Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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memory_leak
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Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by memory_leak » Sun Dec 27, 2015 6:40 pm

I am in process of building a new machine and am tempted to try a fanless PSU. I am looking at Enermax Digifanless 550W, and wonder if it is going to be enough?

I don't plan to put in 2nd (or 3rd and 4th) graphic card in, ever, so it is mostly cpu + gpu load. I am going with 32Gig ram + 2 M.2 drives (950Pro) and probably 5 or 6 sata HDDs (raid 1 config). For cooling it will be probably Noctuas DH15 + 2 or 3 bigger fans, but I guess that fans and drives are not where real load come from. Gtx I have in mind is EVGA GTX980Ti SC+ paired with i7 6700K, 90W TDP, but I might opt for slower version at 60W, haven't made my mind yet.

Abula
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by Abula » Sun Dec 27, 2015 6:52 pm

It should be enough, but to me once you have a fan inside i dont see much point into going into fanless components, there are a lot of very good PSU that will run semi passive, and only turn on the fan when needed, to me this is ideal for a setup that its going to be loaded like with gaming, heat is the worst enemy of your PC it will degrade the silicone over time.

I would suggest to look into EVGA P2 SuperNova 650W, its based on the Superflower Leadex design and its been getting really good reviews, even from PSU websites like JonnyGuru. Seasonic SS660XP2 is also a good option, although some people have reported coil whine, personally i never experience it with 4 different PSU.

baii
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by baii » Sun Dec 27, 2015 9:22 pm

The only problem I see with semi passive psu is that the fan speed is not user contrable and may have some odd behavior(high min rpm, fan grill turbulance).

I think it comes down to cost, 550w is fine for your load, if the fanless cost around the same as some good quality psu, I dont see why not. If it cost much more, then it is up to debate.

boost
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by boost » Mon Dec 28, 2015 12:22 am

A fanless configuration with 5-6 HDD doesn't make much sense to me. Sound wise you're better of putting the HDDs in a separate NAS in a different room. When you want two M.2 SSD and 5-6 SATA HDD connected to a Z170 board, read the mainbaord manual very carefully, that is not posssible on all boards, it certainly isn't on the Asus Z170 Deluxe I suggested in another thread. Take a look at HSIO port flexibility here. I think two M.2 and four SATA HDDs from the Intel controller are the maximum amount of drives. I haven't seen one, but maybe there is a board that allows for more? Some mainboards have additional SATA controllers, but drives connected here are not that easily raidable with the others.
I think the Enermax Digifanless will work in this configuration. Unless you use a Nofan CPU cooler there will be a CPU fan. And case fans. The graphic card fans will stay of in idle, but in 3D mode you will hear them. I will use an aftermarket cooler as soon as I know which one fits in my new case.
A be quiet! Straight Power 10 will be inaudible unless you run Prime and 3D mark simultaneously and it costs half of the Digifanless.

mentawl
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by mentawl » Mon Dec 28, 2015 4:24 am

Meh. I agree with previous responders, I don't really see the point in pushing a fanless PSU fairly hard in a use case where the loss of the PSU fan won't even be noticed - those 6 HDDs and the GPU are going to completely negate any PSU fan noise anyway. Get a regular PSU that'll be more comfortable pushing all that kit, and for lower cost :)

edh
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by edh » Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:52 am

The Enermax is not especially known for being silent, it might not be ideal.
baii wrote:The only problem I see with semi passive psu is that the fan speed is not user contrable
You really would not want a user controllable PSU fan, it would then be possible for the PSU to overheat if the user did something silly with it. Most good PSUs with fans have thermally controlled fans which work very well. As the load increases the temperature naturally increases so the fan speeds up.

memory_leak
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by memory_leak » Mon Dec 28, 2015 6:37 am

Point with fanless psu is to have one less fan. PSU fans are usually the most audible ones, at least they have been in the past. For the CPU it is going to be very low rpm, with big heat sink, either noctua dh14 or dh15. For the case it is eventually going to be very low rpm fans as well, if any. I built my previous system, nvidia 790i ultra, q9550, and don't remember what geforce I used in that one, but it was barely audible. I use quality components but don't push them to their limits, instead I leave some headrum so they dont' go too hot, so I can use less aggressive cooling. I am not after monster fps, I do ocassionally play games, but I am not going to run crazy 3x4K screens setup and compete to break latest fps records. From beginning I was looking at Qe quiet dark power pro 11 psu, about 750W one, but I changed my mind to go with fanless one.

Yes, I am aware that not all sata/pci places are avialable at same time on some motherboards. Usually one has to compromise either a pcie slot in order to use M.2 connector, or sata slot. Yes I wan't to have everything in one case. I was thinking about nas, or building a cheap fileserver out of an old machine I have laying, in that case I could run my g75vw laptop for a two or three more years, but I live in a one room appartment so I don't want 1001 cable and box laying around :). I am even thinking about option to go 950 pro 512 gig instead of 2x950 pro, and to run windows in virtualbox from within linux. I really need windows just for occasional gaming, and for developing needs, but I prefer linux for my daily use. When it comes to HDDs, it is not necessary to run tham in raid 1, but I woulld prefer board that lets me do this. Reason is I need my mp3's, photos and books to be in two places, I have a lot, and I mean a lot of those. But running raid 1 is rather a convenience than a must, I can alway run a backup process from within the os if I can't have raid 1.

baii
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by baii » Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:21 am

edh wrote:The Enermax is not especially known for being silent, it might not be ideal.
baii wrote:The only problem I see with semi passive psu is that the fan speed is not user contrable
You really would not want a user controllable PSU fan, it would then be possible for the PSU to overheat if the user did something silly with it. Most good PSUs with fans have thermally controlled fans which work very well. As the load increases the temperature naturally increases so the fan speeds up.

True in the manf perspective, in the silence/pc enthusiasts perspective, not really.

nagi
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by nagi » Mon Dec 28, 2015 3:15 pm

memory_leak wrote:I am in process of building a new machine and am tempted to try a fanless PSU. I am looking at Enermax Digifanless 550W, and wonder if it is going to be enough?

I don't plan to put in 2nd (or 3rd and 4th) graphic card in, ever, so it is mostly cpu + gpu load. I am going with 32Gig ram + 2 M.2 drives (950Pro) and probably 5 or 6 sata HDDs (raid 1 config). For cooling it will be probably Noctuas DH15 + 2 or 3 bigger fans, but I guess that fans and drives are not where real load come from. Gtx I have in mind is EVGA GTX980Ti SC+ paired with i7 6700K, 90W TDP, but I might opt for slower version at 60W, haven't made my mind yet.
Depends on the PSU in question.

Check my rig, run from a fanless Seasonic X-400:

i7-4770K + 24GB DDR3 + R9 290X + 5 sata SSDs and a 3.5" HDD. Plus fans, dvd, capture card, whatnot.

I've been running it for almost 2 years now, and not a single power failiure. So yes, a fanless PSU can actually provide for your rig. Whether it should, is another question, as outlined by the respondents before me.

memory_leak
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by memory_leak » Mon Dec 28, 2015 4:48 pm

I have ditched Enermax for Seasonic 520W simply because Enermax seems to be rare product here in Sweden. Shop I am ordering from other components already has Seasonic one, so I am going for it.

When it comes ot other fans cancelling PSU fan; well there really will be very few fans. One on Noctua D15S and those on EVGA's card. As I understand EVGA's fans are not spinning unless needed, and D15S should be relatively silent. Plan is to put everything in my old Antec P182 case. When it comes to gamin I am using headphones anyway, but in normal cases my computer is always running so I prefer it to be very silent while in not-gaming use.

HDDs and noise? Well, they are not running often, actually quite rarely. OS will be run from M.2 sdd, so HDD noise is not something I am going to be overly annoyed with.

When it comes to prices, once you get into platinum certified efficiency, the prices aren't really that much different. For about same price I can get 750W, but that is about it. I am willing to pass on those 200W in order to get rid of a fan. So if I should go fanless or not; well as I said, one less fan is always a plus. Might be just me :-).

nagi
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by nagi » Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:15 pm

memory_leak wrote:I have ditched Enermax for Seasonic 520W simply because Enermax seems to be rare product here in Sweden. Shop I am ordering from other components already has Seasonic one, so I am going for it.

When it comes ot other fans cancelling PSU fan; well there really will be very few fans. One on Noctua D15S and those on EVGA's card. As I understand EVGA's fans are not spinning unless needed, and D15S should be relatively silent. Plan is to put everything in my old Antec P182 case. When it comes to gamin I am using headphones anyway, but in normal cases my computer is always running so I prefer it to be very silent while in not-gaming use.

HDDs and noise? Well, they are not running often, actually quite rarely. OS will be run from M.2 sdd, so HDD noise is not something I am going to be overly annoyed with.

When it comes to prices, once you get into platinum certified efficiency, the prices aren't really that much different. For about same price I can get 750W, but that is about it. I am willing to pass on those 200W in order to get rid of a fan. So if I should go fanless or not; well as I said, one less fan is always a plus. Might be just me :-).
Well, if you have a P182, if worst comes to worst, and the HDD noise is too much, you can suspend them with bungie cord in the 5.25" drive cage, I've done so with my P180, and it simply eliminates the resonance. It does increase the temps of the HDDs though without any extra cooling there.

Otherwise, good luck :)

memory_leak
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by memory_leak » Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:23 pm

I think it will be fine, thanks.

I have another question, as I research before the purchase, it seems that Seasonic have issues with background noice, coil wine, there seem to be several people posting on youtube and different review sites about the high-pitched noise coming out of the PSU. There was even a review here on SPCR and issue was noted: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Seasonic_ ... s_520W_PSU . As they say in the review the 3rd sample sent by Seasonic was "much better", but not enitrely silent. I wonder if anyone has experience with later samples. Most of posts dates back to 2012 which is about 3 years old, but I wonder if they have updated their product or they still manufacture same thing.

nagi
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by nagi » Tue Dec 29, 2015 5:33 am

memory_leak wrote:I think it will be fine, thanks.

I have another question, as I research before the purchase, it seems that Seasonic have issues with background noice, coil wine, there seem to be several people posting on youtube and different review sites about the high-pitched noise coming out of the PSU. There was even a review here on SPCR and issue was noted: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Seasonic_ ... s_520W_PSU . As they say in the review the 3rd sample sent by Seasonic was "much better", but not enitrely silent. I wonder if anyone has experience with later samples. Most of posts dates back to 2012 which is about 3 years old, but I wonder if they have updated their product or they still manufacture same thing.
I just posted a couple hours ago a reply to this newer thread about my experiences concerning a brand new X-400.

(sorry for the crosspost, thought OP might have missed it)

memory_leak
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Re: Is 550W enough for i7 6700K + single GTX980Ti?

Post by memory_leak » Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:01 am

Yeah, I saw, thanks for informative posts!

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