pc building !! woot ... GPU time !

Draconia2

Draconia2

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right, most of you blokes know im getting some new ram while not going overboard with the amount of gigs (6 gig ddr3 1600 total)

Now i checked there are some nice graphics cards out but sadly they don't even come close to tickling my fancy lol

I dont feel like getting another 5 series card and i definitely dont have enough cash to get a top of the range 6 series card.

PSU i have is a superchannel 500w which isnt the greatest but its been thoroughly tested and run into the ground with bigger cards than mine and its so old ! i know you pay what you get for but ive never had any issues with superchannel :wtf: touch wood

gfx cards i am looking at are the 6870/6850 as they seem to have a sweet spot when it comes to fps/power ratio

now the power consumption isnt really bothering me as my 5770 uses 255w at max and the 6850/6870 uses 278 and 295 respectively according to guru3d reviews.


\\ i dont do overclocking // just have an unlocked x4 555be phenom 2 //\\
the wattage increase should not strain my psu ? but i might look into getting a brand name 550w
 
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i think hd 6850 should run fine on that system :)

if your looking to buy a new psu , buy from the corsair cx range .
 
Struggling to find the specs of your PSU. But a HD6870 draws 10W less than a HD5770, so it should be fine. And with a HD6870 you should get around 75% increase in frame rates, so quite a nice upgrade
 
PSU will be fine, can't go wrong with either of those cards.

Do check out the Sapphire HD6850 Toxic, OCs like a beast at stock volts, have since upgraded but I was running mine at 6870 speeds (or something).
 
cool ... stats on my psu are +12v1 = 15A (180w) and +12v2= 16A (192w) and the card uses 168w (according to bit-tech)?

not sure but will keep doing research now and report back
 
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:erm:

Please try and buy this:

±R600 Corsair CX500 , Eps12V , ATX 12V V2.3 - 500w ( 12v : 408w ) , 24pin ( 4pin detachable ) , with active-PFC , 2x8pin (2+6) PCI-E power , 1x 120mm thermal controled fan , 5x SATA - 3 years warranty - no power cord http://www.corsair.com/power-supplies/non-modular-psus/builder-series/builder-series-cx500.html

PSU's should do at least 18A+ on the 12v rail(s) for mid - high end graphics cards.

Perhaps get the HD6850 and put the savings towards a new PSU.
 
Draconia2 said:
cool ... stats on my psu are +12v1 = 15A (180w) and +12v2= 16A (192w) and the card uses 168w?

not sure but will keep doing research now and report back
Click to expand...

Not quite that simple...the superchannel might work but the superchannel is worse than a Coolermaster Xtreme power 460Watt.

The 6850 wants constant power and even a Corsair CX430/500 will be beter.
The 6850 wants a 500watt PSU now I doubt the Superchannel will cut it.
The Superchannel only peaks at 15/16A on the rails.

A 5770 doesn't use 250Watts that is the complete system from the wall and remember they test that on a 1200Watt which is likely 82% plus efficient.

That means that on your system it will likely be 300watts plus meaning that your PSU is close to reaching it's limits.
Now compare that to the CX 430 which is also about 82% efficient at that load you will draw less power from the wall than your superchannel.

A GTX 580/480 drows 250Watts Theoretically, and peaks up to 280Watts some which are oc'ed or "has a power leak".

The Superchanel is 500 contentious watts meaning that it will likely only deliver 370/380Watss constantly.
Compare that to the corsair CX430 which is able to deliver 430-440Watts contentiously.
 
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nice ! thats why i only got a 5770 when 5 series hit us, was good for my psu at that time :)




PostmanPot said:
:erm:

Please try and buy this:

±R600 Corsair CX500 , Eps12V , ATX 12V V2.3 - 500w ( 12v : 408w ) , 24pin ( 4pin detachable ) , with active-PFC , 2x8pin (2+6) PCI-E power , 1x 120mm thermal controled fan , 5x SATA - 3 years warranty - no power cord http://www.corsair.com/power-supplies/non-modular-psus/builder-series/builder-series-cx500.html

PSU's should do at least 18A+ on the 12v rail(s) for mid - high end graphics cards.

Perhaps get the HD6850 and put the savings towards a new PSU.
Click to expand...
 
GeOgre said:
Not quite that simple....
Click to expand...

wish it was :P ! i know mate, i need atleast 600w to have a stable system when im going to get a 6870. i see the 6850 isnt very far off and compared to real world stats im sure i wont even notice a difference in performance....


getting a 600w corsair + 6850 !


purchase has been processed !!
 
GeOgre said:
snip
Click to expand...
Like I said, the 6870 draw LESS power than the 5770, so there really shouldnt be a problem. I'm not saying he shouldnt replace the crummy PSU, I'm just saying there is zero reason to think it wouldnt work with the current PSU
 
Draconia2 said:
wish it was :P ! i know mate, i need atleast 600w to have a stable system when im going to get a 6870. i see the 6850 isnt very far off and compared to real world stats im sure i wont even notice a difference in performance....
Click to expand...

Sigh... No you do not :/
CPU max = 125W, but likely 95W
GPU = 150W max
Mobo + other 100W max
So thats likely 350W if everything is running flat out which it almost never will
 
Archer said:
Like I said, the 6870 draw LESS power than the 5770, so there really shouldnt be a problem. I'm not saying he shouldnt replace the crummy PSU, I'm just saying there is zero reason to think it wouldnt work with the current PSU
Click to expand...

NO, it doesn't, the 6870 uses more, 40Watts more according to Guru3d, just the GPU's.
 
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i should edit my post where i said im ordering the psu aswell...

im first going to get a MSI 6850 for R1499. run some tests on my rig for a week, if its BSOD or system feels unstable or it f*s out on first boot then ill replace psu with the corsair because then i know its psu. i have gathered some other info that the msi 6850 needs 450w minimum to run but that doesnt mean im completely off the hook as GeOgre explained :)

the total wattage of my rig could very well be lower than i am thinking because its winter and ive also unplugged alot of stuff which i dont even use anymore! fans+ hdd's+ drives.


im going to do a stress test and see how much it totals now ....
 
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Draconia2 said:
msi 6850 needs 450w minimum to run
Click to expand...

Not entirely true, gfx card vendors always over estimate PSU requirements to cover those using crappy inefficient PSUs (that can't deliver what they claim)...

As Archer said, ±350watts absolute maximum, average 250 - 300watts.
 
PostmanPot said:
Not entirely true, gfx card vendors always over estimate PSU requirements to cover those using crappy inefficient PSUs (that can't deliver what they claim)...

As Archer said, ±350watts absolute maximum, average 250 - 300watts.
Click to expand...

got my info from here ?

http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=104805.0;wap2

but its true what you said hey, they always do that sigh. When i got my 5770 they told me noo you need 550w etc , i just checked the amperage and went with it anyways :)
 
GeOgre said:
NO, it doesn't, the 6870 uses more, 40Watts more according to Guru3d, just the GPU's.
Click to expand...

Where did I get 150W from then? I must be losing it :confused: Regardless, 350W is going to be more than enough for the rig. Unless you can link me to the specs for the PSU since you claim to know it has a contentious watts rating, whatever that means.
 
The reason GPU manufacturers overstate the PSU required is so that noobs who happen to have 6 hard drives, 5 million fans, and an overkill CPU will still be able to power their GPU properly. Which in turn means less PT for the manufacturer in terms of answering customer support calls/emails and possible incorrect RMA's
 
Archer said:
The reason GPU manufacturers overstate the PSU required is so that noobs who happen to have 6 hard drives, 5 million fans,
Click to expand...


lol 6 hdds and 5 million fans .... :/ ok gusy , lets start up that nuclear reactor ... i mean errr NooB-pc.

why not just 2 big drives and 2 big fans ? some people's children ...
 
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/blog/37
See its people like this they gotta cater for :p
Plus I'm betting 99% of people dont check their fans power specs. 120mm fans can draw anything from 0.1W - 25W. So if you dont know whats going on inside your case, the exaggerated specs of required PSU size start to make sense

And no swapping for my CPU... yet :p Gimme 2 months, I'll be upgrading then
 
Archer said:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/blog/37
See its people like this they gotta cater for :p
Plus I'm betting 99% of people dont check their fans power specs. 120mm fans can draw anything from 0.1W - 25W. So if you dont know whats going on inside your case, the exaggerated specs of required PSU size start to make sense

And no swapping for my CPU... yet :p Gimme 2 months, I'll be upgrading then
Click to expand...

omw dude i just burst out laughing when i saw those pics !!! wtf !!

ugh just cleaned my pc after several months... nice thick dust looks like snow! (not proud) :D should be cooler running now when i get home to test

just joking about the cpu... i think mine will last another year or so before its obsolete lol
 
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