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Thread: Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

  1. #1
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    Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

    I am going to change my graphics card pretty soon (7800GT) for either a Ati 4850 or a 4870 but I am a bit concerned about my PSU being able to handle the latest graphics cards.

    It is an Advance 550w

    The rest of the system is as follows.

    Asus P5W DH Deluxe
    Intel 6420@3.2
    2 gig of ram
    4x HDD
    Dvd drive


    Still not settled on getting the 4850 or the 4870 version to tell the truth although at the moment I do tend to favour the 4870

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    Re: Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

    What are the specifications for the PSU?

    Should be a sticker on the side which will tell you.

    If it is of decent quality and has 30A on the 12v rails (combined) then you should be all right with either card. However since I do not know who makes the internals for that PSU I can make no comment on its quality.

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    Re: Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

    Not taken the side of the computer since my original post the other day but I do know the 12v does have 30A.

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    Re: Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

    actually found out we have a Atrix 720watt psu here but its 12v rails confuse me here is the specs to the supply

    AC INPUT: 95-250VAC 6.3A 47-63Hz Model 600T
    DC
    Output
    Max +3.3V +5V +12V1 +12V2 -12V +5VS
    35A 40A 15A 17A 0.5A 2.5A
    720W


    The 12V rail voltage is confusing me though what exactly does it add upto too? Do I add the two amps together or what?

    Reason of concern is that I am starting too look towards maybe getting a Nivida 260GTX instead of an Ati and they are ratted as having 36 amp on the 12v rail as minimum

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    Folding Flunkie Webby's Avatar
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      • Motherboard:
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      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 3.5GHz, Cooling D-Tek Fuzion V2
      • Memory:
      • 2GB OCZ Flex DDR2 PC2-9200 5-5-5-15 @ 1000MHz 4-4-4-12
      • Storage:
      • 2x 250GB WD SataII
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire HD4870 512MB, Cooling Swiftech MCW60
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520w
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Tremjin TJ06 - Modded for Water Cooling Goodness
      • Operating System:
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      • 22" Widescreen Cibox C2201 (with DVI input)
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    Re: Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

    Yes add the two rail amperages together, or the may be a total Amperage or wattage for combined 12v lower on the sticker.

    Anyway in theory if the ratings on the PSU are correct then you should have no problem the 4850 draws ~110W I guess the 4870 draws closer to 150W hence the extra PCIe connector and the 260GTX the same as the 4870 at most with 2x PCIe and a PCIe v1 socket they can draw 225W which is ~19A (at 12v) they wont actually be drawing that much though so you should be fine as long as the PSU specs are continuous ratings and not peak, it should say on the label but if it does or not is anybodies guess, well apart for you as you can read it

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    Re: Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

    Thanks Webby I guess that I am getting nervous as the 260GTX has a minimum rating of 36 amp for the 12v rail

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    Folding Flunkie Webby's Avatar
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    • Webby's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte G33M-DS2R, Swiftech MCW30 Northbridge Cooler
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 3.5GHz, Cooling D-Tek Fuzion V2
      • Memory:
      • 2GB OCZ Flex DDR2 PC2-9200 5-5-5-15 @ 1000MHz 4-4-4-12
      • Storage:
      • 2x 250GB WD SataII
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire HD4870 512MB, Cooling Swiftech MCW60
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520w
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Tremjin TJ06 - Modded for Water Cooling Goodness
      • Operating System:
      • Windows XP Pro SP3
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Widescreen Cibox C2201 (with DVI input)
      • Internet:
      • 8Mb/s ADSL

    Re: Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

    Yeah but they will be overly cautious because you could have an overclocked Phenom 9950 (140W at stock) 10 hard drives 3 optical drives etc etc, so they will always overestimate the power requirements when they tell people what is required.

    Basically a 6 pin PCIe connector can provide 75W @ 12v, a PCIe 1 slot can provide 75W (65W @ 12v and 10W @ 3.3v), a PCIe 2 slot can provide 150W (but until PCIe2 is demanded as a requirement assume a card will only draw the 75W the same as PCIe 1), PCIe 8 pin connector can provide 150W @ 12v.

    From this you can determine the maximum power a card can use, and it will not be anywhere near its maximum value as the manufacturers will always want to include a safety margin.

  8. Received thanks from:

    Cichlidash (05-10-2008)

  9. #8
    Folding Flunkie Webby's Avatar
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    • Webby's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte G33M-DS2R, Swiftech MCW30 Northbridge Cooler
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 3.5GHz, Cooling D-Tek Fuzion V2
      • Memory:
      • 2GB OCZ Flex DDR2 PC2-9200 5-5-5-15 @ 1000MHz 4-4-4-12
      • Storage:
      • 2x 250GB WD SataII
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Sapphire HD4870 512MB, Cooling Swiftech MCW60
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520w
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Tremjin TJ06 - Modded for Water Cooling Goodness
      • Operating System:
      • Windows XP Pro SP3
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Widescreen Cibox C2201 (with DVI input)
      • Internet:
      • 8Mb/s ADSL

    Re: Will my PSU cope with a 4850-4870

    Hmm it posted twice no idea why

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