Is Corsair 450w HW good enough

[Guest]

http://www.corsair.com/products/hx450/default.aspx

I tend to get ATI 5870 graphic card which has minimal 500w with 2x 6pins.

I also use 1 sata hard drive, 1 dvd drive.

I am going to overclock my graphic card.

Is this PSU have enough watts for overclocked graphic card.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Hmmmm.......Last night I read half a dozen technical reviews of the brand new ATI Radeon HD5870 video card. I paid particular attention to the power consumption charts. I also took a look at the ATI recommendations.

ATI Radeon™ HD5870 System Requirements

• PCI Express® based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard
• 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)

I agree with the ATI recommendation because the general rule of thumb is a high quality 500 to 550 watt power supply with sufficient current (amps) on the 12 volt rail(s) can easily power an overclocked computer system with any single video card made.

The Corsair VX550 would be more appropriate. It has a single large 12 volt rail rated at 41 amps. The current price at newegg.com is only $25.00 more than the VX450:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

Here is a link to a technical review of the VX550 at jonnyguru.com:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=62

Now, I am going to take a chance and stick my neck out on the chopping block. Last night I read a technical review of the 5870 over at anandtech.com. They measured the total power draw at the wall outlet (mains). That's the total power used by the entire pc. The test system consisted of an Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.3Ghz and just one 5870 and another test with two 5870's in Crossfire mode. They did the test while playing World of Warcarft. The total power draw for the entire system with one card was 295 watts. The total power draw for two cards in Crossfire mode was 430 watts. I knew the new cards were going to be energy efficient. I'm beginning to think the Corsair VX550 could power a moderately overclocked cpu and two 5870's. It's not that far from the ATI recommendation of 600 watts and 40 amps on the 12 volt rail(s) for Crossfire.

NOTE - I do not know how much power other popular games would require.

 

[jsc]

I agree with Johnny. I think a 450VX will work, but a 550VX would be better.

But then I tend to overspec PSU's (military electronics background ).

 

[Gulli]

I don't think the 450W will be enough, unless you stick to one hard drive, one DVD RW, a 95W CPU (no more) and modest overclocking without voltage increases.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Gulli - The VX450 would definitely be enough for just the single 5870 that the OP asked about. Total system power draw for a Core i7 920 at 3.3Ghz and one 5870 was only 295 watts during testing while playing World of Warcraft. There's also sufficient current (amps) on the large single 12 volt rail. Typically total power draw with one video card during game play is just barely under 300 watts. There are some exceptions.

In the Anandtech test the Intel Core i7 920 that was used is rated at 135 watts and was overclocked from 2.66 Ghz to 3.3 Ghz.

It would be different if someone was trying for 4.0 Ghz, an overclocked gpu, and tweaking every possible setting.

 

[Gulli]

Gulli - The VX450 would definitely be enough for just the single 5870 that the OP asked about. Total system power draw for a Core i7 920 at 3.3Ghz and one 5870 was only 295 watts during testing while playing World of Warcraft. There's also sufficient current (amps) on the large single 12 volt rail. Typically total power draw with one video card during game play is just barely under 300 watts. There are some exceptions.

In the Anandtech test the Intel Core i7 920 that was used is rated at 135 watts and was overclocked from 2.66 Ghz to 3.3 Ghz.

It would be different if someone was trying for 4.0 Ghz, an overclocked gpu, and tweaking every possible setting.

If you say so, but those tests are often done without a DVD drive and you want to stay under 80% of max PSU load, the OP wants to overclock his GPU and you have to be lucky to overclock your 920 to 3.3ghz with only 5W power consumption increase (mine can't do that) so it'll be close, the HX520W would be better in my opinion.