Dedicated Folding Rig (PSU question)

[firedfly]

I just scored an rtx3070 from the Best Buy drop today.  I plan to build a dedicated folding rig with it.  I think I've figured out most parts I need to acquire.  However, I wasn't sure if there were any recommendations for a power supply.  It's been about a decade since I've purchased a PSU.  Back then, I was picking up Corsair's AX series or SeaSonic power supplies.

 

I'll be running this 3070 now and plan to pick up another 3070 or 3080 in the future.  Does 850w sound reasonable?  The two below are in stock at the local Microcenter:

• EVGA SuperNOVA 850 GA 850 Watt 80 Plus Gold ATX Fully Modular Power Supply
• Seasonic USA FOCUS GX-850, 850W 80+ Gold

 

Any thoughts on if either of this will work well?  Any alternate suggestions?

[damric]

I like the Leadex III from Superflower.

[Avacado]

7 minutes ago, damric said:

I like the Leadex III from Superflower.

Second this. I own 5 superflower PSUs. EVGA PSUs were rebranded SF. Can't go wrong with Seasonic either. I would go SF and save the cash. Some of their models have 10 year warranties like SS. Because you plan on adding a second, depending on what CPU you use, you could easily pull 850w. He'll my 2x2080tis with 9900k pull 850 while folding. I think you might want to go 1000w to be safe.

Edited June 11, 2021 by Avacado

[Bastiaan_NL]

Good to hear you are building a dedicated system.
As far as power delivery goes both PSU's should do the job. The most important thing is the amount of PCIe connectors/cables on the PSU. How many power connectors are there on the card you bought? Let's say you go for an EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 as the second card you'll need 3 cables for that one and I assume 2 for the 3070, which will be too much for both the PSU's you've shown. The Seasonic has 4 PCIe connectors and one EPS and the SuperNOVA has 4 PCIe and 2 EPS connectors (with a visual difference between the EPS and PCIe connectors).

So if you use 2 GPU's with 2 power connectors each you should be fine.

 

I personally like Corsair. I'm using 2 850w, a 1000w and a 1600w PSU and I'm very happy with them. Fully modular and they all use the same set of connectors on the PSU side, which makes it easy to swap out cables.

 

[firedfly]

13 minutes ago, Bastiaan_NL said:

How many power connectors are there on the card you bought? Let's say you go for an EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 as the second card you'll need 3 cables for that one and I assume 2 for the 3070, which will be too much for both the PSU's you've shown. The Seasonic has 4 PCIe connectors and one EPS and the SuperNOVA has 4 PCIe and 2 EPS connectors (with a visual difference between the EPS and PCIe connectors).

 

The card is an Asus Tuf 3070.  It won't be available for pick up until next week.  However, it looks like it has 2x8pin connectors on it.

 

Where did you find the connector info on those PSUs?  The info on Microcenter's website lists both as having 6x6+2pin.  I just looked at a review of the Seasonic and it also lists it as having 6 PCIe connectors.

 

 

20 minutes ago, Avacado said:

Because you plan on adding a second, depending on what CPU you use, you could easily pull 850w. He'll my 2x2080tis with 9900k pull 850 while folding. I think you might want to go 1000w to be safe.

 

I plan to pick up a Gigabyte x570 Aurus Pro WiFi with a ryzen 3600 and a cheap 1x8gb stick of ddr4.  Thanks for the input on the size of the PSU.  I'll consider bumping up to a 1000w.

[Bastiaan_NL]

2 minutes ago, firedfly said:

Where did you find the connector info on those PSUs?

That was from looking at the images from both the PSU's you linked, I assume those pictures are correct. 

 

[firedfly]

9 hours ago, Bastiaan_NL said:

That was from looking at the images from both the PSU's you linked, I assume those pictures are correct. 

 

 

 

I checked a review on the Seasonic and it comes with 3 PCIe cables.  Each has two connectors for a total of 6 PCIe connectors.  Is there any issue using 2 connectors from the same cable to power the GPU? 

[Bastiaan_NL]

Using one cable for two connectors is something I don't like to do, but the cables should be able to handle more amperage than the cards could pull (and both the above 850w PSU's have one 12V rail).

Now if you like to be on the safe side it would be better to go with a 1000w PSU like @Avacado mentioned. The benefit is that you'll have at least one extra PCIe connector, so you don't have that problem and you have a bit of overhead if you happen to buy a 3080ti instead of a second 3070.

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by Bastiaan_NL

[firedfly]

47 minutes ago, Bastiaan_NL said:

Using one cable for two connectors is something I don't like to do, but the cables should be able to handle more amperage than the cards could pull (and both the above 850w PSU's have one 12V rail).

Now if you like to be on the safe side it would be better to go with a 1000w PSU like @Avacado mentioned. The benefit is that you'll have at least one extra PCIe connector, so you don't have that problem and you have a bit of overhead if you happen to buy a 3080ti instead of a second 3070.

 

 

I'm eying this 1000w Super Flower.  Any thoughts on it before I pull the trigger?  https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-v-gold-pro-sf-1000f14tg-1000w/p/1HU-024C-00035

[Avacado]

I do not have any experience with their universal connectors. You might want to dig up specific information on whether the 12v rail can support your anticipated GPU needs.  It also appears to only come with 4 specific PCI-e Cables. 

 

I have four of these, bought on sale (Pre-release) for 200$, which came with 6 PCI-e Cables. I don't know if he frequents here, but he is the resident PSU guru @shilka. He would be a good starting point if you can't find the specific info you desire. 

[damric]

That's a very good price for the platinum 1000w. Considering it will be folding at full bore, I would definitely consider higher efficiency. What is the Leadex V? I guess they skipped IV? I thought the III was still pretty new. Even the I and II are awesome but you can usually only find them as EVGA rebrands aka G2 snd G3.

[Avacado]

19 minutes ago, damric said:

That's a very good price for the platinum 1000w. Considering it will be folding at full bore, I would definitely consider higher efficiency. What is the Leadex V? I guess they skipped IV? I thought the III was still pretty new. Even the I and II are awesome but you can usually only find them as EVGA rebrands aka G2 snd G3.

Not quite certain what generation Ledex it is. It is technically an SE "Special Edition" and based off of the Ledex Platinum standard which I thought to be separate from III or V. 

[BWG]

My 3080 FTW3 HC pulls nearly 400 watts and my 3070 Gaming Trio pulls nearly 300 watts. I think 850's too light. Go for 1000w or above, and then make sure you've got sufficient PCI-E 8-pin plugs. I'm fairly certain both of those PSU's you linked will shut off after a bit of time due to over-loading them.

 

Are you trying to isolate it to Microcenter so you can get it up and running quicker? I probably should point out that PCI Express 3.0 did not cripple my 3070. I did not try my 3080, but it DID cripple my 3080ti, so keep that in mind as you plan ahead in your build.

 

I bought one of these: https://www.amazon.com/PC-Power-Cooling-Fully-Modular-FPS1050-A5M00/dp/B077YXBMTC

 

Do you remember these guys? I am not going to suggest buying one yet as ownership changed hands a while ago, but the one I have that's 12 years old now is still working and was mining/folding up until I needed more 8 pin connectors. The new one seemed to have the same build quality, so could be a good budget option. I had the 3080 and 3080ti + all of my RGB and water cooling going on it. 3080ti was pulling 350 watts, 3080 376 watts, 18 RGB fans, 6 .60 amp Ultra Kazes, Pump, 5800x, x570.. Things probably near capacity, but no issues yet.

[firedfly]

1 hour ago, BWG said:

Are you trying to isolate it to Microcenter so you can get it up and running quicker?

 

Yes.  Microcenter isn't a requirement, but makes it easy since I was picking up other parts there.

 

I ended up getting the 850w seasonic for now.  That should work for the single 3070.  If I get another card in the future, I can pick up a bigger PSU.  I have a few old psus in use, so it will always be good to have a nice spare around if I upgrade later.

[firedfly]

On 11/06/2021 at 16:28, firedfly said:

I ended up getting the 850w seasonic for now.  That should work for the single 3070.  If I get another card in the future, I can pick up a bigger PSU.  I have a few old psus in use, so it will always be good to have a nice spare around if I upgrade later.

 

After mulling it over for a few days, I just bought at 1000w titanium Super Flower PSU.  Should have plenty of power and connectors for two cards and it was on sale! https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-titanium-sf-1000f14ht-1000w/p/1HU-024C-00012?Item=9SIAMNPAZB3501

 

Thanks for all of the advice!

[damric]

Holy crap that's an insanely good price for 1000W titanium.

 

I don't need one but can I must justify buying one!

[Avacado]

13 minutes ago, firedfly said:

 

After mulling it over for a few days, I just bought at 1000w titanium Super Flower PSU.  Should have plenty of power and connectors for two cards and it was on sale! https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-titanium-sf-1000f14ht-1000w/p/1HU-024C-00012?Item=9SIAMNPAZB3501

 

Thanks for all of the advice!

Yep, thats the one. Let me know how the Titanium performs. Surprised you didn't go with the Plat for 199$ on sale. 

 

They have great customer support as well. My 4th SF was DOA, I returned it to newegg, no hassle and even got a personal apology message from a SF rep. 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Avacado

[firedfly]

Just now, Avacado said:

Yep, thats the one. Let me know how the Titanium performs. Surprised you didn't go with the Plat for 199$ on sale. 

 

I had thought about that.  I was hesitant due to some recent reviews where people received bad units.  Also, the titanium had more PCIe cables  

 

It should be here on Friday, so I'll have the weekend to get it running.

[firedfly]

9 minutes ago, Avacado said:

They have great customer support as well. My 4th SF was DOA, I returned it to newegg, no hassle and even got a personal apology message from a SF rep. 

 

Now you have me second guessing my choice.  Perhaps I should have gone with the platinum to save a few bucks.  I need to stop thinking about it.  I ordered the titanium, I'm sticking with it.

[BWG]

You're fine because you can say Titanium and he can only say Platinum. Who cares if the load % is about the same.