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Some questions about graphics cards

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  • Graphics Cards
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Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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September 9, 2014 6:38:14 AM

Hi!
I just received the graphics card I bought used from amazon, and I wanted to know some things:
PSU 630W --- GPU R9 290X

    What happens if my PSU is too weak for the graphics card I bought?
    Does the anti-static bag usually come sealed?
    What tests should I do to see if the graphics card is working well?


I'm asking all this now because the PSU only comes tomorrow but I still wanted to try it out today. I can return the GPU if I don't like it by the way, so that's not a problem.
Thanks.

More about : questions graphics cards

a b U Graphics card
September 9, 2014 6:44:15 AM

What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.
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a b U Graphics card
September 9, 2014 6:50:14 AM

As long as the PSU is of good quality (= has proper overcurrent protection) it will likely just cause the system to reboot or shut down if it demands more power than the PSU is designed for. I suspect a 630 W power supply will have no such problems for you, again provided its a reasonably good quality unit.

Hardware generally comes in the anti-static bag with the open end folded over and taped.

After installing the drivers, the first thing I do is I use MSI Afterburner to check the default frequency, voltage, and temperature of the card while running a stress test or a GPU-intensive game to make sure everything is within spec and what I'm expecting. I usually wait a week or two before I try overclocking, though. Other than that, as long as the actual performance is what I expect, its fine.
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September 9, 2014 6:51:33 AM

Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


I7 3770K, 16GB ram, H100 watercooler, 256 SSD, 500GB HDD, 2TB external HDD, and 4 fans.
I'm just asking what happens if I use it. I'm not asking if it is enough, since I know it isn't.
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a b U Graphics card
September 9, 2014 6:57:21 AM

Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.
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September 9, 2014 7:31:16 AM

oxiide said:
Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.


But what if that PSU isn't good enough for the system? What will happen?
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a b U Graphics card
September 9, 2014 7:40:42 AM

Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.


But what if that PSU isn't good enough for the system? What will happen?


Like I said before, a PSU that is simply not high enough wattage but that has proper overcurrent/overvoltage protections will likely just cause the system to shut down or restart when the power draw gets too high (i.e. in games or similarly stressful circumstances). A PSU that is too low quality and lacks those protections could kill itself and potentially the rest of the machine. In the worst [though rare] cases they can even start fires.

620 W is "enough" for your system, but I'm curious what brand and model it is.
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September 9, 2014 7:50:41 AM

oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.


But what if that PSU isn't good enough for the system? What will happen?


Like I said before, a PSU that is simply not high enough wattage but that has proper overcurrent/overvoltage protections will likely just cause the system to shut down or restart when the power draw gets too high (i.e. in games or similarly stressful circumstances). A PSU that is too low quality and lacks those protections could kill itself and potentially the rest of the machine. In the worst [though rare] cases they can even start fires.

620 W is "enough" for your system, but I'm curious what brand and model it is.


It's a BeQuiet one, I'm not sure if it is the 630W PSU they have on their website though
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a b U Graphics card
September 9, 2014 7:54:21 AM

Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.


But what if that PSU isn't good enough for the system? What will happen?


Like I said before, a PSU that is simply not high enough wattage but that has proper overcurrent/overvoltage protections will likely just cause the system to shut down or restart when the power draw gets too high (i.e. in games or similarly stressful circumstances). A PSU that is too low quality and lacks those protections could kill itself and potentially the rest of the machine. In the worst [though rare] cases they can even start fires.

620 W is "enough" for your system, but I'm curious what brand and model it is.


It's a BeQuiet one, I'm not sure if it is the 630W PSU they have on their website though


Quality depends on the model, but beQuiet! is generally a pretty trustworthy manufacturer. If nothing else, I'd trust them to have proper protections in place. I really don't think your system would ever draw more than maybe 500 watts, and that's being generous.
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September 9, 2014 7:56:30 AM

oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.


But what if that PSU isn't good enough for the system? What will happen?


Like I said before, a PSU that is simply not high enough wattage but that has proper overcurrent/overvoltage protections will likely just cause the system to shut down or restart when the power draw gets too high (i.e. in games or similarly stressful circumstances). A PSU that is too low quality and lacks those protections could kill itself and potentially the rest of the machine. In the worst [though rare] cases they can even start fires.

620 W is "enough" for your system, but I'm curious what brand and model it is.


It's a BeQuiet one, I'm not sure if it is the 630W PSU they have on their website though


Quality depends on the model, but beQuiet! is generally a pretty trustworthy manufacturer. If nothing else, I'd trust them to have proper protections in place. I'm pretty confident it would be fine. I really don't think your system would ever draw more than maybe 500 watts, and that's being generous.


The PSU I bought (arrives tomorrow) is the "EVGA Supernova 750w B2 BRONZE" one. Is it good enough?
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a b U Graphics card
September 9, 2014 7:58:37 AM

Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.


But what if that PSU isn't good enough for the system? What will happen?


Like I said before, a PSU that is simply not high enough wattage but that has proper overcurrent/overvoltage protections will likely just cause the system to shut down or restart when the power draw gets too high (i.e. in games or similarly stressful circumstances). A PSU that is too low quality and lacks those protections could kill itself and potentially the rest of the machine. In the worst [though rare] cases they can even start fires.

620 W is "enough" for your system, but I'm curious what brand and model it is.


It's a BeQuiet one, I'm not sure if it is the 630W PSU they have on their website though


Quality depends on the model, but beQuiet! is generally a pretty trustworthy manufacturer. If nothing else, I'd trust them to have proper protections in place. I'm pretty confident it would be fine. I really don't think your system would ever draw more than maybe 500 watts, and that's being generous.


The PSU I bought (arrives tomorrow) is the "EVGA Supernova 750w B2 BRONZE" one. Is it good enough?


Without a doubt.
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September 9, 2014 8:13:51 AM

oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.


But what if that PSU isn't good enough for the system? What will happen?


Like I said before, a PSU that is simply not high enough wattage but that has proper overcurrent/overvoltage protections will likely just cause the system to shut down or restart when the power draw gets too high (i.e. in games or similarly stressful circumstances). A PSU that is too low quality and lacks those protections could kill itself and potentially the rest of the machine. In the worst [though rare] cases they can even start fires.

620 W is "enough" for your system, but I'm curious what brand and model it is.


It's a BeQuiet one, I'm not sure if it is the 630W PSU they have on their website though


Quality depends on the model, but beQuiet! is generally a pretty trustworthy manufacturer. If nothing else, I'd trust them to have proper protections in place. I'm pretty confident it would be fine. I really don't think your system would ever draw more than maybe 500 watts, and that's being generous.


The PSU I bought (arrives tomorrow) is the "EVGA Supernova 750w B2 BRONZE" one. Is it good enough?


Without a doubt.


How about this:

Does the anti-static bag usually come sealed?
What tests should I do to see if the graphics card is working well?
m
0
l
a b U Graphics card
September 10, 2014 7:32:51 AM

Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Myntekt said:
oxiide said:
Eximo said:
What does the rest of your system look like? What kind of powersupply is it?

Looking at close to 300W for the GPU alone.


http://www.anandtech.com/show/7457/the-radeon-r9-290x-r...
^^^ Total system power draw in Furmark with the R9 290X topped out at 350 watts. And that's with a Core i7-4960X platform. Even adding a generous 100 watts or so if its running at a high CPU load as well it's still only at 450 W.

This is an issue of quality, and whether or not the PSU outputs enough of its wattage on its +12 V rail. Not an issue of total capacity.


But what if that PSU isn't good enough for the system? What will happen?


Like I said before, a PSU that is simply not high enough wattage but that has proper overcurrent/overvoltage protections will likely just cause the system to shut down or restart when the power draw gets too high (i.e. in games or similarly stressful circumstances). A PSU that is too low quality and lacks those protections could kill itself and potentially the rest of the machine. In the worst [though rare] cases they can even start fires.

620 W is "enough" for your system, but I'm curious what brand and model it is.


It's a BeQuiet one, I'm not sure if it is the 630W PSU they have on their website though


Quality depends on the model, but beQuiet! is generally a pretty trustworthy manufacturer. If nothing else, I'd trust them to have proper protections in place. I'm pretty confident it would be fine. I really don't think your system would ever draw more than maybe 500 watts, and that's being generous.


The PSU I bought (arrives tomorrow) is the "EVGA Supernova 750w B2 BRONZE" one. Is it good enough?


Without a doubt.


How about this:

Does the anti-static bag usually come sealed?
What tests should I do to see if the graphics card is working well?


Hardware generally comes in the anti-static bag with the open end folded over and taped.

After installing the drivers, the first thing I do is I use MSI Afterburner to check the default frequency, voltage, and temperature of the card while running a stress test or a GPU-intensive game to make sure everything is within spec and what I'm expecting. I usually wait a week or two before I try overclocking, though. Other than that, as long as the actual performance is what I expect, its fine.

^^ I did say that in my first post. :p 
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September 10, 2014 7:36:38 AM

I overlooked it since I was answering you, thanks for all the help
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