HD 5870 1GB HTPC/ Budget Gaming Rig

[shovenose]

I got a heck of a deal on a Radeon HD5870 1GB and might get another one for free or dirt cheap. paired with 2nd or 3rd gen Core i5, 8GB of DDR3, an SSD, and maybe a hard drive, and a DVD drive. I am considering a Blu-Ray drive as well - just stating the specs so you can get an idea for power requirements.

My goal is something that will occasionally be used for HTPC stuff (streaming netflix/youtube/spotify/etc) and also occasionally gaming. The most often played game will be GTA V. It's hooked up to a 720P LG TV so I'm hoping it's not a big issue that the HD5870 only has 1GB of video memory.

The reason I'm not going nVidia on this build is that even though I dislike AMD the motherboard is a Biostar I got on sale and it doesn't support SLI, just CrossFire.

Anyway, I would like to know, what is the minimum size PSU I should use for two 5870s in CrossFire? I have a 550W Velocity Micro (lots of hours on it but surprisingly the caps aren't bad) that I will be using for running just one. I'm hoping hoping hoping that I can simply use more molex to PCI-E adapters to use it to run both, at least for a little bit to see how the performance is before I spend money on a 750W power supply which is recommended for two HD5870s in CrossFire. Is that a bad idea?

When the final power supply is purchased these are the two I'm considering. I think the extra 50W and quality capacitors are worth an extra $5 so I'll probably get the EVGA.
Rosewill Valens 700W ($76, 80+ Gold, Teapo caps)
EVGA SuperNova B2 750W ($80, 80+ Bronze, NCC caps)

The other option in this price range is the Corsair CX750 but I absolutely refuse to give that terrible company a penny.

[dmill89]

Re: HD 5870 1GB HTPC/ Budget Gaming Rig

It looks like a pair of HD5870s will draw around 560W under full load: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...0,2422-20.html

So needless to say a 550W PSU isn't going to cut it if you actually push the GPUs, which will likely be needed since while HD5870s were powerful in their day (about 5 years ago) each card is less powerful than an R7 360/GTX750 and a pair of HD5870s is slightly less powerful than a single R9 380/GTX960.

Assuming your CPU doesn't draw a ton of power, you don't have bunch of drives, etc. a 750W should do the job, though an 800-900W will give you more headroom.

In addition to what you listed, it looks like a Seasonic M12II 750W is around $90: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...07&ignorebbr=1

If you don't need it to be brand new, PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W PSUs can be found pretty cheap on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-power-and...gAAOSwZAtXJqDy
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-Power-Coo...8AAOSwezVWw9W4

Even 850W and 1KW Turbo-Cools are pretty cheap if you don't mind the noise:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-Power-and...kAAOSwiYFXI93X
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-Power-Coo...8AAOSwo0JWN3ne


If looks aren't too important used/NOS Delta server and workstation PSUs can be had cheap as well (depending on model cable-mods/adaptors may be needed):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-P-N-39248...AAAOSw~otWcNS3
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Delta-Elec-H...gAAOSwFqJWnQu9
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-XW9300-Co...8AAMXQfFJROkIx
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Delta-Electr...kAAOSwDuJWukB8

[shovenose]

Re: HD 5870 1GB HTPC/ Budget Gaming Rig

It looks like a pair of HD5870s will draw around 560W under full load: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...0,2422-20.html

So needless to say a 550W PSU isn't going to cut it if you actually push the GPUs, which will likely be needed since while HD5870s were powerful in their day (about 5 years ago) each card is less powerful than an R7 360/GTX750 and a pair of HD5870s is slightly less powerful than a single R9 380/GTX960.

Assuming your CPU doesn't draw a ton of power, you don't have bunch of drives, etc. a 750W should do the job, though an 800-900W will give you more headroom.

In addition to what you listed, it looks like a Seasonic M12II 750W is around $90: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...07&ignorebbr=1

If you don't need it to be brand new, PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W PSUs can be found pretty cheap on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-power-and...gAAOSwZAtXJqDy
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-Power-Coo...8AAOSwezVWw9W4

Even 850W and 1KW Turbo-Cools are pretty cheap if you don't mind the noise:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-Power-and...kAAOSwiYFXI93X
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-Power-Coo...8AAOSwo0JWN3ne


If looks aren't too important used/NOS Delta server and workstation PSUs can be had cheap as well (depending on model cable-mods/adaptors may be needed):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-P-N-39248...AAAOSw~otWcNS3
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Delta-Elec-H...gAAOSwFqJWnQu9
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-XW9300-Co...8AAMXQfFJROkIx
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Delta-Electr...kAAOSwDuJWukB8

Ha, I actually owned of those 750W PC Power & Cooling PSUs once... I think it's a tad large... all of this has to fit in a VSK3000 :P

I did find a 750W new for $70 on eBay... Bummer as I'd like to use Amazon since I have some credit there.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FSP-Group-AU...-/171575819560

Edit: Also found an XFX 750W for $73 from a seller that apparently had one left... regular price is $90. Ordered! If a single 5870 runs GTA V fine at 720P and/or I don't get the second card, I will move the 550W Cougar from my main PC to the HTPC and put the 750W XFX into my main PC. I plan to get a second GTX760 and motherboard for my main PC so I could simply use it there. Great!
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-ATX12V-EPS.../dp/B00JNBGNGM

As for your other thought, nah at most I have 1 SSD + 1 HDD + 1 ODD and I don't overlock my CPUs (my main PC has a 4th-gen i5 and the HTPC's going to have a 2nd or 3rd-gen i5) so power consumption beyond graphics cards will be low.

[dmill89]

Re: HD 5870 1GB HTPC/ Budget Gaming Rig

Ha, I actually owned of those 750W PC Power & Cooling PSUs once... I think it's a tad large... all of this has to fit in a VSK3000 :P

I did find a 750W new for $70 on eBay... Bummer as I'd like to use Amazon since I have some credit there.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FSP-Group-AU...-/171575819560

Also found an XFX 750W for $73 from a seller that apparently had one left... regular price is $85. Ordered!
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-ATX12V-EPS.../dp/B00JNBGNGM

My old Desktop had an Antec TruPower Quattro 850W in an NSK4480B, which is a similar sized PSU and case (depth-wise, the 4480 is a bit taller since it accommodates a full-ATX board), but I'll admit it was very tight and with the PCP&C being non-modular, the extra cables would be an issue, and a workstation/server PSU would have the same issues. With the XFX 750W basically being a re-branded Seasonic G-Series it should be a good PSU for that setup.