at the bottom and put them up top. And possibly leave out the optical on the out side but the first set of HDD will have to be up top there will not be enough room for air flow. I saw this setup in fry’s yesterday with 2 280s in SLI in a 900 case and well it was not pretty at all there was mods that had to be done. And the guy that owned the case was wondering why it was over heating. You will need to move things around to accommodate the cards.

i'm not too worried about the case, i only have one optical and one hdd. i think i can make the 280s fit in there, but i didnt even consider that they wouldnt fit since it was a "gamer case." how foolish of me, eh? if they dont fit, well im gonna go insane.

BTW, the OCZ EliteXStream is not on the list of recommended PSUs anymore...any reason or am i just missing it? it was tier 1 a couple days ago..

stoicblitzer:

i'm not too worried about the case, i only have one optical and one hdd. i think i can make the 280s fit in there, but i didnt even consider that they wouldnt fit since it was a "gamer case." how foolish of me, eh? if they dont fit, well im gonna go insane.

BTW, the OCZ EliteXStream is not on the list of recommended PSUs anymore...any reason or am i just missing it? it was tier 1 a couple days ago..

It will fit once you mod the case for them to fit.

it will fit without disrupting airflow. i'm determined to have good airflow.

Like I said you will have to mod the case a little bit for it to get airflow. Here are some links.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1330992

 

Pic of the 900 with a outline of the 280.

great links, i was looking for something like this to take a look at. i have been trying to visualize it, but that's perfect. i only have one optical drive (which will not interfere) and one hdd which i can slide into one of the lower slots. those black things jutting from the drive bay is a fan bracket? i guess i could move it down or remove it if i have to. thanks for the links.

I would remove the bottom rack all together, and remember cable management in that case as well so that you get better air flow. Remember the cards are not that small and that case was really not designed for that card sense it was made over a year and a half ago it was designed for the 8800GT and the 8800GTS.

As an Antec 900 owner who also has a 10.5" long GPU, yes they will fit.  It will be a tight fit though unless you move stuff around in the case.  I would recommend moving the middle hard drive bay and the internal fan adapter into the top section on the case front and then put the DVD drive in the middle section.  If you put the DVD drive in the top slot in the middle section, you will be able to avoid the GTX280s.  you cn also put the hard drive in the bottom front hard drive bay and still have room to keep cables out of the way.

Tekran:

As an Antec 900 owner who also has a 10.5" long GPU, yes they will fit.  It will be a tight fit though unless you move stuff around in the case.  I would recommend moving the middle hard drive bay and the internal fan adapter into the top section on the case front and then put the DVD drive in the middle section.  If you put the DVD drive in the top slot in the middle section, you will be able to avoid the GTX280s.  you cn also put the hard drive in the bottom front hard drive bay and still have room to keep cables out of the way.

good ideas tekran, i might do just that. how's the temps in your computer?

My temps are pretty good, CPU Temps are idling about 40-43 C, under load, so far under 50 C for load temps on my Q9300.  My top front drive bay's fan is in a direct line with the exhaust fan and the CPU fan which makes sure the air flows completely through the system quickly.

stoicblitzer:

BTW, the OCZ EliteXStream is not on the list of recommended PSUs anymore...any reason or am i just missing it? it was tier 1 a couple days ago..

It's still tier 1.  link: http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/permalink/368293/323050/ShowThread.aspx#323050

perhaps you were looking at the old outdated power supply list here?  There are two versions, the one posted in the power supply forum(which was written years ago and never updated), and the one located in the technology news section, in the off topic forum(the mods moved it there, not sure exactly why).