Power supply question

D

Dollar

New Member
What power supply is great for the following system:-
cpu: e6750
motherboard: gigabyte p35C ds3r
ram: crucial ballistix 1gb x 2 sticks
video card: ati 2900
hard drive: wd 250gb 7200rpm(sata)
LG dvd multi dvd writer(sata)
vista home premium 32-bit

I have thought of the antec true power trio 550W and the coolermaster extreme 650W but it turns out that the first is much more stable and costier and its also SLI ready.
Basically, I want something that is not only stable, but also reliable.
The main question is, I have heard that the 2900 is a hungry card so do I need a SLI ready power supply for it?


By the way, I am only interested into the antec and coolermaster psu but not others.
Just hope that I did not missed out on anything that is required for answering this question. Do let me know if you need more information.
 
i always reccomend the OCZ gameXStream 700W PSU. you get the stability of the game x stream title, the raw power of 700 watts, and the most rock-solidly built psu i have ever used, trust me here, you cant go wrong with an OCZ
 
Ok. My region only carries antec, coolermaster, acbel(which is crappy), hec(which is crappy), thermaltake and verudium vortex.

As for thermaltake only >750W available.
 
Of the two, the Trio is by far the better platform. Despite the 650W label, the eXtreme Power 650W is based on a 500W Seventeam platform, and won't put out anywhere near as much useful power as the Antec.

Do you have a list of the PSUs you can get, along with comparative pricing?
 
Okay so heres the list in my local shop:-
Antec TruePower Trio 430W / 550W 5Yrs.............149 / 199
Antec TruePower Trio 650W 5Yrs....................239
CoolerMaster Extreme 650W 12cm Fan 3Yrs...........119
CoolerMaster RealPower 550W /650w 12cm Fan 3Yrs...159 / 199
Thermaltake ToughPower 750W 14cm Fan..............239
Verudium Vortex 530W High Efficiency 2Yrs.........159

The main question is, I have heard that the 2900 is a hungry card so do I need a SLI ready power supply(which is the antec truepower trio series) for it?
 
You can't go wrong with the antec true power trio 550W, that's for sure. But myself would go for CoolerMaster Extreme 650W simply because of the cost difference, and that I believe that it would mostly not die within its first decade. I guess it's cause I never had PSU died in my past 15 years, no matter how old and crappy they were. And the extra 100 watts might be useful later if you decide to switch to a Quad.
 
Firstly, you don't need a "SLI Ready Power Supply". Even if it's officially SLI certified, like the Antec, (i.e. with the nVidia certified logo used on the packaging), all it means is that the PSU manufacturer has paid the licensing fee to nVidia, and has been approved for at least some SLI configurations. An "SLI Ready" PSU may not necessarily provide enough power for your system, whereas a non-SLI Ready one may work fine. What's more important is the total power output, not just the wattage but also the +12V amperage.

As for the options, I wouldn't really be inclined to choose the eXtreme Power 500W. As I've mentioned, it's a mediocre 500W platform, only capable of putting out ~+12V@30A. Not really good for a 2900XT. I'm not sure if you were planning on considering the Coolermaster RealPower 650W. It's an Acbel built unit, but the platform isn't bad. The Trio 550W should do the job, although even that doesn't provide too much headroom. To be honest, given the prices, the Thermaltake 750W looks very attractive. Considerably more power a 20% price premium.
 
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