Max GPU for PSU

[joel_spencer]

Hey guys,

I'm building up a machine for a friend but I've not bought a graphics card in a while so not sure on the current 12v requirements of cards.

Spec is (some of this stuff is new)

Seasonic SS-380HB
Q6600 G0 - ebay 2nd hand as original guy took the cpu
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev.2 - new (space constraints forced this and I like the older freezer 64
Samsung Spinpoint F4 320gb - new
Msi P965 Platinum - flashed to latest bios to support the quad
(Current GPU) Gigabyte Passively cooled 7300
5 fans powered by molex
Nec 4570 dvd drive
some floppy drive (not bothered to check the make, probably trash it in future)

Case is some average sized mid tower (no special brand I think)

Info on PSU - http://skinflint.co.uk/eu/a163646.html - accurate as checked against the side of the PSU

Not really sure on the age of the original system in general but hazard a guess at 2006/7 according to rest of system though the dirt build up in the case suggested about 2 years or less.

Chap needs to run CUDA on Nvidia card I think (7 card defo doesn't support this so hence upgrade) but think he will want to play some games on it too. Budget is £100, As I said it's been a while since I looked at gpus so I initially though about the GTS 450 as it's one PCi-e connector like the PSU and the wattage is under 380 according to calculators. However I then remembered you should check the 12v ratings and it's 25 on this PSU over 2 rails. The card I looked at (MSI overclocked cyclone variant ) recommends 38a on the msi manual but that seemed overkill, some googling revealed answers from 26-32 so looks like it's too high.

Any advice on a good gpu (If it doesn't reflect a significant upgrade I'll suggest a PSU upgrade so suggestions for that would be good too but options for this psu first).

I pulled a p4 3.00 ghz from a working machine and the board boots fine (flashed it at the same time to enable the quad core), PSU only has a 4 pin ATX 12v connector rather than 8 like the board has space for but the board has a small plastic cap that seals off 4 of the pins if you don't have an 8 so hopefully I don't need an 8? It also has a 4 pin molex plug on the board but I assume this is for SLI like it was for an old a8n sli se I had. The manual does not enlighten sadly.

Sorry for the long one guys,

Cheers,

Joel

[joel_spencer]

Just saw this list of 12v ratings, accurate?

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

Would the 430 be any good for gaming and CUDA

[scaryjim]

You should be fine with the 4pin ATX 12V connector. The molex on the mobo will be to help push extra power through the PCIe lanes: you probably won't need it but I don't think it'll hurt to connect it if you've got spare molex connectors on the PSU.

The PSU will push a peak of 300W through the 12V connectors: in the Hexus GTS450 review the test system drew 199W with a GTS450 and 233W with a GTX460 768MB. I did a power-draw test on my main system (<---- over there!) which uses a fairly power-hungry 8800GTX and managed to hit 370W by running a 3 thread wprime *and* furmark simultaneously. So I think probably a GTX460 would be OK, tbh...

EDITS:
those lists *always* massively overestimate the PSU power and 12V amps required for a card. Any card with only one PCIe connector will draw at most 150W - usually a lot less - which is 12.5A from a 12V line. You have to remember that some power is required for the CPU which also comes from the 12V lines (as well as a bit form the 3.3V and 5V) - but a 95W CPU will draw at most 8W from the 12V lines. My only concern with your PSU is what each 12V line powers: your total draw across both lines should be fine but there's a question about which rail powers which peripheral. If I was you I'd make sure I plugged that molex onto the motherboard

The GT430 is not a gaming card by any stretch of the imagination - it's well behind a 5670, probably about par with 5570 and just ahead of a 4670. I'm pretty sure you'll be safe with a GTS450 which is the first current nvidia card I'd describe as gaming capable (it's roughly on a par with the 5750 / 5770 from ATI) and it should be more than safe from a power point of view: again I think you'd probably be OK with a GTX460 too, but if you're concerned about that then stick with the GTS450.

[joel_spencer]

Well price wise the 450 was up his bracket which was why I had picked it, his primary intention seems to be CUDA with gaming as a bonus.

[sadbuttrue]

I'd be more concerned with the PSUs age and possible abuse over the years. I managed to blow up an old Seasonic 430w while pulling <300w from the wall under stress (ati 4770 + e5200). It worked fine for a month or so before giving out. The PSU had been operating almost 24/7 for 5 years.

[joel_spencer]

Yeah I did wonder about that too.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

AFAIK,the GF104 GPU has some of the GPGPU functionality somewhat reduced when compared to the GF100:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3809/n...the-200-king/3

It maybe worth looking at how the previous GT200 compares to the GF104 too.

[claylomax]

Just saw this list of 12v ratings, accurate?

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

Would the 430 be any good for gaming and CUDA

No. Those recommendations are for the whole system assuming you have a high end CPU; To give you an idea, a GTX 480 with stock clocks and stock voltage needs around 21 amps (21 amps * 12v = 252 watts). I would suggest a GTS 450.

[claylomax]

Hi Joel, I just noticed that Samsung F4 320Gb hard drive on the list, where did you get it? I've been looking for that hard drive for months.

[joel_spencer]

erm Scan I believe.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/320gb...ache-89-ms-ncq - £30.77

Reviews look very favourable.

[claylomax]

erm Scan I believe.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/320gb...ache-89-ms-ncq - £30.77

Reviews look very favourable.

Damn it! Surely they've been on stock for two weeks only; I got a WD 600Gb Velociraptor and guess what it's slower than the F4 320gb except for the access time.

[Pob255]

Wow that's serious for a £30 hdd
Not SSD speed but still damb fast


Velociraptor


NOTE: thoes are from two separate reviews as the Samung F4 review didn't test it against any reasonable drives

[Terbinator]

Why didn't they produce a 500GB version, unless thats what the F3R is