Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question

Will my motherboard and power supply support this new graphics card?

Tags:
  • Power Supplies
  • Geforce
  • Support
  • Tom's Hardware
  • Motherboards
  • Gtx
  • Graphics Cards
Last response: in Motherboards
Share
August 26, 2014 10:43:52 PM

I'd like to upgrade my current AMD Radeon R7 200 Series to a GeForce GTX 750 Ti (recommended by Tom's Hardware Best Graphics Cards for the Money).

My motherboard is a GA-78LMT-S2.

My power supply supports 460W (not sure if it's continuous, but Tom's Hardware Best Graphics Card for the Money guide recommended a 300W power supply so I feel like I'm safe).

I'm not sure of the motherboard's relationship to the graphics card in terms of compatibility; do you think I'm in the clear to upgrade to this graphics card, or is there more info that I need?

EDIT:

The power supply is a RS-460-PSAR-L3

More about : motherboard power supply support graphics card

a b ) Power supply
a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 10:47:13 PM

What is the brand and model number of the PSU. This is important. There's not a lot in life that's certain but the fact that not all PSU's are made equal is one.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a c 87 V Motherboard
a c 83 U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 10:47:44 PM

Yes the PSU is more than enough. To determine if it fits is to see if your motherboard has a PCI Express 3.0 x16 port to connect the GPU. And turns out that you have 2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 but not to worry as it the 3.0 will still fit and will not have any performance drop unless you do an SLI which I don't think you will with the PSU.

And it is recommended that you have a decent PSU, what is it?
m
0
l
Related resources
August 26, 2014 10:49:53 PM

Joeteoh99 said:
Yes the PSU is more than enough. To determine if it fits is to see if your motherboard has a PCI Express 3.0 x16 port to connect the GPU. And turns out that you have 2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 but not to worry as it the 3.0 will still fit and will not have any performance drop unless you do an SLI which I don't think you will with the PSU.

And it is recommended that you have a decent PSU, what is it?


I've updated the thread with the power supply model, thanks.
m
1
l
a b ) Power supply
a c 87 V Motherboard
a c 83 U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 10:52:42 PM

jasonpang said:
Joeteoh99 said:
Yes the PSU is more than enough. To determine if it fits is to see if your motherboard has a PCI Express 3.0 x16 port to connect the GPU. And turns out that you have 2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 but not to worry as it the 3.0 will still fit and will not have any performance drop unless you do an SLI which I don't think you will with the PSU.

And it is recommended that you have a decent PSU, what is it?


I've updated the thread with the power supply model, thanks.


I highly wouldn't recommend it as it is in Tier 5. Which isn't good at all and not recommended at all. Check this out and see it for yourself.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-su...
m
0
l
August 26, 2014 10:56:47 PM

Perhaps I should upgrade my power supply first then into a better category and then buy the graphics card? That seems like a foolproof solution.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a c 87 V Motherboard
a c 83 U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 10:57:56 PM

jasonpang said:
Perhaps I should upgrade my power supply first then into a better category and then buy the graphics card? That seems like a foolproof solution.


Yes it is a good choice. I can help you find one at your budget if you don't mind. So what's your budget?
m
0
l
August 26, 2014 11:01:59 PM

As cheap as possible, if you don't mind. Whatever gets the job done to support that graphics card. Since the graphics card is $160, let's say a maximum of $50 - $80 for the power supply? $50 as the max if possible. Budget isn't super tight.

One more question: I saw that thread and I see that the Cooler Master power supplies are in Tier Five. But is that power supply really inadequate for that graphics card? I don't really understand these things but if possible, I'd really prefer not spending money on something unnecessary. This computer isn't a powerful custom-built computer (as you can tell) and I'm not looking to put too much into it. In the future, I can build a more powerful computer.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a c 87 V Motherboard
a c 83 U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:08:28 PM

jasonpang said:
As cheap as possible, if you don't mind. Whatever gets the job done to support that graphics card. Since the graphics card is $160, let's say a maximum of $50 - $80 for the power supply? $50 as the max if possible. Budget isn't super tight.

One more question: I saw that thread and I see that the Cooler Master power supplies are in Tier Five. But is that power supply really inadequate for that graphics card? I don't really understand these things but if possible, I'd really prefer not spending money on something unnecessary. This computer isn't a powerful custom-built computer (as you can tell) and I'm not looking to put too much into it. In the future, I can build a more powerful computer.


I'll be back as soon as possible. :) 

Yes a 750Ti is a powerful card and really needs a power supply capable of running the GPU.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:10:28 PM

jasonpang said:
As cheap as possible, if you don't mind. Whatever gets the job done to support that graphics card. Since the graphics card is $160, let's say a maximum of $50 - $80 for the power supply? $50 as the max if possible. Budget isn't super tight.

One more question: I saw that thread and I see that the Cooler Master power supplies are in Tier Five. But is that power supply really inadequate for that graphics card? I don't really understand these things but if possible, I'd really prefer not spending money on something unnecessary. This computer isn't a powerful custom-built computer (as you can tell) and I'm not looking to put too much into it. In the future, I can build a more powerful computer.

Not all of their power supplies are bad, but that particular model line is. If it's on the tier five list, it's there for a reason. There are plenty of Youtube videos that can show you what a cheap PSU will do to your rig.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:16:20 PM

Also, your board only has a PCIe x16 2.0 slot. That card is a 3.0. It should still support it but it will run at the slower speed so it isn't going to achieve maximum throughput but it should still run well. What kind of cpu are you running?
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a c 87 V Motherboard
a c 83 U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:17:10 PM

darkbreeze said:
Also, your board only has a PCIe16 2.0 slot. That card is a 3.0. It should still support it but it will run at the slower speed so it isn't going to achieve maximum throughput but it should still run very well.


I told him that but the speed will not decrease. According to Eduello yesterday he told me that there will be no performance drops unless if you SLI or Crossfire.
m
0
l
August 26, 2014 11:19:58 PM

darkbreeze said:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: SeaSonic 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $43.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-27 02:06 EDT-0400

Either of these will work, the Seasonic is the better of the two even though it's a lower wattage.


Is 400 Watts powerful enough? I guess you can't really tell unless you tally up the internal components right? The processor is a AMD FX(tm)-6300 Six-Core Processor (95W), and I'm not sure how much power the other components needs.

Maybe 400W is generally more than enough? This isn't an extremely high end system.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a c 87 V Motherboard
a c 83 U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:21:21 PM

jasonpang said:
darkbreeze said:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: SeaSonic 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $43.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-27 02:06 EDT-0400

Either of these will work, the Seasonic is the better of the two even though it's a lower wattage.


Is 400 Watts powerful enough? I guess you can't really tell unless you tally up the internal components right? The processor is a AMD FX(tm)-6300 Six-Core Processor (95W), and I'm not sure how much power the other components needs.

Maybe 400W is generally more than enough? This isn't an extremely high end system.


For headroom I would personally go with a 450W-500W minimum.

m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:23:38 PM

Hmm. No, I have to disagree. There is no way a PCIe x16 3.0 card in a board with PCIe x16 3.0 lanes and throughput could be the same speed as a 3.0 card in a 2.0 board with 2.0 throughput. I'd really hate to disagree with Eduello as I know he's one of the most knowledgeable people around here but I think either you misunderstood him or I'll need to hear that straight from the horses mouth along with an explanation as to how that's possible. And if so, I'll be the first to acknowledge I was wrong. Wouldn't be the first or the last.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:26:46 PM

Joeteoh99 said:
jasonpang said:
darkbreeze said:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: SeaSonic 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $43.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-27 02:06 EDT-0400

Either of these will work, the Seasonic is the better of the two even though it's a lower wattage.


Is 400 Watts powerful enough? I guess you can't really tell unless you tally up the internal components right? The processor is a AMD FX(tm)-6300 Six-Core Processor (95W), and I'm not sure how much power the other components needs.

Maybe 400W is generally more than enough? This isn't an extremely high end system.


For headroom I would personally go with a 450W-500W minimum.


Of course you would. Actually I would too. But the 400w IS more than enough for that card plus he clearly stated he needs as cheap as possible. Both those units are fine for what he's doing. Now if he wants to start overclocking the card or the cpu as well, then he needs to move up.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a c 87 V Motherboard
a c 83 U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:27:47 PM

darkbreeze said:
Hmm. No, I have to disagree. There is no way a PCIe x16 3.0 card in a board with PCIe x16 3.0 lanes and throughput could be the same speed as a 3.0 card in a 2.0 board with 2.0 throughput. I'd really hate to disagree with Eduello as I know he's one of the most knowledgeable people around here but I think either you misunderstood him or I'll need to hear that straight from the horses mouth along with an explanation as to how that's possible. And if so, I'll be the first to acknowledge I was wrong. Wouldn't be the first or the last.


If you need proof, please read this.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2275023/graphics...
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:30:20 PM

jasonpang said:
darkbreeze said:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: SeaSonic 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $43.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-27 02:06 EDT-0400

Either of these will work, the Seasonic is the better of the two even though it's a lower wattage.


Is 400 Watts powerful enough? I guess you can't really tell unless you tally up the internal components right? The processor is a AMD FX(tm)-6300 Six-Core Processor (95W), and I'm not sure how much power the other components needs.

Maybe 400W is generally more than enough? This isn't an extremely high end system.


It's enough. A 500 or 550 would be better but it will also cost more. It's all up to what you want to do and what you can afford to spend. If you want to run the card and cpu with stock clocks. That psu will work fine. If you plan to play around AT ALL with the clocks, you need to move up. Also, if you might upgrade the cpu to a higher TDP FX series processor later on, you might as well get a bigger PSU now because the one you have now is a 95W but the 8 cores are 125w which doesn't leave you much breathing room.
m
0
l
August 26, 2014 11:31:57 PM

Guys, one thing. Supposing I did not buy a new power supply. Like, what could happen? I'm actually asking all this on behalf of a friend and he doesn't think it's necessary to purchase a new power supply. He says at the worst we find this out by the computer turning off by not being supplied with enough power and *then* we buy a new power supply. But he doesn't really want to spend the money unless there's actually a necessary reason.

I guess he's really concerned just with what he needs to buy.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:36:31 PM

Joeteoh99 said:
darkbreeze said:
Hmm. No, I have to disagree. There is no way a PCIe x16 3.0 card in a board with PCIe x16 3.0 lanes and throughput could be the same speed as a 3.0 card in a 2.0 board with 2.0 throughput. I'd really hate to disagree with Eduello as I know he's one of the most knowledgeable people around here but I think either you misunderstood him or I'll need to hear that straight from the horses mouth along with an explanation as to how that's possible. And if so, I'll be the first to acknowledge I was wrong. Wouldn't be the first or the last.


If you need proof, please read this.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2275023/graphics...

Ok, but I think I might have to get a second opinion on that, even though it's Eduello. I'm certainly not claiming to be the most knowledgeable member around here but that just doesn't seem accurate. I can't see EVERY single OEM adopting the standard as a gimmick. Regardless, it doesn't affect the OP in any case as he doesn't seem inclined to be overclocking the card anyhow which is when it would probably become an issue.
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a c 87 V Motherboard
a c 83 U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:38:24 PM

jasonpang said:
Guys, one thing. Supposing I did not buy a new power supply. Like, what could happen? I'm actually asking all this on behalf of a friend and he doesn't think it's necessary to purchase a new power supply. He says at the worst we find this out by the computer turning off by not being supplied with enough power and *then* we buy a new power supply. But he doesn't really want to spend the money unless there's actually a necessary reason.

I guess he's really concerned just with what he needs to buy.


This is the description if tier 5:
Tier five - Replace immediately. These units are NOT recommended for any system, no matter the purpose. Reference to higher tiered models for a better and potentially money-saving unit

So it is really preferable to change no matter what. But what could happen if you don't change? There's no much of a description of what happens but most tier list in the internet says to avoid it.

Then I went on Newegg:
Tier 5 power supplies are NOT RECOMMENDED. If you have one, you should strongly consider replacing it ASAP. These can damage your computer, and often cannot put out the power that they're rated for. If a brand name is listed here, then all models from that brand name are considered to be Tier 5, except for those specific models listed above.

https://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware...
m
0
l
a b ) Power supply
a b V Motherboard
a b U Graphics card
August 26, 2014 11:41:33 PM

If you don't want to spend the money on a PSU, don't spend the money on your other components. It will be a waste. If you don't want to listen to the people who know, why would you have come here for advice?
m
0
l
!