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Question on hooking up power to a MSI lightning GTX 680

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  • Gtx
  • Power Supplies
  • MSI
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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August 9, 2013 4:12:49 PM

so i have a Corsair 430CX power supply. will be getting a gtx 680 from MSI next week. i see that the 680 has two sets of 8 pin connector. and from what i can see my power supply only has one extra 6+2 connector (the 4+4 connector is connected to the ATX12V slot on motherboard). so my question is, can i not power the card with this PSU or am i missing something? i am new at hooking up this kind of GPU. thanks

More about : question hooking power msi lightning gtx 680

a b ) Power supply
August 9, 2013 4:51:19 PM

The challenge with PSUs is the label is not always clear. The label says its a 430 watt but that is the 12volt rail and 5 volt rail, and the 3.3 added up.

The Corsair 430CX is only good for 28 amps on the 12 volt rail. So that's 12x28= 336watts.
The GTX 680 can pull up to 195 watts on the 12 volt rail. Figure the CPU depending on what type you have will draw between 70 and 130. Add in 50 for the board ram and drives and such and you at about 380 watts.

Your going to need a PSU good for at least 34 amps. I more expensive larger PSU will have 4 or more PCI-e power connectors. Ideally 4 connectors to power 2 video cards if each card needs 2.

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August 9, 2013 4:53:35 PM

bucknutty said:
The challenge with PSUs is the label is not always clear. The label says its a 430 watt but that is the 12volt rail and 5 volt rail, and the 3.3 added up.

The Corsair 430CX is only good for 28 amps on the 12 volt rail. So that's 12x28= 336watts.
The GTX 680 can pull up to 195 watts on the 12 volt rail. Figure the CPU depending on what type you have will draw between 70 and 130. Add in 50 for the board ram and drives and such and you at about 380 watts.

Your going to need a PSU good for at least 34 amps. I more expensive larger PSU will have 4 or more PCI-e power connectors. Ideally 4 connectors to power 2 video cards if each card needs 2.



so its physically impossible to power the card on the 430cx because not enough connectors?
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a b ) Power supply
August 9, 2013 7:47:25 PM

Well you could use an adapter to turn two molex connectors into a PCI-e power connector. In this example it would be a very bad idea, because the CPU and GPU when under load will draw more power than the PSU is able to put out. This will cause the PSU to overheat and burn out. It might happen the first time you start a game or in a few weeks, but that kind of load on a PSU rated for only 28 amps will cause it to burn out, often times when they do burn out because of being overloaded the failure is awesome... with sparks and smoke.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1CS...

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August 9, 2013 7:49:24 PM

bucknutty said:
Well you could use an adapter to turn two molex connectors into a PCI-e power connector. In this example it would be a very bad idea, because the CPU and GPU when under load will draw more power than the PSU is able to put out. This will cause the PSU to overheat and burn out. It might happen the first time you start a game or in a few weeks, but that kind of load on a PSU rated for only 28 amps will cause it to burn out, often times when they do burn out because of being overloaded the failure is awesome... with sparks and smoke.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1CS...



ah i see, so i better get something that is 500W+. i was looking at the thermaltake TR2 600W, http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=3...
would you recomend it?
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a b ) Power supply
August 9, 2013 7:53:09 PM

The Thermaltake TR2 600W would be a good choice.
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August 9, 2013 7:55:08 PM

bucknutty said:
The Thermaltake TR2 600W would be a good choice.


thanks!
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!