Power Supply Compatability

[Server: 503]

Hey all,

Just got a completely new system for my dad, only to discover I had made an oversight with the power supply, which has a 4-pin +12v plug for cpu power instead of 8-pin. The mainboard is a Sapphire pc-am2rs790g (AM2+, 790GX chipset). I'm only running an AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor (65w), so I imagine it should be fine just to use the 4-pin, but contacting Sapphire has proven somewhat difficult, so I thought I would appeal to the community.

Thanks in advance,

Server: 503

[kalniel]

Depends on the rails apparently:

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psucon...onnectors.html

[woody_294]

What kind of power supply is it? What other kit is going in there? GPU etc.

[Server: 503]

I believe I saw that playtool article before and decided it was a touch inconclusive for my taste. I appreciate the effort though, thanks.

Full system spec:

Mainboard: Sapphire pc-am2rs790g

Processor: AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor

Graphics: XFX ATI Radeon 4650 1GB (possible upgrade to 2 in the near future)

Ram: Micron 2GB (1x2GB) 800mhz (possible upgrade to 4GB in the near future)

HDD: Hitatchi Deskstar 320GB 7200rpm non-ncq

Optical: Pioneer 22x etc. etc. with labelflash

PSU: Powercool 650w dual +12v rail

I can't post a link yet unfortunately, but if you check Scan, the PSU is product code: LN26215


Running Windows 7 if that's important



What makes me think I shouldn't have a problem, is that the mainboard is AM2+, so it's likely that the 8-pin socket is more for use with the 130w phenoms, where as this is:

1) dual core not quad; therefore dual rails wouldn't be needed for stability purposes

2) 65w not 130w (less than half the draw = half the rails?)

3) the graphics are light enough not to need any power direct from the psu. (which was a surprise after being used to an HD4870 in my old machine requiring 2x6-pin lol)


Server: 503

[Ulti]

If you won't be overclocking then you should have next to no problems at all. Even with a mild overclock it should be fine though.

The only problem is that your PSU isn't exactly one of the best as it's one of the cheaper "weak" brand PSUs but usually problems are rare but when they do popup they're usually PSU related when your system dies.

[Pob255]

For what you've got it shouldn't be an issue, the 4pin power lead should be fine.

On the matter of rails, they are probably not truly separate any way, esp on a psu that cheap.
it'll more than likely be that al the 12v wires are coming off 2 solider points on the pcb within the psu, so that ether one doesn't get too hot under heavy load. (this is fairly common even on more expensive higher quality psu's)

Personally I'd not of gone near that psu as the quality and stated wattage is very questionable.
A decent 350w psu is all you should of required for a Athlon II X2 250 & ati 4650
That said that psu shouldn't have any mojor problems because your demands are so low.
Overclocking might be an issue because stability and "cleaness" of power is the issue when overclocking and quality of that psu is questionable.

p.s. you'd be much better off just getting a single better graphics card than crossfireing two 4650's

[Server: 503]

Cool. That was more or less what I figured would be the case. The power supply is a bit shady as well, I don't doubt you there, but as was said, it's unlikely to blow up the second I plug it in, so for 40 pounds, it agrees with my current budget.

I am in total agreement with you on the subject of a single reasonably powerful card in place of dual 4650s; the computer simply needs to be able to run 2- and potentially 4- screens for stock market operations. If the need for 4 arises, I will take on an additional card and run them independently. The card was selected for being the cheapest I could find with dual dvi out.

Unfortunately, I'm just building a system for uninteresting uses, so performance isn't a premium commodity, I just wanted to have a small amount of flexibility with the system for future needs.

Thanks again for all your help, advice and time guys; it is very much appreciated. Now I'm off to plug in that cable and use the silly thing.

Server: 503

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Cool. That was more or less what I figured would be the case. The power supply is a bit shady as well, I don't doubt you there, but as was said, it's unlikely to blow up the second I plug it in, so for 40 pounds, it agrees with my current budget.

I am in total agreement with you on the subject of a single reasonably powerful card in place of dual 4650s; the computer simply needs to be able to run 2- and potentially 4- screens for stock market operations. If the need for 4 arises, I will take on an additional card and run them independently. The card was selected for being the cheapest I could find with dual dvi out.

Unfortunately, I'm just building a system for uninteresting uses, so performance isn't a premium commodity, I just wanted to have a small amount of flexibility with the system for future needs.

Thanks again for all your help, advice and time guys; it is very much appreciated. Now I'm off to plug in that cable and use the silly thing.

Server: 503

For £40 you can much better PSUs TBH:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...400SXS-UK.html

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...U-400CXUK.html

Also I assume you got the DDR3 or GDDR3 version of the HD4650?? If not a pair of HD4650 GDDR2 or DDR2 cards in Crossfire is a massive waste of money.

[Ulti]

Yeah the Corsair CX400W or OCZ StealthXStream 400W would have met the OPs needs easily.

However, the OP said he's not in for the performance and basically needs 2 or 4 screens for stock market operations so better performance doesn't really help his need.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yeah the Corsair CX400W or OCZ StealthXStream 400W would have met the OPs needs easily.

However, the OP said he's not in for the performance and basically needs 2 or 4 screens for stock market operations so better performance doesn't really help his need.

Fair enough although I assume a pair of cheaper cards would do the job though.

[Server: 503]

Fair enough although I assume a pair of cheaper cards would do the job though.

The primary reason I opted for the 4650 was the dual dvi. I would likely run them independently if all I need is the 4 screens when or if I buy a second one. I'm not actually sure what memory it has, but it's a gig. It doesn't matter for now anyway.

If I was building a system for performance purposes, I would have been a good deal more attentive, but also likely wouldn't have chosen a 4650, as you said.


Server: 503

[Behemoth]

Another vote for the OCZ Power supply from me, running the 500 watt one here, a very solid supply indeed