Is 580W enough?

[depresion]

For a Q6600 G0 with 3hdd and SLI 8800GTs or am I pushing it a bit close there? (Acording to Nvidia 8800GTs take 105W each so thats 210 gone). I'm looking at the Tagan Modular TG580-U15.

[staffsMike]

It'll probably handle it. I would get the 620w corsair HX, OCZ gameXstream 600/700w or, enermax 700w to be safe.

Tagan's seem to be causing more problems than they are worth of late.

[danroyle]

i'd throw in a vote for a corsair hx series or an ocz psu and probably if you are gonna go sli go for a 600w+ i'd go for th hx620w or higher

[ElCapitan]

Corsair is the way to go, the HX is quiet and efficient.

[silentvoice]

You'll also probably want a bit of headroom for future upgrades as well.

[shadowmaster]

I think 580watt would be just enough. However I'd go with a Corsair or the OCZ just to be on the safe side.

[Agent]

I think 580watt would be just enough.

Are you joking?
580W would power that with ease and leave shed loads left over.

The Corsair are nice PSU's, but they are over rated IMO. I don't know why everyone thinks they are so amazing, they only really match what's already out there. Anyone of the above want to shed some light on why they recommend them over others on the market?
Although I cant stand the stupid connectors on them and flat power cables, but that's a preference thing

[staffsMike]

I use the corsair because I know it's silent, it's modular which makes it nice and neat..and the 520w is cheap for what it is.

[Agent]

Tagan's seem to be causing more problems than they are worth of late.

Some examples please?
I visit a lot of forums, and Tagan are regarded as one of the better PSU makers out there.
What problems have you heard of exactly?

[staffsMike]

a mates was recently doa,

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...-exploded.html
just the other day

i'm not saying they are bad, just one i personally would avoid.

Corsair ( seasonic) and ocz (fsp) are my favourite brands as they have never failed on me.

[shadowmaster]

Are you joking?
580W would power that with ease and leave shed loads left over.

You are actually correct . I have ran two X1950XTXs on my 550watt so it would make little sense for me to say 580watt would just be enough. I must be losing my mind- (it’s all the studying I do )

[KiMi-Tech]

Im with staffsmike on this one a Corsair, OCZ, or Enermax PSU 600w or more just to be on the safe side

[Agent]

a mates was recently doa,

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...-exploded.html
just the other day

i'm not saying they are bad, just one i personally would avoid.

Corsair ( seasonic) and ocz (fsp) are my favourite brands as they have never failed on me.

_Every_ manufacture has DOA units - It happens.
A PSU blowing isn't anything new either. I'm sure I could find a failed unit from every single PSU maker given the time

Saying that

Tagan's seem to be causing more problems than they are worth of late.

Is implying that there is some issue with them across the board. There isn't. They are stable, good all rounders with excellent support. I'm not saying they are the best, I'm not saying that they never fail, but its not fair to say that they are "causing more problems than they are worth"

The chances that he is going to have an issue with that PSU, should he order, it are close to zero.

[iranu]

I found this intriguing. I ran the eXtreme Outer Vision - eXtreme tools for computer enthusiasts with 2x8800gts and 3x 7200 hard drives, 3x 120mm led fans, stock Q6600, 2X dvd/rw, 4 sticks of DDR2. Got 446W.

The gt is reported to run 20Watts less than a gts so remove 40W to 406W. Now these figures are going to be on the cautious side so I would expect less in the real world. What's more important for SLi is what the 12v rail(s) will supply with regard to amps.

The tagan site is giving me jip with adblock, but I'd look at the 580W specs and compare it with something like Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK.

Tagan do get failures - I've had one afte about a month (about 3 years a go) but I'm unaware of any widescale problems. Quality 600W psus should run just about anything.

[TooNice]

@Agent: I understand the point you are making, and I have, in previous post, made the analogy with hard drives: most recent 7200 RPM HD are good performers, with limited variation in performance for every day use, and no brand and we do not have any definite certainty as to who makes the most reliable drives. However, I've also vouching for Seasonic made PSU for a while, simply because they've shown capable of consistently delivery efficient and quiet PSU to various yet mostly commendable degrees. I can not say the same with the Antec and Enermax I've previously, even though they are A-list brands when it comes to PSU.

I've never owned a Tagan, though they have built a good impression in the comparatively shorter time they've been in the market. I have no doubt that they are much better than some generics - and for all practical purposes, I wouldn't be surprised if they perform comparatively well to longer established brand, who no doubt charge part for their brand as part of the £10-15 premium. Having said that, the only Tagan reviewed on SPCR (Tagan EasyCon XL 700W) didn't fare that well in the noise department despite the large 135mm fan.

Are the Corsair overrated? If you care little about the fact that it takes the best of the Seasonic S series (single 120mm very quiet fan but no modular cabling) and the M series (modular but with an added 80mm fan that makes it ever slightly less quiet) and charge less than the later, then sure they are only 'about as good' as every other decent PSU in the market. To me though, that's a tie breaker. Is that worth £15-ish premium over the Tagan? Maybe not for everyone - but if I am building an upper-mid PC, I think it's a worthwhile investment. Making that the only suggestion may give you the impression that it is overrated, but actually, I think that might make it easier for the person asking the question.

If you ask me what is the best headphone you can buy for a given budget, I'll probably have a hard time -not- to write 5-7 paragraphs listing no less than 3-5 options in order to give my fairest impressions as many are good in their own ways. Yet I've come to realise that it may only end up confusing a person asking the question. Sometime, a single recommendation that fits the budget is actually a blessing

Going back to the question at hand, a Tagan 580W should handle it with ease (I am also inclined to say that the Corsair 520W will do cope fine). In Anandtech's test system, they measured a power consumption of 211W and 327W for the SLi system. Even if your PC has more HD/is heavily overclocked, I don't think you are likely to exceed 450W.

[aidanjt]

I'd go with the Tagan Dual-Engine PSUs personally, they're newer tech than the easycons, quiet and I don't buy into the whole modular thing, especially with flattened cables, they're a nightmare to tidy nicely.