pure power vga power suplies???

[strutter426]

Hi there,

 

 

I was hoping to get some info about Thermaltake PURE POWER VGA psu.

 

 

Before I ask the crucial question I'd like to elaborate;

 

A few days ago I bought a new configuration,

 

- ***OCZ game xtreme 600w (apx 150$, my retailer, Serbia)

 

gigabyte ga ex58 ud3r

i7 920

2x2gb ddr3 1600

hd 4890, ... blah, blah, blah... it runs GREAT!!!

 

I really wanted a x58 1366 platform to begin with, but I had a bit of a budget limit and had to cut short on watts.

*next cheapest 750w psu comes at apx 240$, so, the money saving on this one is obvious.

 

I am planing on going CROSSFIRE with this one but I realize that my OCZ is cutting it to close to be comfortable with.

I have a solution, to sell my OCZ (witch I don't feel like doing at all...), add 100 bucks or so and buy a ~750w psu.

Then again, i need another 4890, so every buck is worth saving...

 

Then i noticed a

 

- ***Thermaltake pure power VGA 250w psu (5.25'' mount).

(i don't care about the extra noise, system stability is priority here)

and the price, . . .

 

!!! 60$ !!!

 

...do the simple maths, you get far more ''bang for the buck'' combining these two psu-s.

 

I can only conclude that they have been discontinued, since they are no longer listed on Tt's web site.

Then, the question is:

 

- Why are these psu-s discontinued?

 

- Does anyone have any experience with these systems?

 

- Should I give it a shot???

[paulktreg]

Firstly I have no experience of the VGA power supplies but know a little about the ATX ones.

 

I have never really understood the logic of fitting these type of VGA power supplies, why not just buy a more powerful PSU? My feeling is they are probably only useful for single graphic card use, when the main power supply isn't quite up to the job when upgrading. Fitting one of these power supplies in a crossfire configuration may cause problems? If the graphics cards are running crossfire I would of thought they really should run from the same power supply for stability if nothing else. The two power supplies will switch on together but the 12V rails will rise at different times and will not be exactly the same, you may have one card on 11.9V and the other on 12.3V for example, will this cause problems, especially in crossfire?

 

I can only pressume they've been discontinued because there really isn't a need for them anymore? LIke I say I have no experience of them but try it by all means but I feel the best solution is a more powerful power supply with the required connectors.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[strutter426]

Thanks for pointing that out, I never really gave a thought about voltage variation issue...

You are completely right, VGA PURE POWER is dedicated system for ''feeding'' complete graphic system, whether it's a single card, two cards, three or whatever.

F.e. , 250w model has two 6 pins connectors and was designed (at that time) for cards that required only one 6p c. (one for each...), thus, probably wasn't meant to interfere with main supply inside a graphic system.

However, there is a 450w model that has 2x 6p c-s + 2x 8p c-s., 600w model, ...

450w comes at apx 90$ witch is about the amount I'd have to add in order to get 750-850w single supply.

...

Now when I get to think about it a little more, it's starting to seem like a bit too much of a hustle.

I'm giving up on it, unless someone eventually gives it a ''thumbs up'' from personal experience.

 

I want to emphasize, I AM on a relative budget, so I'm looking for efficient and stuff that actually performs.

 

This computer is assembled exclusively for gaming (with exception for some 3d modeling), i have a laptop for data management, web, etc...

I'm using an external optical device, just to save some precious watts and add to overall system stability and performance.

It has a hdd big enough to install one or two games at a time (not literally) , nothing additional is installed in this case.

 

*The reason why I wrote all this is to give you an idea about what ism my OCZ game xtreme 600w is up against (no neon lights, no extra 1000 fans, water pumps, ... It is not overloaded at all),

so i could pose a next question:

 

- If you are on a budget, is is smarter to stick with a single VGA configuration? 1*

 

- Could my OCZ handle the same configuration with 5870 instead of 4890 (Is 5870 ''hungrier'' than 4890)?

 

1* I believe that 5870 will son fall in a more reasonable price range;

NVIDIA is coming up with 300 series soon, and ATI is probably preparing a 5890 to match them (I'm only assuming it will happen, it happened before, right?). DX 11 should be considered to.

[Zertz]

- If you are on a budget, is is smarter to stick with a single VGA configuration? 1*

 

- Could my OCZ handle the same configuration with 5870 instead of 4890 (Is 5870 ''hungrier'' than 4890)?

 

1* I believe that 5870 will son fall in a more reasonable price range;

NVIDIA is coming up with 300 series soon, and ATI is probably preparing a 5890 to match them (I'm only assuming it will happen, it happened before, right?). DX 11 should be considered to.

Yes, stick with a single GPU.

You'll be fine with a 600W PSU and a 4890 or 5870. The 4890 actually draws as much, but usually more power, especially at idle.

 

Don't count on a price drop too soon... supply is low and demand is high.