4870 Crossfire: Is Apevia 680 Beast Power enough?

[tlp313]

I am planning on running a 4870 crossfire with an amd 9850 quadcore processor. Is the apevia 680 watt beast power supply enough power?

 

[evongugg]

Welcome to the forums!

ATI Radeon HD 4870 System Requirements

500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)

 

[tlp313]

I noticed that the Apevia 680 watt I was looking at only had two 6pin connectors. The saphire card I just ordered has two 4pin to 6pin adapters which would give me four 6pin connectors. I assume these adapters will work since they come with the card and all, but do you guys see any problems with using these adapters instead of buying a power supply that natively has four 6pin connectors.

 

[evongugg]

You need two molex to make one six pin. So you are going to need 4 molex to make two six pins. The adapters should not be a problem.

 

[theAnimal]

Apevia = crap, and it will be very close to the limit with 2x 4870. Do your system a favor and buy a quality PSU. Silverstone ST60F would be a good choice.

 

[tlp313]

Apevia = crap, and it will be very close to the limit with 2x 4870. Do your system a favor and buy a quality PSU. Silverstone ST60F would be a good choice.

So you are saying that a 600 watt Silverstone is better than a 680 watt apevia? Is the apevia just not putting out the wattage that is says? I am the newbie here so I don't want to argue, but isn't 600 cutting it a little close?

The main reason I am posting is because there are a lot of people out there that think 4780 crossfire requires 700 - 750 watts. (even though the amd site says 600)

 

[JohnnyLucky]

+1 what theAnimal said.

The Apevia is not a very good power supply.

You would be better of purchasing a high quality psu that the very stable and reliable. Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, and Seasonic are brands with a reputation for high quality and stability. They consistently earn high marks in technical reviews and comparisons. They're also the brands most often recommended by veteran posters at this forum.

 

[theAnimal]

So you are saying that a 600 watt Silverstone is better than a 680 watt apevia? Is the apevia just not putting out the wattage that is says? I am the newbie here so I don't want to argue, but isn't 600 cutting it a little close?

The main reason I am posting is because there are a lot of people out there that think 4780 crossfire requires 700 - 750 watts. (even though the amd site says 600)

Yes. It has better quality components, and has more power available on the 12V rails. It is also rated at operating temperature for continuous output. Many low quality PSUs such as the Apevia are rated at peak and at room temperature. This means they are able to put out far less power than stated, and the power is lower quality with more noise and ripple.

Edit: If you haven't already purchased the CPU, get a Phenom II instead of the old Phenom.

 

[tlp313]

Yes. It has better quality components, and has more power available on the 12V rails. It is also rated at operating temperature for continuous output. Many low quality PSUs such as the Apevia are rated at peak and at room temperature. This means they are able to put out far less power than stated, and the power is lower quality with more noise and ripple.

Edit: If you haven't already purchased the CPU, get a Phenom II instead of the old Phenom.

Ok. You have convinced me. I already have the cpu and first 4870 all hooked up the my crappy apevia since last summer. So I won't be getting a new cpu just yet.

The second 4870 is in the mail. I don't want to take any chances with not having enough power so what do you think:

SILVERSTONE ST70F 700W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256045

or

SILVERSTONE ELEMENT ST75EF 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256049

 

[theAnimal]

Out of those, the ST70F.

Other options to consider are Corsair TX750 and PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750.

 

[tlp313]

Out of those, the ST70F.

Other options to consider are Corsair TX750 and PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750.

OK, thanks I ended up ordering the Corsair TX750! WooHoo! Can't wait to test it all out.
Thanks again everyone.

 

[Onus]

There's a review of Apevia's Beast on jonnyguru.com. Basically it melted around 80% of load iirc.

 

[Onus]

If not too late, my suggestion would be an Antec Earthwatts 650; if you want to spend the money, an Antec Signature 650. The latter has been tested up to 870W.

 

[theAnimal]

If not too late, my suggestion would be an Antec Earthwatts 650; if you want to spend the money, an Antec Signature 650. The latter has been tested up to 870W.

Both good PSUs, but they only have 2 PCI-e connectors.

 

[evongugg]

Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to

http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU

for a list of Certified products.