How much would I actually need?

[Enneikay]

I decided to get a 750Ti for the time being and I have a 500W psu (though it's a generic piece of crap that may explode any time who knows) and considering waiting until 860/870, etc, come out to make a bigger upgrade to a more high end card. I'm probably gonna get the psu either the same time or at most a week after the 750Ti and I'm considering XFX Pro Core/XXX/Black Ed (it's THE best psu I could find where I live)

 

The question is, considering Maxwell seems to be mostly focused on low power consumption, how many watts do you think I'd need for a 860/870? I'm mostly considering a 650W which should be more than enough but I thought that if I got a cheaper one (550W instead of 650W) I'd save a bit more money to be as ready as possible by the time 800 Desktop cards come out.

 

Should I go safe and go just for 650W, or get a 600W or 550W one?                                  

 

 

 

(550w, 650w, 750w or 850w would be XFX XXX or Core Edition, the best 600W one I found is Corsair Cx600M, and there's a CX750M but I believe the XFX is better)

[TheNinjaNextDor]

650W would be good for a high end card now. I would get that, maybe you could go 550w.

An XFX vs Corsair psu should not make a difference in quality.

[Wtalk2]

I would suggest to get the CX600M. A good quality 600W PSU can power pretty much any single graphics card setup (Even up to a GTX Titan) and with the major power savings of Maxwell 600W will be plenty. Just make sure whatever you buy is good quality. Nothing worse than buying a new card and having it ruined by a crappy PSU.

 

PS:The Corsair CX600M is a great semi-modular power supply if you don't want to spend a fortune. I have one and I haven't had a single problem with it. Plus it has a 3 year warranty.

[Kamina]

860 would be like 430w-500 watt that has a good load efficiency. High end aftermarket pcbs allow for extra power delivery so overclocking tends to bump the wattage. 600-650 is good enough for all high end cards.

[Enneikay]

I would suggest to get the CX600M. A good quality 600W PSU can power pretty much any single graphics card setup (Even up to a GTX Titan) and with the major power savings of Maxwell 600W will be plenty. Just make sure whatever you buy is good quality. Nothing worse than buying a new card and having it ruined by a crappy PSU.

 

PS:The Corsair CX600M is a great semi-modular power supply if you don't want to spend a fortune. I have one and I haven't had a single problem with it. Plus it has a 3 year warranty.

I just realized the CX600M is only $98 cheaper than the XFX XXX 650W, and that's like, 9 dollars.

[Wtalk2]

I just realized the CX600M is only $98 cheaper than the XFX XXX 650W, and that's like, 9 dollars.

Get whatever is cheaper, they are nearly the same wattage and they are both great quality.

[WoodenMarker]

Wait and see? The 750 Ti can easily run off of a generic 500w for the time being.

[bradscoolio]

You might be surprised just how little a system will actually pull. Take a look at the valve beta steam box units for example: 450w psu + 780's + 4770k's = perfectly adequate.

A good quality 500w psu 80 + bronze or above with a 6pin and 6+2pin with a single 12 volt rail will be as good as gold for even the high end cards

The 550w xxx xfx unit would be perfect for the job but the cx600 would also be fine (I've been seeing the cx600 used a lot in mining rigs recently).

 

I personally built a rig for a friend with an antec 520 hcg, a 2600 and a R9 290 and it kicks along perfectly.