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Buying a new graphics card - did I forget something?

Tags:
  • Power Supplies
  • PCI
  • Graphics Cards
  • amd r9 290
  • Components
Last response: in Components
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December 6, 2013 11:58:51 AM

I am in the market for a new graphics card. I have tried to investigate and I would like to know if I forgot something.

I currently own a 2-3 years old Dell XPS studio PC (Intel i7, 6 gigabyte memory). And I want to put in a XFX Radeon R9 290 graphics card. Physically (height, width and depth) it would seem to fit my PC. My PC has a PCI 2.0 x16 slot. The graphics card uses a PCI 3.0 x16 slot. But as I understand it, a PCI 3.0 card works fine in a PCI 2.0 slot.

My power supply is only 360 watt. Therefore, I plan to buy a Corsair RM850 (850 watt power supply). Again I measured, and the power supply fits physically in my PC. I think 850 watt is enough as the graphics card never uses more than 400 watt (at most, properly more like max 350 watt), and the Corsair power supply would be 850-360=490 watts larger than my current power supply. Therefore, I think this power supply is somewhat more than I absolutely need, but having a little too big power supply seems like a good idea, with little downside except for a few dollars extra cost.

Did I miss something? I ask, as I have previously managed to buy PC equipment that I simply could not use with my computer.

Are my computer too old to fully use the R9 290 graphics card? Would it be wiser to go for a less powerful card?

/Mads

http://www.corsair.com/en/power-supply-units/rm-series-...

More about : buying graphics card forget

a b ) Power supply
a c 121 U Graphics card
December 6, 2013 12:19:28 PM

Radeon R9-290X - requires 33 Ampere and a 600W PSU minimum.

So technically you wont need that big PSU, unless you want to OC, or you fancy more wattage. And I would suggest you a HX or TX series PSU of Corsair, better than RM series.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $94.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-06 15:19 EST-0500)

As long as your MB has a PCI-E 2.0 slot and a CPU of i7, there is nothing to worry about the GPU, it will run fine and you don't have to think of a lower end GPU. I might add the CPU will not bottleneck the GPU. Good luck.
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a c 311 ) Power supply
a c 119 U Graphics card
December 6, 2013 3:09:23 PM

MLindstroem said:
I am in the market for a new graphics card. I have tried to investigate and I would like to know if I forgot something.

I currently own a 2-3 years old Dell XPS studio PC (Intel i7, 6 gigabyte memory). And I want to put in a XFX Radeon R9 290 graphics card. Physically (height, width and depth) it would seem to fit my PC. My PC has a PCI 2.0 x16 slot. The graphics card uses a PCI 3.0 x16 slot. But as I understand it, a PCI 3.0 card works fine in a PCI 2.0 slot.

My power supply is only 360 watt. Therefore, I plan to buy a Corsair RM850 (850 watt power supply). Again I measured, and the power supply fits physically in my PC. I think 850 watt is enough as the graphics card never uses more than 400 watt (at most, properly more like max 350 watt), and the Corsair power supply would be 850-360=490 watts larger than my current power supply. Therefore, I think this power supply is somewhat more than I absolutely need, but having a little too big power supply seems like a good idea, with little downside except for a few dollars extra cost.

Did I miss something? I ask, as I have previously managed to buy PC equipment that I simply could not use with my computer.

Are my computer too old to fully use the R9 290 graphics card? Would it be wiser to go for a less powerful card?

/Mads

http://www.corsair.com/en/power-supply-units/rm-series-...


Hi - 1st you need to take side panel off & measure along the pcie slot from the rear to the 1st obstruction (probably hdd) and make sure there is enough space, the 290 is a long card. If it'll fit then take lonewolfs advice & go with a good quality 650/750, TX/HX if you go with Corsair. There are others as well. I would wait on the RM series for now.
The RM750 failed Hardocp's lab test and the 850 is the same OEM & design. Corsair has had them modified, but being a new OEM (Hipro/Chicony) I'd wait till they prove themselves.
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December 6, 2013 3:16:05 PM

lonewolf7, thank you for the reply. I can see that there is a little more to power supplies than I thought. I just went for reputable brand, watt and efficiency. I will read a few reviews before I decide.
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December 6, 2013 3:37:39 PM

Hi toyftw,

I did take off my side panel. That is how I figured out that there were room for graphics card and power supply. There is actually quite good space, even for a long card like AMD r9-290.

After yours and Lonewolf7's advice, I have decided to drop buying anything from the RM series. I think I will go with the HX series. My computer is quite often on and there is high electricity prices where I live (37 USD cents/Kwh including taxes), so the efficiency matters to me.

Thank you for the advice,

/Mads
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a b ) Power supply
a c 121 U Graphics card
December 7, 2013 11:37:25 AM

You are most welcome.
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