What's the recommended PSU wattage per rx 480 in a GPU rig?

[chrisdavetv]

Hey guys, I'm looking into setting up my first altcoin miner.  Talked to my local pc hardware store and they sugested a 600W PSU for a setup (minimal CPU and RAM specs) w a single rx480, but judging from people's responses to similar topics it seems like that can actually take more than just a single RX 480

So my question is how much wattage should I assign per rx 480?  I wanna add GPUs regularly over time, but is there an ideal ratio I should watch out for?

Thanks!

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[sigb0y]

You can calculate with 150W / GPU.

[Haryford]

If you have 8pin PCIE power connector, that can be more than 150W, otherwise, it is 150W.

[Golku]

Just to be safe I would use 200W for each card (spikes..)

[alrami]

Just to be safe I would use 200W for each card (spikes..)

Think even 250W must be for a safety, case i saw up to 224W spikes in GPU-Z

[Mr.Coinzer]

between 150W /200W GPU

[chrisdavetv]

Just to be safe I would use 200W for each card (spikes..)

Think even 250W must be for a safety, case i saw up to 224W spikes in GPU-Z

Thanks for the answers guys. I think I'll go with this to be safe.

[chrisdavetv]

Thinking of starting out with 2 rx 480s and minimal cpu and ram with space for the other cards later on if POW is still profitable by years end (ETH POS shift).  Do you guys think 100w leftover is enough to cover a minimal spec cpu, ram, mobo?

[sigb0y]

You would need a low energy CPU like the new Intel Kaby Lake i5-7400 which only needs 65W. Should work with only 100W leftover. I use the same CPU. You can use it for Monero mining.

[chrisdavetv]

You would need a low energy CPU like the new Intel Kaby Lake i5-7400 which only needs 65W. Should work with only 100W leftover. I use the same CPU. You can use it for Monero mining.

What's your monero hashrate with a CPU like that? I'm actually gonna start out mining monero with my GPUs. It seems to be the most profitable according to some online calculators. 

[Za1n]

You will not need 250 watts per GPU even with a "safety" overhead. If you are serious about mining you will be tuning your rigs to draw the lowest amount of power possible while still producing the same hash rate. If it is a reputable brand name power supply, with 600 watts you can easily power 3 RX480's with an abundant safety overhead as real power draw will probably be closer to 450 watts.

I run many 6 x RX480 rigs and only use 1000 watt PSU's. This results in a 166 watt per GPU ratio, but the actual wattage drawn is only ~750-780 watts for the entire rig (134 watts/GPU) once the GPUs are tuned, and this is measured at the wall so it even includes the PSU, mobo, and CPU overhead. I could get by with 850 watt PSU's, but I do like the extra cable connections that the 1000 watt units offer and I also like sticking to the 80% capacity rule.

So using same this ratio for scaling down to 3 RX480's, you would be safe with your 600 watt PSU which go as high as 480 watt continuous draw while still staying at a 80% load. Now if it is some off-name PSU, that is another story as many of them will not deliver all the watts that the label claims. Check out review sites such as http://www.jonnyguru.com/ to get an idea of the better PSUs and what to look for.

[chrisdavetv]

You will not need 250 watts per GPU even with a "safety" overhead. If you are serious about mining you will be tuning your rigs to draw the lowest amount of power possible while still producing the same hash rate. If it is a reputable brand name power supply, with 600 watts you can easily power 3 RX480's with an abundant safety overhead as real power draw will probably be closer to 450 watts.

I run many 6 x RX480 rigs and only use 1000 watt PSU's. This results in a 166 watt per GPU ratio, but the actual wattage drawn is only ~750-780 watts for the entire rig (134 watts/GPU) once the GPUs are tuned, and this is measured at the wall so it even includes the PSU, mobo, and CPU overhead. I could get by with 850 watt PSU's, but I do like the extra cable connections that the 1000 watt units offer and I also like sticking to the 80% capacity rule.

So using same this ratio for scaling down to 3 RX480's, you would be safe with your 600 watt PSU which go as high as 480 watt continuous draw while still staying at a 80% load. Now if it is some off-name PSU, that is another story as many of them will not deliver all the watts that the label claims. Check out review sites such as http://www.jonnyguru.com/ to get an idea of the better PSUs and what to look for.

Thanks for the link, I'll take note of this. I'm looking at a Silverstone Strider 600w 80+bronze for around $80. Seems like a decent price, though there is mention of "unsleeved cables" in the reviews, I'm not sure if that's a cause for concern? If it is, then I guess I shouldn't budget too much on the PSU.

[chrisdavetv]

You will not need 250 watts per GPU even with a "safety" overhead. If you are serious about mining you will be tuning your rigs to draw the lowest amount of power possible while still producing the same hash rate. If it is a reputable brand name power supply, with 600 watts you can easily power 3 RX480's with an abundant safety overhead as real power draw will probably be closer to 450 watts.

I run many 6 x RX480 rigs and only use 1000 watt PSU's. This results in a 166 watt per GPU ratio, but the actual wattage drawn is only ~750-780 watts for the entire rig (134 watts/GPU) once the GPUs are tuned, and this is measured at the wall so it even includes the PSU, mobo, and CPU overhead. I could get by with 850 watt PSU's, but I do like the extra cable connections that the 1000 watt units offer and I also like sticking to the 80% capacity rule.

So using same this ratio for scaling down to 3 RX480's, you would be safe with your 600 watt PSU which go as high as 480 watt continuous draw while still staying at a 80% load. Now if it is some off-name PSU, that is another story as many of them will not deliver all the watts that the label claims. Check out review sites such as http://www.jonnyguru.com/ to get an idea of the better PSUs and what to look for.

Thanks for the link, I'll take note of this. I'm looking at a Silverstone Strider 600w 80+bronze for around $80. Seems like a decent price, though there is mention of "unsleeved cables" in the reviews, I'm not sure if that's a cause for concern? If it is, then I guess I shouldn't budget too much on the PSU.

Ok so checked out some reviews and landed on the FSP Aurum 80+ Gold 600W. A bit over $80, cables are fully sleeved. Better reviews, generally.  Experience with FSP PSUs anyone? Hopefully I'm going in the right direction here!

[Za1n]

Ok so checked out some reviews and landed on the FSP Aurum 80+ Gold 600W. A bit over $80, cables are fully sleeved. Better reviews, generally.  Experience with FSP PSUs anyone? Hopefully I'm going in the right direction here!

I do not know what country you are in (for product availability) or what your budget is, but if you are going upwards of $80 you could start to look at a 750 Watt unit such as this eVGA: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438027  They also have a 650 watt of the same model line for $80 exactly.

A 750 watt PSU would give the possibility of adding even a 4th card at some point, assuming your motherboard has enough free PCIe slots. It is also a good idea to stick with a Gold rating or above, which I would recommend for the better power efficiency, which unless you have free power, would become an issue if not now at some point down the road when profitability start to decline again.

If this is a dedicated mining rig I do not think sleeved versus un-sleeved are much of an issue. More important is the wire gauge of the cable runs as well as the overall quality of both the PSU and the supplied cables. Sleeved cables look nicer in gaming PCs that are showing off their insides, and can be a bit easier to manage in a mining rig I suppose, but should not really be a consideration. Focus more on the gauge of wire, it should be 18 or 16 (better) and the overall quality of PSU.

Also, a longer warranty may be desired, some are going for 10 years now. Mining 24/7 puts a lot more strain on computer components especially the PSU, and 3-4 years in if you are still mining getting a replacement for the cost of shipping is nice piece of mind.