How can I tell how many watts my PSU should be?

[Legend8887]

I don't have an exact build yet, but it should be pretty extreme. 4930K and SLI. Where can I go to tell how many watts my PSU should be? I actually put a build together on PCPartPicker.com but it said it estimated 583 watts. It seemed like it would need a lot more, though.

[[UFO] rad87gn]

700W is good for a dual GPU single card. 850 for 2 single GPU cards. 1,000+ watts for 3-4 GPU. Just my 2 cents.

[GC13]

Escrito originalmente por SyPTo:

Escrito originalmente por {<>I<>} Hoplite:

You pay for amps not the watt :) higher the amp the better for running more than 2 vid cards ,,,all you guys forgot the amp value ,,,,lol lol

amps are directly related to watts...

P = U x I

Watts = Voltage x Amperes

It is true, though, that you need to make sure the PSU you're buying can put out enough amperage at the voltage you need it at.

[Wampum Biskit]

Escrito originalmente por GC13:

Escrito originalmente por SyPTo:

amps are directly related to watts...

P = U x I

Watts = Voltage x Amperes

It is true, though, that you need to make sure the PSU you're buying can put out enough amperage at the voltage you need it at.

not really , if you buy a good quality ATX compliant PSU you don't have to worry about it , although the ATX standard doesn't specify a certain distribution scheme when looking at volts/amps , there's a recommended scheme in that standard , it may change from brand to brand , but regardless so much % of the PSU will be dedicated to the 12v rail(s) , you won't for example see a 50% split between 12v and 3.3/5.0 volt , because that would turn into a nightmare when trying to design it to where it won't cause any noise or atleast stay under the ATX standard.