Is my HP z420 workstation 600W support another GTX ?

i currently googled about how z420 can handle gtx 780 with current psu, and found your thread at first line . anyway, my current z420 config still the same, only replacement on RAM (which i upgraded them to 16gb). in conclusion, are you using 780 and 750ti in current situation? i'd like to add another gpu, and looking for gtx 780 or gtx 770, but still mattered about reliability of the psu. can i just add the 780 at the slot and use it? what if i want to keep the quadro 600 plugged, is it still possible or kinda risky?

The Quadro 600 consumes 40 watts max, so it doesn't use the PCI-e power connectors. You'd be able to put a 780 in there on a 600 watt PSU, though you'll want to keep in mind the things I mentioned in my previous post in this thread (about power supplies). You'll need to make sure the PSU has PCI-e connectors to power the card you're considering. I believe that both the gtx 770 and the 780 require an 8-pin and a 6-pin connector from the PSU. The only other thing to keep in mind is total power consumption, so the other things in your computer will matter (i.e. CPU(s), drives, etc.). If all that checks out, just be sure you actually have enough physical space and a space PCI-e slot on your motherboard so that you can install the card. It needs a place to live

. . . To answer your question about my card setup, yes, I am using both a gtx 780 ti and a 750 ti in the same computer. The 780 ti is the main card, and I offload certain specialized calculations to the 750 ti, especially PhysX. If you get a 780, I'm not sure you'll have any need for that Quadro at all, unless your applications require it. The 780 will accelerate any compatible application or game many, many times faster than your Quadro 600. For the Adobe suite, you can make a GeForce card work with simple edits to text files, and I'm not sure you'll even need to do that in newer versions of Adobe software (e.g. CS6 and CC).
Good luck!

hmm i dont really know about this delta psu has the connector pins which required for gtx 780, i thought i need to open the whole psu to check that out, because this stock psu doesnt give enough information about its' spec. "if" my stock psu doesnt have the required 8 pin and 6 pin connector, the only solution for me is replacing the psu, isnt it? i got bothered by this psu limitation and my need for higher performance gpu. by the way, thanks a lot about the information, lately i just focused about the power capacity for gtx 780, without realizing the real fact whether there is 8 pin and 6 pin connector available or not at my psu

There's no need to open the supply. Just crack the case open and take a look at the cables coming out of the PSU. You'll need any combination that gives a 6-pin and an 8-pin. The 8-pin can be a 6+2 pin, and so can the 6-pin (you just wouldn't use the extra 2 pins). Take a look at the image I've attached below to visualize what I am writing about. I took the image from the spec sheet of a Corsair PSU, so you can ignore the right column, which just says how many connectors of that type are available on the PSU that corresponds to the photo. All that matters for this discussion is what the connectors look like, since they are standardized across all computers.


There will likely be a wad of wires coming out of your PSU, and several of them won't be in use. Check to see which of the unused cables look like either 8- or 6-pin PCI-e connectors (or 6+2 pin). While several things will work, you'll for certain be good to go if you have two unused 6+2 pin PCI-e connectors.

i just cracked the case, and i found 2 unused 6 pin PCI-e connectors, one 4 pin peripheral and other 4 unused sata cables. is it possible that 6+2 pin connector cables has been plugged to motherboard? i think if that what's really happen, then is it okay to plug only the 6 pin connector cable to gtx 780? the another 8 pin it should take from motherboard, isnt it?

If your motherboard/CPU require an 8-pin in addition to the 24-pin connector for proper power, you'll need to have 8 pins plugged into the motherboard. If it uses a 6-pin, however, then you should be able to swap a 6-pin out for the partially used 6+2 pin on the motherboard.

Another (inexpensive) option is to use a 6 to 8 pin adapter cable (click for link). It's less than $10, so you can give it a shot. If it doesn't work, then you may want to get a new PSU anyway, so you wouldn't have lost too much money.

Also, how long ago did you get the computer? If you're going to be upgrading against compatibility issues, you might consider returning it for another solution that allows more flexibility.

Yeah, no problem. I actually linked you to one on Amazon, where you can order it for $6.70. Good luck!

About the power supply, the HP workstations (usually) come with Delta power supplie units (PSU), which are quite reliable in general. If you'd like to see what you have specifically, open the computer and look at the label on the side of the power supply. It will say there.

As for the video card, I had a 600w Delta from an HP workstation and was able to run a similar setup just fine. It had a gtx 780 ti with a gtx 750 ti. I did, however, upgrade the power supply anyway. Running that close to the max power is very inefficient, and also hiccups in power flow from the wall can really throw it off while under load like that. That creates a chance of a harmful surge directly in the PSU. Your surge protector only protects against surges from the wall outlet to the power strip, not against surges that occur directly in something plugged into the power strip.

Even though it's a remote chance that the Delta in your HP will surge (rather than shut down) from being overloaded, I figured spending another $150-$200 on a quality PSU with more power would be worth it in order to protect thousands of dollars worth of components in my computer. I went with the Corsair AX860i. In retrospect I would have been perfectly fine, as I am sure you would be, with the AX760i. However, there are upsides to having extra power.

Power supplies are most efficient (i.e. each watt costs less money to use) when they run at 50% of their capacity. The Corsair AXi-series and AX-series (yes, the "i" makes a difference) both have the highest efficiency of 80+Platinum. That means the AX 760 and AX760i, the AX860 and AX860i, and the AX1200 and AX1200i will all remain at least 90% efficient at 20% and 80% load, and they are nearly 100% efficient at 50% load. In case you aren't familiar with the specialized use of the term "efficiency" in this context, it refers to the ratio of power drawn from the wall (i.e. the power you pay for) to the power the PSU actually delivers (i.e. the power you actually get). PSUs with an 80+Platinum rating will deliver no less than 90% of the wattage that you pay for on your electric bill. For example, if your computer draws 90 watts at a given moment while the PSU is being 90% efficient, that means you actually paid for 100 watts. With a lower 80+ certification (e.g. Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc.), you actually pay for more for the same 90 watts. If you lave your computer on all the time, that can save you more than $100/yr.

Running between 20% and 50% on these power supplies also means that the fan will seldom engage, which means you'll get completely silent power operation most of the time. Also, if you decide to get a GPU that requires additional PCI-e power connectors, you'll likely have to get a PSU anyway. The stock PSUs on HP computers usually have only one set of PCI-e connectors. While the connectors won't be a concern if you get the GTX 750 or 750 ti, the upsides of having a better PSU still apply.

Here are the Corsiar AX- and AXi-series PSUs on NewEgg

The "i" in the AXi costs a little more because it gives you additional controls over the PSU's functionality, whereas the AX gives you no control.