Power and case Question

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-28-10, 02:20 PM

A while ago I bought 3 Nvidia 280s, and now I'm working on getting together my list of what I need to complete my PC finally. What I'm wondering is if an 850 Watt Antec Quatro will provide enough power?

I also have got an Antec 900 that I got with the power supply. I'm wondering how the cooling will be with all 3 280s in there. All three 280s do fit, albeit snuggly, but 3 280s would seem to generate a lot of heat. There is room for an additional fan on the side of the case, which would be directly on the 280s, but I'm not certain if it would be enough.

If it's not enough, would it be better to get an Antec 1200 or go the liquid cooling route?

**WileECyte** · 03-28-10, 02:35 PM

Looking at Newegg's power supply calculator... 3x280 + an i7 CPU, plus 2 HDs, 6 gigs of DDR3 RAM and a single DVD burner runs almost 1300 watts.

Need more info about your rig to be able to tell you more. cramming all that into a 900 would likely be too much. A 1200 or equivalent might help some due to increased airflow, but I'd definitely plan on installing the side fan.

**Ruukil** · 03-28-10, 03:01 PM

That's some crazy power you're going for.

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-28-10, 04:26 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256054
Only one high enough to work at newegg. Is the brand a good one? The original plan was to do a 2 way SLI with the third card for Physic processing.

Tiger direct has two:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...882&CatId=5115

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...371&CatId=5115

Microcenter doesn't have any above 1200.

Would any of those power supplies be worth it? Good thing I'll be living in a dorm in the fall so I don't have to pay the electricity bill.

**WileECyte** · 03-28-10, 05:18 PM

Silverstone is a pretty good name in high-end power supplies. Check HardOCP to see if they've reviewed that particular supply.

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-28-10, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by WileECyte

Silverstone is a pretty good name in high-end power supplies. Check HardOCP to see if they've reviewed that particular supply.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=175
That's the review they linked. It looks like a good unit.

**HeavyG** · 03-28-10, 06:31 PM

And what games are you going to be playing that requires this beast of a box?

Seems like a waste of money to me... Just my opinion. I would love to see the difference between 2 video cards and a cheaper, less powerful PSU in performance and the price difference.

Not to mention the hefty electrical bill. The lesson I learned is doing things JUST to do them, is the same as putting your hard earned money right in the garbage can.

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-28-10, 07:52 PM

Well, the electricity bill will be footed by my school. The third card was originally something I bought for one of my best friends as a thank you, but his psu wasn't able to handle the card.

As far as which games, I honestly, for once, would like to play a game with maxed settings. Crysis and Fallout 3 come to mind.

If I was to just use 2 of the cards, would I still need a full tower?

**WaterDumple** · 03-28-10, 08:04 PM

My current tower is the Antec 900, and it has some extremely good ventilation. I can't speak for 3 whole cards at once--That may be pushing it--But you'll definitely have less trouble than with plenty of other towers. May need to keep the fans running on high, though.

**HeavyG** · 03-29-10, 12:57 AM

Originally Posted by Mr. White

Well, the electricity bill will be footed by my school. The third card was originally something I bought for one of my best friends as a thank you, but his psu wasn't able to handle the card.

As far as which games, I honestly, for once, would like to play a game with maxed settings. Crysis and Fallout 3 come to mind.

If I was to just use 2 of the cards, would I still need a full tower?

No, you can easily fit them into a mid tower. Especially if you are going to water cool. You just need to find a kit that won't require a full tower. I am sure a 3 card config would even fit into a mid tower. I guess it all depends on the motherboard and how you want to cool everything.