Build help Looking to upgrade your Power Supply?

[Gremlich]

If you are looking to upgrade your power supply and aren't sure what the minimum is or what options you might have, EVGA has a questionnaire to help you out (ostensibly to sell you something, of course)

 http://www.evga.com/power-meter/

after you complete the EVGA questionnaire, you'll get a discount coupon to use if you buy a power supply through EVGA's website.

Here's something to keep in mind - After I purchased my GTX970 SSC and registered it, I got a 50% off coupon from EVGA to use when buying an EVGA power supply AND an EVGA mouse. I got the 850 G2 power supply and their X10 Torq mouse for $119 total cost, free shipping, to me after discount.

here's their current B-stock for 900-series cards

[Rain2reign]

A little tip: 

Careful with those test/questionnaire's. They only calculate an average based on a formula and will not simulate your actual use. Also they tend to 'exaggerate' the amount of wattage needed. Use them with caution and as a guideline, but don't rely on their numbers completely. In almost every case(not all) they calculate more, than to what you actually need (including overhead wattage with wear over time, leading you to pay more than for what you actually need). 

[Zepheris]

Maybe they just loose efficiency with the lower US voltage? That tool recommends 500 watt for my current setup.

[Gremlich]

23 hours ago, rain2reign said:

A little tip: 

Careful with those test/questionnaire's. They only calculate an average based on a formula and will not simulate your actual use. Also they tend to 'exaggerate' the amount of wattage needed. Use them with caution and as a guideline, but don't rely on their numbers completely. In almost every case(not all) they calculate more, than to what you actually need (including overhead wattage with wear over time, leading you to pay more than for what you actually need). 

Probably true, but this questionnaire took into account all of my HDDs (5x 2TB HDD) and 2 SSD and the fact that I was OC-ing an FX-8350 on a 970 mobo with 16GB RAM and a GTX970 SSC and recommended choices between a 650W and 850W power supply. Not taken into account are the 4x120mm and single 200mm fans. I've been running a 2 year old rig on a Thermaltake 750W Bronze with no issues. My next rig will use the 850 because I'm adding LEDs to the new case, and MOAR cooling. 850 may be overkill, but it will sustain my rig for a while. I think this was a most reasonable questionnaire.

22 hours ago, Dragon-Knight said:

Maybe they just loose efficiency with the lower US voltage? That tool recommends 500 watt for my current setup.

aren't you running on 220/240/50Hz? we are on 110/60Hz. So yeah, voltage difference

[Zepheris]

Ah no i checked, Active Power Factor Correction.  Efficiency isn't an issue with input voltage.

UK used to be 240v It's now 230v 50hz as the power grid is shared with Europe.

Almost the whole of the world uses a frequency of 50Hz and a voltage of 220-240(higher voltages for better efficiency in transmission). The exception, where 60Hz is used (with a voltage of 110-120), is the Americas (North and South) and the Caribbean (and parts of Japan and Korea).

[Rain2reign]

52 minutes ago, Gremlich said:

Probably true, but this questionnaire took into account all of my HDDs (5x 2TB HDD) and 2 SSD and the fact that I was OC-ing an FX-8350 on a 970 mobo with 16GB RAM and a GTX970 SSC and recommended choices between a 650W and 850W power supply. Not taken into account are the 4x120mm and single 200mm fans. I've been running a 2 year old rig on a Thermaltake 750W Bronze with no issues. My next rig will use the 850 because I'm adding LEDs to the new case, and MOAR cooling. 850 may be overkill, but it will sustain my rig for a while. I think this was a most reasonable questionnaire.

I don't want to make this into a discussions, so i am going to put this out there and leave it at that. All questionnaires of this(or similar) nature HAVE all the mentioned features and that includes and is not limited to: SSD/HDD, OC(many can set how far you roughly OC your component), fans, efficiency loss, wear over time and more. Having that said, to me personally, it seems more like an over-glorified promotion stunt for their products as this is the most minimalist one i have met so far among it's peers.

Then again, over here in the Netherlands we run on a voltage of 230 Volts, Frequency of 50 Hz and an power-socket type of C/F (don't know if this is relevant).

[Gremlich]

14 minutes ago, rain2reign said:

 it seems more like an over-glorified promotion stunt for their products as this is the most minimalist one i have met so far among it's peers.

Yes, and I stated that too.  What I stated was exactly (ostensibly to sell you something, of course) which was my way of stating "take this with a grain of salt". Most people building a gaming rig for the first time will benefit, nonetheless, from the drill.

You and I are of the same mind, I just stated it differently. That being said, I always recommend a 550W-650W power supply minimum for most NA users building single GPU/non-OC CPU gaming rigs. More than 850W is overkill unless you are running 3-way or better SLI/Crosssfire.

[Caldon]

... And you'll never need a new PSU again.