Power Supply for SLI

Well, it looks like I'm going SLI in a week or so. I picked up a 2nd NVidia GTX260 for a song (only $120 for a NEW card!). With the release of the ATI HD5xxx series, and the new NVidia 4xx series, the "older" Nvidia cards are starting to become VERY affordable. Anyway, I'll need to upgrade my current 650w Antec PSU to power the two video cards. I've settled on something in the 850w range. I've been told that a quality 750w unit would suffice, but that seems to be cutting it a bit close, and I don't want to have to worry that my PSU is working at 90% capacity regularly. Here's the PSUs I'm looking at; I've narrowed it down to four different units:

XFX 850w Black Edition; model XPS-850W-BES
Single 12v @ 70a; rated 80plus Silver
Semi-Modular
http://www.provantage.com/xfx-p1850bcag9~7PINE0HP.htm

Seasonic SS-850HT (same as S12D-850 but without the "bling")
Two 12v @ 40a each; combined 70a; rated 80plus Silver
Not modular
http://www.eworldsale.com/seasonic-ss-850ht-850w-80-plus-silver-atx12v-power-supply_8796_46416.html

Antec True Power Quattro 850w; model TPQ-850
Four 12v at @ 25a each (models before 2008 have four 12v @ 18a); rated 80plus Bronze
Semi-modular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009&cm_re=quattro-_-17-371-009-_-Product

CoolerMaster Silent Pro M850; model RS850-AMBAJ3-US
Single 12v @ 66a; rated 80plus Bronze
Completely modular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...048&cm_re=coolermaster-_-17-171-048-_-Product

All units are about $130 - $150, and I can get the Seasonic for about $120.00!
The PSU won't necessarily be purchased from the links above; these links were provided for convenience in checking the specs. If anyone can find some pictures of the Seasonic SS-850HT (besides the generic shot that doesn't show anything except the power switch and the power plug), PLEASE post a link!!! Not that I really care too much, but I'd like to know if the cables are sleeved or not. The unit is electrically the same as the very highly rated S12D-850 (which is the non-modular version of the equally highly rated M12D-850), but the S12D is in a black case (not generic gray), has a slightly different method of mounting the cooling fan (it's less "fancy" on the SS-850HT), and the S12D has beautifully sleeved cables. I'm just curious is if the SS-850HT also has sleeved cables (I have a feeling they are not).

I'm leaning toward the Seasonic SS-850HT due to performance/price, and the Antec TPQ-850 because it too has great performance, and it's semi-modular, but it only has a single rear-mounted 80mm fan for cooling so it might be a bit loud. If the XFX unit was about $15-$20 cheaper, there'd be no question. I included the CoolerMaster unit mainly because it's 100% modular (it makes for easy removal of the unit for cleaning), and I can get one for about $130. Since my case has a bottom mounted PSU, dealing with extra cables isn't as big a deal as it would be if the PSU was mounted up top. Extra cables are MUCH easier to hide when the PSU is on the bottom of the chassis.

Here's some other 'back up' choices, both are Corsair. They aren't on my 'short list' above mainly because they aren't modular, and the mess of extra cables can be difficult to manage....
Corsair 950w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=corsair_power_supply-_-17-139-013-_-Product
Corsair 850w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=corsair_power_supply-_-17-139-009-_-Product
Of these two Corsair units, I'd probably go with the 950w model. It's only $10 more than the 850w and having the extra power will help ease any worries that I might be getting close to maxing the unit....

So- now that this post has become tiresome and boring, your eyes have glassed over and you're near tears, what I'm looking for is thoughts, suggestions, whatever. If you have any other PSUs to add, feel free! Oh yeah - my specs: AMD PhenomII X4 955BE @ stock 3.20ghz; 3 SATA hard drives; two IDE DVDRW drives; 2 x 2gb DDR2-800 memory; five 120mm case fans.

THANKS!

 

This text has been kindly provided to me for reproduction by Digerati. Please take the time to read it as I am sure it will answer most of your questions:

 

Long answer short, get the XFX or the SeaSonic.

Only Adv XFX has over SS is it's looks and the fact it has a single 12v rail.

 

I'd base this more on 12V rail amps. The GTX260-216 requires a minimum of 36A so I'd go with the Antec first and then the Seasonic.

 

Looks like it's gonna be the Seasonic. After reading A LOT of customer reviews at Newegg, it seems that people are having A LOT of problems with a recent 'batch' of the Antec Quattro 850, so I'm staying away from it. If I can find a price on the XFX unit around $130 or less, I'll grab it, but I don't think that's going to happen. I also read some reviews of the CoolerMaster unit, and it seems to have a fairly high rate of new units arriving DOA (like up to 40%!!!). So unless the XFX unit goes on sale in the next week or so, the Seasonic unit is it!

Anyone :confused

 

Yes, did some reading my self, on UK sites, and there seems to be problems with it.

Looks like you should get the SeaSonic, keep us posted of what you choose!

 

Ouch @ the failure rate! I just went with amps for my recommendations, I didn't read any reviews. Man, these PSU makers are generally well respected and their QA releases garbage at that high rate? I'll have to read some more on Antec now.

 

For those of you interested, I ended up getting a 900w from Topower. Six 12v rails at 20a; two rails dedicated to PCIe video cards; fully modular. Here's some links:
Review: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article/2008/10/07/topower_powerbird_series_power_supplies/1
Review: http://www.overclockersonline.net/reviews/50001951/
Manufacturer Home Page: http://www.topower.com/product/powerbird_900.html
A friend of mine was on a road trip and was in a Fry's store killing some time. He called me up and said "I know you're looking for a new power supply for your SLI setup, they have a 900w unit here, it's a Topower model TOP-900W". Then he told me the price . . . . ONLY $98.00!!! That was the clincher!!! The unit has had excellent reviews online at the various tech/hardware sites, and it usually retails for $160-$180, and I managed to grab one for almost half price!!! Sweet! I have the second GTX260 now also (rec'd it yesterday!! Yesterday was a good day!), so I'll be building on Sunday, or maybe tonight (Saturday).

:celebrate :dood :hyper :dancer

 

:-o Whooops.... the following quote is wrong:

It should say "Six 12v rails at 20a; FOUR rails dedicated to PCIe video cards".

Nice.

I'll be doing the re-build/upgrade tomorrow.....
:-D

 

HX1000w by Corsair, or the HX850w. Depends on how much power those things suck.

 

:confused Uhhhhhh...... perhaps you didn't read post #8 (and #9 was an update/edit of #8)...... the PSU has been purchased.....

The rebuild/upgrade is DONE!!!! :celebrate For those interested in SLI with 2 different cards (both are GTX260 c216 but from different manufacturers and different clock speeds), check out this thread.

 

I would recommend the CORSAIR CMPSU-950TX.
I actually have 1 for it, Works perfectly!

Link

 

This one is pretty good.