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SilverStone's Latest Power Supply Can Drive Two RTX 3090s at the Same Time

There are probably some RTX 3090 GPU buyers that would love to use them in tandem. Here's the power supply to do it.
By Joel Hruska
SilverStone-PSU

The RTX 3090 is the only GPU that now supports Nvidia's NVLink/SLI technology, and there are probably some buyers of these cards that would love to use them in tandem. Finding a power supply capable of driving two different GPUs with a 350W TDP, however, is something of a tall order. Silverstone has one, however: Meet the DA1650.

Tell us about the DA1650, Bob!

The DA1650 is an 80Plus Gold Power Supply with industrial design lines and a classy, matte black finish. It's fully modular, allowing any cable to be replaced, and it uses a 135mm FBA fan. Operating noise is reportedly below 36dBA.

Thanks, Bob. [Talking to ourselves again, Joel? -Ed.]

Amusingly, the DA1650 is listed as having a power density of 711W per liter. The DA1650 is therefore a 2.3L power supply. Do with this what you will.

This unit offers a single rail, which is a design trait I've always liked. There's no chance of destabilizing or outright frying a GPU by hooking it to rails that couldn't provide sufficient voltage. (I have seen this happen to a colleague of mine).

The unit carries a five-year warranty, and is fairly expensive, at $330. If you're the kind of person who truly needs this power supply, however, you're probably performing enough serious work in computing that a price tag like that won't phase you. Gamers generally don't have to worry about this sort of thing; there's no evidence we'll need 1kW power supplies for gaming any time soon.

When it comes to buying big power supplies, it's always smart to pay attention to the exact manufacturer requirements. It's possible for a 1kW power supply to be absolutely "1kW", but to have a great many 12V rails -- so many, that the maximum amperage each rail can deliver is relatively small compared with the total amount of amperage available across the card.

With one single, monstrous rail, this PSU won't have that problem. We're not sure why anybody needs two RTX 3090s, but if you need 'em, this power supply unit can certainly push them. As for power efficiency ratings, there are two ways to think about this question. This PSU is Gold rated, which means it guarantees a maximum of 87 percent efficiency at 20 percent load, 90 percent at 50 percent load, and 87 percent at 100 percent load. Step up from that to Titanium, and you get 92 percent efficiency at 20 percent load, 94 percent at 50 percent load, and 90 percent at full load. The Titanium is above the Gold unit by between 3-5 percent.

We explore how much these differences matter in the "Is it Worth Investing in a High-Efficiency Power Supply?" Short answer: Definitely maybe. Hat-tip to our sister site(Opens in a new window), PCMag, for spotting this story.

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RTX 3090 80PlusGold Silverstone DA1650 Nvidia

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